Four Steelers Ranked In NFL's Top 100
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) - With one of the NFL's best offenses in 2014, it should come as no surprise that three members of that unit are in the top 25 of the NFL's Top 100 Players.
The list, compiled by CBS Sports NFL Writer Pete Prisco, ranked the Top 100 players in the NFL.
With the Steelers offensive compiling the second most total yards in the 2014 season, it should come as no surprise that the three biggest contributors to that effort are ranked highly on the list.
The highest ranked Steelers is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is the number 15th overall player after throwing for 4,952 yards and 32 touchdowns last year.
Wide receiver Antonio Brown is the next Steelers player to appear on the list as he received the 20th overall ranking. Brown was on the receiving end of a lot of those 4,952 yards Roethlisberger threw for last year as he caught 129 passes for 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The final offensive player for the Steelers to appear on the list is running back Le'Veon Bell at number 23. Bell had his breakout year in 2014 finishing second in the league in rushing with 1,361 yards. He also led all running backs in receiving yards with 854, while finding the endzone a total of 11 times.
The only defensive player from the Steelers to make his way onto the list was middle linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who Prisco ranked as the league's 87th best player. Prisco points out that Timmons made his first Pro Bowl last year and was a major contributor with 132 combined tackles and two sacks.
The number one player in the NFL according to Prisco may come as a bit of a surprise since most fans of the league would just assume it's a quarterback. Prisco went instead with Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt saying he's so much better than everyone else at his position that he earned the designation and might even be "a once-in-a-generation defensive player."
Watt had 20.5 sacks last season to go along with 78 combined tackles, four forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and one interception.
Watt also scored five touchdowns for the Texans in 2014, one on an interception, one on a fumble recovery and three on the offensive side of the ball when the team used him in the redzone.