We've all had it up to here with the NFL Top 100 rankings at this point, right? Well at least if you're a Cincinnati Bengals fan, that's how you should feel. Joe Burrow being a consensus top-five quarterback and ranking 44th is flat-out stupid, injuries included. Tee Higgins and Dexter Lawrence getting snubbed outright is even stupider.
So it's like a weird dilemma where I go, "As a writer, in the waking hours of consciousness I have on this planet, should I even give this oxygen?" In doing so, it validates the hastily-voted-upon-by-the-players list's questionable merits. See what I'm saying?
Alack, here we are. The NFL Top 100 is a hot-button debate topic, like it or not. Two of the Bengals' biggest names are freshly revealed to have just missed the cut.
If nothing else, this can be a fun reminder of how elite Tee and Sexy Dexy are in real actual life. Maybe we'll convert some nonbelievers along the way. Let the sermonizing commence!
Dexter Lawrence and Tee Higgins missed the NFL Top 100 cut
The NFL's official X/Twitter administrator revealed the 10 players who were closest to the Top 100 list and didn't quite get there. They were as follows:
- 110. Tyler Warren
- 109. Tee Higgins
- 108. Brian Branch
- 107. Devon Witherspoon
- 106. Jameson Williams
- 105. Dexter Lawrence
- 104. Chris Lindstrom
- 103. C.J. Stroud
- 102. Lane Johnson
- 101. Mike Evans
Talk about a seriously insulting list. I'm not insulted. I do not care. It does provide a little bit of bulletin board material for the likes of Higgins and Lawrence, though.
Since quarterbacks are always so buzzy, how much heavy lifting is C.J. Stroud's rookie year doing here? Stroud has regressed in the ensuing two seasons. He's won a playoff game in each of those three postseasons, but he threw four interceptions in a Divisional Round loss to the Patriots.
Placing Stroud above Higgins and Lawrence? Really? That alone is enough to nullify this list's validity.
A healthy Higgins plus Joe Burrow leads to elite production
Look, clearly injuries play a part in this top-100 survey. Tee Higgins had some scary concussion issues last season, and the year prior, he missed five games.
Nevertheless, Higgins tied for sixth in 2024 with 10 TD catches and had 11 more this past year. Those 21 TD grabs in that span rank fourth in the league behind only Bengals living legend Ja'Marr Chase, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Rams 2025 goal-to-go spam target, Davante Adams (ranked 53rd on latest NFL Top 100.
Higgins' touchdown total came in seven fewer games and 106 fewer targets than St. Brown, who ranked 20th last year and could be even higher here soon.
That elite production is proof positive that Higgins is easily among the best 100 players in the NFL. If he can put together a healthy 16 or 17 games in 2026, and Burrow can stay in the lineup, don't be shocked when Higgins leads the NFL in receiving TDs. He's that good.
Lawrence will live down the lie of his 105th-place ranking
If the Bengals' last-ranked run defense improves as much as expected with Dexter Lawrence at nose tackle, he should get a bump into next year's NFL Top 100. But there's so much more to it.
It's asinine — or, to invoke Stephen A. Smith, asi-ten, asi-eleven, asi-twelve — that Lawrence is not regarded by his peers among the 100 best of 'em. Between his high double-team rate, the uncommon pass rush ability he has as a 350-pound mountain of a man, and his space-eating presence versus the run, Sexy Dexy is an undeniable force multiplier in the trenches.
Thanks to Burrow and the Bengals' elite offense, Lawrence won't have to carry the load like he did with the New York Giants. He won't be playing from behind with all the pressure on him. With fresher legs and a change of scenery to a far better playing environment, Lawrence has a great chance for his third All-Pro team.
Cincinnati traded the 10th overall pick for Lawrence, scoring him on a team-friendly contract through 2028 to boot. Once he balls out in 2026, we're bound to see him back at the negotiating table for more money.
Until yet another contract spat transpires with the Bengals front office, though, we ought to enjoy Lawrence while we have him. By all accounts, he's seized a leadership role since arriving from the New York Giants, and was already keen to beat back any notion of a down year in 2025.
Looks like the perception that Lawrence is on the decline has pervaded the minds of his fellow players based on this NFL Top 100 list. That will soon change.
Come back to this space at this time next year, dear reader, and tell me with a straight face that Lawrence isn't worthy of clearing such an easy top-100 bar. Fearless prediction: You will not be able to.
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