We can be idealistic at Saturday Down South.

We noticed that 13 of the last 15 Heisman Trophy winners played quarterback. We also noticed before the season that the SEC quarterback situation looked dicey.

Thus, we decided to rank the 10 best players in the conference, regardless of position. We’ve tried to find the best player in the conference who also is his team’s most indispensable piece. To make our list, a player doesn’t need to be a household name or be playing on a top 10 team.

Despite all that, a quarterback still ended the season at No. 1 on our list. And four of our top five players are sexy offensive guys with gaudy numbers.

Still, half of our final ranking includes defensive players. Two of them even play along the line of scrimmage. One of them probably wouldn’t rank in the top 5 among his own defense if you asked a casual fan to name the best Florida Gators on that side of the ball.

After way too much research and internal debate, here are our 10 most valuable SEC players in 2015:

10. CB JALEN TABOR, FLORIDA

Last week: Not ranked
The skinny: Vernon Hargreaves III is the best NFL prospect on the vaunted Gators defense. He’s a likely top 10 NFL draft choice. Teams have thrown away from him most of the season. Still, he’s missed some time and hasn’t made quite the impact he did in 2014. I gave Marcus Maye strong consideration for this spot as well. Pro Football Focus grades him as the second-best safety in the nation in terms of pass coverage and 12th against the run. Tabor hasn’t been very good against the run relative to those players. Still, when opposing quarterbacks have thrown Tabor’s direction, he’s allowed an average rating of 16.7, best in the nation. For 2015, he’s played better than Hargreaves III as a lockdown corner — even though he’s gotten tested many more times.

9. LB KENTRELL BROTHERS

Last week: Not ranked
The skinny: Most have missed Brothers’ otherworldly season due to Missouri’s tremendous drop as a team. He’s made 152 tackles this season, most in the SEC. Auburn’s Rudy Ford is second — with 113. One of the best run-stoppers in the country at linebacker, he’s also been an asset against the pass. Brothers has collected two sacks, two interceptions and eight quarterback hurries. Oh, and he’s blocked three kicks. If not for Brothers, Missouri’s defense may have thrown in the towel midway through the year, and defensive coordinator Barry Odom may not be such a strong candidate for the jobs at Memphis and Missouri.

8. QB BRANDON ALLEN, ARKANSAS

Last week: 6
The skinny: Offensive coordinator Dan Enos has transformed Allen into a mediocre playmaker and good game manager into someone who can take over a football game. Allen’s arm strength, decision-making and decisiveness are much better in 2015. He arguably has surpassed Alex Collins as the team’s most important offensive player. According to ESPN’s QBR metric, Allen is second in the country to injured Baylor (system) quarterback Seth Russell. Since the stat was created in 2004, his number would rank fourth in the SEC behind only Johnny Manziel (2012), Cam Newton (2010) and Aaron Murray (2013). Oh, and he’s thrown 29 touchdown passes. On an Arkansas team with a receiving corps overwhelmed with injuries early in the season.

7. DT A’SHAWN ROBINSON, ALABAMA

Last week: Not ranked
The skinny: Who is Alabama’s best and most valuable lineman on either side of the football? It’s very, very hard to pinpoint. Ryan Kelly, Jarran Reed, Jonathan Allen and Cam Robinson all have a case. But my vote goes to Robinson. He doesn’t have the flashiest numbers. He’s amassed 7 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 8 quarterback hurries and 39 total tackles. But on a front seven that’s probably the most talented in the country, he’s the most difficult 1-on-1 matchup. It’s hard to quantify the disruption he’s caused in the middle of the line of scrimmage. He doesn’t get sole credit for Alabama giving up just 78.9 rushing yards per game. But NFL scouts have taken notice, and he’ll have every opportunity to slip into the first round due to his talent.

6. DT JONATHAN BULLARD, FLORIDA

Last week: 9
The skinny: He’s fought through a knee injury late in the season and still managed to play well. NFL scouts — and the Florida family — have to be impressed with his toughness. Look, this Gators defense is saturated with NFL talent. It’s the reason that coach Jim McElwain took a flawed roster all the way to the SEC championship game in his first season in Gainesville. Hargreaves III probably is a better NFL prospect, by a smidgen. But, to borrow a term from coach Les Miles, Bullard has been the engine. He deserves strong consideration for the All-America teams. Jarrad Davis should be offering Bullard whatever he wants — a buffet at a local restaurant, carrying his books to class — because Bullard’s play in front of him has turned him into a star. Bullard’s 15.5 tackles for loss from the defensive interior only begin to tell the story.

5. WR LAQUON TREADWELL, OLE MISS

Last week: 7
The skinny: He’s not the fastest receiver in the country, but he’s not the slowest. And his tremendous hands, physicality and elite catch radius more than make up for his good-not-great overall athleticism. He is arguably the most polished receiver in the nation this year, much like Amari Cooper was one year ago. And he’s improved his per-catch average to 14.2, up from 8.4 (2013) and 13.2 (2014). He no longer is relegated as a possession receiver. The Rebels have some wonderful individual talents this season. But look what happened to Ole Miss in 2014 when Treadwell got hurt. On an offense full of pass-catching targets that may even make Texas A&M a little jealous, he’s a man among boys.

4. RB DERRICK HENRY, ALABAMA

Last week: 1
The skinny: Henry is going to win the Heisman Trophy. He’s been tremendous as a pure runner, especially during the second half of the season. He’s got a chance to be a first-round NFL draft selection. He’s been a touchdown machine for an Alabama offense that without him is very average. Still, Pro Football Focus, which grades every play for every player in every game, ranks Henry 11th among the nation’s running backs. He hasn’t been good in pass protection. And at 10 catches for 97 yards, he’s been almost non-existent as a receiver. And, unlike Fournette, he’s gotten tremendous help from the Tide defense.

3. LB REGGIE RAGLAND, ALABAMA

Last week: 3
The skinny: He seemingly is a candidate for every major defensive award in the country. Remember Trey DePriest in 2014, Alabama fans? Ragland has run circles around his play figuratively and literally. How can a man listed at more than 250 pounds run so well? His numbers are relatively modest at 90 tackles and 6.5 for loss. But he’s been as disciplined as any coach could want, handling his defensive responsibility in a way that probably makes him the country’s greatest linebacker. He should join the pantheon of Alabama linebackers under Kirby Smart and Nick Saban that includes players like Rolando McClain, C.J. Mosley, Dont’a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw.

2. RB LEONARD FOURNETTE, LSU

Last week: 5
The skinny: Fournette is the big-boy football version of Vanderbilt’s Ralph Webb. He’s accounted for 1,950 of the team’s 4,609 yards of total offense. LSU’s second-most productive player, receiver Malachi Dupre, has accounted for 602 yards, or less than one-third of Fournette’s production. What little success the team has managed in the passing game can be tied to Fournette, all due respect to the team’s athletically-gifted wideouts. He’s more productive than Henry as a receiver. He’s rushed for more yards per game and per carry. And LSU has depended on him even more than Alabama has Henry. Alabama’s offensive line also has played better than LSU’s during the second half of the season, and Henry never had to face his own defense. Outside of the Bama game, Fournette’s season low is 91 rushing yards — a game in which he also contributed 36 receiving yards.

1. QB DAK PRESCOTT, MISSISSIPPI STATE

Last week: 2
The skinny: NFL scouts don’t love him. Right now, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. ranks him as the sixth-best quarterback prospect in the 2016 class. Others have him lower. Not many expect him to blossom into an NFL starter. But at the college level, he arguably has been the most effective, dominant player at the position taking into account the last two full seasons. Coach Dan Mullen even suggested that Prescott may be the best college player he’s coached, implying the Bulldogs standout may compare favorably to Alex Smith and Tim Tebow. The rest of the roster hasn’t been nearly as ineffective as some thought before the season. Still, without Prescott, one would imagine a significant dropoff this year. Is there any player who is more valuable to his team in the SEC, or even the country, in 2015? He’s accounted for 35 touchdowns this season, completed nearly 67 percent of his passes and thrown just four interceptions.