The NFL Network’s list of the Top 100 players is an annual rite and so is an upset reaction from a player or players left off the list, which is voted on by their peers.
This year’s list is out and the Broncos defensive backs are less than thrilled with the results of the voting. Safety T.J. Ward and cornerbacks Chris Harris and Aqib Talib were overlooked on this year’s ballot and Ward said that the trio would be using the slight as motivation in 2015.
“I was talking to Talib about the upcoming season and how they left all three of us off the top 100, so we have a little chip on our shoulders,” Ward said, via the Denver Post. “We didn’t appreciate that. And that’s from our peers.”
Talib took particular issue with Harris being left off the list after a year that saw him named a second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press, saying that honor “definitely” made Harris one of the top 100 players in the league. The Broncos noticed Harris’s play and signed him to a five-year deal last December that bumped him into the upper tier of NFL corners, which is a more meaningful form of recognition even if it doesn’t come with its own TV special.
