Importance is defined as “The state or fact of being of great significance or value.” That’s one subjective version. But as it pertains to the most important game of any NFL season, how is importance defined?
We could say that player importance is defined as that player’s potential effect on the final result. How much can this one guy swing the outcome, in a good or bad way? How much does his presence or absence, positive or negative play, turn things in a specific direction?
With that construct in mind, here are the 56 most important players, in order, who will participate in Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Feb. 13.
This isn’t a list where we rank the players in the Super Bowl based on talent and performance to date — were that the case, we would struggle to find a place for any of the Bengals’ offensive linemen. But are those offensive linemen terribly important in their ability (or not) to keep Joe Burrow upright against the Rams’ constantly furious pass rush?
Absolutely.
Conversely, how important to the final score is Joe Burrow’s ability to transcend that offensive line in different ways, and how crucial are the efforts of the Rams’ awesome defensive line to stomp that out?
That’s probably where we should start. In our opinion, Joe Burrow is the most important player in Super Bowl LVI — he’s one of 56 on our list. A good number for this game!
As to the other 55 most important players, read on to discover who, and why.
(All advanced metrics provided by Pro Football Focus, Sports Info Solutions, and Football Outsiders unless otherwise indicated).