The NFL’s 101 best players for the 2025 season: 60-51

Everybody in this business has their own favorite and best players, and their own methodologies for their rankings. The NFL Network does the annual Top 100 players based on ratings from other players, which is an interesting way to go, if not fully and ideally comprehensive — most players are focused on their upcoming opponents, as opposed to the entire NFL on an agnostic basis.

Others will do their rankings based on their conversations with NFL coaches and executives, which is also interesting in its own way, and we’ll get into some of the more… um… “creative” takes from some of those folks as we tread up these particular rankings.

My method isn’t really “better” than anybody else’s, and hopefully not too much worse. I do my annual Top 101 player lists (which I’ve been doing for years, at times with current SB Nation colleague Mark Schofield) based on tape study and advanced metrics. And in this case, shifting my focus from the 2024 season to what things might look like in 2025.

As far as positional value, I find that the trend on most lists is to overcook quarterback importance at the expense of crucial players elsewhere — especially those who have become key to the modern NFL, such as slot receivers, multi-position defenders, offensive guards, and interior defensive linemen. Ideally, such a list presents a more balanced view of what matters in today’s game.

With all that preamble out of the way, here are my 101 best players in the NFL today. This article brings players 60-51, and you can read the previous pieces here:

The NFL’s 101 best players for the 2025 season, Nos. 101-91
The NFL’s 101 best players for the 2025 season, Nos. 90-81
The NFL’s 101 best players for the 2025 season, Nos. 80-71
The NFL’s 101 best players for the 2025 season, Nos. 70-61

Now, here are my best players in the NFL today, Nos. 60-51.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions).

Every successful offensive line has at least one enforcer — that blocker who, as a defender, you just don’t want to deal with. Because as much as you have to watch that guy’s technique, there’s also a pretty decent chance that you’re going to get your block knocked off if you don’t keep your head on a proverbial swivel.

For the Kansas City Chiefs, there’s no question whatsoever that said enforcer is right guard Trey Smith.

Selected in the sixth round of the 2021 draft out of Tennessee, Smith hit the ground running, with 1,404 snaps at right guard in his rookie season. Smith was big (6’6, 321 pounds) and still getting his stuff together early on, as he gave up five sacks and 57 total pressures in his rookie campaign. Things started to turn around in 2022, when Smith allowed two sacks and 41 total pressures in 821 pass-blocking snaps, and in 2023, when he gave up two sacks and 43 total pressures in 912 pass-blocking reps.

2024 was the capper for Smith, while the rest of Kansas City’s offensive line (minus center Creed Humphrey) fell apart even as the Chiefs made their third straight Super Bowl. Smith allowed one sack and 34 total pressures in 829 pass-blocking snaps, and was just as nasty in both pass- and run-blocking as he ever had been before.

From Week 13 through Super Bowl LIX, Smith gave up one sack (in the Super Bowl) and one quarterback hit (against the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round). Other than that, nobody was doing much to Patrick Mahomes on Mr. Smith’s watch. And that’s despite Smith’s place in the offensive line to the right of tackle Jawaan Taylor, who allowed seven sacks and 43 total pressures last season, and was flagged for 19 penalties.

The Chiefs have work to do with their offensive line, and everybody knows it. But at the right guard position, everything is on lock, and Trey Smith is the reason why. The four-year, $94 million contract extension with $46.75 million guaranteed that Smith signed in July is proof of just how far he’s come, and how important he is to that offense.

We’re going to talk a lot about system quarterbacks in this particular article, because there are two signal-callers on today’s list who are debited in the court of public opinion as such players. But if we are to relegate Brock Purdy to the “Kyle Shanahan Quarterback” bin, why didn’t it work as well for Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance, both of whom cost the team far more in terms of free agent money (in Garoppolo’s case) and draft capital (Lance)?

In the end, the 2022 Mr. Irrelevant, who scored himself a new five-year, $265 million contract extension this May with $182.55 million guaranteed, succeeded where others didn’t because he has an elite command of the nuances of the position that take more time to develop. In Purdy’s case, you need to understand how well he diagnoses and attacks coverage switches from pre- to post-snap, and how often he throws his receivers open and into favorable positions. Given how often Shanahan wants his quarterbacks to throw between the numbers, that anticipation is crucial to the success of the offense.

Nothing Purdy does on tape really blows you away, but it all works. Last season on throws of 20 of more air yards, he completed 21 of 49 for 749 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 93.3. When under pressure, he completed 225 of 315 passes for 2,932 yards, 12 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 103.8 — among the NFL’s best in both cases. And though we don’t think of Purdy as exceptionally mobile, last season on throws outside the pocket, he completed 24 of 46 passes for 230 yards, four touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 86.3.

Purdy has succeeded beyond anybody’s expectations simply because he understands the requirements of the quarterback position at a level that a lot of guys far more physically talented never will. In any era, that will work in the NFL.

When Justin Madubuike changed his name to Nnamdi, his Nigerian name, before the 2024 season, he officially became the second-best Nnamdi in NFL history — because as great as Madubuike has been throughout his career, it’ll take a bit to put anybody on Nnamdi Asomugha’s level as the best coverage cornerback of his era.

That said, Mr. Madubuike is well on his way regarding the challenge. In 2024, his second NFL season as the epicenter of the Ravens’ defensive line, Madubuike had 11 sacks, 60 total pressures, 34 solo tackles, 30 stops, 12 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. And at 6’3 and 305 pounds, Madubuike presented serious problems for enemy blockers from every possible gap — 13% of his snaps on the edge, 84% as a true defensive tackle, and 2% in the nose tackle role.

Wherever he does line up, Madubuike has developed more than just the raw speed and power required for any interior defensive lineman. He also has a ton of effort sacks and hurries in which he’ll chase quarterbacks all over the field like a 250-pound edge-rusher, and he’s become a true closer in these instances.

In March, 2024, the Ravens signed Madubuike to a new four-year, $98 million contract extension with $48.5 million guaranteed, and he made his second straight Pro Bowl after the 2024 campaign. From start to finish, 2024 was a remarkable year for Nnamdi Madubuike, and the best is yet to come.

Thomas was the fourth receiver chosen in the 2024 draft after Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze, but it could be said that over the second half of the 2024 season, no rookie receiver was anywhere near Thomas’ productivity, and that went for most veteran receivers, as well.

From Weeks 13-18, and with Mac Jones as his quarterback as Trevor Lawrence had been lost for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, here’s what Thomas did:

All this with a coaching staff that was on the way out, and a former first-round quarterback who couldn’t hold a starting gig in the NFL. Now that Thomas has a healthy Lawrence and new head coach Liam Coen running the offense as well, we should expect more fireworks from Thomas, especially as he has Travis Hunter to help open things up in the passing game.

Thomas already qualifies as a true X-iso guy — 14 of his 21 explosive plays came from the outside receiver slots last season, and he did it up well against some prominent cornerbacks. It’s rare for a rookie receiver to become That Guy in any offense, but Thomas did that with authority as soon as he was able.

From 2019, when he was the 24th overall pick of the then-Oakland Raiders out of Alabama, through the 2024 season, Josh Jacobs ranks second in the NFL in carries (1,637), second in rushing yards (7,038), and fourth in rushing touchdowns (62). Only Derrick Henry has Jacobs beat on any of those three categories among running backs, and only Henry, Jalen Hurts, and Josh Allen have more rushing touchdowns in that six-year stretch.

So, why does it seem that Jacobs is a bit underrated when it comes time to discuss the league’s best running backs? Certainly in 2024, his first season with the Green Bay Packers after signing a four-year, $48 million deal with $12.5 million guaranteed, Jacobs was everything his new team hoped he would be. He totaled 1,410 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns on 319 carries. Jacobs also forced 79 missed tackles (only Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley had more), 1,113 of his rushing yards came after contact, and 12 of his carries went for 15 or more yards.

Equally adept in any kind of man- or zone-blocking scheme, Jacobs has become one of the NFL’s best at his position, whether he’s universally regarded that way or not.

The 2024 New York Jets’ season was a disaster, and a lot of that had to do with talented players who weren’t put in ideal positions to succeed by an overwhelmed coaching staff. But in the case of Quinnen Williams, it was injuries that led to what seemed like a down season. As he worked through shoulder and hamstring maladies, Williams still had seven sacks, 54 total pressures, 25 solo tackles, 23 stops, eight tackles for loss, and he was an enforcer from every possible gap on a defensive line that had precious little else when it came to quarterback disruption, edge-rusher Will McDonald IV’s 11 sacks and 61 total pressures aside.

Now that former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is in charge of things as the Jets’ head coach, you can expect a lot more blitzing and press coverage, both of which can upset the timing of enemy quarterbacks. A calf injury has slowed Williams’ preseason process in the new defense, but when Williams is on, he’s still among the NFL’s best at his position(s), and all his coaches know it.

“He is getting back into a groove and we are finding better ways to utilize him, too, so it’s a combination
of those two things,“ interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said of Williams last October. ”It couldn’t happen to a better human being. There is not a guy on our team that works as hard as Quinnen. It makes me feel good when he’s dancing.“

Fully healthy and with a better staff, Williams might go Strictly Ballroom in 2025.

More is expected of the modern linebacker than at any other time in pro football history. If you want to be a notable player at the position, you can’t just blow up run gaps like the old-school guys, though that’s important, as well. You also have to bring quarterback pressure, and as much as that may come from the blitz, it helps if you can also line up as an edge predator. Oh, by the way — you also have to be an asset in coverage; it’s not enough to not be a liability.

Frankie Luvu has had all of this on point for a long time now. The 2018 undrafted free agent out of Washington State took a second to find the right NFL team for his unique skill set, but it all really started with the Carolina Panthers in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, when Luvu rose up from the ranks to become one of those do-it-all linebackers. The Washington Commanders signed Luvu to a three-year, $31 million contract with $14.625 million guaranteed before the 2024 season, and in Dan Quinn’s defense, Luvu thrived as never before.

No player classified as an off-ball linebacker had more sacks overall last season than Luvu’s nine, and 25 of his 42 pressures came when he was aligned as an edge defender. Luvu also had the NFL’s most batted passes (five) among linebackers, and with his seven tackles for loss, this was a guy no quarterback wanted to see. Add in his 75 solo tackles and 48 stops, and his 37 catches allowed on 46 targets for 379 yards, 225 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, one interception, four pass breakups, and opponent passer rating of 106.4, and it’s clear that whatever any coach would want a modern linebacker to do, Frankie Luvu can do every bit of it.

System Quarterback No. 2 on our list for this particular article, Jared Goff first saw his profile rise when the Los Angeles Rams hired Sean McVay for the 2017 season, and McVay saved Goff from his 2016 rookie campaign, which was singularly awful. McVay eventually thought that Goff was fungible, which led to the 2021 trade sending Goff to the Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford, two first-round picks, and a third-round pick. The Rams won a Super Bowl with Stafford, and the Lions were able to rebuild their team with Goff and all those picks.

Goff was also buttressed by the efforts of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, a process that completely amplified itself in the 2024 season. The Lions were the NFL’s best team before their injury situation started to veer into the comical, and Goff completed 413 of 579 passes for 4,942 yards, 38 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, and a passer rating of 108.2 — the best by far of Goff’s career.

So, as Goff begins his 10th NFL season, is he still a system quarterback in a pejorative sense, or has he become the system? From a productivity perspective, Goff seems to have gone beyond what people think of as the guy who can’t do much unless all is well around him. Over the last three seasons, only Patrick Mahomes has more attempts than Goff’s 1,882, more completions than Goff’s 1,279, and more passing yards than Goff’s 14,792. Only Mahomes and Josh Allen have more passing touchdowns than Goff’s 101, and Goff has just 34 interceptions in that time to Mahomes’ 40 and Allen’s 41. .

If you think that Goff has loaded up on checkdown stuff for all that efficiency, consider that his yards per attempt of 7.9 over those three seasons outdoes Mahomes’ 7.3 and Allen’s 7.5. And Goff’s Adjusted Net Yards per Pass Attempt (Pro Football Reference’s proprietary efficiency metric for quarterbacks) of 7.41 is higher than Mahomes’ 6.85 or Allen’s 7.05.

Are we saying that Jared Goff is a lead-pipe lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years after he retires? Not exactly. But if you’re still of the notion that Goff is nothing but a mid-line quarterback with disproportionate needs for those around him to be truly stellar just so he can be good… you might want to take a second look.

Christian Gonzalez was the first player taken in Bill Belichick’s last draft with the New England Patriots, and like most everything else that happened in 2023 for the franchise, Gonzalez’s rookie year did not go as expected. The 17th overall pick out of Oregon played in just four games before he was shut down for the rest of the season with a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum in October.

In just 127 coverage snaps in his rookie season, though, Gonzalez already showed that he belonged with 16 catches allowed on 24 targets for 157 yards, 49 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, one interception, two pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 37.5.

New head coach Jerod Mayo’s defense didn’t do much of note in 2024 — that unit ranked 30th in Defensive DVOA. But a healthy Gonzalez did his best to be a bright spot, allowing 46 catches on 84 targets for 499 yards, 171 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, two interceptions, nine pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 70.5.

Gonzalez can erase the NFL’s best receivers more often than not in just about any coverage you want, but what makes him specifically important to what the Patriots want to do on defense — and this applies along the Belichick era to the Mayo blip to the new Mike Vrabel administration — is how well he can take those receivers anywhere on the field from aggressive press coverage with top-level match technique and athleticism.

If 2024 was the season in which Gonzalez was able to show his potential, 2025 might see him as one of the NFL’s best at his position. He’s not far away now.

Football is the most interdependent sport there is, so any metrics require context in that regard. This is especially true of offensive line metrics, which are personified by the men who play the most interdependent part of the world’s most interdependent sport.

In the case of Atlanta Falcons right guard Chris Lindstrom, we can begin with the one sack and 31 total pressures he allowed in 627 pass-blocking reps last season. Those are great numbers, and about what we’d expect from the 2017 first-round pick out of Boston College, who signed a five-year, $102.5 million contract extension with $48.202 million guaranteed in 2023 as a reward for his performances to that point.

All well-earned for the three-time Pro Bowler, but here’s why 2024 may have been Lindstrom’s best season to date. As a pass-protector, he had to alternate between Kirk Cousins, whose injuries made him a sitting duck in the pocket for the most part, and rookie Michael Penix Jr., who was far more dynamic than Cousins, but also had to get the hang of NFL defenses at the same time he was throwing deep passes at an impressive rate — 16 of Penix’s 105 attempts last season were of 20 or more air yards, and the only sack Lindstrom allowed all season came in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, when defensive tackle Milton Williams got past Lindstrom, and Cousins didn’t turn the ball loose, or move in the pocket to offset the pressure.

Penix is the starter now, and if there’s one thing he knows, it’s that his right guard will have his back (and front) at all times. Because Chris Lindstrom’s value to the team goes far beyond what the metrics tell you.