"NFL Good Guys" List Includes Chad Ochocinco

Yesterday, we took a look at CBS Sports' top ten offseason moves list, which included David Garrard and Chad Ochocinco. That list is not the only rankings that CBS Sports has made recently, and not the only rankings that feature a Miami Dolphins player. CBS' Mike Freeman recently ranked the top ten "jerks" and "good guys" from the NFL.

While the jerks list includes the usual suspects, like Terrell Owens, Brandon Marshall, Antonio Cromartie, and the entire New Orleans Saints team, it's on the good guys list where you will find the Miami representative. Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco landed the number four position on the list, behind Tom Coughlin, DeMaurice Smith, and Aaron Rodgers.

Of the choice for Ochcocinco, Freeman writes, "Sure, he's a little foul-mouthed on Twitter, and yes, he was once a showboat, but he was, and is, harmless. He's also, secretly, an incredibly solid person and goes out of his way to make people think he's not."

Which ties in to some of the things we have discussed during our podcast, as well as here on the site. Ochocinco, or Johnson if the name change has officially gone through, celebrates and seems overly excessive on the field (last year with the New England Patriots being the obvious exception), but he's never been seen as a cancer to a locker room, and he seems to genuinely care about people and the city where he lives. He got lumped in with Terrell Owens and Randy Moss type of diva receivers, but he was never really like that. Yes, Ochocinco wanted the ball, and yes, he was over-the-top with his touchdown celebrations, but if that is the worst part about Ochocinco, her really does not compare to an Owens or Moss type - and it's good that some mainstream media seem to recognize that.

Here is the full top ten good guys list:

10 - Cam Newton, Quarterback, Carolina Panthers

9 - Maurice Jones-Drew, Running Back, Jacksonville Jaguars

8 - Matt Hasselbeck, Quarterback, Tennessee Titans

7 - Donald Driver, Wide Receiver, Green Bay Packers

6 - Calvin Johnson, Wide Receiver, Detroit Lions

5 - Tim Tebow, Quarterback, New York Jets

4 - Chad Ochocinco, Wide Receiver, Miami Dolphins

3 - Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers

2 - DeMaurice Smith, NFLPA Executive Director

1 - Tom Coughlin, Head Coach, New York Giants