NFL Top 100 Players of 2012

NFL Top 100 Players of 2012
Season 2012
Aaron Rodgers, the #1 ranked player
No. of episodes	11
Release
Original network	NFL Network
Original release	April 28 (2012-04-28) – June 27, 2012 (2012-06-27)
Season chronology
← Previous 2011 Next → 2013

The NFL Top 100 Players of 2012 was the second season of the series. It ended with reigning NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers being ranked #1, while Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning was ranked #31. ^{[1] [2]}

Episode list

Episode No.	Air date	Numbers revealed
1	April 28	100–91
2	May 5	90–81
3	May 12	80–71
4	May 19	70–61
5	May 26	60–51
6	June 2	50–41
7	June 9	40–31
8	June 16	30–21
9	June 23	20–11
10	June 30	10–6
11	June 30	5–1

The list

Rank	Player	Position	2011 Team	2012 Team	Rank Change	Reference
1	Aaron Rodgers	Quarterback	Green Bay Packers		10	1
2	Drew Brees	Quarterback	New Orleans Saints		7	2
3	Calvin Johnson	Wide receiver	Detroit Lions		24	3
4	Tom Brady	Quarterback	New England Patriots		3	4
5	Darrelle Revis	Cornerback	New York Jets		3	5
6	DeMarcus Ware	Linebacker	Dallas Cowboys		6	6
7	Larry Fitzgerald	Wide receiver	Arizona Cardinals		7	7
8	Adrian Peterson	Running back	Minnesota Vikings		5	8
9	Haloti Ngata	Defensive tackle	Baltimore Ravens		8	9
10	Patrick Willis	Linebacker	San Francisco 49ers		13	10
11	Terrell Suggs	Linebacker	Baltimore Ravens		29	11
12	Maurice Jones-Drew	Running back	Jacksonville Jaguars		18	12
13	Jared Allen	Defensive end	Minnesota Vikings		67	13
14	Jimmy Graham	Tight end	New Orleans Saints		NR	14
15	Andre Johnson	Wide receiver	Houston Texans		8	15
16	Ed Reed	Safety	Baltimore Ravens		11	16
17	Justin Smith	Defensive end	San Francisco 49ers		NR	17
18	LeSean McCoy	Running back	Philadelphia Eagles		NR	18
19	Troy Polamalu	Safety	Pittsburgh Steelers		13	19
20	Ray Lewis	Linebacker	Baltimore Ravens		16	20
21	Rob Gronkowski	Tight end	New England Patriots		NR	21
22	Ray Rice	Running back	Baltimore Ravens		34	22
23	Wes Welker	Wide receiver	New England Patriots		27	23
24	Jason Pierre-Paul	Defensive end	New York Giants		NR	24
25	Arian Foster	Running back	Houston Texans		0	25
26	Julius Peppers	Defensive end	Chicago Bears		16	26
27	Clay Matthews	Linebacker	Green Bay Packers		8	27
28	Frank Gore	Running back	San Francisco 49ers		66	28
29	James Harrison	Linebacker	Pittsburgh Steelers		8	29
30	Ben Roethlisberger	Quarterback	Pittsburgh Steelers		11	30
31	Eli Manning	Quarterback	New York Giants		NR	31
32	Jahri Evans	Guard	New Orleans Saints		2	32
33	Matt Forte	Running back	Chicago Bears		NR	33
34	Tamba Hali	Defensive end	Kansas City Chiefs		30	34
35	Steve Smith	Wide receiver	Carolina Panthers		NR	35
36	Charles Woodson	Cornerback	Green Bay Packers		20	36
37	Steven Jackson	Running back	St. Louis Rams		1	37
38	Ndamukong Suh	Defensive tackle	Detroit Lions		13	38
39	Victor Cruz	Wide receiver	New York Giants		NR	39
40	Cam Newton	Quarterback	Carolina Panthers		NR	40
41	Matthew Stafford	Quarterback	Detroit Lions		NR	41
42	Jason Peters	Offensive tackle	Philadelphia Eagles		NR	42
43	Vernon Davis	Tight end	San Francisco 49ers		45	43
44	Jason Babin	Defensive end	Philadelphia Eagles	Philadelphia Eagles / Jacksonville Jaguars	41	44
45	Vonta Leach	Fullback	Baltimore Ravens		20	45
46	Champ Bailey	Cornerback	Denver Broncos		2	46
47	Mike Wallace	Wide receiver	Pittsburgh Steelers		NR	47
48	Devin Hester	Wide receiver	Chicago Bears		16	48
49	Maurkice Pouncey	Center	Pittsburgh Steelers		NR	49
50	Peyton Manning	Quarterback	Indianapolis Colts	Denver Broncos	48	50
51	Brian Urlacher	Linebacker	Chicago Bears		2	51
52	Von Miller	Linebacker	Denver Broncos		NR	52
53	Tony Gonzalez	Tight end	Atlanta Falcons		7	53
54	Brian Cushing	Linebacker	Houston Texans		NR	54
55	Patrick Peterson	Cornerback	Arizona Cardinals		NR	55
56	Greg Jennings	Wide receiver	Green Bay Packers		18	56
57	Trent Cole	Defensive end	Philadelphia Eagles		16	57
58	Jonathan Vilma	Linebacker	New Orleans Saints		21	58
59	Jake Long	Offensive tackle	Miami Dolphins		31	59
60	Darren McFadden	Running back	Oakland Raiders		38	60
61	Philip Rivers	Quarterback	San Diego Chargers		35	61
62	Justin Tuck	Defensive end	New York Giants		2	62
63	LaMarr Woodley	Linebacker	Pittsburgh Steelers		19	63
64	Logan Mankins	Guard	New England Patriots		25	64
65	Roddy White	Wide receiver	Atlanta Falcons		41	65
66	Earl Thomas	Safety	Seattle Seahawks		NR	66
67	Joe Staley	Offensive tackle	San Francisco 49ers		NR	67
68	Elvis Dumervil	Defensive end	Denver Broncos		NR	68
69	Carlos Rogers	Cornerback	San Francisco 49ers		NR	69
70	Michael Vick	Quarterback	Philadelphia Eagles		50	70
71	DeSean Jackson	Wide receiver	Philadelphia Eagles		42	71
72	Lance Briggs	Linebacker	Chicago Bears		20	72
73	Johnathan Joseph	Cornerback	Houston Texans		NR	73
74	Joe Flacco	Quarterback	Baltimore Ravens		16	74
75	Jason Witten	Tight end	Dallas Cowboys		39	75
76	Carl Nicks	Guard	New Orleans Saints	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	21	76
77	A. J. Green	Wide receiver	Cincinnati Bengals		NR	77
78	Derrick Johnson	Linebacker	Kansas City Chiefs		NR	78
79	Nnamdi Asomugha	Cornerback	Philadelphia Eagles		61	79
80	Jordy Nelson	Wide receiver	Green Bay Packers		NR	80
81	Vince Wilfork	Defensive tackle	New England Patriots		46	81
82	Joe Thomas	Offensive tackle	Cleveland Browns		39	82
83	Fred Jackson	Running back	Buffalo Bills		NR	83
84	Chris Long	Defensive end	St. Louis Rams		NR	84
85	NaVorro Bowman	Linebacker	San Francisco 49ers		NR	85
86	Darren Sproles	Running back	New Orleans Saints		NR	86
87	London Fletcher	Linebacker	Washington Redskins		NR	87
88	Michael Turner	Running back	Atlanta Falcons		46	88
89	Dwight Freeney	Defensive end	Indianapolis Colts		74	89
90	Hakeem Nicks	Wide receiver	New York Giants		NR	90
91	Tony Romo	Quarterback	Dallas Cowboys		19	91
92	John Kuhn	Fullback	Green Bay Packers		NR	92
93	Cortland Finnegan	Cornerback	Tennessee Titans	St. Louis Rams	NR	93
94	Marshawn Lynch	Running back	Seattle Seahawks		NR	94
95	Tim Tebow	Quarterback	Denver Broncos	New York Jets	NR	95
96	D'Qwell Jackson	Linebacker	Cleveland Browns		NR	96
97	Donald Penn	Offensive tackle	Tampa Bay Buccaneers		NR	97
98	Willis McGahee	Running back	Denver Broncos		NR	98
99	Ryan Kalil	Center	Carolina Panthers		NR	99
100	Chris Johnson	Running back	Tennessee Titans		87	100

References

1. "2012 NFL Top 100". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
2. Rosenthal, Gregg (2012-06-27). "Aaron Rodgers given No. 1 spot on 'Top 100' player list". NFL.com. Retrieved 2025-08-20.