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The annual tradition after the Super Bowl has concluded is to rank the players from season. Pro Football Focus has their top 101 players in the NFL, much like the college version. The Sooners had six players on the college list, for the NFL three made the final cut.
Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers
Replacing one of the greatest players in a franchise’s history is never easy. Trent Williams not only did that but actually provided an upgrade to the level Joe Staley was playing at when he retired — high-level play in its own right. Williams allowed 19 total pressures all season, but it was his run blocking that was a tapestry of peerless artwork that belongs in a museum. Williams regularly buried defenders who tried to get past his block, opening up major running lanes for the 49ers’ ground game. His highlight reel this season is absolutely absurd.
Last year Williams was unranked on the list, due to the fact that he did not play in the 2019 season.
Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
It’s hard to imagine Baker Mayfield landing on this list if you watched him play in Week 1, when the Baltimore Ravens took Cleveland’s offense to pieces as it tried to put all of the pieces together with little offseason and no preseason games to work through the issues. Mayfield and the rest of the offense just continued to get better and better throughout the campaign, and he finished with 31 big-time throws — just two behind Josh Allen on the season. Mayfield rebuilt his game on the fly and kept coming up with answers to every new challenge he faced.
Mayfield was not ranked on last year’s list but a new head coach in Kevin Stefansky did him good. He drastically reduced his turnovers from 2019.
Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
Kyler Murray is one of the league’s most electrifying players. While his passing didn’t take the huge leap this season many expected, he still improved his PFF passing grade over last year by more than 16 grading points. Despite being hampered by injury, he also added 11 rushing touchdowns, 52 first downs on the ground and over 400 scramble yards.
Murray went from unranked in his rookie season to No. 71. PFF notes that he is one of the most electrifying players and he had one of the most memorable moments of the 2020 season.
The Clutch Performance Play of the Year goes to the Hail Mary from @k1 to @DeAndreHopkins!
(Via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/XIuVXi6i52
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) February 7, 2021
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