Chargers DE Melvin Ingram makes NFL Top 100 for first time

Chargers’ Melvin Ingram lands on NFL’s ‘Top 100 Players’ list of 2018.

Melvin Ingram has been in the NFL for six years (excluding the upcoming season).

Up until last season, Ingram had never been to the Pro Bowl. Check that off his list. He’s also never made NFL’s Top 100 Players list. That just changed, too.

Ingram was voted No. 76 overall. Even though this is a popularity contest and shouldn’t be taken too seriously, it’s still a solid honor for the former first-round pick.

Quite frankly, Ingram should be ranked way higher on their list. He was one half of the NFL’s top pass-rushing duo last season. For the third year in a row, Ingram played and started in all 16 games. He finished the 2017 season with 10.5 sacks, tied for the most in his career, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. He has 29 total sacks from 2015-17.

And it’s not just about the sack numbers. He was a terror every time he stepped onto the field–and he was on the field a lot in 2017. Ingram had the fifth-most quarterback pressures among edge rushers, as noted by Pro Football Focus. He started gaining steam the previous two years, but it’s fair to say that he officially became an elite pass rusher last season. Ingram always had the potential, but he struggled to stay healthy earlier on his career. Also, a switch to Gus Bradley’s 4-3 scheme, which didn’t make Ingram drop into coverage like we were used to seeing, did wonders.

Ingram was the first Charger selected. I expect to see a few more of his teammates to be announced in the coming weeks, including favorites QB Philip Rivers, WR Keenan Allen, CB Casey Hayward and DE Joey Bosa, and maybe some sleepers in RB Melvin Gordon and LT Russell Okung.