ESPN's annual ranking project of NFL players, #NFLRank, is being unveiled this week, and all four Buffalo Bills players in the top 100 have already been revealed.
Defensive tackle Marcell Dareus (No. 75), cornerback Stephon Gilmore (tied for No. 85), wide receiver Sammy Watkins (tied for No. 93) and running back LeSean McCoy (tied for No. 97) received what most would consider fair rankings based on the votes of a panel of more than 50 ESPN analysts, reporters and statisticians.
But what about the Bills' other stars who fell outside of the top 100? We'll let you in on the results of the voting. Buffalo had a few other players who came close: guard Richie Incognito (No. 123), defensive lineman Kyle Williams (No. 132), offensive tackle Cordy Glenn (No. 141) and center Eric Wood (No. 193).
Then there's quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who landed at No. 230. His ranking will spark some debate because Taylor finished as the 24th-best quarterback in the list, or lower than where most Bills fans would rank him compared to his peers.
Here's who finished above Taylor in the voting:
Inside the top 100 (alphabetical order; stay tuned for their final positions): Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Andrew Luck, Eli Manning, Cam Newton, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, Russell Wilson.
Outside the top 100: Andy Dalton (No. 112), Derek Carr (No. 122), Matt Ryan (No. 154), Joe Flacco (No. 165), Matthew Stafford (No. 180), Jameis Winston (No. 206), Kirk Cousins (No. 208), Alex Smith (No. 212), Blake Bortles (No. 220), Teddy Bridgewater (No. 221), Marcus Mariota (No. 226), Jay Cutler (No. 229), Taylor (No. 230).
Surely, some will have a bone to pick with a few of the names voted ahead of Taylor. And in some cases, valid arguments can be made about why Taylor should rank higher.
Here are some key statistical points:
Taylor had a better quarterback rating (99.4) last season than Newton, Stafford, Smith, Roethlisberger, Rivers, Manning, Rodgers, Cutler, Carr, Ryan, Bridgewater, Bortles, Winston, Flacco (injured) and Luck (injured).
Taylor had a better QBR (67.8) last season than Smith, Newton, Rodgers, Brady, Bridgewater, Stafford, Ryan, Cutler, Manning, Rivers, Winston, Carr, Luck (injured), Bortles and Flacco (injured).
Taylor had a better touchdown-to-interception ratio (3.33) last season than Palmer, Brees, Smith, Cousins, Manning, Stafford, Carr, Rivers, Bortles, Cutler, Bridgewater, Winston, Roethlisberger, Ryan, Luck (injured) or Flacco (injured).
Taylor had a better completion percentage (63.7 percent) last season than Manning, Carr, Rodgers, Newton, Bortles, Winston or Luck (injured).
So why is Taylor ranked so low? Voters likely saw him as unproven over the long haul, having started only 14 games in the NFL. Yet that's also true of Winston and Mariota -- and relatively true for Carr, Bortles and Bridgewater -- so Taylor's draft status and overall profile probably has something to do with it too.
There's also the issue of wins, especially playoff wins. All of the quarterbacks within the top 100 have led their teams to postseason victories at some point in their careers, as have Ryan, Flacco, Smith and Cutler from those outside of the top 100. Brady, Brees, Manning, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Wilson and Flacco have Super Bowl rings, and Newton has led his team to a Super Bowl appearance.
Taylor has a Super Bowl ring from his days as Flacco's backup, but as an NFL starter his only showing to this point is the Bills' 8-8 record last season and a failed run at the playoffs. That's hardly Taylor's fault, but the lack of time on the big stage clearly hurt Taylor's ranking in the eyes of the voters.
Bills fans will need to live with Taylor's ranking for now, but if his arrow on the field continues to point up, it's hard not to see him climbing quickly up the ladder when votes are tabulated again next summer.
And while we're on the topic of Bills players who could have been higher on the list, where will cornerback Ronald Darby and defensive end Jerry Hughes land in 2017 after not finding themselves in the top 240 in this voting?