The 2026 NFL season is getting closer and closer with each passing day! This offseason, the staff here at Last Word on NFL came together to vote on the top NFL players heading into the 2026 season. This was a collaborative effort between 19 writers, three editors, and two Site Managers.
Each person submitted an anonymous ballot ranking the top 50 players in the league. In order to determine the final consensus rankings, the first-place player earned 50 points, the second-place player earned 49, and so forth, all the way to number 50. There was a bit of a consensus at the top, but as we got further and further down, there was a wide variety of selections. But at least our methodology (having all 24 voters rank 50, rather than just 10 like the “official” NFL 100 does…) is sound.
So, without further ado, let’s continue the Last Word on NFL Top 50 players heading into the 2026 season!
ALSO READ: 50-41 | 31-40 | 21-30
Last Word on NFL Top Players Heading Into 2026: 11-20
20. Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals
The physical embodiment of the Bugatti in the garage at a trailer, Trey McBride has been one of the best tight ends in the NFL despite playing for a struggling franchise and offense.
He was eased into action as a rookie, but he started to take hold in his second season in 2023. After 835 yards and three touchdowns, he made it apparent that he needs to be featured in the Cardinals’ offense. As a result, he broke out in 2024 with 1,1246 yards, but only two touchdowns. Last year, however, those touchdowns finally came. In total, he amassed 1,239 yards and a whopping 11 touchdowns. As a result, he’s earned Pro Bowl honors in each of the last two years and was an All-Pro last year.
For our rankings, despite landing at 20, he was the top tight end in the NFL per our writers. Arizona prioritized its star tight end and gave him a massive extension prior to last season.
19. Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers
He’s still doing it. After all of the uncertainty of the 2024 season, a year in which Christian McCaffrey only managed 202 yards in four games, we weren’t sure what the rest of his career would hold. He only came back and ran for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns. At the same time, he added 102 receptions and 924 yards. His 2,126 total offensive yards were second-most in the NFL.
McCaffrey, when healthy, has been a transcendent player in the NFL. He hit 1,000 yards in every season in which he appeared in 16 games except for his rookie season.
Prior to his injury, he led the NFL with 1,459 rushing yards and added 14 touchdowns in 2023.
If you want to have a good conversation, ask if McCaffrey is a Hall of Famer. According to Pro-Football-Reference, he’s falling short…but it tends to value titles. The three-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler has been one of the best running backs since his breakout in 2018. If he can stay healthy for another year, the 49ers will be contending yet again.
18. Fred Warner, LB, San Francisco 49ers
Last year saw an injury-shortened season for Fred Warner, but it didn’t matter to our writers. The league’s best linebacker slotted in here at 18.
In his career, Warner has been one of the best linebackers in the game since he was drafted. In total, across eight seasons, he’s amassed 948 tackles, 38 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 10 interceptions (two pick-sixes), 56 pass breakups, 17 forced fumbles, and seven fumble recoveries.
In total, he has four Pro Bowls and four All-Pros.
It will be interesting to see how he responds from injury this year, as 2025 was the first time he played fewer than 16 games in a season.
17. Aidan Hutchinson, EDGE, Detroit Lions
The “how will he return from injury” question was levied at Aidan Hutchinson following his season-ending injury in 2024, and he responded in a massive way.
The hometown EDGE had a revolutionary rookie season with 9.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, three pass breakups, and three interceptions. While he broke out in 2023, last year was his best to this point. In 17 games, Hutchinson set career bests with 54 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 14.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, three pass breakups, and one interception.
16. Will Anderson Jr., EDGE, Houston Texans
Another oddly quiet elite EGDE rusher from the Texans, Will Anderson Jr. doesn’t really get the respect he deserves. As part of the best EDGE duo in the NFL, he was on par with most of the top-tier players at his position.
The Texans traded up in the 2023 draft to pick C.J. Stroud and Anderson back-to-back. It paid off as both players won their respective Rookie of the Year awards. Stroud has struggled a bit of late (thanks to having Wal-Mart greeters as an offensive line), but Anderson has been elite.
Last year, he put up 54 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 23 quarterback hits, 12 sacks, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries, one of which he took back for a touchdown.
Going back to PFF, his 92.6 overall grade was the second-best among EDGEs, and his 93 total pressures were third. He earned his first All-Pro nod last year while finishing second to Garrett in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
15. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions
Remember the online reaction to the Lions taking Jahmyr Gibbs 12th overall in 2023? It was met with almost universal ridicule. Now, three seasons into his career, it looks like he was well worth it.
As a rookie, Gibbs turned 182 carries into 945 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Then, he had his breakout in 2024. In total, Gibbs ran for 1,412 yards and an NFL-best 16 touchdowns. Last year, he added 1,223 yards and 13 touchdowns on 243 carries.
Gibbs is a do-it-all back, of course. In addition to his 675 carries for 3,580 yards and 39 touchdowns on the ground, he’s added 181 receptions for 1,449 yards and 10 touchdowns as a receiver out of the backfield.
He’s one of the favorites of the fantasy football community with his do-it-all label. In PPR leagues, he was RB3. He will be a fun one to watch for a long time.
14. Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
The most accurate quarterback in NFL history, Joe Burrow owns the mark for career completion percentage with 68.5%. When healthy, Burrow has shown to be one of, if not the best, quarterbacks in the NFL. However, as even Bengals fans would point out, he’s not always healthy. In his six seasons in the NFL, Burrow has missed time in three, including two season-ending injuries.
When healthy, Burrow is one of the best. In 2024, he was playing at an NFL level, leading the NFL in attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns. He obliterated the Bengals’ single-season records with 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns. Unfortunately, last year, he suffered a freak, 1%-type of turf toe injury and only made eight starts, totaling 1,809 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Burrow has been one of those quarterbacks people expect to go the Andrew Luck route due to the abuse his offensive line has allowed him to take. However, he’s said the sacks don’t affect him like that. Give him a halfway decent offensive line (which he has now) and a league-average defense, and he can take the Bengals back to the Super Bowl.
13. Micah Parsons, EDGE, Green Bay Packers
This year, it was the Myles Garrett trade. Last year? Micah Parsons. After four elite seasons with the Cowboys, the Packers made the bold choice to ship off Kenny Clark and two first-round picks for one of the top EDGEs in the league.
Parsons’ PFR page is loaded with accolades. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in all five seasons, earned first-team All-Pro honors three times, second-team All-Pro once, Defensive Rookie of the Year, and finished top-three in Defensive Player of the Year four times, including as a rookie.
He has double-digit sacks and at least 12 tackles for loss in every season. There was a concern for his nagging injury from his time in Dallas, but he ended up as the top EDGE in just 14 games last year. The Packers invested a lot in Parsons. So far, it’s paying off.
12. Patrick Surtain II, CB, Denver Broncos
Widely regarded as the best corner in the NFL (our voters would agree), Patrick Surtain just missed out on the top 10. Also a top pick, expectations for Surtain have been sky-high since he broke into the league in 2021. Despite hauling in four interceptions (one pick-six) and breaking up 14 passes as a rookie, he was nowhere to be found on the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.
Since then, however, he’s made four Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pros. His best season was his 2024 campaign. That year, he notched another four interceptions with one pick-six, 11 pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. For his efforts, he was named Defensive Player of the Year.
Somehow, he’s severely underrated by PFF heading into the year.
11. Penei Sewell, OT, Detroit Lions
Finally, just outside the top 10, we have the top offensive lineman in the NFL, Penei Sewell. From his first snap in 2021, it was known that Sewell was a force to be reckoned with. The Lions clawed their way back into relevance thanks to Sewell anchoring the offensive line.
In his time, Sewell has four Pro Bowls to his name to go with three All-Pro selections. Perhaps most impressively, he has only had three holding penalties over the last two seasons and 12 thus far in his career.
No matter what he’s asked to do, whether it be pass protect, switch sides on the line, or run block, Sewell is as good as it gets in today’s NFL.
