Recently, Mark Schofield and I compiled 14 different lists of the best NFL players at every position. From those names, we then compiled this list of the top 101 players in the NFL today. In this top 101, we forced ourselves to stick to players we had named in the positional lists, to avoid overdoing “skill position players” at the expense of slot cornerbacks, guards and interior defensive linemen. By drawing from a full list of positions as opposed to loading this with the most popular or highest-paid players, hopefully it gives a better and wider sense of the talent around the league than some other lists might.
The lists: Safeties | Slot defenders | Outside cornerbacks | Linebackers | Interior Defensive Linemen | Edge Defenders | Guards | Centers | Offensive Tackles | Tight Ends | Slot Receivers | Outside Receivers | Running Backs | Quarterbacks
For certain positions, we expanded the lists to 15 players, because when you’re reviewing the NFL’s best quarterbacks and receivers, and you’re leaving Matt Ryan, Justin Herbert, D.K. Metcalf, or Mike Evans off because you’re at the self-imposed mercy of your own numbers… well, that’s obviously sub-optimal.
From these lists, Mark and I compiled our list of the 101 best players in the NFL today, regardless of position. Some positional weight was considered (quarterbacks have an edge over centers, etc.), but again, the overall idea was to break out of the most popular positions and really dig into the league’s biggest difference-makers, without overcooking which positions they play.
With all that in mind, and without further ado, here are our 101 best players in the NFL heading into the 2021 season.
101-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1