NFL top-100 list includes South Carolina football legend

As is often the case during the sports doldrums that is the summertime, outlets short on news to report have been in "list season." List season is, just like it sounds like, the part of the sports calendar in which there are discussions based upon listing players or coaches as the "best," "worst," or "most underrated." South Carolina football fans found themselves on Tuesday interested in an NFL top-100 list from CBS Sports' Pete Prisco.

Despite several former Gamecocks being worthy of discussion for the list, just one cracked Prisco's top-100.

Wide receiver Deebo Samuel, entering year six with the San Francisco 49ers, slotted in at #81 on the list (he was #57 before the 2023 season began and even higher than that ahead of the 2022 campaign), making him the 14th receiver on the list.

The ranking is a bit low for Samuel, but he has had back-to-back seasons in which he missed multiple games with injuries. Perhaps that dinged his ranking a bit. Even so, despite missing 7 games over the past three seasons, Samuel has averaged 64 catches, 1250 yards from scrimmage, and over 10 total touchdowns per year. He also has become the most prolific rushing wide receiver in NFL history.

The dynamic playmaker already has played in two Super Bowls with the 49ers, and his team will be a favorite to make it back to the Big Game next winter. With rumors that fellow elite receiver Brandon Aiyuk could be on his way out of San Fran, Samuel could be in line for a big workload in 2024.

Former South Carolina football teammates Jaycee Horn (cornerback, Carolina Panthers) and Ernest Jones (linebacker, Los Angeles Rams) had arguments to be on the list. Horn was included on the "honorable mention" list, while Jones was snubbed altogether. Veterans Jadeveon Clowney (EDGE, Carolina Panthers) and Stephon Gilmore (cornerback, current free agent) are past their primes but were all over these types of lists in recent years.