Executives and coaches audit NFL Rank: Hits and misses of top 100 - ESPN

In an NFL landscape where every debate must be embraced, why not let a couple of rankings duke it out, too?

Monday's NFL Rank project saw ESPN ask a panel of our NFL experts to rate players based on performance expectations for the 2023 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 2023.

A review of the two rankings shows plenty of similarities in the order of each position — and a whole bunch of differences. We took some of the most significant points of debate and the league's hot-button questions about the 2023 campaign to our network of NFL insiders, and that group weighed in on the finer points:

(All ranks reflect 2023 NFL Rank placement.)

There are so many options here, so let's go with some of the less obvious ones.

Starting at cornerback, Houston's Derek Stingley Jr. (unranked) has major pedigree as a 2022 No. 3 pick. He was overshadowed last season by the banner rookie performance of Sauce Gardner (No. 14), who was taken one spot after him by the Jets.

«He's a match in [new Texans coach DeMeco Ryans'] system, and watching them, even though they aren't as good [as the Jets], his talent will shine through,» an NFC executive said of Stingley. «He's kind of lost in Houston. You're going to get a good player there, playing to the billing we all thought.»

Other popular under-the-radar names are Buffalo pass-rusher Greg Rousseau (unranked) — «He'll have double-digit sacks this year, easy,» an AFC scout said — and Baltimore rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers, about whom an NFC exec said, «Watching him, I thought, 'Wow, he has a chance to turn some things