ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 03: Jonathan Allen #93 of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts after sacking Austin Appleby #12 of the Florida Gators in the fourth quarter during the SEC Championship game at the Georgia Dome on December 3, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

ESPN's Top 5 SEC players is absolutely shocking by college football standards

It makes more sense if you think about it.

Award season in football usually benefits offensive players — especially quarterbacks and running backs. However, in ESPN's recent rankings of the Top 25 player in the SEC for 2016, the top five players were all defensive players.

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The top five of the list included:

  1. Jonathan Allen, Alabama
  2. Derek Barnett, Tennessee
  3. Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt
  4. Reuben Foster, Alabama
  5. Myles Garrett, Texas A&M

Eight of the top ten were defensive players as well. The SEC was offensively challenged for most of the year, but several of the defenses were among the best in the country.

Several SEC defenders will likely be taken early in the upcoming NFL Draft. It's nice to see defense still rewarded during award season.

(h/t ESPN)