NFL Player Ratings 2022

Offensive Stats That Factor Into Ratings

Each offensive position is going to be weighted differently and with different stats. On the quarterback side of things there are some stats that help tie things together for us already. Quarterback rating is one of those stats. It also factors in the schedule they faced as well. This is a greater weight on how the player is rated, but we get into some more of the stats that you might see throughout a game. Completing passes is of course important, where we factor in completion percentage, as well as yards per completion. It doesn’t necessarily value guys who don’t take risks and have simply a higher completion percentage. Touchdown and interception rates are factored in. We saw an example with Jameis Winston where he had a monster season, but it was more volume driven. The weights help factor that in.

Running backs have so much variance over the span of a few seasons. They suffer injuries that can derail a season, and they have a lot of factors that go into a struggling or succeeding. The overall production is still important, as we see yards per carry as one of the better efficiency stats. However, yards before contact and broken tackles are something looked at as well. We also want to see the workhorses rated a bit higher, so targets and rushing attempts is something factored in as well. When you look at the true top backs of the league they are also workhorses. Receiving stats are more important these days for running backs because teams often want backs who can do a little of both. These are weighted in to show the true workhorses, but also to see what passing down backs are better than others.

For wide receivers and tight ends, we can narrow things down to their overall receiving production. WR1 and TE1 type players are going to see above average targets, and like valuing rushing attempts, we will see targets used in that same way. What they do with those targets is at utmost importance, especially when we factor in catch percentage to show how good receivers hands really are. The receivers who pride themselves on yards after the catch are going to have their own weight. Dropped passes and first downs are looked at as well. There are different types of receivers and each will have their own set of stats that factor into their rating.

Defensive Stats That Factor Into Ratings

For defensive players, we are generally going to be looking at the same stats, however each position will have those stats weighted differently. For example, defensive backs won’t have the same weight as a defensive lineman, and vice versa for interceptions. Production numbers are big for defensive players, as that will mark a lot of who the studs are. For example players who are racking up sacks will have an advantage of in terms of ratings among defensive lineman. The same goes for overall tackles and tackles for loss.

Turnovers are often a bit flukey, because even a top cornerback cannot generate interceptions because their lockdown coverage doesn’t allow them to see a ton of pass attempts. That is why completion percentage thrown their way is a higher weighted stat, and pass deflections are factored in as well. When production doesn’t hit, a defensive player can still make a major difference. We have seen this with Aaron Donald, who is one of the top players in the game. However in 2019 he saw a ton of double teams that kept him from producing the sack numbers he did the year before. He did help open things up for others.

Special Teams Stats That Factor Into Ratings

When we look at kickers and punters, we want to look at efficiency when it comes to the sole rating. For kickers we are going to take field goal percentage and extra point percentage to factor in how they rate for us. With punters, average distance on their punts is extremely important. Both are underrated positions in their own regard. Punters have an important job pinning teams deep and helping out their own defense. Of course kickers need to put up points, because three is better than zero. Those that can be relied upon for clutch kicks are also extremely important.

Best Offensive NFL Players Of All-Time

The stats for quarterbacks have gone up over the decades, as the league has turned into a heavy passing one. However some names were in early on this. We saw names like Dan Marino really air it out in Miami, and he will go down as one of the top quarterbacks of all time. He missed out on the Super Bowl, but was a three-time MVP and had over 70,000 yards passing. Of course these numbers were surpassed by a few names now. Drew Brees would be one of them with over 74,000 passing yards and counting. We also have seen over 500 touchdowns. Steve Young, John Elway, and Brett Favre are a few other notable names before we get to the true elite quarterbacks of all-time.

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning battled a long time against each other, as the Colts and Patriots put together some memorable playoff and regular season games. Manning retired of the two first, and finished with 539 touchdowns and over 71,000 yards. He was a two-time Super Bowl champion, and five-time league MVP. Brady is still going, and has over 70,000 yards and well over 500 touchdowns. Brady is also the six-time Super Bowl champion which edges out Manning. Joe Montana is a four-time Super Bowl champion, who had 273 touchdowns in 192 games played. He won two MVPs as well.

There is certainly a running back Mount Rushmore, with Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, and Walter Payton. Brown played nine season in the NFL, and had over 12,000 rushing yards and 106 rushing touchdowns. He also rushed for over five yards per carry and won three MVP awards. Sanders retired early, and was one of the most dominant overall players of all time. He rushed for five yards per carry, and had over 15,000 rushing yards. Smith is one of the more volume based backs of the three, but he has over 18,000 rushing yards and 99 touchdowns on the ground.

Jerry Rice headlines the wide receivers, with over 1,500 catches, 22,000 receiving yards, and 197 receiving touchdowns. Rice goes down as the greatest, and he also won three Super Bowls. Rice also produced throughout his entire career, putting together some amazing seasons towards the end of his career. Randy Moss was a freak wide receiver, who we all remember producing some exceptional moments in the NFL. He had over 15,000 receiving yards and 156 total touchdowns. Terrell Owns, Larry Fitzgerald, and Calvin Johnson are some notable names that deserved to be mentioned.

There are two clear cut tight ends that can go down as the best to do it. Tony Gonzalez and Rob Gronkowski are those names. Gronkowski had a career cut short with injuries and some time missed, but he dominated with 79 touchdowns in 115 games. He averaged 15 yards per reception, and won three Super Bowls. A longer and healthier career, and Gronkowski would be up there with some elite names. As for Gonzalez he played 270 games and had 111 touchdowns and 15,000 yards. Now you can talk about Antonio Gates and Jason Witten, but in terms of sheer dominance and being a mismatch, Gronkowski and Gonzalez dominated in all aspects.

Best Defensive NFL Players Of All-Time

There have been a lot of defensive players over time that can be claimed as some of the best to play the game. It is also less era dependent. Lawrence Taylor was called the best player Bill Belichick ever coached. Taylor was extremely dominant and won an MVP on the defensive side. He was also a two-time MVP. He had over 130 sacks in his career, but the real sack king was Reggie White. He had over 1,000 tackles and 198 total sacks in his career. He was also named All-Pro eight times. White will go down as the top defensive end to play the game.

Getting into a few linebackers Ray Lewis will go down as one of the top defenseman ever. Baltimore has a few names to be considered the best to play, with Ed Reed as one of the better safeties of all-time. Lewis had over 1,500 total tackles and was a two-time Super Bowl champion. Dick Butkus is a popular name who was a part of those strong Bears teams and was named All-Pro five times. Bruce Smith had over 1,000 tackles and 200 sacks in his career. He played 19 total seasons and was All-Pro eight times.

Ronnie Lott is the top defensive back to play the game with over 1,100 tackles and 63 interceptions. He was a part of four Super Bowl winning teams and was named All-Pro six times. Mel Blount had 57 total interceptions in 200 games, and was a part of those Steelers runs during the 1970s. Blount won four Super Bowls and went into the Hall of Fame in 1989. One of the more prolific players in the game was Deion Sanders, who also was an excellent return man. He won two Super Bowls and was a six-time All-Pro.

Rod Woodson was an extremely talented defensive back with over 1,000 tackles, and 71 interceptions in his lengthy career. He also was a six-time All-Pro and has one Super Bowl ring. Derrick Brooks may not be a name you think of as a top linebacker of all-time, but he certainly was with nearly 1,300 tackles and dominated in pass coverage. Back to Ed Reed, he had nine total touchdowns in his career, and 64 interceptions. In the same division, Troy Polamalu is a strong option in the secondary. He had been an All-Pro four times and a two-time Super Bowl champ.

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