The Lead
The NFL unveiled the first portion of its Top 100 rankings on Sunday, with two Broncos stars earning coveted spots on the list.
The "The Top 100 Players of 2021" rankings is a peer-based honor — the result of an annual league-wide poll distributed to active players. In the first portion of a three-part rollout, the NFL revealed the top players of 2021 that fell between No. 100 and No. 41 on this year's list.
Tackle Garett Bolles made his first appearance in the rankings, coming in at No. 82 overall.
Bolles is entering his fourth NFL season, and earned his first NFL Top 100 entry following a breakout 2020 campaign in which he allowed zero sacks.
The next Bronco to earn an entry on the 2021 NFL Top 100 was safety Justin Simmons, who entered the ranking at No. 45.
This marks Simmons' first time on the NFL Top 100 rankings. Simmons was selected to his first Pro Bowl last season following an impressive defensive campaign in which he recorded a career-high five interceptions.
Below the Fold
Pro Football Focus gave CB Pat Surtain II a 94.8 grade in his impressive NFL preseason debut against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday. That rating was the highest assigned to any cornerback in the league during Week 1 of the preseason.
The rookie corner made his preseason debut on Saturday and wasted no time showing the league exactly what he is capable of. The ninth-overall pick for the Broncos in this year's NFL Draft, Surtain's first preseason NFL action included a pass breakup and a pick-six.
