Broncos CB Harris: All-Pros, not the NFL Top 100, earn you the HOF
May 17, 2017, 9:44 PM | Updated: 9:45 pm
Season one of the “The Top 100: NFL’s Greatest Players” first aired on the NFL Network in 2011, the same year Chris Harris Jr caught on with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent.
Since then, a Broncos player has been on the annual best-of list 34 times, including a No. 1 ranking for Peyton Manning in 2014 after a record-breaking season the previous year.
However, until last season, no Denver defensive back had graded higher than 46 (Champ Baily, 2012).
This 2016 season of the series was also the first time Harris, who since 2012 allowed the fewest yards per coverage snap in the NFL, cracked in the Top 100 — landing at No. 52.
On Tuesday, the three-time Pro Bowler and 2017 First-Team All-Pro dropped 11 positions.
But the top-ranked cornerback in the NFL last season according to Pro Football Focus shrugged off the snub, taking to Twitter to say:
Im getting All Pro not tripping about any rankings .
— Chris Harris (@ChrisHarrisJr) May 16, 2017
And the “No Fly Zone” member reiterated that stance on with 104.3 The Fan’s “The Drive” on Wednesday.
“We all know that show, it’s a joke, really. I guess it’s popularity or whatever, but it is what it is,” Harris said. “As long as I keep getting voted All-Pro every year, Pro Bowl every year, that’s the main thing I’m really focusing on.”
Harris said he’s not sure how “come up with this stuff,” brushing off the program as “just TV” and saying it’s the All-Pro honors he’s more focused on.
“That’s the main goal. Being in the ‘Top 100’ doesn’t put you in the Hall of Fame. All-Pros do. That’s what I focus on trying to get,” Harris said.
All-time Broncos on the NFL Network’s ‘Top 100’ list:
2011 – Champ Bailey, 48; Brandon Lloyd, 58;
2012 – Champ Bailey, 46; Peyton Manning, 50; Von Miller, 52; Elvis Dumervil, 68; Tim Tebow, 95; Willis McGahee, 98
2013 – Peyton Manning, 2; Von Miller, 9; Wes Welker, 44; Champ Bailey, 53; Demaryius Thomas, 68;
2014 – Peyton Manning, 1; Demaryius Thomas, 49; DeMarcus Ware, 56; Wes Welker, 73; Von Miller, 76; Aqib Talib, 79; T.J. Ward, 82; Louis Vasquez, 97
2015 – Peyton Manning, 5; Demaryius Thomas, 20; Von Miller, 33; Julius Thomas, 45; DeMarcus Ware, 87; Emmanuel Sanders, 95
2016 – Von Miller, 15; Aqib Talib, 34; DeMarcus Ware, 36; Chris Harris Jr, 52; Demaryius Thomas, 62; T.J. Ward, 68; Emmanuel Sanders, 74
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.
