By George Howard IV (@itsshotbyred)
The top 100 players in the NFL have been named. For some, the list was as expected. For others, it was quite the head-scratcher.
This list includes many great players, but was it in the right order? One trending story is how the alleged best player in the league was essentially taken completely out of a game during the postseason. All the while the “down year” QB won it all without the Miami track team. Was this a snub to the SB MVP, or is the list correct in its own way?
When the NFL Players revealed their top ten spots on the list, there wasn’t much debate for slots 10-5. As they selected, a talented pass rusher, a dominant offensive lineman, and a future hall-of-fame tight end. Where the list gets interesting is in the top four.
Taking the fourth spot is three-time Super Bowl Champion, three-time Super Bowl MVP, and two-time league MVP, Patrick Mahomes. According to the extremely high standards Mahomes has set in his career, this past season was a “down year”. With 4,183 passing yards and 27 touchdowns nearing his 2019 campaign. For an above-average quarterback, those are great numbers, but for Mahomes, it was a very trying season.
Mahomes navigated new staff additions with Offensive Coordinator Matt Nagy and a depleted wide receiver room which saw him throw a career-high of 14 interceptions. Was that all on the wide receivers? What we do know is that 28-year-old Mahomes willed his team through the playoffs to win his third Super Bowl in five seasons. Maybe this campaign would be judged differently in another context besides the top 100 NFL players for 2023 and maybe in the conversation of the ever-changing G.O.A.T debate.
Taking the third spot is the current NFL rushing champion Christian McCaffrey (1459 yards). He’s made significant improvements in ranking from last year, as he was ranked as the 32nd best player last year, and for the 2023-24 season, he’s moved up 29 spots. He also led the league in all-purpose yards and touchdowns with (2,023 yards and 21 TDs) making him a legitimate weapon in the 49ers backfield. This marks his best statistical season to date. Can he follow it up next year?
In second place we have two-time MVP and arguably one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen in Lamar Jackson. Jackson enjoyed a significant jump in ranking, from 70th last year to the 2nd best player in the NFL. He had career highs in completions (307), passing attempts (457), and a very high completion percentage (67.2) while also adding 821 yards on the ground. Most would argue that he was the NFL MVP front-runner for most of the 2023 season.
Topping out at the No. 1 spot for the NFL’s best player is former Kansas City Chief wide receiver and now Miami Dolphins Tyreek Hill. Hill finished the season with a historic 1,799 receiving yards last season to lead all receivers. He briefly glanced at the all-time single-season receiving yard record holder Calvin Johnson (1,964), but unfortunately missed a few games with an ankle injury that derailed that achievement. The shifty receiver still uses his speed as his best asset, with many of his yards coming from short-yardage concepts with 602 yards (via Next Gen Stats). His historic season, made 2,000 yards look more attainable for himself and other NFL receivers.
If we look at the list from the top four spots down, there are some glaring differences in performances. You have a player who willed his team through the Ice Bowl 2.0, the hostile crowd of Bills Mafia, and the daunting task of keeping up with the modern-day Michael Vick in Lamar Jackson. Then you have an electrifying all-world receiver who led all receivers in most statistical categories but disappeared when it mattered most. Many would agree that spots two and three are interchangeable or flat-out correct, but spots one and four are head-scratchers, considering the “fourth” best player in the league beat every ranked player above him at some point during the season.
