The top 101 players in the NFL today

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield present their top 101 players in the NFL for the 2020 season.

50. T.J. Watt, EDGE, Pittsburgh Steelers

(Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports)

The Steelers took J.J. Watt’s younger brother in the first round of the 2017 draft, and Watt made the Pro Bowl in his second season with 13 sacks, 52 total pressures, and 47 stops. But Watt ratcheted things up even higher as a pass-rusher in 2019, with 14.5 sacks and 81 total pressures. Pittsburgh led the league with 180 total pressures and a pressure rate of 30.5%, and Watt was the force multiplier in that equation.

Not only is Watt one of the best around-the-edge rushers in the league, he also has a great feel on stunts and games — you’ll often see him jumping two gaps to get to the quarterback on plays when he’s asked to switch places after the snap with other defensive stalwarts like Cameron Heyward. His excellent season would have received more national focus had the Steelers not finished 8-8 due to an absolutely horrific quarterback situation, but that could easily change in 2020.

49. Rodney Hudson, C, Las Vegas Raiders

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The Raiders have the NFL’s most expensive offensive line, with more than $58 million in contract value in 2020 alone — the Packers rank second at just under $50 million, so it’s pretty clear where Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock want their money spent. One deal that had to be made in 2019 to keep that line together was the three-year, $33.75 million extension given to Hudson in August, 2019. Hudson has been among the best at his position for a number of years, going back to his time with the Chiefs from 2011 through 2014, but he’s just added to his power, leverage, and agility as the years have gone on. Any linebacker on a blitz would be able to tell you how effective Hudson is as a brick-wall blocker; this rep from Jaguars linebacker Donald Payne is but one example.

In 597 pass-blocking snaps last season, Hudson allowed a paltry three total pressures — no sacks, one quarterback hit, and two quarterback hurries. 2019 marked the second straight season, and the third in the last four seasons, in which Hudson refused to give up a single quarterback takedown. When it comes to consistency at the top level at the center position, Hudson outpaces all the rest.

Hudson also insists on excelling off the field.

48. Shaquil Barrett, EDGE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Barrett was the winner of 2019’s “From Out of Nowhere” award following his signing with the Buccaneers before the 2019 season, amassing a league-high 19.5 sacks after five seasons with the Broncos in which he struggled for starting reps and put up just 14 total takedowns. All it took was an opportunity in Todd Bowles’ aggressive defense for Barrett to display the strength to break through double teams, the speed to close to quarterbacks on the move, and and burst to make slower offensive tackles regret their hesitancy. Barrett did all that on a one-year, $4 million deal, making him one of the NFL’s more remarkable bargains in recent years. When you sign a guy to a replacement-level contract and he responds with 82 total pressures, he’s worth a lot more. The Bucs will have Barrett on the franchise tag for $15,828 million in 2020 — perhaps to ensure that he wasn’t a one-year wonder. The tape shows that he wasn’t, and the team would be wise to invest in his services beyond this upcoming season.

47. Tyler Lockett, Slot WR, Seattle Seahawks

(Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports)

Including the postseason, no slot receiver caught more touchdown passes than Lockett did in the 2019 campaign with six. He also allowed Russell Wilson a 122.9 passer rating when targeting him from the slot. Not that creating supernatural efficiency for his quarterback is a new thing for Lockett — in 2018, he became the first receiver since at least 2018 to take at least 20% of his snaps and still rack up a perfect passer rating overall when targeted.

Lockett has become a top-level receiver no matter where he lines up, but he’s a great slot target for the same reasons you’ll find for slot guy — he knows how create separation with spacing and leverage, he has an extra gear when he needs it, and in Lockett’s case, there are things he’s learned about adjusting the speeds of his routes that make things very difficult for opposing defenders.

In addition to those six slot touchdowns, Lockett caught 64 inside passes on 88 targets for a league-high 901 yards, and he dropped just one pass. As D.K. Metcalf becomes more of a force and a threat as an outside receiver, the Seahawks have one of the more dynamic duos at the position. But as much as Russell Wilson is the epicenter of Seattle’s passing game, this thing doesn’t work without Lockett’s presence — inside and out.

46. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

(Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

As the expression goes, “speed kills.” Tyreek Hill certainly checks that box. Among the fastest players to suit up, Hill is a home run threat every single time he touches the football. Combine that with the fact that he has the combination of Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy designing the plays for him, and Patrick Mahomes getting him the football, and he is a highlight reel in cleats.

Watch this touchdown against the Denver Broncos. Hill is the single receiver aligned to the left side of the formation:

This is a variation of the “throwback” or “leak” design that is all the rage in today’s NFL. Here the Chiefs run X Leak, with Hill dragging across the formation and then getting vertically along the opposite numbers. From the otherside of the formation the Chiefs run a shallow crossing route with the tight end and a deep post route. Those routes create traffic, and Hill gets an assist as he works across the field against Chris Harris Jr. Matt Moore hits him in stride, and it’s an easy TD.

But Hill’s speed, as well as designs like this, overshadow what he has developed in terms of route-running. You might think that a player with his burst and acceleration could simply rely on raw speed to get open, but Hill has developed some nuance to his game that is worthy of appreciation.

On this late season TD against the Broncos, watch how he beats the CB with his route-running, before racing away from the free safety:

Hill sells Harris on the crossing route, getting the DB to bite, and then bursts away from both him and Justin Simmons. Harris is probably wishing he left the AFC West in the rearview mirror…

In the AFC Championship Game Hill reached the end zone on a simple seam route, but his footwork on the release was anything but:

This is like one of those receiver workout videos you see posted during the summer, with the quick footwork against a ladder. Hill is doing it in the AFC Championship Game with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

Adding nuance to his game is much like when Happy Gilmore learned to putt. Game over friends. Game. Over.

45. Ali Marpet, OG, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

(Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

Marpet was one of the most intense and entertaining players to talk with at the 2015 scouting combine. He had grabbed the attention of NFL scouts and personnel people despite his time at Division III Hobart College, especially after a promising week at the Senior Bowl, and we listened enviously as he regaled us with stories about his 7,000-calorie per day diet.

The Buccaneers selected Marpet in the second round of the 2015 draft, and even in his rookie season (when he allowed just two sacks and 22 total pressures), he proved right away that he had no issue dealing with the best the NFL had to offer. That has continued to this day. Though the 2019 Bucs didn’t have much of a run game, Marpet allowed just two sacks, eight quarterback hits, and 13 quarterback hurries in a league-high 751 pass-blocking snaps. Now, imagine Marpet going from blocking for Jameis Winston to Tom Brady, and it’s easy to imagine the veteran giving up even fewer pressures in a far more efficient passing game.

44. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

(Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports)

Jones’ potential production seemed clear in the 2018 season, his second in the NFL as the Packers’ 2017 fifth-round pick out of Texas-El Paso. Then, he led the league with a 5.5 yards per carry rate and scored eight rushing touchdowns on just 133 carries. Still, then-head coach Mike McCarthy was relatively unimpressed, and said so when asked why he didn’t make Jones his primary back.

“There’s more to the offense than just running the football,” McCarthy said.

This would imply that Jones’ pass protection was a problem, or that perhaps he wasn’t a good receiver, but the tape didn’t show that. Jones would have to wait for Matt LaFleur to become the Packers’ new head coach and offensive play-designer to really break out, which Jones did in 2019. Only Ezekiel Elliott, Christian McCaffrey, and Mark Ingram ranked higher in Football Outsiders’ season-cumulative efficiency metrics for running backs, and only New Orleans’ Latavius Murray ranked higher in FO’s Success Rate metric.

There were other ways in which Jones stood out in 2019.

Sometimes, all you need is the right coach.

43. Demario Davis, LB, New Orleans Saints

(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

The past three seasons have seen Demario Davis come into his own as a linebacker in the NFL. During his first years in the league, starting with his time with the New York Jets and then a season in Cleveland, Davis was a solid, if unspectacular, defender. Then in 2017 he rejoined the Jets after a season with the Browns and started to flourish. That year he notched 28 quarterback pressures (with a career-high five sacks) as well as a career-high 104 tackles.

Then he moved to the NFC South, and the past two years with the Saints he has performed at an elite level. Last year saw Davis post some more career-high numbers, including his best tally of quarterback pressures (30) and a career-high with nine passes defended. In coverage Davis allowed 57 receptions on 76 targets, and passers posted an NFL passer rating of just 87.4 when targeting Davis, the best mark from the linebacker over his entire career.

But Davis is also a force against the run. He has the footwork and explosiveness to stop plays before they get going. Watch him knife into the backfield to stop this toss play from the Tennessee Titans:

Now watch what he does on this gap/power design from the Atlanta Falcons. Davis sees the down block from the left guard and recognizes the design, crashing forward to fill the hole in response. He meets the pulling guard in the hole, stones him, and scrapes off to make the tackle:

This, like the rest of his all-around game, is elite.

42. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

(Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports)

Something tells me this piece will not get the same kind of run other lists have from our partners over at Packers Wire…

For years Aaron Rodgers has been my answer to this question: “If you needed one quarterback to make a throw with your life on the line, who would you trust?” I would imagine many now look to the kid in Kansas City as the answer to that question, but for a long stretch of time that player was Rodgers in my mind.

And yet, there is a case to be made that even though Rodgers is one of the most feared quarterbacks in the game and still a tremendous player, his best days are behind him. That starts with the numbers. After leading the NFL with an Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of 8.65 back in 2014, Rodgers has struggled to keep that number north of 7.00 in the seasons since. His 6.71 mark from last season was good for 11th in the league, which was in line with his 6.96 mark of 2018, which was the tenth-best number in the league. Then there is Expected Completion Percentage. That number for Rodgers was 63.8%, which was higher than his actual Completion Percentage of 62%. That difference of -1.8% ranked Rodgers among such notables as Eli Manning, Marcus Mariota and Andy Dalton.

And yet, can you really in your heart count Rodgers out completely? Traits-wise, he remains an elite player. But the numbers have not backed that up recently. With the Packers and Matt LaFleur moving to a more San Francisco style of offense, with more 21 personnel usage and play-action, Rodgers could be in position to improve his productivity in the season ahead. While his play-action numbers were woeful in 2018, they did improve slightly in 2019, giving Packers fans cause for hope. But for now, he’s still one of the game’s best, but there are others we might trust more to make that one throw.

41. Mitchell Schwartz, OT, Kansas City Chiefs

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If you logged onto Twitter over a few weeks ago, you were probably treated to outrage over another rankings list. ESPN put together rankings lists based on conversations and interviews with NFL decision-makers. When it came time to put together their offensive tackle list, one name was missing:

Kansas City Chiefs right tackle Mitchell Schwartz.

Since being drafted in the second round out of the University of California, Mitchell Schwartz has been a starter at right tackle in the National Football League. After four years in Cleveland, Schwartz has been a rock solid contributor for the Chiefs the past four seasons. Last year was a masterpiece from Schwartz, who went the entire season without allowing a single sack. He also gave up just 21 quarterback pressures, the lowest mark of his entire NFL career.

Schwartz threw basically the offensive tackle version of a perfect game in his final two starts of the season: The AFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl. Super Bowl LIV is a perfect case study, given the talented San Francisco 49ers’ defensive front. On this play he stones former Kansas City Chief Dee Ford with great hand placement and footwork, after taking the fight to the defensive end:

On this snap, Schwartz slow-plays Arik Armstead, but never gives an inch once the contact is made:

But Schwartz’s work in the AFC Championship Game should not be ignored. Take this example on a fourth down conversion, as he locks down the right edge:

So perhaps the NFL decision-makers might not appreciate Schwartz for what he does, but here at the Touchdown Wire, we are huge fans.

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