Chargers' Khalil Mack feels criminally underrated in NFL poll, rankings

One would think that any list of the top pass-rushers in the NFL would include Los Angeles Chargers star Khalil Mack. 

But that’s only technically the case in a new league-wide effort that polls NFL personnel. 

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN just dropped his annual positional rankings that include comments from scouts, coaches and others across the NFL. According to those rankings, Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns sits No. 1. 

Mack? He’s all the way down in the “also receiving votes” section. 

Not the top 10. Not the “honorable mention” section. Just another player getting votes alongside the likes of Montez Sweat and Rashan Gary. 

It smacks a little disrespectful. Despite being 34 years old, Mack had six sacks last season with 22 pressures and seven hurries. That, despite playing just 616 snaps (61 percent) over 16 games, the smallest number of his career by far during a healthy season. At Pro Football Focus, he had a 90.4 grade. 

Not that the Chargers care much about what league-wide rankings have to say. There’s a reason they crossed fingers that he wouldn’t retire this offseason and instead opted to re-sign with the team in free agency. There are a few reasons they chose him over Joey Bosa. 

If the Chargers can get back to the playoffs, perhaps Mack charts higher on lists like this one or two more times. But it’s not an exaggeration to say the Chargers would take him over more than a handful of the names ranked above him here.