The NFL’s 101 best players for the 2025 season: 70-61

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 70-61, 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

Now, here are my best players in the NFL today, Nos. 70-61.

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

70. Will Anderson Jr., EDGE, Houston Texans

We’ve already discussed how great the Houston Texans’ defense is, and well discuss it again as more players on that defense come into focus. Of all the things to spotlight, it’s hard to come up with something more prized than the edge-rushing duo of Denielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. Those two guys combined for 28 sacks and 134 total pressures last season, and while Hunter’s first season in Houston was amazing with 12 sacks and 74 pressures, it was Anderson, his 16 sacks, and his 60 pressures that got on the Top 101. Hunter just missed the cut.

The 2023 Defensive Rookie of the Year proved that his first NFL season was not a fluke in any way by doubling his sack total in Year 2. Why Anderson over Hunter in this case? Because at 6’3 and 243 pounds, Anderson brings all the quickness and explosiveness you’d expect from a man his size with the raw power you would need from a guy 30 pounds heavier. That was true in his rookie season, and it’s even more true now as Anderson continues to refine his game.

Aligned as an angular wide-nine disruption machine quite often, Anderson can run around tackles, bull right through them, and slip through their grasps with inside counters. There isn’t much he can’t do at this point, and with his increased ability to convert pressures into takedowns, it seems that the sky’s the limit – both for Anderson, and for the defense he helps to define.

69. Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets

There are receivers who are reliant on their offensive systems to make their biggest plays, and there are less fortunate receivers who have to get it done with very little schematic help at all. Garrett Wilson, selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Ohio State by the New York Jets… a team that has done precious little to amplify his efforts from a playbook perspective.

In 2024 with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and offensive coordinator Aaron Rodgers Nathaniel Hackett, Wilson caught 101 passes on 152 targets for 1,104 yards and seven touchdowns. Not bad numbers, and Wilson’s third 1,000-yard total in as many NFL seasons, but one wonders what would be possible in a fully functional passing game. There wasn’t a lot of route variety for Wilson last season – it was mostly go, out, slant, and screen stuff, and he was the target in motion on an inexcusable seven opportunities.

It’s great that Wilson was able to do what he did in an isolation incubator, and the hope is that new offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand learned enough from his time as Ben Johnson’s passing game coordinator with the Detroit Lions over the last three years to put more on the field for Wilson to be explosive, because he’s certainly earned those openings by being so productive without them.

“Garrett, he’s continuing to improve every single day, and learn the way that we want to run the routes all the time without taking his creativity away, just him learning when he needs to be in certain places at certain times because that’s where the quarterback expects him to be,” Engstrand said in June of his best receiver. “Garrett is a very instinctual player, and there is a fine line to being overly instinctual, if you will, but being able to get to where he needs to be at the time that he needs to be there. “

Well, maybe that’s the first step to the next level.

68. Derwin James, Safety, Los Angeles Chargers

When we talk about the modern “do-it-all” defensive back, we might as well be talking about Derwin James as the example. Since the Los Angeles Chargers selected him out of Florida State with the 17th overall pick in the 2017 draft, James has generally plied his trade in multiple locations – at least 200 snaps in the box, at least 200 more in the slot, and at least 200 more at free safety, with a decent number of reps along the defensive line as a blitzer.

Last season, in new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter’s defense, it all came together for James no matter where he played. Last season, playing 305 snaps in the box, 385 in the slot, 250 at free safety, 105 on the defensive line, and 14 at outside cornerback. James had six sacks, 15 total pressures, 79 solo tackles, 36 stops, 11 tackles for loss, and he allowed 48 catches on 63 targets for 458 yards, 220 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, one interception, six pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 99.8.

There’s a lot to be said about a truly versatile defensive back who can be a linchpin of his team through four different defensive coordinators in his career. Minter’s system, which requires that everyone on the field be hyper-aware of what’s going on everywhere, is a perfect fit for Derwin James and his own hyper-awareness everywhere on the field.

67. Tyler Smith, OG, Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys selected Tyler Smith with the 24th overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Tulsa, and it’s been an interesting ride for Smith so far. In his rookie season, he played 1,118 of his 1,274 snaps at left tackle, and while he did allow six sacks and 40 total pressures in 2022, Smith kept his quarterbacks nearly perfectly clean from Week 16 through the divisional playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers with no sacks, three quarterback hits, and three quarterback hurries allowed in the final five games of his rookie season.

With future Hall of Famer Tyron Smith as the left tackle in 2023, and 2024 first-round pick Tyler Guyton there last season, Smith moved for the most part to left guard, the position that seems to best fit his playing personality. While he’s capable of preventing speed-rushers from setting the edge, at 6’6 and 332 pounds, you want this guy inside, where he can wall off interior defensive linemen, pick up and foil stunts, and set the tone physically for Dallas’ offensive line.

There must be a reason, after all, that the Cowboys gave Smith Larry Allen’s jersey number. It’s a lot to live up to, but he’s on the way. Over his last two seasons, Smith has allowed just three sacks and 39 total pressures in 1,984 snaps at left guard, and 104 at left tackle.

“I’m a younger guy, so Larry Allen is before my time. But I caught on,” Smith said after he was drafted. “Sonoma State, all the adversity he went through to get here and the Hall of Fame career he had, just the way he played.

“It means a lot to be able to wear that and carry on that legacy.”

66. Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers

2024 was a frustrating season for Jordan Love, his second as the Packers’ starting quarterback. After a 2023 season in which he completed 409 of 634 passes for 4,624 yards, 37 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and a passer rating of 97.1. Love seemed on the verge of status as one of the NFL’s lead-pipe lock young quarterbacks. Then, he suffered an MCL sprain in the Packers’ 2024 season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, missed two games, struggled to regain his form through a subsequent groin injury, and really didn’t hit his optimal form in the first half of the season.

From Weeks 12-18, Love was one of the NFL’s most deadly efficient quarterbacks, completing 108 of 168 passes for 1,308 yards, nine touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 106.0. As the Packers entered the postseason, everything seemed right, despite other injuries to the offense that left Love short on targets.

Then came the Divisional Round rematch against the Eagles, which may well have been Love’s worst NFL game. He completed 20 of 33 passes for 212 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 41.5. Perhaps most distressingly, the Eagles seemed to have a bead on what he was doing and how to stop it all day, and Love’s processing was several levels below what we’ve come to expect.

Now fully healthy coming into 2025, and with a new top-tier receiver in first-round pick Matthew Golden (the Packers are now past the idea that they don’t need a No. 1 receiver), Love should rebound nicely. He has all the attributes required to be one of the NFL’s best.

65. Zach Allen, DI, Denver Broncos

The Arizona Cardinals selected Zach Allen in the third round of the 2019 draft out of Boston College, watched him develop into one of the NFL’s most destructive interior defensive linemen, and then lost him in free agency to the Denver Broncos, who signed him to a three year, $45.75 million contract with $32.5 million guaranteed before the 2023 season. Allen responded to that payout with a 2023 campaign in which he had seven sacks, 60 total pressures, 38 solo tackles, 36 stops, and 11 tackles for loss. Allen is one of those guys who can line up in any gap and destroy blocking, and that proved even more true in 2024, his second season in Vance Joseph’s defense.

All Allen did in 2024 was amass 14 sacks (the most for any interior defensive lineman), 81 total pressures (only Chris Jones of the Kansas City Chiefs had more with 88), 40 solo tackles, 41 stops (tied with Jeffery Simmons of the Tennessee Titans and Leonard Williams of the Seattle Seahawks for second-most in the NFL behind the 47 put up by both Cameron Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kobie Turner of the Los Angeles Rams), and 18 tackles for loss.

At 6’4 and 285 pounds, Allen combines the leverage and power that allow him to dominate at three-tech and even slip into nose tackle once in a while with the speed and technique that presents serious issues for any offensive lineman who has to face him. Four of Allen’s sacks and 30 total pressures came when he was aligned head-over or outside the tackles, and there are times when Allen can just take over a game all by himself. Week 17 of the 2024 season against the Cincinnati Bengals was a perfect example.

On August 2, the Broncos gave Allen a four-year, $102 million extension with $44.25 guaranteed, because they know exactly how valuable he is to a defense they hope can drive them to a Super Bowl in the near future.

64. Dion Dawkins, OT, Buffalo Bills

For the first time, at the end of the 2025 regular season, offensive linemen will have their own award to win. The Protector of the Year award is long overdue, and Buffalo BIlls left tackle Dion Dawkins played a major part in lobbying for it to happen.

Is it self-interest to a point? Perhaps, because Dawkins always has a decent shot at winning such an award. The Bills selected Dawkins in the second round of the 2017 draft out of Temple and he’s become a real force at his position, in an offense with as many concepts in the run and pass games as you’ll see at any level of football. Earlier in his career, the 6’5, 320-pound Dawkins was a bit vulnerable to pass-rushers off the edge, but he really sewed that up in the 2023 season, allowing a career-low two sacks and 37 total pressures in 769 pass-blocking reps while keeping his power in the run game going.

2024 was more of the same. In the first full year of offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s system, Josh Allen attempted the NFL’s most passes of 20 or more air yards with 87. Waiting for such plays to develop takes time, and puts more of a burden on your pass protectors. But on all of those moonshots, Dawkins allowed no sacks and just five total pressures.

Dawkins signed a three-year, $60.06 million contract extension with $30.205 million before the 2024 season that will keep him in Buffalo for a good long time. And perhaps at the end of this upcoming season, he’ll be able to add a Protector of the Year award, and a Super Bowl ring, to his swag arsenal.

63. Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals

Since 2022, when he was selected in the second round of the draft out of Colorado State, Trey McBride ranks seventh in the NFL among tight ends in targets (292), fourth in receptions (221, tied with George Kittle), and fifth in receiving yards (2,236). Why isn’t he on the tip of everybody’s tongues when it comes to the most productive tight ends in the game today?

Maybe some of it has to do with the fact that he’s on an Arizona Cardinals offense that has struggled to maintain an identity at times. And maybe it’s because, as prolific as he’s been through his career to date, McBride’s quarterbacks haven’t tried hard enough to find him in the end zone. McBride has just six career receiving touchdowns, which is preposterous for a player of his caliber. In 2024, he set the NFL record for most catches in a season (98) without a touchdown, as his first receiving score came in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Rams.

We should not hold this against McBride, of course, because he has everything else on lock.

“It was just one of those things that was a little irritating just because of the media hype that it got, and people were about it again,” McBride told me during Super Bowl week. “It was just people taking it and running with it. But it was one of those things — it was shocking that we didn’t score. It was frustrating, but it was just a matter of time. We had so many opportunities, and for whatever reason, we just couldn’t get in there. We were on a little run at the end, and I’m excited to see where we can take this thing next year.

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon was fond of saying during the season that the touchdown thing wasn’t a big deal (uh, it kind of was), and it certainly wasn’t why McBride wouldn’t get paid. That last part turned out to be true. This past offseason, McBride signed a four-year, $76 million contract extension with $36.5 million guaranteed, which allowed him to make history in a more positive sense as the highest-paid player ever at his position.

Add those touchdowns to everything Trey McBride does on the field, and maybe the general public will finally understand just how valuable he is.

62. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

As a running back, you’d like your team to have a more than credible passing game, for the obvious reason that defenses will have to attack you with lighter boxes, and you’ll have more opportunities to get free and make big plays. Which is why we respect the backs who get it done without such assistance, and that certainly was the case for Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts in 2024.

With Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco as his quarterbacks, Taylor gained 1,431 rushing yards and scored 11 rushing touchdowns on 303 carries. He forced 36 missed tackles and had 17 runs of 15 or more yards. All of this despite the aforementioned quarterback situation, and an ankle injury that caused him to miss three games early in the season.

But when he was healthy, Taylor was every bit the productive player that either Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry were. In Weeks 10-18, Taylor carried the rock 198 times for 929 yards, six touchdowns, 21 forced missed tackles, and eight carries of 15 or more yards. In that space of time, Barkley had 188 carries for 1,080 yards and seven touchdowns, while Henry had 157 carries for 869 yards and five scores.

The Colts’ 2025 quarterback situation with Richardson and Daniel Jones doesn’t look any better, but you can bet that a healthy Jonathan Taylor will make the most of what he has, and do it at a level to rival anyone else in the league.

It’s just too bad that he has to carry this much of the load once again.

61. Jared Verse, EDGE, Los Angeles Rams

Very few NFL teams have a defensive line as formidable as the one presented by the Los Angeles Rams. Interior defensive lineman Kobie Turner already checked in at No. 74 on our Top 101 list, and here’s where demonic edge-rusher Jared Verse shows up. There aren’t a lot of 2024 rookies here, especially from the sixties on up, but what else was I going to do, based on Verse’s tape?

The 19th overall pick got off to a strong start, beating Detroit Lions left tackle Taylor Decker for a sack of Jared Goff with 15 seconds left in the first half of his first regular-season game, racking up six total pressures on the day. Nobody was safe from there. Overall, Verse had eight sacks and 89 total pressures in his rookie campaign; no other player in the NFL pressured quarterbacks more often. And in Verse’s case, he can create disruption so many different ways. He’s very fast off the edge, he already has a full quiver of pass-rush moves, and when it’s time to get grimy, he can bring the Hammer of the Gods on a regular basis. Since he had 45 solo tackles, 41 stops, 14 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles, Verse also proved that he can be an absolute menace against the run, as well.

When you have a young player this expert at creating pressure, there’s a pretty decent correlation to a high sack total in the next season. I see no reason not to expect just that from one of the most impactful and intimidating young defenders in the NFL today.