I think these "writers" are fairly clever at getting clicks in the off season, I suspect it's a bit of an art, and that is what they are paid to do. Rankings is a good way to attract controversy, and controversy sells. Somewhere I saw a "news" item about top ten beaches by "Dr. Beach". OK, I guess, the funny thing is this list comes out every year, as if the top ten has totally changed from last year. (I didn't open the item.)
One kind of list or ranking I would like is something like "best X you never heard of" on a local basis, like best Q or Cubans or whatever, in some hideaway off the beaten. That could help because I probably had never heard of the place.
I'd trust folks around here a lot more than ESPN to "rank" players, but really, I just have a list ot top dudes at some position and don't get too bothered about ranking them. They were all fantastic, just enjoy that.