CBSSports.com released Pete Prisco's top 100 players for the 2020 season earlier this week, beating all of the other web sites to the punch. As is typically the case during the offseason, sites release these kind of pieces as talking points.
And man, has Prisco's list created a stir, especially among Steelers fans. The reason? Prisco has four Steelers among his top 100, but All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is not among them.
That elicited an immediate reaction from former Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden, who now works with Prisco at the site.
.@steelers fans, my colleague @PriscoCBS left Minkah off his top 100 🤦🏾♂️. #HereWeGo #Wrong https://t.co/l7d9UtjQLw
— Bryant McFadden (@BMac_SportsTalk) May 20, 2020
If that wasn't enough, Fitzpatrick himself then chimed in on Friday.
No one agrees w you. But i appreciate the fuel https://t.co/Bdn0JZfWE1
— Minkah Fitzpatrick (@minkfitz_21) May 22, 2020
Fitzpatrick is right. There really isn't anyone who agrees with Prisco that Fitzpatrick isn't one of the top 100 players in the NFL, hence his All-Pro status.
Prisco has six other safeties ranked in his top-100, led by the Chiefs Tyrann Mathieu, who comes in at No. 34, one spot behind Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward.
He also includes the Vikings' Harrison Smith (37), Jets' Jamal Adams (42), Chargers' Derwin James (49), Justin Simmons of the Broncos (78) and Kevin Byard of the Titans (94).
All are high-level players and certainly deserving of top-100 status. And that's one of the issues with lists like this. You're bound to leave someone off. After all, there are 1,700 NFL players each season, so the top 100 is the top 6 percent of the league.
That's an elite group. And this is Prisco's opinion. It doesn't make it a fact.
As for the Steelers he had on the list, he had T.J. Watt at No. 16, Heyward at 33, Bud Dupree at 60 and JuJu Smith-Schuster at 84.
Fitzpatrick, Ben Roethlisberger and David DeCastro were among his large group of players who just missed the list.
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