JKFOOTBALL Top 100 Players for 2021: The Top 10

 We have finally made it. After weeks of working our way down the list, we have arrived at the top 10. Where will the best of the best stack up in our rankings heading into 2021? We are about to all find out. 

10. Davante Adams, Wide Receiver, Green Bay Packers

2020 stats: 115 receptions, 1374 yards, 18 TDs receiving (14/16 games played)

We all knew Davante Adams was up there with some of the best WRs in the game, but 2020 was the year that Adams made the statement that he might just be the BEST wide receiver in the game. In just 14 games, Adams amassed 115 catches for 1374 yards and a league leading 18 receiving TDs. Those stats are just wild. If Aaron Rodgers does not have a guy like Adams on the team, he doesn't even get any MVP votes in my opinion. That MVP award that Rodgers won almost has to be shared with Adams due to the impact he made on Rodgers' game. When the Packers got to the 10 yard line or closer, the play call was simply always to just throw a little corner fade to Adams for the TD. Everyone knew it was coming yet it still worked time and time again. I don't know for sure but if I had to guess at least 12-14 of those 18 TDs were from the simple play I just mentioned. That is how you describe the best of the best. The defense knows exactly what is about to happen and yet they are still unable to stop it. Time and time again. We all knew Adams was a great route runner, but that was all he was really ever given any credit for. Adams looks to be the best WR in football heading into 2021 and I seriously think he will repeat if Aaron Rodgers is playing in Green Bay. 

9. Derrick Henry, Running Back, Tennessee Titans

2020 stats: 378 attempts, 2027 yards, 17 TDs rushing, NFL Offensive Player of the Year

The only offensive skill position player that I consider better than Davante Adams right now is this man, King Henry. When he was drafted in the second round back in 2016, fresh off of winning the Heisman at Alabama, I for one was very confused. NFL scouts often look too much into certain aspects of players' game and it causes the player to slide in the draft and become an insane draft steal for the team that gets him. That was the exact case for Henry. Scouts thought he was too slow for the league, his inability to catch passes would hurt him, and that his legs were already worn out to produce for years in the league. 2/3 of those statements were true. While Henry has still not developed into a receiver out of the backfield, he has absolutely taken the league by storm in every other way possible. Each year, he has gotten better and produced better than the last. This year was otherworldly. Derrick Henry rushed for 2027 yards and 17 TDs. 2000 yards. That is almost unheard of, especially in today's NFL where it has become such a pass first league. The Titans are playing old school football with Henry. The classic 1900s bruising back with little pass catching ability. He is simply too big for defenders to take down one on one and he is honestly so much faster than he is given credit for. Henry is easily the best RB in football and gives any team he faces major game planning problems. With the addition of Julio Jones to the Titans offense, it makes their big 3 beyond scary and could honestly help take some of the pressure off of Henry as there will be some focus directed towards Jones on the outside. The NFL's Offensive Player of the Year cracks the list at 9. 

8. Jalen Ramsey, Cornerback, Los Angeles Rams

2020 stats: 44 total tackles, 1 INT, 9 pass deflections

Especially for Cornerbacks, stats almost never tell the full story. The best of the best at the CB position usually have small stats because of the simple fact that they are not thrown to. When you are that good, you almost eliminate one side of the field. It was pretty much most recently seen with Richard Sherman in Seattle and now it's Ramsey with LA. Whoever Ramsey is covering is almost surely taken out of the game. Opposing QBs don't like to even look in his direction of the field. He is one of the press man corners we've ever seen and he also excels in zone and basic man to man. He does it all in the coverage game. Ramsey is almost best known for his trash talk. He is such a good player for the Rams that he earns the right to talk the amount that he does. Not only is he erasing team's top wideouts with skill, but he finds ways to get inside their heads and make them have some mental errors. Ramsey does it all. The Rams defense was the NFL's statistical best defense in the league and other than the otherworldly talent that is Aaron Donald on the D-line, it is all credit to Jalen Ramsey. With Ramsey and Donald, the Rams boast the best defensive player duo in the entire NFL and it's honestly a duo that is up there as one of the best in NFL history. With the addition of Matt Stafford this off-season, the Rams who have been held back because of their offense now have almost no weak spots. It cost them 4 first-rounders to add Ramsey and Stafford, but now that they have them, they might be the Super Bowl favorite out of the NFC. With Ramsey in the secondary, teams should be very worried about finding ways to stop the Rams in 2021. One of the league's biggest personalities hits 8 on the list.

7. Jaire Alexander, Cornerback, Green Bay Packers

2020 stats: 51 total tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 INT, 13 pass deflections

Quite possibly the biggest shocker of the list. That's right, we don't have Jalen Ramsey as our no. 1 cornerback going into 2021. That honor goes to Jaire Alexander of the Packers. One of the league's most underrated superstars. He is easily a top 10 player in the league in my mind and we have him as our no. 1 corner going into next season. What he does on the outside for Green Bay is beyond impressive. He routinely shuts down opponent's top WRs and yet still does not get the credit he deserves for doing so. For a corner as good as Alexander who shuts down a side of the field, he still gets the stats. He had 13 pass deflections and a sack, a pick, and a forced fumble along with 50 tackles. He is more than just a shutdown corner. He comes in and helps in the run game on occasion and does a damn good job at it too. I simply think he is just a bit more versatile on the Packers defense than Jalen Ramsey is for LA. He wasn't projected to be a first round pick by many in 2018 and had a lot of people shocked when he was selected at 18 that year. Since then, he has done nothing but continue to prove he is a top 3 corner in the NFL and still his name is rarely ever mentioned when talking about the elite talent in the NFL. We have him as the 7th best player in the entire league going into 2021 where we hope he will finally gain his well deserved recognition. 

6. TJ Watt, Edge Rusher, Pittsburgh Steelers

2020 stats: 53 total tackles, 15 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 INT, 7 pass deflections

After almost a decade of JJ Watt being the best edge rusher in the NFL, who would have thought that for the next decade, his younger brother might take that title. What a draft pick the Steelers made 4 years ago. An underrated talent coming out of Wisconsin, the Steelers snagged him in the very late first round of the 2017 NFL draft and now has almost the entire league scratching their heads as to why they didn't get him. Watt has only gotten better by the year. His sack numbers have gone from 7 to 13 to 14.5 to 15 in his four seasons in the NFL. If that doesn't literally show the progression year to year, I do not know what does. In 2019, you could have made the argument for Watt to win Defensive Player of the Year. He had 14 sacks and 8 forced fumbles on the top ranked Steelers defense. He did not win it that year. Following his downright insane 2020 season, everyone had him as a shoe-in to win the Defensive Player of the Year award for the first time in his career. He was somehow snubbed again. He was by far and away the best defensive player in football in 2020. Aaron Donald might be more talented, but he did not have a better season than Watt. There's really just no justifying Watt not winning the award this past year. Despite this, that gives him extra motivation for 2021. He has only gotten better each year, he was snubbed of a DPOY award that was rightfully his, and he's heading into a contract year in which someone (almost certainly the Steelers) will make him the highest paid defender in league history. These are all reasons that we expect Watt to have his best season yet in 2021. Maybe he will break the single season sack record. It is definitely possible. TJ Watt who is the best edge rusher in the league, breaks the top 6.

5. Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers

2020 stats: 4299 yards, 48 TDs, 5 INTs passing, 3 TDs rushing, 2020 League MVP

If this list was based solely off of 2020, Rodgers would be #1 or #2. No question. But again, this list is based off of last season but it is also a projection of sorts for how we think players will do this coming season and trying to stack them up against each other in true talent almost. Out of all of the year's of Aaron Rodgers' storied, future hall of fame career, 2020 was probably his best. Let that sink in. Many people thought we were witnessing the decline of Rodgers and more and more doubters emerged after the Packers decided to TRADE UP in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft to select Jordan Love who is a QB. You don't just draft QBs in the first for nothing, nonetheless trade up for one. Rodgers put this all behind him and dropped the best regular season of his career at age 36. 48:5. That was his TD:INT ratio. That is just insane. That is excellence that is never completed. You don't just throw for almost 50 TDs with only 5 picks. Rodgers just did. Sadly, despite the absolutely unreal season we just saw from Rodgers, he and the Packers fell just short in the NFC Championship game at home in a game they were heavy favorites. Since then, things have really gone sour between Rodgers and the Packers. We do not know if we will ever seen Rodgers in the green and yellow again. He said he'd never play for them again earlier this off-season but no movement has really come from either side since. We will have to see how it plays out. That is a large reason why Rodgers isn't higher than 5 coming off his MVP season. He may not even play this year. We just don't know. If he is playing though, wherever it may be, do not expect much decline from one of the best QBs in NFL history. The third Packer inside the top 10. 

4. Russell Wilson, Quarterback, Seattle Seahawks

2020 stats: 4212 yards, 40 TDs, 13 INTs passing, 513 yards, 2 TDs rushing

Three things are certain in the NFL. Sammy Watkins going off in week 1, Derrick Henry demolishing the Texans, and Russell Wilson as the mid-season MVP before falling off big time. For what it feels like the millionth time in a row, Russell Wilson has gotten off to a record setting start to the season in which he seems to be running away with MVP only to fall off and crumble out of the race altogether. 2020 was clearly no different. The Hawks started the season out a perfect 5-0 and Wilson was dealing. This torrid play continued even into the first half of their week 7 game against the Arizona Cardinals before it all fell apart. The Hawks blew a massive lead (Wilson threw 3 picks) and the Hawks suffered their first L of the season. Ever since that game, nothing was the same for the Hawks or Wilson. By the end of the year, Wilson had put together one of his best seasons of his career, but it wasn't close to MVP and he wasn't even in a race that he once was considered the runaway winner for. Despite the negatives, we all know who Russell Wilson is. One of the best QBs in our game year in and year out and a natural born leader. He is the definition of consistency and is yet to miss a game in his 9 year career. He is also yet to have a losing season in his 9 year career and missed the playoffs just once. With Wilson on the team, you always have a chance. He and the Hawks have pulled off some of the most improbable comeback wins of the last decade. He thrives in the clutch and under pressure which makes him so good. With 40 TDs and 4000 yards passing this season, Wilson seems to still be getting better. There was some drama early in the off-season with Wilson potentially wanting out of Seattle, but those rumors were cleared up fast as the Hawks made some nice move to put better pieces around Wilson going into next season. Do we finally see Wilson win MVP and the Hawks make a deep playoff run in 2021? Wilson is our 4th best player going into 2021. 

3. Aaron Donald, Defensive Tackle, Los Angeles Rams

2020 stats: 45 total tackles, 13.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 1 pass deflection, NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Before getting into the monster that Aaron Donald is, a quick disclaimer for this top 3 which the order might be controversial is that it was so close for me. It is pretty much interchangeable. Donald could be 1. #1 could be #3. #2 could be #1. and so on. Just know how close this top 3 is. Some say that Aaron Donald might be the greatest defensive player in NFL history, already. The future hall of famer has done nothing but show he is the best of the best since entering the NFL in 2014. A mid first round pick, Donald went on to win DROY in year 1 over the likes of players like Jadeveon Clowney and Khalil Mack who were both considered miles better than Donald going into the draft. Donald was seen as an undersized DT whose pass rushing might not translate to the NFL with bigger and stronger O-lineman. Boy was that wrong. Aaron Donald has been a sack machine and the most feared defender in the league for years now. He is doubled on almost every player and pretty much fights through it every single time. Not only does he produce through the double team, but it leaves his fellow D-lineman with much easier assignments and work-arounds for them to rack up sacks. Players who have joined the Rams D-line from other teams have instantly benefitted. Just ask Leonard Floyd who had over 10 sacks in a single season in LA after being considered a bust for years in Chicago. Aaron Donald is one of few players to win Defensive Player of the Year 3 separate times. And Donald is still young and in the middle of his prime. He probably has more to come. If he wins another DPOY or two and has the most of all-time, the argument for him as the best defender of all time gains more steam. In 2019, Donald fell just 2 sacks short of Michael Strahan's record of 22.5 (Donald had 20.5 sacks). He easily won DPOY that year. This year, Donald had a whopping 13.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles and *controversially* won DPOY (many, myself included, still believe TJ Watt deserved it) but that is besides the point. He won the award from his sheer talent. Everyone knows just how good Donald is. With already 3 DPOYs (with more likely to come), a DROY award, 7x Pro Bowls, 6 first team All-Pros, 85.5 career sacks, 2010s All-Decade Team Spot, and having never missed a game in his 7 year career, all that is left for Donald to do is win the Lombardi Trophy. If he does, hell even if he doesn't, theres a really good chance he goes down as the best defensive player to ever hit the Gridiron. He comes in at 3 for 2021 but really could be no. 1.

2. Tom Brady, Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2020 stats: 4633 yards, 40 TDs, 12 INTs passing, 3 rushing TDs

The GOAT. There isn't much I can say that you already don't know. Everyone already knows just how insane the things Brady are doing are, and I don't need to repeat them too much. At age 43, Brady is still doing things better than ever. We have quite simply never seen anyone like him in any pro sport. Coming into the league as an afterthought 6th round pick and winding up having a 20+ year career in which he won more Super Bowls than any team or player has. Brady has 7 rings. The Steelers have 6. They are the next closest and they are a team. Brady literally has more rings than any team itself. That is mind boggling. The fact that at age 43, during a global pandemic, joined a new team for the first time in his career and took them from a middling non-playoff team to Super Bowl champs in one year is probably the greatest accomplishment of his historic career. There is simply no debate at all. Tom Brady is the best pro athlete in the history of sports. He casually tossed 4600 yards and 40 TDs to 12 picks at age 43 and won the Super Bowl. Like how? Genuinely how? Tom Brady is the best NFL player ever. Going into 2021, I'm sure Brady and the Bucs will be back in the playoffs and likely the Super Bowl to be honest. At age 44 though, I can't put him above the one player I have ahead of him. Don't get me wrong, Brady is the best player ever, I'll say it again, but this list is also a projection for next season. Not career. Single season. I wanted to put him at 1 so bad, but I just couldn't in a projection for 2021. Tom Brady is different, just different.

1. Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs

2020 stats: 4740 yards, 38 TDs, 6 INTs passing, 308 yards, 2 TDs rushing

What a shock, Mahomes number 1 on another list. With how Mahomes' career has gone so far, many were clamoring on that Mahomes was on pace to become the best player of All-Time. The Chiefs were steamrolling all other competition and Mahomes looked downright unstoppable every step of the way. When the Super Bowl match was set and Mahomes had a chance to beat Brady in a match-up for the ages, many said if Mahomes won it, he would already be well on his way to unseating Brady. Well, that did not happen. The Chiefs who dominated everyone all season got blown out in the big game by Brady and his boys. For now, it looks like Mahomes will not catch Brady, but that doesn't mean he's not the better player right now. Going into his age 26 season, Mahomes is just entering the prime of his already storied career. In just 4 years, Mahomes already has an MVP, a Super Bowl ring, a Super Bowl MVP, and another Super Bowl appearance. The Chiefs are coming off an off-season in which they dominated. They retooled the O-line into maybe the league's best unit after the terrible Super Bowl showing which left Mahomes out to dry and the defense continues to look better and better. Mahomes has one of the craziest arms of all time. He can throw further than probably anyone in the league and with ease and can make throws at any arm angle you can imagine. Seriously. Watch the tape from the Super Bowl and you will see Mahomes' almost completed miracle throw he was basically flat to the ground and launched a 40 yard bomb that was almost caught for a TD in the end zone. There is a chance Patrick Mahomes is the most talented player of all-time. There really is. Going into 2021, I expect another MVP caliber season from Mahomes with the Chiefs likely returning to the big game. A Bucs/Chiefs rematch is very possible and would be insane. Unless we get that again and Mahomes beats Brady, there is a low chance of Mahomes ever becoming the best NFL player of all time, but it is still possible. Going into 2021, Patrick Mahomes is the top dawg and closes out a crazy long top 100!