JJ Watt named NFL's Top player of 2015, check out the top 10...

The NFL revealed the top 10 of their Top 100 Players of 2015 on Wednesday. Read on to find out who was crowned No 1...

The list was decided by a poll of NFL players, meaning the man who secures top spot has the distinction of being recognised as the best by his peers.

Tom Brady topped the list in 2011, followed by Aaron Rodgers in 2012, Adrian Peterson in 2013 and Peyton Manning last year. But 2015 saw a defensive star come out on top. Read on for the full rankings...

10. Rob Gronkowski (New England, tight end)

'Gronk' finally managed to go a whole season without getting seriously injured, and it showed in his stats as he leapfrogged Jimmy Graham to become the best tight end in the league.

He did miss one game, but still managed to tally 82 catches for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns... oh, and let us not forget a first Super Bowl ring – a game in which he also caught a key TD pass. He may come with a little bit of off-field baggage, but the talent is undoubted.

9. Marshawn Lynch (Seattle, running back)

'Beast Mode' was inches away from becoming a back-to-back Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks and that would have just capped another sensational season from the running-back few defenders are able to stop... on their own, at least.

Lynch showed few signs of wearing down, scoring a total of 17 touchdowns and combining for more than 1,600 yards rushing and receiving. He was relied upon perhaps a little too much last season, but with Jimmy Graham in town, he could be even more productive in 2015.

8. Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh, wide receiver)

Brown enjoyed a breakout season in 2013, hooking up with Ben Roethlisberger 110 times. Some said there was no chance of a repeat, especially with the Pittsburgh Steelers set to use the running game more. They were very wrong.

The 26-year-old is now right up there in the argument for the best wide receiver in the NFL, in fact some would have him above the man at No 6 in this list. He pulled in 129 catches (a franchise record) in 2014 for a remarkable 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns – all career bests with the promise of plenty more to come.

7. Andrew Luck (Indianapolis, quarterback)

Luck, who came out of Stanford as the No 1 pick of the 2012 draft, has rapidly joined the pantheon of NFL quarterback greats, and it has taken him only three years to do so. The one thing he lacks is a Super Bowl ring, but the talent is there in Indy for him to right that wrong this season.

The 25-year-old has already passed for nearly 15,000 yards in three seasons, including his play-off outings, and is only five touchdowns short of 100. A few less picks in the post-season would be nice but further chances of success are almost assured, health allowing.

6. Calvin Johnson (Detroit, wide receiver)

'Megatron' retains his place as the top wide receiver on the list, but it might be his last year in that position with pressure coming from Antonio Brown and a series of other young wideouts who just missed the top 10 places.

Johnson missed three games through injury last year, but still managed to pass 1,000 yards (only by 77) and scored eight touchdowns in a down year for the Lions and their quarterback Matthew Stafford. His output has dropped significantly in the last three years but he now holds the record for the youngest player to reach 10,000 receiving yards and is a sure-fire future Hall of Famer.

5. Peyton Manning (Denver, quarterback)

His next birthday will be his 40th (March 26 in case you want to send him a card) but he remains one of the league's most influential players and continues to inspire a younger generation of quarterbacks.

Last season was something of a downgrade on his record-breaking 2013, but he still threw 39 touchdown passes and contributed 4,727 in passing yardage in the regular season alone. Sadly the play-offs ended far too early for Manning, and it could be that 2015 is his last chance to claim a second Super Bowl ring to match his younger brother Eli.

4. DeMarco Murray (Philadelphia, running back)

Last season was a breakthrough one for the then Dallas Cowboys running-back, as he rushed for a league-leading 1,845 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. 

But that was not enough for the Cowboys to even reach the Super Bowl, courtesy of a divisional play-off loss to the Green Bay Packers, and Murray now moves on to pastures new thanks to a $42m deal from the Philadelphia Eagles, where he will take over from LeSean McCoy. An interesting move since it means he will come up against the Cowboys on a couple of occasions in the NFL East. Can he back-up his first massive season? If he does, and leads the Eagles to glory, he might just move up this list.

3. Tom Brady (New England, quarterback)

He'll be 38 in August but that seems unlikely to stop Brady mounting yet another Super Bowl bid, searching for a fifth ring. He already has the most Super Bowl wins among active players and could join San Francisco great Charles Haley as the only five-time winner.

Brady's passing yardage has dropped the last four years but he has still led the Patriots to no worse than a 12-4 regular season record and he throws fewer interceptions than his rivals for the quarterback crown. Ten touchdowns in the post-season last year and a third Super Bowl MVP award just show Brady is not quite finished yet.

2. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay, quarterback)

Among the younger quarterbacks (31 is young, right?), Rodgers is the clear leader but will soon face a big challenge from Andrew Luck. His ability to avoid throwing interceptions, while making his fair share of risky passes, is something to behold.

It is a mark of his quality that a 4,381 yard, 38 touchdown season in 2014 was probably only the third best of his career so far and if he stays fit there will surely be more Super Bowl rings to follow, to add to the one he claimed at the end of the 2010 season. Rodgers was also named NFL MVP last season, although plenty argued the next man on this list would have been a more deserving winner.

1. JJ Watt (Houston, defensive end/tackle)

Watt had a season for the ages in 2014. You could almost stop writing there, but the list of achievements the 26-year-old picked up last year was simply something to behold.

It wasn't just the carnage he caused among offensive opponents, where he had 20 1/2 sacks, four fumbles, and an interception, also scoring a couple of touchdowns. He also became a vital part of the Texans' red-zone offense and scored another three touchdowns playing as a tight end. Watt was the first defensive player to score five times since 1944.

Can he improve on that in 2015? I don't know a person who would bet against it such is Watt's desire to improve.