This week, ESPN began the rollout of their annual series that features top-10 rankings for every position in the NFL voted on anonymously by scouts, team executives, and coaches from around the league. It’s one of the best series they put out on the calendar and with it comes the unsurprising discourse about who got what wrong and how they should have voted, etc., etc.
I normally don’t have many grievances with these rankings each year because they normally are pretty good about the consensus getting
the majority of players correctly, but sometimes we get a glimpse of just how different those in NFL circles view some players as opposed to fans on the outside.
This year, I have to come to the defense of a Chargers player who was an EGREGIOUS snub from their latest set of rankings and that’s edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu who is coming off a breakout season in 2025 that saw him rank sixth in the NFL in sacks (13.5) and tied for fourth in tackles for loss (20).
In ESPN’s compiled rankings, those surveyed did not include Tuli in their top 10. That is probably a bit questionable but in the end, not that big of a deal. It was his first and only breakout year, after all. No, the egregiousness begins in the honorable mention and “received votes” sections where Tuli was COMPLETELY SNUBBED FROM!
After the top 10, ESPN compiled three more players as honorable mention selections. Then they listed six more names, all of whom at least received one vote. That’s 19 total pass rushers and Tuli was not one of them.
I don’t even know what to say at this point.
