Breaking Down Matt Miller's NFL1000 List to Find the Best Division in Football

With Matt Miller's positional rankings in the NFL1000 series finally coming to a close, save for his final overall rankings, it's time to break down the results of Bleacher Report's lead NFL writer.

I'll determine which is the greatest division in professional football by breaking down Miller's rankings into an All Star team to represent each division and then comparing the squads.

One important note is that fullbacks, because of their reduced role in the NFL today, have not been included as part of this ranking.

Offenses are broken down into:

1xQuarterback
1xRunning Back
2xWide Receivers
1xTight End
1xOffensive Line

Defenses are broken down into:

4xDefensive Linemen
4xLinebackers
2xCornerbacks
2xSafeties

The lower the ranking the better on these lists, as the number listed next to each player reflects the position they were ranked on each of Miller's lists. We'll combine the overall rankings for each division to compare.

NFC North

—Offense—

Quarterback—Aaron Rodgers (1)

Running Back—Adrian Peterson (6)

Wide Receiver 1—Calvin Johnson (1)

Wide Receiver 2—Greg Jennings (5)

Tight End—Kyle Rudolph (10)

Left Tackle—Jeff Backus (20)

Left Guard—Steve Hutchinson (7)

Center—Jeff Saturday (4)

Right Guard—Josh Sitton (4)

Right Tackle—Brian Bulaga (2)

—Defense—

Defensive Tackle 1—Kevin Williams (4)

Defensive Tackle 2—Henry Melton (9)

Defensive End 1—Jared Allen (4)

Defensive End 2—Julius Peppers (6)

Outside Linebacker 1—Clay Matthews (8)

Outside Linebacker 2—Lance Briggs (13)

Inside Linebacker 1—Brian Urlacher (7)

Inside Linebacker 2—Stephen Tulloch (9)

Cornerback—Charles Woodson (2)

Strong Safety—Craig Steltz (9)

Free Safety—Morgan Burnett (11)

Cornerback—Charles Tillman (15)

—Special Teams—

Punter—Tim Masthay (17)

Kicker—Robbie Gould (4)

NFC South

—Offense—

Quarterback—Drew Brees (3)

Running Back—Darren Sproles (1)

Wide Receiver 1—Steve Smith (9)

Wide Receiver 2—Roddy White (10)

Tight End—Jimmy Graham (2)

Left Tackle—Jordan Gross (7)

Left Guard—Carl Nicks (1)

Center—Ryan Kalil (6)

Right Guard—Jahri Evans (2)

Right Tacle—Tyson Clabo (3)

—Defense—

Defensive Tackle 1—Jonathan Babineaux (10)

Defensive Tackle 2—Albert Haynesworth (17)

Defensive End 1—John Abraham (12)

Defensive End 2—Charles Johnson (19)

Outside Linebacker 1—Sean Weatherspoon (4)

Outside Linebacker 2—Chris Chamberlain (34)

Inside Linebacker 1—Curtis Lofton (15)

Inside Linebacker 2—David Hawthorne (28)

Cornerback—Brent Grimes (10)

Strong Safety—Roman Harper (10)

Free Safety—Malcolm Jenkins (5)

Cornerback—Dunta Robinson (17)

—Special Teams—

Punter—Rob Bironas (9)

Kicker—Thomas Morstead (8)

NFC East

—Offense—

Quarterback—Eli Manning (5)

Running Back—LeSean McCoy (7)

Wide Receiver 1—Victor Cruz (11)

Wide Receiver 2—DeSean Jackson (14)

Tight End—Jason Witten (3)

Left Tackle—Jason Peters (1)

Left Guard—Evan Mathis (3)

Center—Will Montgomery (15)

Right Guard—Chris Snee (9)

Right Tackle—Tyron Smith (6)

—Defense—

Defensive Tackle 1—Jay Ratliff (8)

Defensive Tackle 2—Cullen Jenkins (18)

Defensive End 1—Jason Pierre-Paul (2)

Defensive End 2—Trent Cole (5)

Outside Linebacker 1—DeMarcus Ware (1)

Outside Linebacker 2—Brian Orakpo (9)

Inside Linebacker 1—London Fletcher (12)

Inside Linebacker 2—Sean Lee (19)

Cornerback—Nnamdi Asomugha (4)

Strong Safety—Gerald Sensabaugh (7)

Free Safety—Kenny Philips (6)

Cornerback—Brandon Carr (16)

—Special Teams—

Punter—Steve Weatherford (10)

Kicker—Dan Bailey (16)

NFC West

—Offense—

Quarterback—Alex Smith (14)

Running Back—Steven Jackson (5)

Wide Receiver 1—Larry Fitzgerald (2)

Wide Receiver 2—Doug Baldwin (32)

Tight End—Vernon Davis (6)

Left Tackle—Joe Staley (16)

Left Guard—Mike Iupati (2)

Center—Scott Wells (3)

Right Guard—Harvey Dahl (6)

Right Tackle—Jason Smith (14)

—Defense—

Defensive Tackle 1—Alan Branch (16)

Defensive Tackle 2—Isaac Sopoaga (30)

Defensive End 1—Justin Smith (1)

Defensive End 2—Calais Campbell (8)

Outside Linebacker 1—Aldon Smith (6)

Outside Linebacker 2—Leroy Hill (25)

Inside Linebacker 1—Patrick Willis (1)

Inside Linebacker 2—Navorro Bowman (2)

Cornerback—Carlos Rogers (6)

Strong Safety—Adrian Wilson (3)

Free Safety—Earl Thomas (4)

Cornerback—Cortland Finnegan (9)

—Special Teams—

Punter—David Akers (2)

Kicker—Andy Lee (1)

AFC North

—Offense—

Quarterback—Ben Roethlisberger (4)

Running Back—Ray Rice (3)

Wide Receiver 1—Mike Wallace (4)

Wide Receiver 2—AJ Green (8)

Tight End—Heath Miller (8)

Left Tackle—Joe Thomas (2)

Left Guard—Travelle Wharton (21)

Center—Alex Mack (9)

Right Guard—Marshal Yanda (1)

Right Tackle—Michael Oher (7)

—Defense—

Defensive Tackle 1—Haloti Ngata (1)

Defensive Tackle 2—Geno Atkins (2)

Defensive End 1—Terrell Suggs (3)

Defensive End 2—Carlos Dunlap (31)

Outside Linebacker 1—James Harrison (2)

Outside Linebacker 2—LaMarr Woodley (14) 

Inside Linebacker 1—Ray Lewis (3)

Inside Linebacker 2—D'Qwell Jackson (8)

Cornerback—Joe Haden (3)

Strong Safety—Troy Polamalu (1)

Free Safety—Ed Reed (2)

Cornerback—Lardarius Webb (8)

—Special Teams—

Punter—Sam Koch (16)

Kicker—Mike Nugent (18)

AFC South

—Offense—

Quarterback—Matt Schaub (6)

Running Back—Maurice Jones-Drew (2)

Wide Receiver 1—Andre Johnson (6)

Wide Receiver 2—Kenny Britt (13)

Tight End—Marcedes Lewis (14)

Left Tackle—Duane Brown (3)

Left Guard—Leroy Harris (8)

Center—Chris Meyers (1)

Right Guard—Jake Scott (5)

Right Tackle—David Stewart (4)

—Defense—

Defensive Tackle 1—Karl Klug (13)

Defensive Tackle 2—Jurrell Casey (15)

Defensive End 1—JJ Watt (7)

Defensive End 2—Dwight Freeney (17)

Outside Linebacker 1—Daryl Smith (10)

Outside Linebacker 2—Kamerion Wimbley (12)

Inside Linebacker 1—Brian Cushing (4)

Inside Linebacker 2—Paul Posluszny (6)

Cornerback—Johnathan Joseph (5)

Strong Safety—Antoine Bethea (12)

Free Safety—Michael Griffin (10)

Cornerback—Brice McCain (22)

—Special Teams—

Punter—Matt Bosher (12)

Kicker—Josh Scobee (3)

AFC East

—Offense—

Quarterback—Tom Brady (2)

Running Back—Reggie Bush (11)

Wide Receiver 1—Wes Welker (3)

Wide Receiver 2—Stevie Johnson (17)

Tight End—Rob Gronkowski (1)

Left Tackle—Jake Long (6)

Left Guard—Andy Levitre (4)

Center—Nick Mangold (2)

Right Guard—Brian Waters (3)

Right Tackle—Sebastien Vollmer (5)

—Defense—

Defensive Tackle 1—Sione Pouha (5)

Defensive Tackle 2—Vince Wilfork (6)

Defensive End 1—Andre Carter (15)

Defensive End 2—Randy Starks (39)

Outside Linebacker 1—Cameron Wake (5)

Outside Linebacker 2—Mario Williams (11)

Inside Linebacker 1—Karlos Dansby (14)

Inside Linebacker 2—David Harris (16)

Cornerback—Darrelle Revis (1)

Strong Safety—George Wilson (2)

Free Safety—Jairus Byrd (3)

Cornerback—Richard Marshall (14)

—Special Teams—

Punter—Brandon Fields (6)

Kicker—Dan Carpenter (5)

AFC West

—Offense—

Quarterback—Peyton Manning (12)

Running Back—Ryan Mathews (12)

Wide Receiver 1—Dwayne Bowe (12)

Wide Receiver 2—Robert Meachem (18)

Tight End—Antonio Gates (7)

Left Tackle—Jared Gaither (8)

Left Guard—Stefen Wisniewski (10)

Center—Nick Hardwick (11)

Right Guard—John Asamoah (8)

RIght Tackle—Eric Winston (1)

—Defense—

Defensive Tackle 1—Richard Seymour (3)

Defensive Tackle 2—John Henderson (11)

Defensive End 1—Lamarr Houston (11)

Defensive End 2—Glenn Dorsey (24)

Outside Linebacker 1—Von Miller (3)

Outside Linebacker 2—Tamba Hali (7)

Inside Linebacker 1—Derrick Johnson (5)

Inside Linebacker 2—Takeo Spikes (11)

Cornerback—Brandon Flowers (7)

Strong Safety—Tyvon Branch (4)

Free Safety—Eric Weddle (1)

Cornerback—Champ Bailey (11)

—Special Teams—

Punter—Mike Scifres (2)

Kicker—Sebastien Janikowski (1)

Unit Rankings

Offense:

NFC North: 60

NFC South: 44

NFC East: 73

NFC West: 100

AFC North: 67

AFC South: 62

AFC East: 54

AFC West:90

Defense:

NFC North: 97

NFC South: 181

NFC East: 107

NFC West: 111

AFC North: 77

AFC South: 124

AFC East: 131

AFC West: 98

Special Teams:

NFC North: 21

NFC South:17

NFC East: 26

NFC West: 3

AFC North: 34

AFC South: 15

AFC East: 11

AFC West: 3

The Losers

8. NFC South: 242

Largely because of their porous defense which tallied a 181 rating, the NFC South has the worst division in the NFL by this metric. A lack of linebacker talent significantly hurt the South.

7. NFC West: 214

For years the NFC West would have been guaranteed to finish at the bottom of these rankings and probably would have been quite some distance away. Second last could be seen as a moral victory...just don't tell Jim Harbaugh.

6. NFC East: 206

The East is relatively well balanced but has issues on both sides of the ball as well as the second worst special teams ranking on Miller's lists.

5. AFC South: 201

Unsurprisingly, the South has a very strong offense with quality balanced between the line and skill positions. Defensively their final ranking needed a massive upgrade especially on the defensive line and on the back end.

4. AFC East: 196

Tom Brady gets to lead the best offense in the NFL but the second worst defense will bring down the East in the AFC.

3. AFC West: 191

What is easily the most shocking result sees the AFC West coming in third overall. Who'd have thought they could manage all that without Tim Tebow?

The Best Division in the NFL?

AND THE WINNER IS.....

In the end, the North divisions couldn't be separated...

1a. AFC North: 178

The AFC North were led by what was easily the best defensive unit in the whole league, landing a 77 overall grade. Their closest competitors were a full 20 points behind.

With the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens in the division that should come as no surprise but the Browns' D'Qwell Jackson and Joe Haden along with Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap of the Bengals were big parts of this ranking.

On offense, the division had only one player ranked outside of the top 10 as left guard Travelle Wharton came in with a 21. Five of the team's other 10 starters were ranked in the top four at their respective positions.

Special teams ultimately prevented the AFC North from being the best division in the league as they checked in with 34 points. Since Daniel Sepulveda wasn't re-signed by the Steelers this off-season, Mike Nugent represented the division as kicker.

1b. NFC North: 178

The NFC North combined the second best offense in the league with the second best defense in the league to have the highest divisional ranking.

Having Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Calvin Johnson on the same side could sway this ranking in favor of the NFC representatives. Of course, they would have to face off against a fierce defensive group in the AFC North but in today's NFL, offense tends to win out.

Cian is a journalist for the Guardian, Irishcentral, FFBLife and Steelersdepot. You can follow him on twitter @Cianaf