Biggest snubs in the NFL top 100 player rankings? Execs speak - ESPN

The list of truly great, transcendent, gold jacket-destined NFL players is short. But the list of really good current players is rather long, and sometimes because of age or circumstance, the lines between great and good are blurred for legends on the decline.

That's why the 2025 NFL Rank project celebrating the league's top 100 players has a healthy batch of snubs.

ESPN's NFL experts rated players based on performance expectations for the 2025 season in comparison to their peers. The project arrived about a month after we put a bow on our annual Top 10s project, in which NFL executives, coaches and scouts ranked the top players at each position entering 2025.

A review of the two rankings shows plenty of similarities in the order of each position — and a whole bunch of differences. We asked league personnel evaluators to peek at our rankings and nominate players who deserved to be included but weren't.

Joe Alt, LT, Los Angeles Chargers

The premier offensive tackle club is tough to crack, but Alt is knocking on the door.

Alt ranked fourth among tackles in pass-rush win rate (94.3%) while playing from the right side as a rookie. This year, Alt moves to left tackle due to Rashawn Slater's season-ending leg injury. League evaluators believe he can handle the switch — and thrive as a result. He's brimming with upside at 22 years old.

«He's already technically sound and tough and smart and he's still growing in his body,» an AFC executive said.

Jonathan Greenard, Edge, Minnesota Vikings

Greenard is making a compelling case to join the pantheon of top edge rushers. His 24.5 sacks over the past two seasons ranks seventh in the NFL. His 19.8% pass-rush win rate ranked in the top 10 among rushers in 2024, during which he added