Saquon Barkley takes major fall in CBS Sports Top 100 NFL players list for 2021
A trio of former Penn State standouts are among the best of the best at the next level entering the 2021 NFL season. Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com recently published his list of the top 100 NFL players for the upcoming year, and Penn State fans will be particularly interested in how it turned out.
Prisco is known to ruffle a few people’s feathers with his opinions on NFL players, and odds are some Penn State fans will not take too kindly to his ranking of former running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley took a major fall in Prisco’s ranking compared to his rank a year ago. Of course, to be fair, Barkley is coming off a season-ending ACL injury that cost him the majority of the 2020 season and that does come into some consideration when evaluating players. Until Barkley shows what he can do on the field again, it may be fair to suggest a significantly lower ranking, especially in a league that favors the passing game as much as the sport does these days.
Two other Penn Staters made the list ahead of Barkley, however. Wide receiver Chris Godwin, now with a Super Bowl ring, made the list again this season. But like Barkley, Godwin’s ranking dropped compared to a year ago.
Breaking the trend of falling in Prisco’s ranking was Allen Robinson. The former Penn State receiver moved up the top 100 list this season after being among the players to just miss the cut a year ago.
Here’s how Prisco ranked Penn State players in his list of the top 100 players in the NFL for 2021, and he had to say about each.
Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears
Sep 27, 2020; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson II (12) runs against Atlanta Falcons safety Damontae Kazee (27) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Rank: 46
What Prisco says: Playing in an offense limited by poor quarterback play — a theme of his career — he still caught 100 passes for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns. If Justin Fields is the real deal, Robinson will finally have a legit quarterback throwing him passes.
Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin (14) celebrates in the waning seconds during the 4th quarter of the Green Bay Packers 31-26 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship playoff game Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis.
Syndicated photo: PackersNews
Rank: 59
What Prisco says: He played just 12 games last season, so his numbers dropped from the previous year. He still caught 65 passes with seven touchdowns. He did fracture a finger that seemed to slow his fast start last season.
Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (far left) signals a touchdown as running back Saquon Barkley (26) rushes into the endzone in the third quarter. Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com.
Rank: 87
What Prisco says: He is coming off a torn ACL suffered in Week 2 last season, which limited him to 34 yards rushing for the year. He did have two impressive seasons to open his career, but can he get back to that same level he flashed as a rookie in 2018?
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