Top 10 Offensive & Defensive Players in the 2021-22 Playoffs
We are just two days away from the Bengals and Raiders kicking off Super Wildcard Weekend and the start of the NFL postseason! Our predictions for the round and the playoffs overall are IN, but now for even a little bit more insight into how these next few weeks may play out, we are dropping our list of the top 10 offensive and defensive players in the playoffs!
*(QBs are not included on this list, we hear/know too much about all of them already)*
Offense
Our top non-QB offensive player in these upcoming playoffs has to be Cooper Kupp after the season he has just come off of. As you may know, Kupp reached rarefied air by achieving the triple crown (leading NFL in catches, receiving yards, and receiving TDs). Pretty crazy stuff. Kupp is always open, his route running is next-level. He can be double-teamed at times and still get wide open for Matthew Stafford. He is a near lock to get over 100 yards and a TD in every game and that will continue into the playoffs. Kupp should get a ton of screen time on the big stage after his 1,900 yard season.
2. Derrick Henry, Running Back, Tennessee Titans
King Henry is back! After getting off to one of the hottest starts we've ever seen for an RB this season, Derrick Henry broke his foot near the mid-season mark and missed the rest of the year. Henry ran for 930 yards and 10 TDs in less than half of the season. If he played all 17, the man would have probably broken every rushing record there is. He is too big and strong to be tackled in the open field but he also possesses wild breakaway speed. Teams are going to have to center their entire game-plans around him in order to try and beat the Titans in Nashville starting in round 2 following their bye week.
3. Davante Adams, Wide Receiver, Green Bay Packers
The best chainmover in the playoffs might just be Davante Adams. Adams is Aaron Rodgers' go-to-guy and makes DBs look like suckers on a routine basis. Aside from Kupp and maybe Hunter Renfrow of the Raiders, there isn't a better route runner in the league. Adams is sneaky fast, does not drop any catch he can get his hands on, and just like a lot of these other top guys, IS ALWAYS OPEN. Aaron Rodgers relies on Adams as much as any player is relied upon in the sport. Whoever faces Green Bay in the divisional round and possibly beyond has their work seriously cut out for them.
Aside from Kupp, Travis Kelce may be the best player in the NFL at just purely getting open for his QB. There are times that he is so wide open that it leaves you yelling at the defense 'why would you leave their best player wide open, why not double him'? The sad truth for most defenses is that they likely did double him and focus in on him and he still gets open. Throw on the tape to the Bengals v. Chiefs game from a few weeks ago, he is nearly unstoppable in the red-zone. There is a TD where he sells a block for at least like 2 seconds and then just breaks off of it to be wide open in the endzone for an easy TD. He makes it look easy.
5. Deebo Samuel, Wide Receiver, San Francisco 49ers
Possibly the breakout story of 2021 was Deebo Samuel on the Niners. We've always known that he has true star potential, but with injuries, he wasn't able to show it off. In the healthiest year of his three year career so far, Samuel was able to show the world why he was worth the wait. Samuel is absolutely electric in the open field. Derrick Henry may be hard to take down, but Samuel is harder to track down. He will run around you, he will outrun you, he will make you miss with a variety of smooth moves. The list goes on. To make it even harder, the Niners line him up in every spot imaginable in the offense. He plays slot and outside, but also takes handoffs out of the backfield which is where he truly may be the most dangerous. Samuel had over 1400 yards receiving + another 300 on the ground. The Niners will get the ball to him early and often in this post-season. He could be the reason for them to make a cinderella run.
6. Tyreek Hill, Wide Receiver, Kansas City Chiefs
The fastest player in the league is undoubtedly Tyreek Hill. They call him cheetah for a reason. Coming into the league a few years back, Hill may have just been considered a burner, but now he is so much more than that. He is the surefire WR1 on the Chiefs and for good reason. Not only does he have the killer speed, but his route running is very crisp and will make defenders hit the turf. Even with his small frame, Hill is one of the best contested ball catchers in football. He isn't just a burner, he is a bonafide deep threat that catches anything within reach.
Talk about a rookie season, Ja'Marr Chase just had the greatest one for a wide receiver ever. With over 1,400 yards and 10 TDs, Chase instantly has become a top deep threat in the entire league and the surefire no. 1 option in a loaded Cincinnati offense. Chase seems to always get loose for one or more major plays every game which always changes the outcome drastically. With a date against the Raiders' spotty secondary in round 1, expect Chase to reel in a bomb or two. Can't wait to see how he lights it up in his first playoff chance.
8. George Kittle, Tight End, San Francisco 49ers
Some might say that George Kittle is the best tight end in football period. I wouldn't even be mad at that statement. What Kittle has done in his young career has been nothing short of spectacular. We've been talking about guys who seem to catch everything, I will say without a doubt that Kittle has the toughest hands of anyone in the league. He makes a seemingly impossible catch in every game. With his massive size, he is shockingly agile which is why he always finds a seam in the middle of the field for Jimmy G to throw to. He is defenses' worst nightmare, especially with his tough run blocking ability. No team is gonna want to face him in the post-season.
9. Mike Evans, Wide Receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Especially with Chris Godwin out for the season and Antonio Brown no longer with the team, this is Evans' chance to show the world how good he truly is. We all know and love Evans for being one of the best contested catch guys and redzone threats in the league, but some have questions about his ability to succeed as the lone focal point of an offense. Tom Brady absolutely loves to chuck him the ball, but how will it hold up during the playoffs in crucial games? We are about to find out. Evans could be in store for a post-season for the ages.
Who would have expected to see James Conner on any top 10 list going into this season? What a year it has been for the former Pittsburgh Steeler. He has found his place in the NFL once again, this time with the Cardinals where he is used fully to his strengths. A hard-nosed, through the tackles runner, Conner's toughness has brought a new element to this Cardinal rushing attack which it was previously lacking very much. Just like Cooper Kupp, Conner has become a virtual lock to score in every game. He scored at least one TD in 8 of his last 9 games of the regular season, expect him to do it again on WC weekend.
Just missed: Hunter Renfrow (WR, Raiders), Stefon Diggs (WR, Bills), Darren Waller (TE, Raiders), Leonard Fournette (RB, Bucs), CeeDee Lamb (WR, Cowboys), Joe Mixon (RB, Bengals)
Defense
This shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, but Aaron Donald is easily the best defensive player in the NFL playoffs. Donald is already considered by some as the best defensive player in NFL history, I don't think he's quite there yet personally, but there is definitely a real argument to be made. The three-time defensive player of the year is still playing as well as ever. He had 12.5 sacks again this year which is more than elite for a DT. Still, there are some games where the sack numbers aren't there but his impact is still wildly felt. It is almost a necessity to double team him and even then, he still finds a way to get through and apply pressure on opposing QBs. The amount of pressure he puts on QBs cannot be understated. The one thing that has evaded him in his hall of fame career is a Super Bowl ring, he will look to try and pick one up in this post-season.
2. TJ Watt, Edge Rusher, Pittsburgh Steelers
A close no. 2 has to be TJ Watt. I've never seen such a productive defensive player ever. Watt's ability to get sacks in bunches in second to no one, literally. In just 15 games this season, Watt tied the NFL single-season sack record with 22.5 that has been held by Giant legend Michael Strahan for years. He just seems to get better every single year. He's played 5 years in the NFL, let me read you his sack totals starting from his rookie year until now: 7, 13, 14.5, 15, and 22.5. He literally gets better every year. It is impossible to go up from 15 sacks and he did, BY 7.5 sacks in the same amount of games this season. The man is an absolute menace and forces you to gameplan around his impact. He also forces fumbles like it's no one's business. Watt is in line to finally capture his first DPOY award this season, though he's deserved it the past two years as well.
The ascension to greatness that JC Jackson of the Pats has had in the past few years is wild. He came into the league as an undrafted rookie FA. That is wild. He was the nickel CB to start his career in New England before becoming the no. 2 CB behind former DPOY Stephon Gillmore. Even with Gillmore there in 2020, Jackson still made quite the name for himself. When Gillmore was traded at the start of this season, Jackson officially came into his own as one of the best ball-hawking/shutdown CBs in football. Jackson was second in the league with 8 INTs this year along with a crazy 23 pass deflections which was most in the NFL. He shuts down an entire side of the field yet still finds a way to usually come down with an INT or two in every game. Jackson will have the tough task of covering Stefon Diggs in round 1, but I like him to win the match-up. That is how highly I think of Jackson who may be the best CB in the NFL right now.
4. Jalen Ramsey, Cornerback, Los Angeles Rams
The other player that many say is the top CB in the NFL is Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey doesn't amass quite the crazy stats that Jackson does, but his play speaks for himself. He is the kind of shutdown CB that literally doesn't get thrown at so his stats will evidently be lower. Even then, he still racks up decent stats. If you ask pretty much any NFL star WR, they will say that Ramsey is the best corner in the game. He is undefeated in press-man coverage and has quite possibly more swagger than anyone in the league. He will be a key piece for the Rams' potential title run as he too, tries to capture his first ring.
The former no. 2 overall pick and DROY has lived up to the hype. Bosa had 14 sacks this season while coming off of a season in which he played just two games before tearing his ACL. Just like TJ Watt, Bosa is one of the best rushers in the league in terms of purely just finding his way to the QB. His technique is so sound that even against double teams, he is able to get through. He uses a variety of pass rushing moves to do so, and it is a work of art to watch him collapse the pocket. Bosa is already one of the biggest problems in the NFL just three seasons into what may end up being a future hall of fame career.
6. Micah Parsons, Outside Linebacker, Dallas Cowboys
Rookie defenders who aren't top pick edge rushers usually take some time to come on, that was not the case for the no. 11 pick in the draft out of Penn State. We all knew that Parsons would be a chess-piece for the Dallas defense, but we didn't think he would do it at such a high level right away. As a rookie, Parsons was a tackle machine with over 50, a sack machine with over 10, and he even deflected some passes and forced a few fumbles. Some have gone as far to say he should win the DPOY award in his rookie season. While I don't think he will, this shows the impact he has had as a rookie. Parsons has been unbelievable and I can see him poised for a major post-season debut. He is everywhere and teams are going to have a tough time being able to figure him out.
Another Cowboy on this list, Diggs is one of the most polarizing talents in the league right now. As far as ball-hawking goes, Diggs is probably the best ball-hawk in football right now. His 11 INTs were the most by any player this season by at least 3 and there was a time early in the season where he had like a 5 or 6 game streak of getting at least one pick per game. All of that being said, he is pretty hit or miss. Since he plays aggressively and jumps up for every ball that comes his way, he gets burned a lot of the time as well. Diggs let up over 1,000 receiving yards this season which is obviously less than ideal for your CB1, but he really makes up for it with the picks. Diggs is going to be quite the player to watch in these playoffs to see if he is the one getting burnt or if he can pick off passes at the crazy rate that he was during the regular season.
The oldest player on this list, Chandler Jones may be over 30, but he still is one of the best edge rushers in football. Jones has not had his chance to play in the post-season in a few years now, so finally we will be able to see him unleashed vs the Rams this coming Monday. In terms of rushing over the past 4+ years, Jones has been the most productive rusher in the NFL. Jones has 107.5 career sacks and has had at least 10 sacks every year since 2014 (excluding 2020 when he played just 5 games due to injury). Jones is a certified game-wrecker and should cause fits for Matthew Stafford and the Rams' offense in round 1.
Another third year edge rusher like Nick Bosa, Maxx Crosby plays a different style. While he still gets sacks, he didn't record double digit this season like many of the top edge rushers. That doesn't mean he isn't one of the best at his position. He is really doing it all alone as the Raiders don't have much talent on their D-line outside of him. Even with this, and being double-teamed often, Crosby led the league BY FAR, in QB pressures with 103. He is seemingly always swarming around the pocket by for whatever reason he is rarely able to finish and get the sack. This isn't even a knock on him the QB just always seems to happen to get the ball out a split second before Crosby can finish the sack. He is going to be a nightmare for the Bengals' spotty O-line in round 1 and may be finally able to finish some more of these sacks.
No. 10 on this list might be the biggest surprise of anyone in this article. Rasul Douglas has gone from a nobody to an elite member of the best team in football in a short matter of months. Signed off of the Cardinals' practice squad in early November after not getting Stephon Gillmore in a trade, Douglas has been playing elite football for the Packers and has secured himself a nice payday this off-season from them or another team. In just 12 games this season, Douglas recorded 52 tackles, 13 pass deflections, 5 INTs, and a forced fumble. Two of those INTs were also returned for TDs and another one of those picks was in the red-zone to win the Packers the game against the then undefeated Cardinals. In just 12 games Douglas was able to produce stats that were good enough to be those of the CB1 in the NFL in an average season. With Jaire Alexander returning to the lineup in the divisional round for the Packers, Douglas will move to CB2 and will help the Packers try and return to the Super Bowl. If a CB that productive is not even your CB1, you are in a good place.
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