Player Rater 2012: Follow the Clues to the Atlanta Falcons LB Sean Weatherspoon

The NFL Network does a Top 100 players list every year and this year had a player rater comment on every pick. He tried to keep his identity a secret but it's obvious to those paying attention who the player is: Sean Weatherspoon.

There has been a big debate on who it might be, and the player will never admit to who it is. However, it's Sean Weatherspoon based on the clues. So, let's get out our foil hats, magnifying glasses or whatever else makes us feel intelligent and detectivey (yes, I know detectivey doesn't exist) and figure this out.

Clue #1: He's from the NFC South

"

Oh snap! A guy from my division! Big ups to Ryan Kalil #stillcantholdmetho #NFLTop100

— PlayerRater (@PlayerRater2012) April 29, 2012"

This narrows it down quite a bit. This takes it from players on 32 teams to players on just four teams. The four teams that he has possibility of being on. That gives us a total of 360 players to choose from at this point. While that's still a lot, it's much easier to pick him from that and helps us create a primary list to choose from.

Clue #2: He's a former first-round pick

"

I'm real trust me! Former first round pick!

— PlayerRater (@PlayerRater2012) April 29, 2012"

So his admission of these two things has helped us determine a preliminary list. There are eight former first-round picks currently on the Falcons, 10 on the Panthers, nine on the Saints, and nine on the Buccaneers. That takes the 360 players down to just 36 players and truly helps narrow this down.

Clue #3: He'd be the one guarding a tight end

"

Tony Gonzalez drinks from the fountain of youth. Arguably the best ever at his position! What a career! (I'll D him UP tho, lol) #NFLTop100

— PlayerRater (@PlayerRater2012) May 24, 2012"

Now this is probably reaching just a bit, but this is an admission that he is a defensive player. Of the 36 first-round picks, 19 of them are on the defensive side of the ball. But of those 19 players, only 10 would be in the position to cover the tight end as either a corner, safety or linebacker. 

Clue #4: He's lacking a Pro Bowl appearance

The player rater hasn't been to the Pro Bowl yet. As seen in this video on NFL.com, Warren Sapp asks him, "Do you have any pineapple in your diet?" To this, the player rater replied, "I don't, I don't." By admitting to Sapp that he hasn't been to the Pro Bowl yet, he helped us narrow the list down from 10 of the players we have to just nine.

Linebacker: Sean Weatherspoon, Thomas Davis, Luke Kuechly

Corner: Dunta Robinson, Chris Gamble, Patrick Robinson, Aqib Talib

Safety: Malcolm Jenkins, Mark Barron

Clue #5: Visual Evidence

A screen capture from the earlier video (h/t NFL.com):

Screen Capture of NFL.com

Courtesy Jefferson City Media Website

The player rater is too stocky to be a corner or safety, while Kuechly and Davis don't have a mini-afro hairstyle. This leaves just one player: Sean Weatherspoon. Weatherspoon is "Player Rater 2012" and while he is relishing the mystery of his new role, the NFL made it too obvious to pick this one out this year.

The total sum of the clues and the resounding visual evidence has essentially debunked who @PlayerRater2012 is. Thanks Mr. Weatherspoon. But this time the fans, and specifically your own fans, have won.

Scott Carasik is an NFL draft and Atlanta Falcons Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the Falcons analyst at Drafttek and also runs the NFL Draft Website ScarDraft.com and the host of Kvetching Draftniks Radio.

Follow @scar988