Bookend defensive ends ranked in NFL’s Top 100

We are so close to the NFL season we can almost taste it! After the sour taste left in Los Angeles Chargers fans mouths after the last campaign, who could blame a Chargers fan for foaming out of the mouth?

So close, yet so far away. A couple of players ranked in NFL’s top 100 this year have reason to make fans believe that the Bolts will be back in the playoffs this year. The question comes to mind as the rankings are still coming out, did Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram come out too soon on this top 100 list?

Ingram ranked No. 76, and that means out of the players that were polled, they thought that the defensive force, known to fans as “Super Mel”, was ranked 76th out of 100 for the top players in the NFL. Is this accurate? Should he be higher? Should he be lower?

While it still remains to be seen who will consist of the top 30, lets take a look at his stats from last year.

Super Mel tallied 10.5 sacks in 2017, which tied for 15th in the NFL. Impressive, but to have 43 tackles as a defensive end is pretty darn good. Yes, he is listed as a linebacker, but lets be honest, he is more of a defensive end than a linebacker.

He was constantly pressuring the quarterback all year long with his other bookend, who we will get to in a minute. It’s hard to ignore the fact that Ingram is in his prime and making more noise and ranked only 76th.

Some players ranked higher than him that I would consider taking and putting below Melvin would be Ndamukong Suh, Aqib Talib, Case Keenum and maybe even DeMarcus Lawrence. I understand what Lawrence did last year, but to put a rookie at No. 34 is pretty intense, but I would put them on par with each other if anything else. Tallying 14.5 sacks is impressive, but we will see if Lawrence keeps it up.

Ingram’s sidekick, Joey Bosa, was nothing short of mind blowing last season. You could literally find him anywhere and everywhere on the field. With a never ending motor and an appetite that a Thanksgiving meal (4 tackles @ Cowboys that day) couldn’t fill, Bosa wreaked HAVOC on opposing offensive lineman using his speed and quick hands to make NFL tackles look foolish.

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Ranking 7th in sacks with 12.5, he shows no signs of slowing down and every sign of living up to the hype he was brought in with. Bosa also ranked second among listed defensive ends in total tackles with 54.

Not enough good things can be said about the second-year stud going into his third year. Along with his four forced fumbles, it was able to rank him 37th on the list.

So do we think this is fair? Time will tell as the list keeps coming into focus.

Ingram has put the work in and it shows that 76th may be just a little too low for the Pro-Bowl monster. As for Bosa, he should be ranked as maybe the second-best defensive end in football, next to division foe Kahlil Mack.

Unfortunately, as much as I love J.J. Watt, it’s hard to ignore the injury issues, and to see Watt ranked above Joey would be pretty insane. What do you think? Do they need more love, or do they need a shove? Is it possible the position is just right? Water cooler talk is the best for debate, that is FACT!