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Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

When we expanded the NFL1000 concept and hired a talented group of scouts to analyze every player for each week of the 2016 NFL season, the goal of that first wave of analysis was to assemble a cogent, repeatable scouting system with a transparent process. We also wanted to give our readers an idea of how we saw things week to week.

Hopefully, we’d bust myths, spot trends and unearth hidden gems.

Halfway through the season, we’ve done that. Now, we have a ton of performance data, and we can give you a sense of how things have gone for every NFL player at the Week 8 line. To that end, here are our NFL1000 midseason grades. These marks are averaged for each player through the first half of the season from their week-to-week scores.

Not only does this give us an idea of how things stand at every position, but it also lets us know who’s the best at each positional attribute. And this is a hidden value to the methodology. Since we’re not using one number for a player’s entire performance, we can drill down and discover new things. Which receiver runs the best routes, and who’s the best blocker? Which cornerback is best in the slot? Which safety? Which punter is the best tackler? (Yeah, we keep track of that, too).

One directive we had from the start is there are no legacy scores. Which is to say, Darrelle Revis doesn’t get a pass for being Revis if he gets lit up—and that’s happened more often than we expected. That’s why he’s our 22nd-ranked cornerback. If Russell Wilson doesn’t throw a touchdown pass for a month, we don’t increase the grade and assume he’ll snap out of it. That’s why he stands as our 17th-ranked quarterback.

Perhaps the most fun part of the first half from our end (and hopefully from yours) is the ability to discover players who were previously under the radar. Concerned about the New England Patriots’ decision to trade Jamie Collins, perhaps their best defensive player? That might be mitigated if you’ve followed out write-ups on rookie linebacker Elandon Roberts, who’s shown an increasing aptitude for pass coverage.

Wondering which rookie center has made the biggest difference to his team: Ryan Kelly or Cody Whitehair? We’ve been on that since Week 1.

Who’s been the best undrafted or low-drafted rookie? Dak Prescott, a fourth-round pick, probably has that sewn up, but how about San Diego Chargers linebacker Jatavis Brown (Round 5), who’s been rising in our rookie review since he hit the field? Or Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard (Round 5), who’s performed excellently in Ezekiel Elliott's shadow, perception-wise?

Did anyone think end Yannick Ngakoue of the Jacksonville Jaguars would have been so effective? We’ve been talking about him for weeks.

It’s been a fun ride so far, and we’d like to thank you for your interest and feedback (both positive and negative). Here are the NFL1000 Midseason Grades, and here’s to a stellar second half!

All advanced stats are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

All punter stats are courtesy of self-charting from punter scout Chuck Zodda.