'Tis the season of polling.
While players funnel back into their facilities to work out and those around the NFL ready for the upcoming draft, the offseason is also a time to recalibrate the pecking order.
And how do we do that in sports? With polls, of course.
NFL Network is set to premiere its annual "Top 100" list – as voted on by current players -- later this month, and people are beginning to weigh in. As for defensive players, we could be seeing Jason Pierre-Paul near the top as he enters his third season.
Or so Willie McGinest thinks.
The former Pro Bowl linebacker and three-time Super Bowl champion himself ranked the Giants’ defensive end as the No. 1 defender in the NFL.
"People have to change their whole game plan around him," McGinest said of Pierre-Paul, who had 16.5 sacks and 86 tackles in 2011. "This guy is a monster. He plays the run, he gets after the quarterback, he does a lot, and he's still learning the game. His upside is tremendous. So I think he's the new kid on the block. He's the hot topic as far as defensive players go. I have a lot of respect for the other players -- they're still really great -- but this kid is on his way."
Meanwhile, Elliot Harrison recently released his head coach power rankings on NFL.com, and Tom Coughlin came in at No. 2, behind New England's Bill Belichick.
"Coughlin's genius is his ability to keep the eye, his roster's eye, on the prize, despite all obstacles," Harrison writes. "Last year's 6-6 start would've swayed other teams -- and lesser coaches -- from winning it all."
Last but not least, Marc Sessler looked at the best quarterbacks drafted in the last 10 years. Eli Manning, drafted first overall in 2004, was ranked No. 3 and trailed Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger, who was ranked No. 1.
Let us know what you think of the polls in the comments section below.
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