Ranking the 50 best NFL players for the 2026 season

The 2026 NFL season is a mere 50 days away. We've made it under the two-month mark, training camps are getting underway, preseason action is looming, and you might already be planning your fantasy football drafts (couldn't be me, though — we like to do that last minute for no good reason at all). As it's time to dive into the season, there's no better place to start than with the best players in the league. That'd be the 50 best players in the NFL, to be more precise.

Regardless of position, regardless of age and contract value, and with plenty of subjectivity to go with the stats, dive into the rankings and check out the Top 50.

This story is part of FanSided's 50 Days to Kickoff series, where we also covered the best player from all 50 states and the 50 greatest plays in NFL history.

50. Jared Verse, EDGE – Cleveland Browns

The man who came over the Cleveland as one of the centerpieces in the Myles Garrett trade, Jared Verse has been hot out of the gate in his NFL career. While having 4.5 and 7.5 sacks in his first two seasons, respectively, might not be fully indicative of that, he’s been exceptionally disruptive. He still posted a 16.8% pass rush win rate in the 2025 season and should continue on the ascent. 

I’m not going to go as far as to say that he’s going to be Myles Garrett — that would be an asinine argument. But I will say that he’s part of a fair return to the Browns. Cleveland’s defense is still going to be a quality force, and Verse will be a major factor in that equation. 

– Cody Williams

49. Jordyn Brooks, LB – Miami Dolphins

They say the human body craves contact. If that’s the case, Jordyn Brooks is 35 weeks pregnant, and there’s nothing you can do to stop him from having that craving.

For the second time in his career, he led the NFL in tackles. And for a linebacker, that’s pretty much the most important thing that you can do. It’s great to see him back in this spot, because when he was with the Seahawks at the beginning of his career, he looked like he was on the verge of being the next big thing … and then he tore his ACL at the end of the 2022 season.

He went to Miami in 2024. After just two seasons he became an All-Pro for the first time and he’s the most exciting player on their roster. The bar isn’t particularly high for that team, but he really covers ground at an elite level and brings some stank with the way he plays. That’s exactly what you want out of a linebacker.

– Jake Beckman

48. Nick Bosa, EDGE – San Francisco 49ers

Obviously, injuries make it a bit tougher to evaluate players, so the fact that Nick Bosa is coming off of a year in which he played just two complete games for the 49ers complicates the matter. 

Having said that, there’s still no reason to believe that the 28-year-old won’t return and be one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. In the 2.5 games that he played, he still tallied 10 total pressures and two sacks, as well as seven run stops on top of that. This is a guy who gets into the backfield and makes noise no matter the situation. 

Again, health will remain something to watch with Bosa, but his talent and efficacy shouldn’t be in question whenever he’s on the field. 

– CW

47. Tyler Linderbaum, C – Las Vegas Raiders

In Tyler Linderbaum’s four year career, there have been four guys who have been the All-Pro centers: Jason Kelce, Creed Humphrey, Frank Ragnow, and Aaron Brewer. That’s some top-tier talent and it’s really hard to knock any of those guys off of their thrones. 

Linderbaum has been just on the other side of breaking through, and he’s absolutely one of the elite players in the NFL. 

He brings the real juice as a run blocker. The second a linebacker sees that the ball is getting put into a running back’s stomach, there has to be a basic-human-level of panic because they have to know that a 300-pound man with the mentality of a water buffalo is coming their way. 

The man is a wild fire: he gets to the second level and clears out acres of land in a matter of seconds. 

As a pass blocker? He’s good, but he’s also spent the last four years blocking for Lamar Jackson. It’ll be cool to see what he can do blocking for relative statues like Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza in the future.

– JB

46. Derek Stingley Jr., CB – Houston Texans

Through his first four seasons in the league, Derek Stingley Jr. has established himself as one of the premier ballhawks in football. He's racked up 14 interceptions over the last three seasons alone, not to mention the 46 pass defenses that ultimately go along with that.

If Stingley were a bit more consistent in terms of his coverage ability and not just his ability to make plays on the ball, he'd probably end up higher in these rankings. But that's also how he's asked to play in the Texans defense.

Regardless of that fact, he's an undeniable force in the Houston secondary and someone that quarterbacks have to account for on every play.

– CW

45. Joe Burrow, QB – Cincinnati Bengals

It would be awesome to be able to put Joe Burrow higher up on the top-50 rankings. The dude’s blood pumps through his body at 31 degrees, he’s got an arm that can put the ball anywhere on the field, and you can count the number of games that a defense has had him completely stumped on one hand.

He’s an amazing quarterback, but you have to question his durability. 

It’s absolutely admirable that he came back from the turf toe last year. A rational person would’ve seen where the Bengals were at in December, called it a season, and came back the next year. The dude muscled through it, played at significantly less than 100%, and it showed.

We know that he has a rottweiler inside him. He hits a gear as a pocket passer comparable to Tom Brady and he becomes must-watch TV. It stinks that soft tissue injuries are a thing for him, because football is better with a healthy Joe Burrow.

– JB

44. Jack Campbell, LB – Detroit Lions

Put simply, there's a good reason that the Detroit Lions are about to dole out $20 million per season to Jack Campbell to keep playing linebacker for them. He's been worth every penny. I'm old enough to remember (and likely chimed in) when the Lions were criticized for using a first-round pick on Campbell given the belief that he had some limitations.

Instead, Campbell has been one of the premier run defenders in the NFL at the position for the past couple of years, but has also more than held his own in coverage. He's the total package in the middle of this defense, and it's time we start regularly, including Campbell in the conversation when we talk about not just the best linebackers in the league, but the best defensive players in the NFL as well.

– CW

43. Danielle Hunter, EDGE – Houston Texans

First and foremost, Danielle Hunter is a Hall-of-Famer when it comes to dudes named Danielle. However, his name is pronounced "Duh-kneel," so it’s a little different.

There are two parts of Hunter’s career. The first part is from 2015 to 2019: in those five seasons he had 54.5 sacks (14.5 in both 2018 and 2019). He was off to an incredibly hot start until he had a really tough neck injury that took him out of the 2020 season. Then, in 2021, he tore his pec and missed the last 10 games of the season. 

The second part of his career is from 2022 to now. He came back from those injuries and has been one of the most dominant defensive ends in the NFL. In the last four years, he’s averaged 13.5 sacks, 17 tackles for a loss, and 22 QB hits per season. 

He plays on one of the most talented defensive lines in the NFL and he’s opposite Will Anderson Jr., so he’s never going to be the best player on the field … But buddy, he’s the real deal, and he’s been the real deal for a while now.

– JB

42. Cooper DeJean, CB – Philadelphia Eagles

It was silly when the NFL allowed Cooper DeJean to fall into the second round of the draft in the moment back in 2024. We didn't need hindsight to figure that out. But as we look back on it two years into DeJean's pro career, it still looks silly, but perhaps even more so now.

DeJean's ball production certainly isn't going to jump off of the page with just two interceptions to his credit, both of which came in the 2025 season with the Eagles. But the third-year pro in Philly has proven that he's just going to be breaking things up. He was elite in terms of pass breakups last season, and emerged as one of the better run-defending corners in the NFL as well. Even better for the Eagles, it seems like he's only going to continue his ascent in the next few years.

– CW

41. George Kittle, TE – San Francisco 49ers

There isn’t a hole in George Kittle’s game. He refuses to die when he has the ball in his hands, and he assassinates linebackers at a rate that would make John Wick blush … And he’ll do all of it while genuinely laughing.

It’s a shame that he’s already 32 years old, and it’s a massive shame that injuries decimated his 2025 season. First it was a torn hammy, then it was an ankle thing, and it all ended with a popped Achilles in the postseason. 

If he can make it back at some point during the 2026 season, it’s hard to imagine that he’s going to look like the trench knife that we’re used to seeing. Hopefully everything gets figured out by 2027, because football is infinitely more fun to watch when the players themselves are having fun … And no one in the NFL finds more joy using physicality to crush another man’s spirit than George Kittle.

– JB

40. Jonathan Taylor, RB – Indianapolis Colts

While Danny Dimes was stealing the majority of the headlines with his career resurgence in Indianapolis last season, ball-knowers will be quick to tell you that Jonathan Taylor getting his groove back more than Stella ever had it was the real secret sauce for the Colts. The Wisconsin product is a dynamite weapon and he's back on the map after a phenomenal 2025 campaign.

Taylor tied his career high with 18 rushing touchdowns last season while eclipsing the 1,500-yard mark for only the second time in his career, all while setting career-highs in receptions and receiving yards. The Colts star is the total package in the backfield, and he's not showing any signs of slowing down now that the situation in Indy seems to be stabilizing around him.

– CW

39. Derrick Henry, RB – Baltimore Ravens

Derrick Henry has been the most dominant running back in the NFL for the last decade, and the worst season of his career was in 2021 when he rushed for 937 yards in just eight games. On top of that, he and Saquon Barkley are the only two current running backs who have rushed for over 2,000 yards. 

When he went from the Titans to the Ravens in 2024, we started to see how efficient he could be. He had a career-best 5.9 yards per carry, and he was just 79 yards shy of hitting that 2,000-yard mark for the second time.

Some running backs make guys miss, and some running backs are meatballs who bounce off would-be tacklers. Henry plays with violence. Trying to tackle him in the open field means you’re going to get lifted off the ground by your face, or you’re going to get buried 10 inches into the ground … unless your name is Cooper DeJean … He’s a whole different beast.

– JB

38. Dion Dawkins, OT – Buffalo Bills

There probably hasn't been a time in Dion Dawkins' career where he's been a top three offensive tackle in the sport. That might even extend to the top five. However, that's also not a knock on him, because the Bills bookend is almost at a decade of clearly being one of the 10 best players at his position in the sport year in and year out.

Especially for a man tasked with protecting Josh Allen, Dawkins has been a stalwart in Buffalo. He's allowed just 10 sacks in more than 3,000 snaps over the past few years. And for a guy who's still in his early 30s, that level of high-end consistency that has made Dawkins so valuable to the Bills only looks like it's going to keep carrying forward for a while longer.

– CW

37. Trey McBride, TE – Arizona Cardinals

Trey McBride certified himself as a stud in 2024, when he caught 111 passes for 1,146 yards. That would’ve been the most by a tight end, but that pesky Brock Bowers beat him out with a record-breaking season.

In 2025, McBride certified himself as undeniable. He caught 126 passes for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns. Not only did that make him the most productive tight end, but he was also in a four-way tie for the second-most touchdown catches in the NFL … and he broke the record for single-season receptions. 

It helps that the Cardinals were the most pass-heavy team in 2025, but you’re only the most pass-heavy team if you have pass catchers who can keep up with the sheer amount of volume. McBride can do that, does do that, and he did it more than anyone ever has.

– JB

36. Christian Gonzalez, CB – New England Patriots

After two stellar campaigns to begin his career, it was a bit surprising to see the struggles of Christian Gonzalez at times last season, albeit while he was dealing with some ailments. However, we saw in the Patriots' playoff run and even in the blowout Super Bowl loss why Gonzo is one of the elite cover men in the league right now, and why the sky is the limit for his ability at the position.

Watching Gonzalez is some of the most fun you'll have as a football fan. He has tremendous instincts and twitch to match up with that mental acuity, but he also adds his length and speed to the equation on top of that. He's the total package for a cornerback and makes good on it week in and week out for New England.

– CW

35. Jeffery Simmons, DT – Tennessee Titans

If you look at Jeffery Simmons, you see a six-foot-four-inch, 300-ish-pound piece of meat that can stop the run. If you watch Jeffery Simmons, you watch a monster who has game-wrecking potential. 

It’s not just his elite-level hole plugging, but also his ability to cut through an offensive line and make plays behind the line of scrimmage. Most of the time, when a defensive tackle is as effective as Simmons, they’re playing next to a double-team-eating freak to allow one-on-ones. 

Simmons is the freak on the Titans’ defensive line. Sure, T’Vondre Sweat is a big guy who deserves attention, but Simmons is the guy you game plan around … But he still racked up 11 sacks, 17 tackles for a loss, and 21 QB hits. Those earned him his first-career All-Pro nod and a cool $105.8 million contract.

– JB

34. CeeDee Lamb, WR – Dallas Cowboys

Especially when you look at the box score and production, you realize the Cowboys had two WR1s last season with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. But don't let any of the hot-take artists out there fool you and make you think that the latter has overtaken the former as "the guy" in Dallas, because that's still not the case.

Though he played in just 14 games and had Pickens eating into his target share, Lamb still managed to finish his season with 1,077 yards, though he did only have three touchdowns. That looks more like the outlier in his career than the norm, however.

Whether Pickens remains in Dallas long-term or not, Lambe is already locked up and is going to keep putting up numbers year after year. His versatility and feel for the position and game make him undeniable as someone who's just going to produce at a high level for a long, long time.

– CW

33. Brock Bowers, TE – Las Vegas Raiders

For a long time, you kind of expected highly-drafted rookie tight ends to need a couple of years in the NFL before they would become a real weapon. Then, in 2021, Kyle Pitts broke the mold. In 2024, Brock Bowers shattered it. 

It took him no time at all to come into the league and establish himself as one of the truly great pass catchers, let alone tight ends … and he did it by setting the NFL’s rookie reception record with 112 catches. 

Sure, his sophomore season in 2025 was relatively lackluster, but that’s because of an injury that he tried to play through, and also the Raiders’ offense was a hot pile of trash. He was playing in a white-flag-waving Chip Kelly offense, and his quarterbacks were the corpse of Geno Smith and the Super Bowl-winning Kenny Pickett. That’s a terrible combination, but he still had a cool 64 catches for 680 yards and seven touchdowns. 

He’s no schlub as a blocker either. He’ll do his job and thud people pretty good, but he’s going to make disgusting amounts of money as a pass-catching weapon. 

After a 2026 season in a real NFL-style offense that will design a passing game around him, you have to think that being ranked 33rd might be his floor.

– JB

32. Fred Warner, LB – San Francisco 49ers

Once again, we have a player for whom health has been a bit of a concern. But perhaps even more so than other players who fit that billing, Fred Warner has been truly elite whenever he hasn't been slowed down by whatever injuries, bumps or bruises have hurt his availability with the 49ers.

If you need him to crash downhill, he's going to blow up the play more often than not. If you need him to hang with a tight end or a slot receiver (at times) while dropping back into coverage, he's able to do that too. Warner is truly the epitome of a versatile field general in the middle of San Francisco's defense, and you see it the most whenever, as mentioned, he has been banged up in recent years.

The 49ers look a bit lost whenever Warner isn't out there guiding the defense. That leaves no room for doubt about how valuable of a player he is and, on top of that, just how uniquely talented the linebacker is at his position.

– CW

31. Garett Bolles, OT – Denver Broncos

Garett Bolles has been good for a while, but he was never a Trent Williams/Dion Dawkins-caliber left tackle. Then the 2025 season came around. It’s rare for a 33-year-old guy to have a breakout season nine years into his career … but sure enough, Bolles did exactly that. 

As a pass blocker, he was a stalwart and allowed zero sacks through the entire season and postseason. Danielle Hunter, Trey Hendrickson, Josh-Hines Allen, Chris Jones … Some of the NFL’s premier pass rushers could not break through what Bolles was putting down. 

Had Bo Nix not broken his ankle in the postseason, there’s a very solid chance that we would’ve seen Bolles in the Super Bowl. There’s very little doubt in my mind that he would’ve completely shut down that Seahawks pass rush.

But we’ll never know about that. What we do know is that Bolles can clutch up and be one of the best tackles in the world, and it’s very cool to see long-time franchise staples reach their full potential and have career years.

– JB

30. Aidan Hutchinson, EDGE – Detroit Lions

Just the numbers alone from Aidan Hutchinson have been exceptional. He put up 14.5 sacks with 14 tackles for loss last season and now has 43 sacks over the first four seasons of his career — and that's while missing almost all of the 2024 season as well. But what really earns the Lions superstar a spot inside the top 30 on this list is the fact that he's largely done this while Detroit hasn't been doing him any favors.

The talk about the Lions defense in recent years is that they lack a true No. 2 pass rusher who can complement Hutchinson up front. As such, that allows defenses to stunt, slant pressures and even often double-team the former second overall pick coming off the edge. So for Hutchinson to still have been as productive as he's been at the pro level is quite remarkable and indicative of one of the game's legitimate current greats.

– CW

29. Maxx Crosby, EDGE – Las Vegas Raiders

Nobody plays football like Maxx Crosby, and that’s because nobody can play football like Maxx Crosby. From the first whistle of Week 1 to the last whistle of Week 18, he plays with the exact same level of energy and violence … and that level is truly elite.

He’s always on the field. Always making a play. And always making a multi-million dollar quarterback question whether the money is worth the physical pain and the headaches that he constantly inflicts.

The most impressive part of Crosby’s game is how much game he plays. Defensive end and EDGE are incredibly rotational positions, but he never leaves the field. In the past four seasons, he’s played an average of 95.4% of the defensive snaps that he’s been available for. 

2025 was actually the lowest number of those four seasons at 93.6%, and even then he played 100% of the snaps in eight games … a number that no other defensive lineman in the entire NFL hit all season.

It’s unbelievable, and I imagine that the Ravens will regret backing out of the trade for him.

– JB

28. Nik Bonitto, EDGE – Denver Broncos

Now that Nik Bonitto has put up 27.5 sacks and the 30 tackles for loss over the past two seasons, suffice it to say that he's not the player who barely saw the field in his rookie campaign back in 2022. The former second-round pick didn't make immediate contributions to Denver upon his arrival when he was drafted, but he's certainly given them their money's worth since the Broncos began giving him more opportunities.

It's wild to think that a relatively highly drafted edge defender went from barely getting on the field to being a full-blown starter and the No. 4 in the Defensive Player of the Year voting for 2025 in just three years. Bonitto has had a hand in that, improving so much about his body, his explosiveness and even his durability. And it feels fair to say that the threat of Bonitto leading this pass rush is a massive part of the reason the Broncos are sitting pretty in the AFC coming into the year.

– CW

27. Lamar Jackson, QB – Baltimore Ravens

The 2025 season was a bad season for a lot of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. That was especially true for Lamar Jackson (and the Ravens as a whole) ... But one bad season isn’t going to knock him out of the elite tier of players in the NFL.

This is a guy who, when healthy, is the most explosive quarterback we might ever see. Every year, he’ll have multiple plays where he’s dead to rights, only to evade the pass rush for 20 seconds while running for 80 yards in the backfield, and chunk a 45-yard pass downfield for a touchdown.

If sports blooper DVDs were still a thing, there would be a multi-disk set every year exclusively of plays where Jackson makes guys look like they’re baby giraffes learning to walk … That’s why he’s a two-time NFL MVP, and that’s why he’s ranked 27th.

– JB

26. James Cook, RB – Buffalo Bills

Maybe it's the lack of name brand because other guys in Buffalo have the spotlight, or maybe it's just fantasy football brain from prior to the 2025 season, but it does feel like James Cook isn't really close to being one of the first 26 guys in the NFL that you think of. Good thing we're not doing a popularity contest, though.

After some roster reshuffling, Cook was finally able to be the true lead back for the Bills this past season, and he flat-out dominated. He finished with an NFL-high 1,621 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, along with 291 receiving yards and two more scores. He's a playmaker, no matter how you get him the rock.

Despite the vibe or how having Cook this high might feel, everything we're seeing in terms of trajectory tells us he's in the right spot on these rankings.

– CW

25. Creed Humphrey, C – Kansas City Chiefs

Creed Humphrey is the best center in the NFL, and there isn’t a real argument otherwise. A-gap pressures can be extremely effective, but Humphrey completely shuts the show down. Whether it’s a linebacker in his face that’s trying to win with speed, or a game that tries to catch him off balance, he sees it and takes it away.

In the past two seasons combined, he has allowed a grand total of one sack, four QB hits, and 10 hurries off of just 15 pressures (per PFF). That’s not normal. Quite frankly, it’s inhuman. 

In the running game, you’d expect a six-foot-four-inch 300-pound guy to be a little sluggish. He’s not. He’ll get to the second level quickly, displace a couple of guys on his way, and then take a linebacker 15 yards downfield … All before the running back has made their second cut. 

The Chiefs’ offensive line has been shifting and changing, but Humphrey is the constant. He’s always on the field, and he makes everyone around him better.

– JB

24. Justin Jefferson, WR – Minnesota Vikings

I'm already annoyed at how many times we're going to see those anonymous "Player A" and "Player B" stat comparisons at wide receiver where one of them is Justin Jefferson. No doubt, he was lesser than in the 2025 season, still finishing with over 1,000 yards, but not by much and with only two touchdowns that he contributed to the Vikings' cause. But let's not forget that Jefferson might've also been playing with the worst quarterback situation in the league last year — and still put up a 1,000-yard season.

As a steadfast Kyler Murray truther, we should see Jefferson's stock try to tick back up. Even if I'm wrong about that, though, there is enough of a body of work with the Minnesota star receiver to say that he's still one of the best in the game at his position and otherwise. It's a process over results mindset for many pros, and Jefferson's results were interrupted by McCarthy, not his top-tier process in his craft.

– CW

23. Saquon Barkley, RB – Philadelphia Eagles

We’re lucky. For a very long time, we would see players get stuck in a bottomed-out franchise and waste their careers playing for teams where they could never reach their full potential.

After spending the first eight seasons of his career with the New York Giants, he hit free agency in 2024 and went to the Eagles. In his first season there, he became the ninth player ever to rush for over 2,000 yards, but it didn’t stop there. 

In the playoffs, he rushed for another 499 yards, set the NFL record for the most rushing yards in a complete season, and won a Super Bowl. There’s a very strong argument that it was the best season that a running back has ever had. 

He fell off in 2025, but that’ll happen after you run 436 times for 1.4 miles. That’s not going to take him out of the top 50. King Quan is the truth.

– JB

22. Bijan Robinson, RB – Atlanta Falcons

Probably because the Falcons were such a mess last season, it's entirely possible that fans missed the fact that Bijan Robinson had just shy of 2,300 yards from scrimmage last year, with 820 receiving and 1,478 rushing yards. The touchdowns were weirdly imbalanced with that, but Robinson is likley just going to keep putting up numbers at this point.

Whenever Robinson was entering the draft, there was a plethora of people who called him a generational type of talent, which warranted him being a top-10 pick. He's been that and more with this team, especially now that he's been given the opportunity to shoulder the load as the lead back in this offense. And with some QB uncertainty again this season, I suspect we'll see the Falcons just continue to lean on their rock, which is clearly Bijan.

– CW

21. Patrick Mahomes, QB – Kansas City Chiefs

Put your guns down: Patrick Mahomes is the most accomplished player in the NFL right now. He’s a three-time Super Bowl Champion, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, a two-time NFL MVP, a one-time Offensive Player of the Year, a three-time All-Pro, and a six-time Pro-Bowler.

Performance-wise, he’s got an impossibly high ceiling, but he does have a floor … and it’s shown its ugly face over the past couple of seasons. That’s why he’s ranked 21st, and that’s why he’s the fourth-highest quarterback. 

He’s able to dismantle, dissect, and eviscerate defenses better than 99.9% of the quarterbacks that we’ve seen over the past 50 years. And when he gets on the same page as his pass catchers, he’ll move the ball downfield and rip your heart out in 13 seconds. 

The highest compliment that you can give someone is that they’re a thief of joy. Patrick Mahomes isn’t just a thief of joy; he’s Enron.

– JB

20. Quenton Nelson, OG – Indianapolis Colts

Death, taxes and Quenton Nelson trying to bury you in the dirt. Those are the certainties when you're playing the Indiapolis Colts. Conventional wisdom when it comes to the draft would tell you that Nelson was drafted too highly for a guy who was always going to be a guard. However, if there's someone who is surefire set-it-and-forget-it at his post along the ever-important offensive line, that's just as valuable as reaching on a tackle, meaning that's exactly the bucket Nelson falls into.

Nelson has played 8,440 snaps in his career with Indianapolis since they made him the eighth pick in the draft back in 2018. In that time on the field for the Colts, Nelson has only been charged with giving up 14 sacks. That type of consistency and reliability is wildly uncommon in this day and age for offensive linemen, but Nelson is the poster child for it.

– CW

19. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR – Detroit Lions

“Chase, Waddle, Smith, Toney, Bateman, Moore, Moore, Eskridge, Atwell, Marshall, Palmer, Brown, Rodgers, Collins, Schwartz, Fitzpatrick.” –Amon-Ra St. Brown

It takes a real ... dedicated individual ... to recite the names of all 16 wide receivers who were drafted before you, just to make sure you keep a chip on your shoulder and have the edge of perceived disrespect. ARSB is that guy.

In a sense, he’s right to be disrespected. The only wide receiver that you can say is definitely better than him of those 16 guys is Ja’Marr Chase. Enough time has passed at this point where we know exactly who St. Brown is, what he can do, and how good he can do it. 

He’s one of the NFL’s premier slot receivers; he creates space where there is none, and he makes plays just about every single time he touches the ball.

He can be your possession receiver, and he has an unreal ability to get yards after the catch in the middle of the field. When you watch him, you’re going to have fun.

– JB

18. Puka Nacua, WR – Los Angeles Rams

Just so we're clear, Puka Nacua has plenty of off-field issues to get settled, and it does seem like he's working at that. But if we're talking pure football, he simply has to be that high in these rankings.

There were little to no expectations for Nacua as a fifth-round draft pick out of BYU. And yet, he immediately arrived on the Rams with Matthew Stafford and put up a 1,486-yard season with six touchdowns. He was in even better in 2025, though. He bested his previous highs with 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns through the air.

The fact that Nacua has been getting to work with Davante Adams in recent years only makes me more bullish on what's to come from him moving forward. You can already see the craftfulness, and it makes you think the Rams wideout is about to ascend even further.

– CW

17. Drake Maye, QB – New England Patriots

There was (and still is) a lot of talk about how easy the Patriots' schedule was in 2025. It all comes back to the argument: Is Drake Maye actually an MVP-caliber player, or did he just benefit from an eight-week stretch of playing teams that won 43 combined games? 

The reality is the third option: Drake Maye is an MVP-caliber quarterback who took advantage of a pathetic schedule.

He was throwing to a very much not-elite pass-catcher group, and he operated the offense with a brutal level of efficiency. Without him back there, that offense would’ve been highlighted by a 32-year-old Stefon Diggs.

Then you think about Maye’s play style? Brother …

Sacks stop drives, but when Maye got sacked, he would stand right back up the next play and get those yards back with a throw downfield. Up until that postseason stretch where he played three of the best defenses in the NFL back to back to back, the guy was unflappable. Now he’s got A.J. Brown to throw to … So, get ready for more of the same, but better.

– JB

16. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB – Detroit Lions

Jahmyr Gibbs has already been awesome, basically from the moment he got into the NFL — or at least until Detroit starts getting him the ball. Honestly, it's absurd how fast and effortless he can make a play look in space. And he's parlayed that into back-to-back years by amassing 1,800 or more in scrimmage yards.

The exciting part about Gibbs when we talk about him and all of these players being in the rankings is that the best is truly yet to come. Gibbs is now seemingly out of a full-blown timeshare and should see the most touches in his career in 2026. Based on what we've already seen from him in limited work, he could potentially threaten some records with a new role.

– CW

15. Quinn Meinerz, OG – Denver Broncos

You don’t think about Quinn Meinerz nearly as much as you should. Garrett Bolles is the Broncos’ studly left tackle who gets the shine for blocking Bo Nix’s blind side, but Meinerz is the gut of the Broncos’ offensive line. 

He’s incredibly physical and overwhelming. If, by chance, a defensive tackle doesn’t get knocked back from his punch and can make a move, he’s got an otherworldly sense to recover and still take them out of the play. 

Playing next to him must be a privilege because he dismantles people in combo blocks, and then moves to the second level. He gets his job done and then looks for work. He’s tenacious and unforgiving. He’s violent and voracious.

He’s got the speed to disintegrate linebackers angling downfield, and if you’re a cornerback and see him pulling? He’s got one hell of a tummy, and he knows how to use it. If you’re looking for 15 minutes to kill while you burn company time on the toilet, just watch Quinn Meinerz highlights and fall in love with guard play.

– JB

14. Tristan Wirfs, OT – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

If you were to take a 30,000-foot view of the Buccaneers, it might just seem like Tristan Wirfs has done his job at one of the highest levels of any offensive lineman in the sport. That's true, but it also doesn't fully indicate just how good he is. He's allowed only a dozen sacks over his first 6,000+ snaps in the NFL. That's just pure, plain tremendous in terms of that effort.

Even more impressive is that Wirfs has maintained his ability as a stopper on the edge despite starting his career at right tackle before making the transition to left tackle. It doesn't matter which side of the O-line you put him on. Wirfs is an absolute freak of nature and could soon have an argument to be called the best players at his position in the NFL.

– CW

13. Patrick Surtain II, CB – Denver Broncos

If you take quarterback out of the equation (and maybe even if you don’t), any NFL player will tell you that defensive back is the hardest position in football. They are constantly playing on their back foot, never have the upper hand, and every bad play is a poster.

Patrick Surtain II makes being a cornerback look easy. It doesn’t matter if it’s man coverage or zone coverage … he’s going to turn his wide receiver into a pumpkin, and quarterbacks are going to look to throw the ball just about everywhere else on the field.

Since he came into the NFL in 2021, quarterbacks have had an average passer rating of around 90. Surtain has averaged a passer rating of 72.3 when he’s targeted, and in the past two seasons, that rating has been 58.9 and 66.6. 

In 2024, he was the sixth-ever cornerback to be the Defensive Player of the Year. That puts him up there with Stephon Gilmore’s 2019, Charles Woodson’s 2009, and Deion Sanders’ 1994. It’s elite company for one of the truly elite cornerbacks.

– JB

12. Trent Williams, OT – San Francisco 49ers

Father Time might be undefeated, but Trent Williams also might have him getting some oxygen on the sidelines and having to draw up some trick plays.

Despite what feels like multiple years and offseasons now of talking about Williams inching closer to retirement, he keeps ultimately taking the field for the 49ers eventually and not missing a beat. He's a behemoth, but guys his size shouldn't move with the agility and smoothness that he does, which is why he's been an NFL fixture for elite offensive line play for so long now.

Eventually, that's going to wear off and we'll see some sort of decline in his performance. As things currently stand, though, it's hard to imagine that being the case for the 2026 season, which still lands him comfortable near the top of these rankings.

– CW

11. Penei Sewell, OT – Detroit Lions

Penei Sewell is the future at offensive tackle. He’s been a Pro-Bowler in four of his five seasons and an All-Pro in three of them. The dude is an absolute weapon.

As a pass blocker, he’s a force field. If there’s a way for an edge rusher or defensive end to beat him, and that’s a big if, a defensive tackle is going to need to be involved. Otherwise, it’s a wasted snap.

As good as he is at pass blocking (which he’s elite at), he’s even better at moving and steamrolling as a run blocker. He’ll displace a defensive tackle, stonewall a linebacker, and decleat a defensive back … and there’s a decent chance that he’ll do all three of those things on the same play. 

With Lane Johnson, Trent Williams, and Joe Thuney getting older, there’s a very good chance that Sewell becomes the offensive lineman of the NFL.

– JB

10. Ja’Marr Chase, WR – Cincinnati Bengals

Whenever there are people who will look at a 1,400-yard season with over 100 catches and eight touchdowns and consider that a bit disappointing, that should be a sign that something's going right in your career. Such is life for Ja'Marr Chase. The Bengals superstar is an absolute dynamo who's almost unguardable on the outside, especially when Cincinnati is looking to push the ball downfield.

The Bengals have a ton of firepower, no doubt. It's clear every time you watch them, though, who the alpha is in the offense, and it's Chase. Now, it'll be interesting to see what happens to Chase/Burrow/Higgins and this Cincinnati offensive core if this all doesn't translate to enough wins for a playoff spot in the 2026 season, but for now, Chase takes the mantle as the best receiver in the AFC.

– CW

9. Lane Johnson, OT – Philadelphia Eagles

Hand up: 2025 was not a good season for Lane Johnson. He dealt with some pretty tough injuries that caused him to miss time during games, but the kicker was a Lisfranc (foot) injury that caused him to miss the last eight games of the season. 

But this is Lane Johnson that we’re talking about … Missing a handful of games in one season isn’t going to take away from the Hall-of-Fame level of player that he is. 

Since the pandemic, he’s played in 76 games. That’s 4,567 total offense snaps and 2,802 pass blocking snaps (per PFF) … And he’s only allowed five total sacks. It’s not like he’s getting help either. The vast majority of the time, the Eagles will throw him on an island and let him do his job.

He simply erases pass rushers from the field. Nick Bosa? Not a problem. Micah Parsons? Non-factor. Maxx Crosby? See ya.

Over the past decade, he’s been the best and most consistent right tackle in the NFL. Hell, the dude has such an amazing kickstep that people accuse him of cheating. That’s next-level stuff.

– JB

8. Josh Allen, QB – Buffalo Bills

Yeah, he needs to win in the playoffs and, more pointedly, get the Bills to the Super Bowl. Those are all valid points and I'm not going to necessarily try and argue with them. Josh Allen does need to become a next-level superstar by winning a ring, or at least even getting to the big game. However, that doesn't mean we can just forget about what he's already done and accomplished on the gridron to this point.

Allen is a much different player than someone like Lamar Jackson, but he's every bit as lethal as a duel threat. I've said many times to friends, being on the wrong end of a Allen when he gets running downhill seems like an awful way to spend a Sunday. Not to mention trying to stick with receivers when they're getting a laser beam thrown to them. Allen is the total package who has blossomed fully at this point, and you could convince me he's even better than the one QB ahead of him in the rankings.

– CW

7. Christian McCaffrey, RB – San Francisco 49ers

There are two Christian McCaffrey seasons: the one where he’s injured and lays a turd, or the one where his Gatorade bottle is the Holy Grail, and he’s the best running back in the NFL. The 2024 season was the turd, so obviously the 2025 season was going to be demigod-adjacent. 

He touched the ball a whopping 413 times in 2025 … that’s the most touches anyone has had in a single season since DeMarco Murray’s 449 in 2014. His 413 touches were also 44 more than second-place Jonathan Taylor. CMC is the most dynamic player in the NFL, and he shows that every single time he touches the ball.

He’s the quintessential ‘when he’s on, he’s on’ guy. Some guys are like that for a game, but for him, it’s a full season. He might not have too many more seasons like this in his bag, so let’s all just appreciate what we have while we have it.

– JB

6. Will Anderson Jr., EDGE – Houston Texans

It's hard to believe that there were real, human people who were trying to tell you that Will Anderson wasn't worth the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. But alas, we've arrived this far in his career, and it turns out that the Texans knew exactly what they were doing in bringing Anderson into the fray as one of their defensive cornerstones.

Anderson has increased his sack total in every year he's been in the league, hitting a career-high mark with 12 last season, which went along with 20 tackles for loss on top of that. Sure, it doesn't hurt that the Texans have a deep edge rotation, but Anderson is still the best of the bunch with only the potential to get better ahead of him in the immediate. You should already own stock in Anderson, but if you don't, know's the time to do so. That stock is only going up in value.

– CW

5. Joe Thuney, OG – Chicago Bears

We’re finally in a world where offensive linemen have an award at the end of the season: the Protector of the Year. Not only that, but it’s voted on by retired offensive linemen. The first guy to ever win it was Joe Thuney.

It’s awesome that he finally got some recognition, and we’re going to keep that parade going into the 2026 season.

He played every single snap for the Bears in 2025. That was 1,149 snaps, and he didn’t allow a single sack. 

Then, during the playoffs, Ozzy Trapilo (left tackle) tore his patellar tendon during the wild card game. What did the Bears do? They put their near-perfect left guard at left tackle. How did he do? Perfectly. For the entirety of the 2025 season, Thuney allowed exactly zero sacks. He was the only guard who played over 1,000 snaps that didn’t allow a single sack. That’s nuts.

10 NFL seasons. Four Pro Bowls. Five All-Pros. Four Lombardis. Joe Thuney has owned the trenches for the better part of the last decade, and 2025 was a masterpiece.

– JB

4. Micah Parsons, EDGE – Green Bay Packers

As has been the case throughout these rankings, we are still factoring in health when it comes to Micah Parsons. He's coming off of a torn ACL that is likely going to cause him to miss at least some time for the Packers this season. And even with that, he's still going to be considered a top-five player in the NFL by our estimation.

That should tell you exactly how devastating of a defender he is.

Parsons has put up at least 14 sacks in all five NFL seasons to this point, including his first year with the Packers in 2025, despite missing the last three games of the season. He's just an unreal force of unstoppable energy when he can pin his ears back off the edge, but he's such a tremendous athlete, he can do more than just that. He's a chess piece for which opposing offenses have no counter. Checkmate.

– CW

3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR – Seattle Seahawks

Sometimes everything works out for you. Maybe you hit every green light on your way to work. Or maybe the wide receiver who lines up opposite you gets traded … and you get a rehabbed quarterback who can fit the ball in tight windows … and you get an offensive coordinator who can scheme you open on any play. 

Going into 2025, the Seahawks traded DK Metcalf to the Steelers, signed Sam Darnold, and hired Klint Kubiak. Jaxon Smith-Njigba saw all of those things happen and turned his 2024 breakout year into a 2025 Offensive Player of the Year-year. 

Going into Week 13, when Seattle’s offense hit a relative wall, JSN had a cool 80 catches for 1,313 yards and seven touchdowns. He finished the season with nine games with over 100 receiving yards, four games with over 125, and two games with over 150. He was the WR1 of WR1s. 

Then in the playoffs, he came alive when he needed to. In Seattle’s only competitive postseason game (the NFC Championship game against the Rams), he ripped another 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown. The dude rocks.

– JB

2. Matthew Stafford, QB – Los Angeles Rams

Of course, we have to show the reigning NFL MVP some deserved love — not that he doesn't get plenty of that. Matthew Stafford has long been an elite quarterback, even back when he was on a dysfunctional iteration of Detroit for about a decade. Since coming to the Rams, though, he's unlocked Jedi-like superpowers.

This past season was a perfect example. There were legit conversations about if he would be healthy enough to play for Los Angeles in the 2025 season when the team was in training camp. He obviously played, and then proceeded to put up more than 4,700 yards with 46 touchdowns and only eight interceptiions. Not too shabby.

Stafford has been an iron man with a ton of talent for so long that he might be underappreciated, strangely, by many fans. We aren't those types of fans, however.

– CW

1. Myles Garrett, EDGE – Los Angeles Rams

There are 8.3 billion people on the planet, and I’d argue that Myles Garrett is better at his job than at least 8.299 billion of them at theirs. We all knew that he was totally capable of breaking the NFL single-season sack record, but we never thought he would because he played for the Browns. We were all so dumb and so wrong.

He set the record with 23 sacks.

23 times, Myles Garrett committed a would-be war crime and got the quarterback to the ground. 23 times, he did the most important thing a defensive end can do. 23 times, he showed that he’s the best player in the NFL. 

He teleports. He bull-rushes. He bends. He does everything, and he does it all with a brutalizingly lethal level of efficiency. If there’s one person to game plan for in the NFL, it’s Myles Garrett … and now he’s on a team that matters. God help us all.

– JB

More NFL news and analysis

• The biggest NFL breakout candidate from all 32 teams going into training camp
• NFL Power Rankings 2026: Pre-training camp evaluation of holdovers and new blood
• 10 NFL training camp cut candidates who could be traded instead
• NFL Mock Draft 2027: Full first-round projection after Myles Garrett, A.J. Brown trades
• NFL Draft 2026: Realistic expectations for all 32 first-round picks

This article was originally published on fansided.com as Ranking the 50 best NFL players for the 2026 season.