The NFL Network wrapped up the much-anticipated NFL 100 Top Players of 2019 and several Bears made appearances on the list with some interesting snubs as well. The Bears had three players make the NFL Top 100 list, with all three coming from the defensive side of the ball.
Defensive back Kyle Fuller was the first Bear to make an appearance, coming in at No. 95. Fuller had a career-year in terms of pass-coverage, playing a large role in Chicago only allowing 219.7 passing yards per game in 2018. Fuller’s seven interceptions and 21 pass deflections led the team. Fuller’s contract runs through 2021, so he will have plenty of time to work his way up the list pending another great year.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Continuing the run of Bears defenders making the list, DT Akiem Hicks came in at No. 39. Hicks was one of four players from the Bears' defense to make the Pro Bowl in 2018 and his extremely productive year landed him just inside the Top 40.
Hicks had a career-high in solo tackles in 2018, amassing 41over 16 games. He also collected 7.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss and 16 QB hits. He was a big reason the Bears had the best run defense in the league in 2018, allowing a mere 80 rushing yards per game.
FS Eddie Jackson came in at No. 30 after having an amazing breakout season in 2018. In just his second year in the league, Jackson honchoed the Bears pass defense and made monumental plays all over the field. Jackson had 15 pass deflections, 51 (combined) tackles and scored three touchdowns (two off of interceptions, one from a fumble recovery) over his awesome 2018 season.
And last--but certainly in no way least--franchise-changing LB Khalil Mack was predictably the highest-rated Bear on the list, however,how high he ranked may be a shock to some fans.
The NFL Top 100 list has historically--as the league itself does--valued quarterbacks the most, with no defensive players making the Top 5 on the list in 2017 or 2018. That changed in a big way this year with Khalil Mack coming in at No. 3
It’s been quite a three-year run for Mack on the NFL Top 100 list. He was No. 5 on the 2017 list but moved all the way down to No. 16 in 2018. His return to the Top 5 was bolstered by one of the most impressive seasons in Bears history for a player in his first year with the team.
NFL
Mack finished 2018 with 47 (combined) tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, 18 QB hits, 6 forced fumbles, 1 interception and a touchdown over 14 games. Mack was a one-man wrecking crew on D but he was surrounded by quality playmakers, which made up the formula for the Bears top three defensive unit in 2018.
Mack was one of two defensive players to make the top five, with Ram DT Aaron Donald coming in at No. 1, only the second time in the history of the rankings a defensive player has taken the top spot. If this year’s list is any indication, Mack has a great chance at making a run at the No. 1 spot.
Snubs
Roquan Smith- Smith was a rookie linebacker in 2018, so it isn’t exactly a huge snub but can nonetheless be in the ballpark of one. Fellow 2018 rookie Bradley Chubb was No. 82 on the list. Per pro-football reference, his approximate value (AV) of 8 was slightly lower than Smith’s AV of 9. The stat is not a be-all-end-all metric but it would suggest that Smith had similar value.
Over his rookie year, Smith tallied a whopping 121 (combined) tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks and 5 QB hits.
Danny Trevathan- Trevathan was a crucial piece of the Bears' defense in 2018 and has a case similar to Smith in terms of being snubbed for the Top 100 list. He had 102 (combined) tackles in 2018 to go along with 2.0 sacks, 8 tackles for loss and 4 QB hits. Trevathan had an AV of 10, which would place him in the company of many of the linebackers who made the Top 100.
NFC North notables
The Top 100 list always has some NFC North influence on it and this year saw the Vikings lead the way five players on the list. There was a total of 13 NFC North players on the list with some of the notables below.
Adam Thielen- Thielen was the highest-rated Minnesota Viking, coming in at No. 33 on the list. He made his second-straight Pro Bowl and had a career-year in his first season with QB Kirk Cousins. Over 2018 Thielen received 153 targets and hauled in 113 receptions, 1,373 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns, all career-highs.
Aaron Rodgers- Mr. Rodgers is no longer the highest-ranked player in the NFC North. After coming in at No. 10 in 2018, Rodgers actually moved up two spots to No. 8 in the Top 100.
2018 was actually a down year for Rodgers, who amassed the lowest QBR of his career as a starter (56.8) and on an only slightly random note, a much lower QBR than Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky (72.8). The 35-year old Rodgers still had a productive year, finishing with the second-highest pass attempts of his career, his seventh 4,000+ yard season and the lowest interception rate of his career (0.3%).
It will be interesting to see where Rodgers ends up on the 2020 list as players like Lions DB Darius Slay (No. 86), Vikings DE Danielle Hunter (No. 57), and Bears Kyle Fuller (No. 95), Akiem Hicks (No. 39), Eddie Jackson (No. 30) and of course Khalil Mack (No.3) all making life difficult for the Packers QB.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of the Bears.