:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47073992/usa-today-8343791.0.jpg)
The folks over at ESPN completed their Top 100 players rankings for 2015. Both Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald made the cut. For Quinn it was the second year in a row.
The rules and guidelines to the vote are pretty simple:
The parameters: Rate players based on how good they are -- period. All NFL players were eligible.
The process: Rate every player on a scale of 1-100. A score of 100 implies an all-time level of excellence; a 1 is for a player who doesn't belong in the NFL.
The panel: More than 70 voters. NFL analysts, reporters and statisticians -- both from ESPN and outside ESPN -- including former players and NFL front-office members.
- ESPN.com #NFLRank
The two star studded Rams came in at 35 (Quinn) and 47 (Donald). For those dedicated Rams fans who are the most dedicated of all the dedicated, and feel that one of the - if not both - players should be ranked higher, remember that this is an offensive league, which didn't stop J.J. Watt from coming in at number one oddly enough.
However, all things considered Quinn and Donald were the 11th and 16th best ranked defenders overall. Quinn saw a bit of a drop from last year when he finished as the sixth best defender, which should be expected considering his decline in production.
Donald on the other hand appears to simply just be getting the usual rookie treatment. Most people have a hard time putting a rookie over vets like Peyton Manning (no matter how up and down their season may have been). It's fair to believe that - barring an injury - Donald could finish next year as a top 20 player. There's a lot of chatter already of him being the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
Both players were ranked in the top 50, and because this was not a vote done by the players only, there was less bias to name a teammate. Most importantly, it shows just how much attention is starting to be paid to the St. Louis Rams football team...