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DBN Community NFL Reshuffle: Pre-Draft Player Rankings Results and Analysis

The results are in and a surprise name tops the list.

By Jon Stinchcomb
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

After DBN readers rated 162 and wrote in another 27 of the most prominent and productive players from the entire league, we compiled the results into individual composite ratings and had ourselves pre-draft player rankings with 189 of the very best the NFL has to offer.

Considering the format we based the ratings on, the logical conclusion was that a quarterback would emerge at the top of the list. The obvious early favorites were Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck. Yet, one player's prowess on the gridiron was so universally accepted as elite among our survey respondents, it didn't matter that he did his work from the WR position.

As you may have guessed from the featured photograph above, that elite WR is none other than Megatron himself, Calvin Johnson. The expected quarterbacks, Rodgers and Luck, quickly followed. Once again, however, another name from a skill position, this time on defense, split the two and finished in third: the Browns' own lockdown corner Joe Haden.

Additionally, after the first two, there was a shockingly large drop off at QB before the next few, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning. Those three are elite, but much older. The younger generation of QBs in their mid-20s, such as Cam Newton and Russell Wilson, all finished after the older elites.

What's not much of a surprise from a survey of Browns fans is that there was an understandable amount of Cleveland homerism. The ratings weren't egregious in any individual ballot, though when averaged among the whole sample, the skew in favor of Browns players was considerable, but to be expected.

You can filter the rankings by both position and age.

Don't get too caught up in these rankings. While they do offer a great look into what DBN readers value in a franchise cornerstone NFL player, it's not the definitive be-all and end-all. These are based on the player's average rating, not what his average draft position would be in our game. They will merely serve as an optional guide for our managers moving forward.

DBN Community NFL Reshuffle Draft

The draft order is now finalized as shown below, randomized via RANDOM.ORG. It will be a snake format, inverting with each successive round.

  1. Royce Groff (Grimflick)
  2. OhioCityBrownsBeliever
  3. Barnestorm
  4. PaduaDSP
  5. NorthHillRowdy
  6. Haden Dawg
  7. James Hat
  8. aszabo1
  9. The Licensed Optimist
  10. a2342432a
  11. Mudville
  12. Matt Wood
  13. Crawford_T
  14. Manly and Loving It
  15. pt_999
  16. Legoman0721
  17. corey.freuen
  18. dsabin
  19. Jon Stinchcomb
  20. Melted Pear
  21. troy145
  22. Stigosaurus
  23. theghostofseasonsfuture
  24. HenryDawg
  25. Brownie's Year
  26. rufio
  27. farmfest
  28. Brocolis154033
  29. Bronx Cheer
  30. tmptplayer
  31. TuckJob
  32. Tdawg1946

The next step is hammering out a date and time for the first several rounds.

The early suggestions prefer holding them on a Sunday. Depending on attendance and availability, it's possible that it could be held over the course of multiple days.

Here's how it will work: After a date and time is decided, the draft will open at that time in a labeled live thread. The manager at first overall, Royce Groff, will make his selection in a comment in that thread at that time. Immediately after seeing that selection, the next manager, OhioCityBrownsBeliever, will make his pick the same way. This process will continue until all of the pre-determined rounds for that thread are completed.

With 32 people, not everyone will be available at the exact same times. This process allows for managers to check back throughout the day and make their pick when they're up.

Being considerate of your fellow managers will be key, however. So there will be some rules regarding how long the group will wait on a single pick before an automatic selection is made. That time limit will be determined by the group and may be changed in the later rounds.

Keep in mind again, if you're interested in the game, but didn't make it in, you're still completely welcome and encouraged to be apart of the discussion as the draft plays out. That's where the fun is. All of the live threads will be entirely open.

So, how do you feel about these pre-draft player rankings? Who got slighted? Who's overrated?

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