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NFL reveals Bills-less Top 10 Players list and Josh Allen is better than nine of them

Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen deserves to rank a lot higher than No. 12 overall in the annual NFL Top 100.

Ralph Ventre

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) and Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95).
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) and Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones (95). / Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Patrick Mahomes has three Super Bowl titles and is the reigning Big Game MVP.

When it comes to the NFL's No. 2 player, however, it's hard, if not impossible, to dismiss the case for Buffalo Bills unicorn Josh Allen. In the usually-puzzling NFL Top 100 voting results, Allen, who was a Top 5 MVP finalist in 2023, landed in the No. 12 overall spot.

NFL Media revealed the names of the Top 10 finishers with the order to be announced on Friday, August 2 and there are a few head-scratchers ranked ahead of Buffalo's franchise field general, including three edge rushers, a defensive tackle and a 36-year-old offensive tackle. Really? An offensive lineman in the twilight of his career ranked over a generational quarterback in his prime? That is downright offensive. What's next? Ranking a fullback ahead of Allen?

If this were a lifetime achievement award, then maybe Trent Williams belongs in the Top 10, but isn't it a ranking of where the players are right now.

With all due respect, TJ Watt, Chris Jones, Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett are all elite talents and exceptional performers. They also possess game-changing ability, but none of them, simply by the nature of the positions they play, can affect the outcome of a game more than Allen.

As the quarterback, and a record setting one at that, Allen touches the ball on every offensive snap. He can move the chains and score points almost at will.

The last time I checked, the object of the game is to score touchdowns and no NFL player has done that better than Allen since the 2018 first-round pick entered the league. No player in history has accounted for more total touchdowns over the first six seasons of a career than Allen, taking the title away from Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino.

Allen totaled 40+ touchdowns for the fourth year in a row this past fall, an unprecedented achievement. In 2023, he passed for 29 touchdowns and reached the end zone 15 times on the ground. The 15 rushing TDs are one shy of the single-season club record held by late Gold Jacket running back OJ Simpson.

Allen showed his ability to influence the outcome of games more than ever last year while carrying the Bills to a fourth consecutive division title under incredibly challenging circumstances.

With the cyborg of a quarterback fighting through a shoulder injury during the season's second half, Allen kept the ship afloat while his offensive coordinator was fired and his No. 1 receiver disappeared down the stretch. Buffalo won their final five regular season games, including the finale in Miami.

RELATED: Forgotten WR proves Josh Allen doesn't need Stefon Diggs

It's also noteworthy that Allen outperformed NFL MVP Lamar Jackson in most key statistical categories last year and that's without even taking the huge disparity in playoffs numbers into account. Allen totaled more pass yards, more touchdowns passes, and more rushing touchdowns, all while taking 13 fewer sacks.

Mahomes is in a class of his own, but Allen is knocking on the door. If not No. 2, the Bills' three-time NFL MVP finalist is definitely higher than No. 12 when ranking the game's superstars. If there are any general managers who would choose 11 players ahead of Allen if they could re-draft today, they likely won't be general managers for much longer.

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Ralph Ventre
RALPH VENTRE

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