National Football League

NFL Top 100: Should Kyler Murray be above Russell Wilson?

Updated Aug. 15, 2022 6:41 p.m. ET

Any hierarchical sports list involving players is bound to create loads of controversy.

And that's exactly what the NFL's annual Top 100 countdown — as voted on by the players themselves — has done within the football community, after spots 100-51 were revealed en masse Sunday night.

The release was chock-full of surprises, and as is the case on the gridiron, no position got more attention than quarterback. And according to "The Herd" host Colin Cowherd, two rankings in particular were absolutely asinine.

"They've got Russell Wilson behind Kyler Murray," Cowherd said Monday. "On what planet would that be possible?

"Kyler Murray never got through a season without getting hurt. [He's played in] one playoff game — it was a disaster. He's never been better at the end of season as he has in the beginning, which is kind of the opposite of great players."

Kyler Murray ranks above Russell Wilson in Top 100 players of 2022

Colin Cowherd breaks down why players may have voted Kyler Murray ahead of Russell Wilson.

Cowherd was also quick to point out his previous advocacy of Murray, emphasizing that his take isn't biased.

"I'm the biggest Kyler Murray advocate. I defended him when that addendum came out in his contract. But this is the classic example of Russell Wilson is optimistic, religious, he's hopeful. And for a lot of players, that's too much the shield, that he's selling out.

"You know what I like? He wins a lot of games and gets you to the playoffs a lot. He carried the Seahawks' lousy defense the last three years. Maybe Kyler's highlights are cooler than Russell Wilson's. I think he throws the prettiest football in the league, but come on. Over Russell Wilson? Two Super Bowls? Man, players put a lot on cool. I put a lot on winning."

A nine-time Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro awardee in 2019, Wilson led Seattle to a dominant 43-8 victory over Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII.

He's also bested Murray in passing yards in two of the past three seasons (Murray's never surpassed 4,000 yards, which Wilson did in both 2019 and '20), and threw more TDs (25 vs. 24) and fewer INTs (six vs. 10) last season than the fourth-year dynamo.

Murray, on the other hand, topped the veteran in passing yards (3,787 vs. 3,113) and completion percentage (69.2% vs. 64.8%) in 2021. Both suited up for 14 games last season.