Putting together a Top 100 list without getting some intense feedback from around the league is almost impossible, but that didn’t stop CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco from giving it a go with his recent Top 100 Players for the 2023 Season list.
The New Orleans Saints are in a weird spot with these types of lists as they have a lot of players that are either too young to earn a spot on the list or some players later in their career that might get overlooked because of age.
Rising stars Chris Olave and Alontae Taylor will be looking to become mainstays in the coming years. The team’s best players, Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis, will fight to keep their star power afloat. Michael Thomas will need to fight to get his name back in the conversation after a couple years muddled by injury.
Here are the Saints that made the 2023 list from Pete Prisco and his reasoning behind it, some decisions might leave you scratching your head:
72. WR Chris Olave
In only nine starts, he had 72 catches and averaged 14.5 yards per catch. He was limited by a concussion last season; otherwise he might have been the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.
81. S Tyrann Mathieu
After a so-so 2021 season for the Chiefs, he was back to playing at a high level last season in his first with the Saints. His versatility is what makes him such a special player.
88. RB Alvin Kamara
He remains a good threat as both a runner and receiver, but his numbers have really gone down in the passing game in recent years. Here’s an amazing stat: he’s never rushed for 1,000 yards in a season.
Honorable Mentions
CB Marshon Lattimore
DE Cameron Jordan
LB Demario Davis
Analysis
It’s good to see Olave getting some good recognition around the league for his stellar rookie campaign, but overall these selections were a little confusing from Prisco.
Mathieu was a surprising name to see in the list, but the argument is there. He had a rough start to his time back home in New Orleans, but finished very strong. Pro Football Focus graded out his 2022 season as his best since 2015.
Kamara is certainly one of the top-100 players in the NFL, but given his looming suspension it was kind of surprising to see him listed. It’s hard to imagine that he’ll end up in the list at the end of the year.
The most questionable of any decision made was leaving Demario Davis off of the top 100 list entirely and putting him as an honorable mention. Davis has done nothing to show that he isn’t still one of the best linebackers in the league and he still deserves to talked about as such. Lattimore and Jordan were more understandable to see in the honorable mention section.
