With nothing to do, I present my positional rankings.

[Shogun]

Quarterback

1. Tom Brady, New England
2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis
3. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati
4. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh
5. Drew Brees, New Orleans
6. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle
7. Tony Romo, Dallas
8. Marc Bulger, St. Louis
9. Philip Rivers, San Diego
10. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia

Running back

1. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego
2. Stephen Jackson, St. Louis
3. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
4. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia
5. Clinton Portis, Washington
6. Larry Johnson, Kansas City
7. Frank Gore, San Francisco
8. Willie Parker, Pittsburgh
9. Willis McGahee, Baltimore
10. Ronnie Brown, Miami

Receiver

1. Randy Moss, New England
2. Terrell Owens, Dallas
3. Steve Smith, Carolina
4. Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis
5. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
6. Chad Johnson, Cincinnati
7. Andre Johnson, Houston
8. Anquan Boldin, Arizona
9. Braylon Edwards, Cleveland
10. Marques Colston, New Orleans

Tight end

1. Antonio Gates, San Diego
2. Jason Witten, Dallas
3. Kellen Winslow, Cleveland
4. Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City
5. Chris Cooley, Washington
6. Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans Saints
7. Todd Heap, Baltimore
8. Dallas Clark, Indianapolis
9. Heath Miller, Pittsburgh
10. Owen Daniels, Houston

Tackles

1. Walter Jones, Seattle
2. Joe Thomas, Cleveland
3. Chris Samuels, Washington
4. Jason Peters, Buffalo
5. Matt Light, New England
6. Michael Roos, Tennessee
7. Flozell Adams, Dallas
8. Chad Clifton, Green Bay
9. Bryant McKinnie, Minnesota
10. Jamaal Brown, New Orleans

Guards

1. Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota
2. Alan Faneca, New York Jets
3. Eric Steinbach, Cleveland
4. Leonard Davis, Dallas
5. Shawn Andrews, Philadelphia
6. Logan Mankins, New England
7. Vince Manuwai, Jacksonville
8. Chris Snee, New York Giants
9. Ryan Lilja, Indianapolis
10. Kris Deilman, San Diego

Centers

1. Jeff Saturday, Indianapolis
2. Brad Meester, Jacksonville
3. Matt Birk, Minnesota
4. Andre Gurode, Dallas
5. Dan Koppen, New England
6. Olin Kruetz, Chicago
7. Nick Hardwick, San Diego
8. Kevin Mawae, Tennessee
9. Jason Brown, Baltimore
10. Nick Mangold, New York Jets

Defensive end

1. Aaron Kampman, Green Bay
2. Jason Taylor, Washington
3. Patrick Kerney, Seattle
4. Richard Seymour, New England
5. Jared Allen, Minnesota
6. Aaron Smith, Pittsburgh
7. Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis
8. Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants
9. Haloti Ngata, Baltimore
10. Julius Peppers, Carolina

Defensive tackle

1. Albert Haynesworth, Tennessee
2. Kevin Williams, Minnesota
3. Vince Wilfork, New England
4. Pat Williams, Minnesota
5. Tommie Harris, Chicago
6. Casey Hampton, Pittsburgh
7. Shaun Rogers, Cleveland
8. John Henderson, Jacksonville
9. Jamal Williams, San Diego
10. Amobi Okoye, Houston

Outside linebacker

1. DeMarcus Ware, Dallas
2. Julian Peterson, Seattle
3. Keith Bulluck, Tennessee
4. Shawn Merriman, San Diego
5. Mike Vrabel, New England
6. Ernie Sims, Detroit
7. James Harrison, Pittsburgh
8. Lance Briggs, Chicago
9. Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay
10. Derrick Johnson, Kansas City

Inside linebacker

1. Lofa Tatupu, Seattle
2. Brian Urlacher, Chicago
3. Patrick Willis, San Francisco
4. DeMeco Ryans, Houston
5. Ray Lewis, Baltimore
6. Karlos Dansby, Arizona
7. Nick Barnett, Green Bay
8. Adalius Thomas, New England
9. Jon Beason, Carolina
10. Will Witherspoon, St. Louis

Cornerback

1. Champ Bailey, Denver
2. Terrence Newman, Dallas
3. Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland
4. Rashean Mathis, Jacksonville
5. Asante Samuel, Philadelphia
6. Marcus Trufant, Seattle
7. Mike McKenzie, New Orleans
8. Antonio Cromartie, San Diego
9. Ronde Barber, Tampa Bay
10. Nate Clements, San Francisco

Safety

1. Ed Reed, Baltimore
2. Adrian Wilson, Arizona
3. Kerry Rhodes, New York Jets
4. Bob Sanders, Indianapolis
5. Brian Dawkins, Philadelphia
6. Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh
7. Darren Sharper, Minnesota
8. Reggie Nelson, Jacksonville
9. Gibril Wilson, Oakland
10. Antoine Bethea, Indianapolis

Kicker

1. Josh Brown, St. Louis
2. Adam Vinateiri, Indianapolis
3. Rob Bironas, Tennessee
4. Nate Kaeding, San Diego
5. Phil Dawson, Cleveland

Punter

1. Shane Lechler, Oakland
2. Brian Moorman, Buffalo
3. Andy Lee, San Francisco
4. Mike Scifres, San Diego
5. Jeff Feagles, New York Giants

Returners

1. Devin Hester, Chicago
2. Josh Cribbs, Cleveland
3. Ted Ginn Jr., Miami
4. Leon Washington, New York Jets
5. Andre Davis, Houston

There, done. Thoughts?

 

[Shane]

Pretty damn good lists. Pretty reasonable. Although I dont knwo if I would have Okoye at # 10 DT just yet.

 

[Shane]

I would also put Brees and Romo ahead of Palmer for NOW.

 

[Mrospi]

Just a thought, but if we have the #5 & #8 WR's, our QB, whoever it is (Warner or Leinert) or both has to be a top 10 I would think, Just an observation....

 

[Mitch]

Just a thought, but if we have the #5 & #8 WR's, our QB, whoever it is (Warner or Leinert) or both has to be a top 10 I would think, Just an observation....

That's a GREAT observation!!! And the very reason why I and so many other fans believe that Warner is that guy.

 

[Assface]

Just a thought, but if we have the #5 & #8 WR's, our QB, whoever it is (Warner or Leinert) or both has to be a top 10 I would think, Just an observation....

Not really. Having 2 WRs in the top 10 just means that we have 2 of the most talented WRs in the league. Boldin set rookie records with Jeff Blake at QB. Blake sure as hell wasn't a top 10 guy. Since the first down Fitz played here every national pundit has considered him and Boldin as one of the leagues best duos and that's with McCown, King, Navarre and now Leinart and Warner at QB. Leinart may be there eventually and Warner was top 5 for a while but for the meantime it's matter of Boldin and Fitz just being that good.

 

[arthurracoon]

good stuff

 

[Arizona's Finest]

That's a GREAT observation!!! And the very reason why I and so many other fans believe that Warner is that guy.

Very interesting shogun and I have only minor gripes.

Mitch - I think you know the reasons ad nauseum that it is to the benefit of everyone for Leinart to be named the starter. Your bashing Wiz so bad for doing so and you haven't even gotten to the first preseason game. Its not even fair to say that Warner has outclassed him in TC and should be the starter already .

Otherwise in every reasonable judgement this was the right thing and fail safe thing to do.

- It gives Leinart confidence that the team is still behind him even though he struggled and was injured early.

- It allows the team to prep 2 QB's as if they were number one

- It gives a window to make an educated decision on Leinarts level of play and whether to commit to him beyond his initial contract

- And (I will say this till I'm blue in the face and no Warner apologists will listen) every indication is the offense Wiz wants to run where running the ball and no turnovers are key are all facets of the game, Leinart is superior to Warner.

 

[TJ]

Hope to see some more Cards in those lists at the end of the season

 

[Garthshort]

Great job. I don't think that Rivers is a top ten QB, and do think that Peterson is the #2 RB. Might be biased, but DD is a top ten DT, and also feel that Richard Seymour is overrated. He's a DT in NE's defense, I believe and while he was very good in the past , his play hasn't been great the past few years.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

That's a GREAT observation!!! And the very reason why I and so many other fans believe that Warner is that guy.

What's your point exactly? I don't think KW is a top 10 guy either.

 

[BigRedRage]

no dockett or warner? big gabe?

 

[Pariah]

I think you know the reasons ad nauseum that it is to the benefit of everyone for Leinart to be named the starter.

I have no problem with the idea that Warner should be the starter this season--if we were ONLY concerned about this season. It's not as if we're a 11-5 team that is on the cusp of being a championship team.

The reason Leinart needs to at least start the season as the starter is to see what we have for the future. If he fails this season, the organization needs to start thinking about "what's next?"

JMHO

 

[DaisyCutter]

Shogun, can you explain why you left Mario Williams off of the defensive end list? Is it because you want to see it twice from him? Considering the down year that Peppers had (which I think was an abbaration; I still like the player), and the appearance that Dwight Freeney is a shadow of his former self and may be dealing with the Lis Franc injury all year, I think there might be room.

 

[1DS]

Pretty solid all the way around.

Agree that Williams is ahead of Peppers based off of last season.

I think AP is now rated as 1B for RB's (L.T. is 1A).

Also, Cromartie (SD) is probably the top rated CB is the entire NFL, but no lower than #3 IMO.


Good work!

 

[earthsci]

Antrell Rolle will be on everyone's top 10 for Safety after this year!

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Good stuff, but I believe your DE no. 9. Haloti Ngata, Baltimore, is a big body playing inside.

 

[Redheart]

Good list.

No love for Dockett?

 

[Shogun]

Shogun, can you explain why you left Mario Williams off of the defensive end list? Is it because you want to see it twice from him? Considering the down year that Peppers had (which I think was an abbaration; I still like the player), and the appearance that Dwight Freeney is a shadow of his former self and may be dealing with the Lis Franc injury all year, I think there might be room.

It was a coinflip between Peppers and Williams and simply went the more established player. While I do want to see Mario Williams do it again, I gave Julius Peppers a mulligan for that abysmal year he had. Mario Williams is #11 on my list.

Good stuff, but I believe your DE no. 9. Haloti Ngata, Baltimore, is a big body playing inside.

Haloti primarily plays the weakside end when the Ravens, but he does rotate inside every now and again. He'd be playing nose tackle if Kelly Gregg wasn't so good.

Pretty solid all the way around.

Agree that Williams is ahead of Peppers based off of last season.

I think AP is now rated as 1B for RB's (L.T. is 1A).

Also, Cromartie (SD) is probably the top rated CB is the entire NFL, but no lower than #3 IMO.


Good work!

Adrian was phenomenal, but it was one year and I'd like to see more consistency out of him. Let's not forget the massive season that Steven Jackson had the year before, but struggled this past year because of injuries to him and his O-Line.

Cromartie is a physical specimen and best ballhawk since Ed Reed, but I don't think that he's one of the top cover guys at the position - yet. He's shown flashes and definitely has the potential, but I want to see more before I put him up there with the cream of the top.

EDIT: Ain't NO WAY I'm putting Cro in the same class as Bailey and Newman - they've been tops since they got in the league. Nor has he done enough to put himself into that Scrabble, Mathis, Samuel level.

Good list.

No love for Dockett?

I was trying to squeeze Dockett up there, but couldn't at end or tackle.