{"id":143309,"date":"2023-08-03T11:30:07","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T15:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=143309"},"modified":"2023-08-03T08:59:52","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T12:59:52","slug":"the-top-ten-nfl-players-of-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/08\/03\/the-top-ten-nfl-players-of-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top Ten NFL Players of 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the fifth and final edition in a series counting down the top NFL players for 2023. The Last Word on Pro Football<\/a>\u00a0team\u2019s writers, editors, and managers cast ballots for their top ten players heading into this season. A first-place vote was worth ten points, second-place nine, et cetera. Ties went in the inverse of the\u00a0most critical positions<\/a>\u00a0determined by contract value, as garnering a vote at a less publicized position is even more impressive.<\/p>\n

The Top NFL Players of 2023: 10 to 1<\/h2>\n

10. Jalen Hurts, Quarterback Philadelphia Eagles<\/h3>\n

What an absolute ride for Hurts. From being benched for Tua in the National Championship game, to sliding to the second round, to one of the biggest contracts in NFL history, Hurts has overcome every obstacle the NFL could throw his way. It’s easy to see why he might be one of the top players from his class<\/a> and a mainstay for years to come.<\/p>\n

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9. Nick Bosa, Edge Rusher San Francisco 49ers<\/h3>\n

Beat his brother by thirteen slots, just led the NFL in sacks and won Defensive Player of the Year. Is it crazy he might get even better this season? The 49ers have pushed all the chips in to win the NFC, and Bosa is right in the center of it all.<\/p>\n

8. Myles Garrett, Edge Rusher Cleveland Browns<\/h3>\n

This poor man gets double-teamed more<\/a> than almost anyone else in the league. Yet he is continually top ten in pass rush win rate, sacks, and tackles for loss. He’s a game wrecker in every sense of the phrase.<\/p>\n

7. Aaron Donald, Defensive Tackle Los Angeles Rams<\/h3>\n

He may never put up the counting stats he once did, but that’s because every offense in the league game plans to avoid him. There’s no player making the same difference<\/a> that he does from the interior defensive line. Quarterbacks beware.<\/p>\n

6. Micah Parsons, Hybrid Defender Dallas Cowboys<\/h3>\n

Parsons is the first in a new wave of defenders who can put their hand in the dirt, play middle linebacker and cover a tight end and feel comfortable. While he may only be a B+ difference-maker at each of those, the flexibility makes a QB\u00a0 hesitate on their reads and offensive coordinators struggle. He’s a cornerstone player<\/a> on the defensive side of the ball.<\/p>\n

5. Travis Kelce, Tight End Kansas City Chiefs<\/h3>\n

Is he the GOAT at the tight end<\/a> position? His case gets stronger and stronger every season. He is accumulating accolades like they’re Xbox achievements on easy mode. At this point, he’s chasing NFL history and not current standards.<\/p>\n

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4. Josh Allen, Quarterback Buffalo Bills<\/h3>\n

Need someone to throw it 60 yards off their backfoot? Josh Allen. Need someone to truck an inside linebacker while scrambling? Josh Allen. The Bills will live with the mistakes when his hot streaks are borderline unstoppable. There’s a reason the fantasy football<\/a> community loves him.<\/p>\n

3. Justin Jefferson, Wide Receiver Minnesota Vikings<\/h3>\n

Jefferson has the most receiving yards<\/a> through three seasons in the NFL and it’s not close. Now that the Vikings have a rookie to take some heat off of him and Hockenson, he’s in store for his best season yet. A record-setter on the rise, Jefferson has unlimited potential and is the highest non-QB in the top ten NFL players for 2023.<\/p>\n

2. Joe Burrow, Quarterback Cincinnati Bengals<\/h3>\n

A hush fell over the NFL community when Burrow was carted off the field<\/a> in training camp. At his best, he’s a pinpoint passer with a moxie that rivals a young Joe Namath. Burrow is due for a huge season, injury permitting.<\/p>\n

1. Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback Kansas City Chiefs<\/h3>\n

What’s there to say about Mahomes that hasn’t already been said? He has an Offensive Player of the Year, two MVPs, two Super Bowl MVPs, three All-Pros and just quietly had the fourth most passing yards in a season ever. Oh yeah, and he’s only 27. This whole list was always Mahomes and everyone else.<\/p>\n

The Rest of the Top 50 NFL Players for 2023<\/h3>\n

50. Patrick Surtain, CB DEN<\/p>\n

49. Mark Andrews, TE BAL<\/p>\n

48. Tony Pollard, RB DAL<\/p>\n

47. Corey Linsley, C LAC<\/p>\n

46. Tristan Wirfs, OT TB<\/p>\n

45. George Pickens, WR PIT<\/p>\n

44. Fred Warner, MLB SF<\/p>\n

43. Derrick Henry, RB TEN<\/p>\n

42. Daniel Jones, QB NYG<\/p>\n

41. Cooper Kupp, WR LAR<\/p>\n

Analysis of Top NFL Players 50 to 41<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

40. Bijan Robinson, RB ATL<\/p>\n

39. Haason Reddick, EDGE PHI<\/p>\n

38. Travis Etienne, RB JAX<\/p>\n

37. Dak Prescott, QB DAL<\/p>\n

36. Stefonn Diggs, WR BUF<\/p>\n

35. Zach Martin, OG DAL<\/p>\n

34. A.J. Brown, WR PHI<\/p>\n

33. Minkah Fitzpatrick, FS PIT<\/p>\n

32. Austin Ekeler, RB LAC<\/p>\n

31. Lamar Jackson, QB BAL<\/p>\n

Analysis of Top NFL Players 40 to 31<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

30. Justin Fields, QB CHI<\/p>\n

29. Davante Adams, WR LV<\/p>\n

28. Roquan Smith, MLB BAL<\/p>\n

27. Jonathan Taylor, RB IND<\/p>\n

26. Tua Tagavailoa, QB MIA<\/p>\n

25. Jalen Ramsey, CB MIA<\/p>\n

24. George Kittle, TE SF<\/p>\n

23. Christian McCaffrey, RB SF<\/p>\n

22. Joey Bosa, EDGE LAC<\/p>\n

21. Nick Chubb, RB CLE<\/p>\n

Analysis of Top NFL Players 30 to 21<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

20. Derwin James, FS LAC<\/p>\n

19. Saquon Barkley, RB NYG<\/p>\n

18. Tyreek Hill, WR MIA<\/p>\n

17. Chris Jones, DT KC<\/p>\n

16. Ceedee Lamb, WR DAL<\/p>\n

15. Ja’Marr Chase, WR CIN<\/p>\n

14. Sauce Gardner, CB NYJ<\/p>\n

13. Aaron Rodgers, QB NYJ<\/p>\n

12. Trent Williams, OT SF<\/p>\n

11. T.J. Watt, EDGE PIT<\/p>\n

Analysis Top NFL Players 20 to 11<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A special thank you to Chris Mabry, Patrick Sheehan, Evan Bachman, Curtis Leung, Kevin Perry, Sam Thatcher, Cade Clodi, Reese Kunz, Alex Snodgrass, Rhys Knott, Grant Wheeler, Nate Ghosney, our COO Ben Kerr and all the other writers who participated in this exercise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the fifth and final edition in a series counting down the top NFL players for 2023. The Last Word on Pro Football\u00a0team\u2019s writers, editors, and managers cast ballots for their top ten players heading into this season. A first-place vote was worth ten points, second-place nine, et cetera. Ties went in the inverse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4345,"featured_media":138865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10,30,23,7,8,19,15,12,13,16,17,18,34,4,26,28,20,6,21,9,31,29,11],"tags":[7642,7811,5819,6181,6993,4445,7661,1576,7638,7659,339],"class_list":["post-143309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bills","category-ravens","category-panthers","category-bears","category-bengals","category-browns","category-cowboys","category-broncos","category-colts","category-jaguars","category-chiefs","category-raiders","category-chargers","category-rams","category-dolphins","category-vikings","category-saints","category-giants","category-jets","category-eagles","category-steelers","category-49ers","category-buccaneers","category-titans","tag-chargers-featured","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-joe-burrow","tag-justin-jefferson","tag-micah-parsons","tag-nick-bosa","tag-panthers-featured","tag-patrick-mahomes","tag-ravens-featured","tag-saints-featured","tag-travis-kelce"],"modified_by":"Mike Kashuba","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4345"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}