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Pro Football Focus compiles a Top 101 players list every offseason, much like the NFL Network does a top 100. Having put together their list for the 2013 season, there are four Arizona Cardinals players that made the list -- actually three plus one that played for Arizona in 2013. The players are Tyrann Mathieu, Karlos Dansby (now a member of the Cleveland Browns), Patrick Peterson and Calais Campbell.
The lowest on the list was the impact rookie Mathieu at number 84.
Mathieu picked up 12 quarterback disruptions, 18 defensive stops, two picks and six pass breakups in a season that saw him making plays all over the field.
They credit him for 14 broken up passes, the most at his position.
A truly eye catching display from Dansby who certainly earned his big money move to Cleveland. A strong blitzer with great instincts for the ball in coverage Dansby excelled on every down after being unceremoniously dumped by Miami.
We saw how fantastic he was, regardless of how some feel about his departure. He was an impact player on the field and was a huge part of the team's defensive success.
While we were impressed with Peterson, there was some criticism thrown his way as he allowed seven touchdowns and had one particularly bad game against Kendall Wright. Yet no cornerback is perfect and the good more than outweighed the bad when it came to Peterson’s performance in 2013. One of the few corners asked to track a team’s top receiver, Peterson held up to the challenge well, allowing just 54.4% of passes into his coverage to be complete.
The best player on the list was Calais Campbell, who was number 19 on the list.
According to PFF, he started slowly, but turned it on in the last 12 game. He posted at least four QB disruptions in eight different games.
Finishing second overall in our 3-4 defensive end rankings Campbell continued to show his development from pass rushing pest into complete every down weapon, as able to make plays in the run game as he is to cause problems for passers. Particularly strong in the second half of the season, and if he can keep that level up for a whole season then the top 10 awaits.
Impact players that did not make the list were Andre Ellington (although his limited role for much of the season likely impacted that), John Abraham and Daryl Washington.
Are these four players deserving? Are they too low, too high or both? Should anyone else have made the list?
