A.J. Green Ranked At No. 16 In NFL Network's Top Players of 2013

The NFL Network's top 100 players of 2013 is winding down. Players that were ranked No. 11-20 were announced on Thursday, and by the end, Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins has a friend. Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green ranked No. 16 on the NFL Network's top 100 list, a significant improvement over his No. 77 ranking from 2012.

"It’s an honor just to be on there because the players vote," Green told Dan Hoard on Bengals.com prior to the announcement. "It’s all about respect."

Green is the second Bengals player listed. Defensive tackle Geno Atkins was announced at No. 36 two weeks ago.

The NFL Network hands out ballots to active players around Thanksgiving. Each player ranks their top 20 players by assigning 20 points to their No. 1. Then 19 points to their No. 2 player, all the way to No. 20, assigning one point. They're tallied and presented following the NFL Draft on the NFL Network.

There are some questioning the ranking system, considering that only 28.3 percent of the players voted.

"I’ve always wondered about that," Leon Hall told Hoard. "I’ve never voted and I don’t know when that voting happens."

It's very unlikely that Cincinnati will have a third player joining Green and Atkins, easily the best two players on the team.