Tuesday open thread: How many Detroit Lions should be in the NFL Top 100?

Everyone’s favorite list to hate—the NFL Top 100 players of 2020—kicked off this week on NFL Network. Unlike previous years, the list has been fast tracked, and two episodes in, we already have the bottom 60 players named.

Unfortunately for Detroit Lions fans, its become pretty clear that the team will be shut out from the list. With no players named yet, it seems like the most likely players to land on the list—Matthew Stafford and Kenny Golladay—won’t be in the top 40. Just look at the players already named to the list.

Here are the quarterbacks that have already been announced:

• Kyler Murray (90)
• Josh Allen (87)
• Ryan Tannehill (68)
• Kirk Cousins (58)
• Dak Prescott (46)
• Jimmy Garoppolo (43)

And here’s a look at the wide receivers on the list thus far:

• Allen Robinson (93)
• Cooper Kupp (89)
• DK MetCalf (81)
• Keenan Allen (77)
• Larry Fitzgerald (69)
• Tyler Lockett (65)
• Jarvis Landry (61)
• Odell Beckham Jr. (59)
• Davante Adams (57)
• Stefon Diggs (54)
• Amari Cooper (49)

Things look bleak for our boys in Honolulu Blue, but the question is... should they?

Today’s Question of the Day is:

How many Lions players should be on the NFL’s Top 100 list?

My answer: One. Matthew Stafford. In my opinion, Stafford is better than just about every quarterback named thus far. The only players I would put on his level are Kirk Cousins and Dak Prescott. But given one took their team to the playoffs last year and the other plays for the most popular team in the NFL, it’s clear Stafford won’t outpace them on this list. The listings of Jimmy Garoppolo, Josh Allen and even Kyler Murray are gross overreactions to mediocre seasons and/or team success.

As for Kenny Golladay, I’m sorry to say I don’t think he’s better than most of the players listed thus far. I do find it surprising the he isn’t on the list simply because he led the NFL in touchdowns last year, and people tend to overreact to stats like this. However, there’s a reason he wasn’t in my list of top 10 receivers for the 2020 season.

Golladay is a fantastic receiver, but he’s not the matchup nightmare of a guy like Davante Adams or Odell Beckham Jr. He’ll disappear for large portions of games, and he’s still among the league’s worst when it comes to gaining separation from defenders. That’s not an over exaggeration, either. He was literally the worst receiver in the NFL when it comes to average separation last year. He was 15th worst in 2018, so this wasn’t exactly an outlier last year.

Of course, there’s something to say about a player that can’t get separation still putting up 1,190 yards and 11 touchdowns in a season, but if he wants to be in the conversation as a top 10 wide receiver—and a top 100 player—in the NFL, he’ll have to be a more well-rounded receiver and not just a set of hands.

Your turn.