NFL Network's 'Top 100 Players of 2021' begins Sunday

For the 11th consecutive year, current NFL players have voted to determine the Top 100 players in the NFL.

Premiering Sunday, August 15, he Top 100 Players of 2021 counts down the top players in the NFL as determined solely by the players themselves.

This season, the Top 100 Players of 2021 airs during three consecutive weekends in August immediately following live preseason games on NFL Network, beginning Sunday, August 15 with No. 100-41 revealed over the course of six hours starting at 4:00 PM ET. The countdown continues on Sunday, August 22 at 4:00 PM ET with No. 40-11 revealed over the course of three hours, and concludes with a two-hour finale on Saturday, August 28 at 4:00 PM ET revealing the top 10 players. At 6:00 PM ET, the Top 100 Players of 2021 Reaction Show airs, recapping this year's edition of the series.

The most recent member of the Giants to be named to the Top 100 Players list is running back Saquon Barkley, who was chosen by his peers following each of his first two seasons. In 2019, Barkley was voted the No. 16 player in the league following his stellar rookie campaign. After rushing for over 1,000 yards for the second consecutive season in 2019 (in just 13 games), he earned the No. 31 slot in last year's rankings.

Back in February, both cornerback James Bradberry (No. 84) and defensive lineman Leonard Williams (No. 97) made Pro Football Focus' top 100 players from the 2020 season. The analytics site then went on to rank Bradberry No. 47 on its list of top 50 players in the NFL right now earlier this summer.

The Top 100 Players of 2021 Episode Schedule

Sunday, August 15 No. 100-41 4:00 PM ET

Sunday, August 22 No. 40-11 4:00 PM ET

Saturday, August 28 No. 10-1 4:00 PM ET

Saturday, August 28 Reaction Show 6:00 PM ET

Joe Judge 'very encouraged' by Saquon Barkley's return to practice

His workload was light, and he did nothing extraordinary or memorable, but Saquon Barkley did enough in his return to practice to impress his head coach.

"Actually, it was really encouraging," Joe Judge said of his star running back's training camp debut yesterday. "He got out there with the team, was moving and more and more comfortable with it. I don't speak directly for him and how he feels."

Barkley participated on the same level in today's full pads practice. Judge said the Giants will "back him out" of tomorrow's workout. And Barkley likely will not take part in the joint practices with the Cleveland Browns next week.

But Barkley, who spent the first two weeks of camp continuing to rehab his surgically repaired right knee and was activated yesterday off the physically unable to perform/active list, continues to make steady progress. Both the Giants and Barkley hope he will play in the season opener on Sept. 12 vs. Denver, but that decision won't be made for a while. Barkley is still taking relative baby steps in practice.

"(It is) more an extension of the rehab," Judge said. "We've got to make sure that we control not only just what he does on the field, but then also the repetitions and the volume he gets within each period, so it's something we're going to keep an eye on and see how his body responds. We'll look to increase it as we go through this process, but in terms of yesterday, I was very encouraged with how he came out and had a good day of work. Good excitement for a lot of people to have him back."

Standouts: Holmes, McKinney highlight the day

With the preseason opener on the horizon, the New York Giants have started to shift gears from installations to roster decisions.

They have until 4 p.m. ET next Tuesday to release five players to reach the 85-man limit. A week after that, clubs must reduce rosters to 80 players. The following week, they will reach the in-season limit of 53 players on the active roster.

"I tell our guys all the time, when they come in, the depth chart is really blank," coach Joe Judge said before Tuesday's practice. "As we start practicing and they start putting together things on tape, you start filling in names based off of what they're doing. That can change every day. It's really just cumulative. It's what you do consistently day in and day out. Some guys may flash one day, some guys may flash another day, but ultimately you want to go ahead and measure who's consistently dependable, who's productive for you on the field. But in terms of filling those names in, yeah, the answer is as we start practicing, the names start getting filled in. Now, they're not written in permanent marker, so at any point, based on who is playing, the best get in that spot."

With that in mind, here are standout players from Tuesday's practice:

CB Darnay Holmes

After making the play of training camp (so far) on a diving interception during Saturday's practice, the second-year pro got his hands on a few more passes. Holmes grabbed an interception during 7-on-7 drills and later broke up another pass during 1-on-1 work.

"Camp has been an ongoing process for me," the former fourth-round pick said. "I've been in the slot more, and they're throwing new things at me, so I've got to be able to respond to different things. But knowing where I'm supposed to be going, I'm just taking it day by day."

Click here to view the rest of Tuesday's practice standouts

Live Stream: Defense shines on Tuesday

The defense put on a show during Tuesday's training camp practice.

Two members of the 2020 draft class had especially strong performances, as cornerback Darnay Holmes and safety Xavier McKinney each pulled down an interception, while several other young defensive backs stood out as well.

Check out Bob Papa and two-time Super Bowl champion and Giants legend Justin Tuck on 'Training Camp Report presented by Investors Bank' as they shine a light on the defense Tuesday.