David Johnson, Cam Newton, Aaron Donald deserved top-10 slot in 'Top 100'

The "Top 100 Players of 2017" ends Monday night, with the 10 best players -- as voted on by the players themselves -- revealed on NFL Network at 8 p.m. ET. The top 10 names were announced Tuesday, giving us this list in alphabetical order:

» Odell Beckham, WR, New York Giants
» Le'Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
» Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
» Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
» Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
» Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
» Khalil Mack, DE, Oakland Raiders
» Von Miller, LB, Denver Broncos
» Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
» Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons

A strong case can be made for each one of these guys to be in the top 10, but is there another player who deserves a spot in the elite group? Who is the biggest snub of the top 10?

"The Top 100 Players of 2017" will conclude Monday, June 26 at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network. The conversation will continue on the "Top 100 Players Reactions" show, airing immediately after at 10 p.m. ET.

Scanning the names in the top 10, I'd rather have David Johnson than Le'Veon Bell. Johnson is very good as both a runner and a receiver, putting up epic numbers on a Cardinals team that was not as strong as the Steelers in 2016. Plus, Johnson has been more available than Bell, who has missed chunks of time due to both suspensions and injuries. Other names I'd consider adding into the top 10: Aaron Donald, among the most disruptive defenders I've seen, and Tyron Smith, who is as good a left tackle as there is in the league right now. This is a no-brainer, as Aaron Donald should be in the top 10. The Rams were a disaster in 2016, but Donald played up to his usual standard and beyond, getting eight sacks despite the fact that he was without Robert Quinn for much of the year. Donald is one of the premier interior linemen in the NFL who both makes everyone around him better while also producing stats on his own. That's a rare feat and deserves recognition. Maybe this is my fantasy football bias showing, but where's David Johnson? We saw a glimpse of what he could do near the end of his rookie season then turned it up a notch last year. Johnson tallied 100-plus scrimmage yards in 15 of 16 games, was a deadly threat as both a runner and a receiver, and was the Cardinals' sole source of offense for long stretches last year. And miss me with the "he only did it for one season" argument ... because Zeke. I'm amazed how Cam Newton went from the No. 1 guy in 2016. He was the reigning MVP, and now he can't even crack the top 40. Dak Prescott, who is wonderful, ranked ahead of him after a solid rookie season. Dude, this is a Nic Cage-level fall from grace. The dude won the Academy Award for "Honeymoon in Vegas" and then his career kind of hit the skids once he did "Windtalkers." Wait, hold on. He won the Oscar for "Leaving Las Vegas," which I guess was also good. But damn, I loved "Honeymoon in Vegas." Remember the part where a bunch of dudes dressed like Elvis jumped from the plane? That was easily prime Sarah Jessica Parker, too.

But that's not the point. Cam is clearly disrespected here. And you know what, I'm kind of glad, too. Now we have the easy Cam Newton vengeance narrative to run with this season. Cam's revenge will be a thing this year. And get ready for it, too. Because the Panthers are going to be great again, and Cam is going to be at the center of it. Then all of you will have to sit there and deal with it. Kind of like when Cage did "Snowden" and his career got back on track. I have no major quibbles with the names in the top 10. It's a good rundown of the players who impact the game the most. If I had to choose one player to be included, it would be Cardinals running back David Johnson. Yards from scrimmage is still a valuable yardstick to measure a player's value. Johnson led the NFL in that category last season. A lot of the running backs who lead in this category end up in the Hall of Fame. Marshal Yanda or Kelechi Osemele or Travis Frederick could be considered for this list, yet we know how much love offensive linemen get. If I had to do my top 10, it would go like this:

10) Odell Beckham or Johnson

9) Matt Ryan

8) Julio Jones

7) Ezekiel Elliott

6) Von Miller

5) Le'Veon Bell

4) Antonio Brown

3) Khalil Mack

2) Aaron Rodgers

1) Tom Brady