To trade, or not, Von Miller for an NFL ‘Top 100’ top 10 player

According to his peers, Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller was the second-best player in the NFL in 2016, behind just New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

And the honor is not without merit for the five-time All-Pro, whom Pro Football Focus graded (91.1) as the Broncos top defender it is front eight and third on the unit, behind only Aqib Talib (91.3) and Chris Harris Jr (92.9).

Miller also missed out on his first NFL Defensive Player of the Year honor in 2016 by one vote, losing to Oakland Raiders pass rusher Khalil Mack (No. 5 on the “Top 100” list).

But is there anyone from the “Top 100” top 10 whom the Broncos should consider swapping with Miller?

Top 10 of the NFL’s “Top 100” (full list):

1. 1. Tom Brady, quarterback, New England Patriots
   2. Von Miller, linebacker, Denver Broncos
   3. Julio Jones, wide receiver, Atlanta Falcons
   4. Antonio Brown, wide receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers
   5. Khalil Mack, linebacker, Oakland Raiders
   6. Aaron Rodgers, quarterback, Green Bay Packers
   7. Ezekiel Elliott, running back, Dallas Cowboys
   8. Odell Beckham Jr, wide receiver, New York Giants
   9. Le’Veon Bell, running back, Pittsburgh Steelers
   10. Matt Ryan, quarterback, Atlanta Falcons

“I mean, it’s Brady,” Fan Broncos Insider Cecil Lammey told “Stokley & Zach” on Tuesday.

“To find an elite quarterback, that is a thing of beauty. It’s a rarity in the National Football League,” Lammey said.

But it’s not a knock on Miller, Lammey said, it is that franchise quarterbacks can “make” coaching regimes, “the guys who have sustained success in the National Football League.”

“The coaches that are most fondly remembered in the NFL are usually made with and have a combination with some great quarterback,” Lammey said. “So, Von Miller’s awesome, great, fantastic, amazing, wonderful, and awesome. If I said that twice, that’s fine. But a franchise quarter is better.”

But it’s not Brady the Broncos should target in the hypothetical, “Stokley & Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley said, it’s Aaron Rodgers.

“I mean, how could you not? A quarterback, a franchise quarterback. Your offensive line, you don’t have to really worry about it anymore. Aaron Rodgers is going to make them good. That running game’s going to be better now,” Stokley said.

“He makes all the weapons around him better than what they are. And he still has got a lot of years left to go. So, I mean, how you could not? It’s a position of need that’s the toughest in all of sports.”

But what about the only other quarterback on the list: Atlanta Falcons gunslinger and reigning MVP Matt Ryan?

“A guy like Aaron Rodgers, he’ll make everybody around him a lot better. Will Matt Ryan do that, or does he need some really good pieces to perform at a really, really high level?” Stokley said, adding he’d go back and forth between Ryan and Miller.

“So, that would be my concern with Matt Ryan.”

In the end, though, the debate doesn’t go beyond a little entertainment, Lammey said.

“It’s a list that we can have some fun with but not take real seriously, in my opinion,” Lammey said.

How you voted:

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.