JKNFLFOOTBALL Top 100 Players for 2022: The Top 10

 We've made it. Over the course of the last month and change I've been slowly revealing my top 100 players in the NFL heading into next season, but today marks the conclusion with THE top 10! These are the best of the very best and while there will definitely be some controversy about how they stack up, they are almost all pretty interchangeable as they truly are the best players in the sport. Let's do this one more time!

10. Derrick Henry, Running Back, Tennessee Titans | LAST YEAR: #9 |

2021 stats: 219 carries for 937 yards, 10 TDs rushing (limited to 8 games, due to injury)

The King's reign continues! For the second straight year Derrick Henry is both within the top 10 and comes in as my no. 1 RB in the NFL! We all were anticipating another huge year from Henry following his insane 2,000 yard rushing season last year that saw him also take home Offensive Player of the Year honors, and he picked up right on that pace through the first half of the season. Sadly, Henry went down with an injury that saw him miss the rest of the regular season after playing in just 8 games. However, the numbers you see from Henry through those 8 games are straight up ridiculous. Henry was by far and away the best RB in the game to that point and no one even came close, statistically. Henry was on pace for likely another 2,000 yard season and potentially over TWENTY rushing TDs as well. He was playing even better than he did for much of his OPOY winning 2020. Henry even finished the season in the top 10 in both rushing yards and TDs, playing in just HALF the games!! 

I mentioned this for Alvin Kamara when he came in on the list, but he and Henry are two of the very small group of RBs that can simply take over a game. Jonathan Taylor is close to that, but not quite there. Henry can quite literally put the team on his back and win them a game. We saw that in multiple instances like week 2 vs Seattle in which Tennessee rallied back from three scores to beat the 'Hawks in OT behind Henry's 182 rushing yards and 3 TDs. We also saw it on MNF against Buffalo when Henry ran for 143 and 3 scores. Henry's size, speed, and toughness is simply an unfair trio. With full health this year, expect Henry to be back to his old ways and have an interesting battle with fellow AFC South back Jonathan Taylor for top RB honors.

9. Darius Leonard, Linebacker, Indianapolis Colts | LAST YEAR: #46 |

2021 stats: 122 total tackles, 8 forced fumbles, 4 INTs, 8 pass deflections, 12 stuffs

For whatever reason, the league seems to underrated Darius Leonard time and time again. I'm not doing it. Last year I did it to an extent as he was at #46 on the list, this year he becomes one of the biggest risers of anyone and leaps 35 spots to make his debut inside the top 10! There may not be a more do-it-all player on defense in the league right now. 'The Maniac' is everywhere for the Colts and is the heart and soul of their top 5 ranked defense. Despite being an off-ball LB, I believe Leonard is an easy top 10 player in the league. It's time for the off-ball LB disrespect to stop! 

It's rare to talk about a non-DB that is a turnover machine on the defensive side of the ball. Usually we are talking about a guy who picks off tons of passes like Trevon Diggs or Xavien Howard. Leonard forced a whopping 12 turnovers, 8 of which were forced fumbles which is even more impressive. Forcing a fumble in today's NFL might be the hardest thing to do, and Leonard has perfected it. The "Peanut Punch" that Tillman brought to light in the early 2000s is back and better than ever in the form of Leonard. He is so freakin' good at punching the ball at the perfect time and lodging it out. The 26 year old is just entering his prime and already compels me to call him the best LB in all of football and a potential future DPOY winner. The Colts are going to be great again this year, especially on defense. I can't wait to see Leonard in more big-time spots making more big-time plays!

8. Myles Garrett, Edge Rusher, Cleveland Browns | LAST YEAR: #11 |

2021 stats: 51 total tackles, 16 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 3 pass deflections, 5 stuffs

He just keeps on getting better. The Browns took that risk a few years back when they made Garrett the no. 1 overall pick in the draft instead of going with a QB, which they desperately needed. Garrett has proven them right in every instance he can. In his 5 NFL seasons, Garrett has produced double digit sacks in 4 of them, with the total creeping higher and higher. Aside from probably Aaron Donald, there may not be a stronger and more freakish defender in the league. Garrett combines hulking size and strength with unreal athleticism and burst off the edge. The burst of power he plays with every down is unmatched, even to Donald. When you are facing Garrett, you are more than likely going to find yourself on the ground a couple of times in the game if your an O-lineman. 

This past season was the best of Garrett's ultra-productive young career. He was a serious DPOY candidate with an eye-popping 16 sacks which was third most in the game. At 26 years old, we are also seeing Garrett just starting to enter the heyday of his career. This could be the year Garrett breaks the 20+ sack mark and takes home his first DPOY award! Despite all the uncertainty around Cleveland, Garrett remains a definite as he makes his top 10 debut. 

7. Joe Burrow, Quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals | LAST YEAR: #82 |

2021 stats: 4,611 yards, 34 TDs, 14 INTs passing | 1,105 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs passing in PLAYOFFS

Talk about big-time risers. Joe Burrow becomes THE LARGEST riser yet on the top 100, going from top 85 to top 7! We all know about what Joe just did. After another lost season for Cinncy in 2020, everyone was excited to see what this team could do with Burrow coming back from his ACL tear that ended his rookie season prematurely ,and how he would mesh with his former college WR1 Ja'Marr Chase in Cinncinati. From the opening kick, Burrow was back and better than ever. He had arguably the best college QB season ever in his Heisman/National Title winning season at LSU in 2019, but he looked even better during his 2021 campaign with the Bengals. Burrow played just as advertised. 

The coolest, calmest, and most collected QB in the pocket who can make off-script plays and launch the ball to anywhere on the field at any given moment. The most impressive part of his nearly 5,000 yard season was the fact he did it behind the WORST OL in the NFL. Despite this impossible setback, Burrow was the hottest QB in the league down the stretch and carried it into the playoffs where the Bengals upset their way to the first Super Bowl in 30 years for the team. The Bengals had the nastiest playoff loss streak in the sport and it took Burrow all but two years to snap it. Even in the Super Bowl, while the Bengals came up just short of a title, Burrow did all he could. He played a lights out game but ultimately his awful OL failed him when it mattered most. Going into 2022, everyone is in on Burrow. He's the swaggiest, most fun player to watch in the league right now, on and off the field. With a vastly improved OL over the off-season, we are going to see what he can do when he actually has time to think about throwing rather than having Aaron Donald in his eye instantly. I can't wait to see what he is about to do and I truly think he could be the favorite for league MVP.

6. Josh Allen, Quarterback, Buffalo Bills | LAST YEAR: #14 |

2021 stats: 4,407 yards, 36 TDs, 15 INTs passing | 122 carries, 763 yards, 6 TDs rushing | 637 yards, 9 TDs, 0 INTs in PLAYOFFS (2 games)

What a year for Josh Allen. That's simply the best way to open his section here on the top 100 as he's lept inside the top 10 for the first time his career, rising 8 spots from #14 last year. The former #7 overall pick had his growing pains and struggles in his first year or two, but now he's developed into an easy top 3 signal caller in the sport with even more room to grow at the ripe age of 26. Allen is simply the hardest QB to gameplan for in the NFL. I stand by that statement, even over freaks like Mahomes or Lamar Jackson. While Mahomes might have a *slightly* more talented arm and Jackson may be faster and more elusive, neither can say they are truly the FULL package to the extent that Allen is. At 6'5, 237 pounds, Allen is built like a Tight End but happens to have the biggest arm in the league and can float it 60 yards with the flick of the wrist. Despite the massive frame, Allen has become one of the best rushing QBs in the league as he's sneaky quick and boasts great open field movement. While his decision-making is still improving (see the 15 INTs) there isn't much room to complain when he also tosses 36 TDs. 

Everyone is eagerly waiting to see how Allen and his Bills respond to the way they went out in the post-season, choking a slim led to the Chiefs by allowing them to get in FG range in just 9 seconds. Still, Allen did all he could. In just two playoff games, Allen was the best player in the league. He threw over 600 yards and 9 TDs with ZERO picks. There's that decision-making improvement. The Bills are the best team in the league right now in my opinion, and Allen is a top 3 QB in the sport leading them. I mentioned Joe Burrow as the potential MVP favorite above, but I see Allen as his main competition. Allen is already nearly the best player in the sport, could he rise to that #1 ranking after a potential career year in 2022? Time will tell, and we can't wait to see how it unfolds.

5. Cooper Kupp, Wide Receiver, Los Angeles Rams | LAST YEAR: N/A |

2021 stats: 145 receptions for 1,947 yards, 16 TDs receiving | 33 receptions for 478 yards, 6 TDs in PLAYOFFS

This has to be THE most shocking breakout season of all time! Cooper Kupp wasn't even on my top 100 last season and was the WR2 on a Rams team that had so many question marks surrounding it. The trade for Matthew Stafford changed everything. The Rams went from a good team to a Super Bowl contender, and Cooper Kupp went from an afterthought WR2 to the BEST WR in the NFL. The connection between Stafford and Kupp was instant. We saw Kupp go for 100 yards and a TD in week 1, and then for 163 and 2 scores in week 2. We knew the two were onto something, but no one could have foreseen this connection working THIS well and for the entire season. The two just were magic. Kupp went for 90+ yards in 16/17 regular season games. That's simply insane. By the end of the regular season, Kupp saw himself record the second most receiving yards in a single season ever. He also saw himself record the second most receptions in a single season ever. Kupp had achieved the triple crown in the NFL as well (1st in catches, yards, and TDs receiving).

While Kupp had produced all regular season and took home OPOY honors for doing so, the playoffs were where he wanted to make that difference. And he did. Kupp chugged along to the same tune in the post-season. In the Divisional Round he destroyed the Bucs secondary with 180 yards and a TD and then the next week did the same to the 49ers with 140 yards and two scores. In the Super Bowl, he came up the biggest of all, rushing for the game-saving first down on 4th & 1 late in the game and then mixing Bengal CB Eli Apple in the endzone for the game winning score with just minutes remaining. The Rams were Super Bowl champs and Kupp was the Super Bowl MVP! I don't even know how to put into words just how mind-blowing that season was from Kupp. One that will be remembered forever, etched into NFL history. Kupp and Stafford return for their second year together in 2022 and why not believe Kupp will do it all again, heck he rose from the unranked to top 5 in ONE season! Anything can happen in Hollywood. 

4. Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs | LAST YEAR: #1 |

2021 stats: 4,839 yards, 37 TDs, 13 INTs passing | 1,057 yards, 11 TDs, 3 INTs in PLAYOFFS

This is what a "down year" looks like for Patrick Mahomes. Last year's top dawg falls just 3 spots to #4 after this said "down year". While it took Mahomes and his Chiefs a little bit to get rolling, once they were back, they were back. Mahomes threw a lot of INTs and lost a fair amount of games early in the year, but was once again MVP worthy down the stretch and into the playoffs. I'm already comfortable calling him the most talented QB in NFL history. His mobility, ability to throw the ball at any angle and from any spot on the field, and his IT factor all contribute to what makes him arguably the most gifted thrower of the ball we've ever seen. If people call a near 5,000 yard, 37 TD season a down year, then I think we are really witnessing the potential future GOAT here. While Mahomes faltered in the AFC title game as the Bengals roared back from a big deficit to win the game, most of the blame cannot be on Mahomes, who was on another level in the playoffs, tossing another 1k yards and 11 TDs to just 3 picks. I guess a down year for Mahomes is one drive away from making a third straight Super Bowl.

All jokes aside, Patrick Mahomes is an all time great, already. The 26 year old may not even be in his true prime yet and he's already been to two Super Bowls, won one, along with a league MVP and Super Bowl MVP. While he will be without his former top target Tyreek Hill for the first time this year, it does not worry me at all. Mahomes elevates all the pass catchers around him and still has All-World TE Travis Kelce at his disposal plus multiple great off-season additions at receiver (Juju Smith, Skyy Moore, Valdes-Scantling, and Justyn Ross). The Chiefs are going to be their usual perennial contenders and Mahomes, while not my favorite to win it, will be in the MVP discussion. After a "down year", the reigning number 1 player in the NFL falls to 4, he will be hungry to get back to that top spot this season.

3. TJ Watt, Edge Rusher, Pittsburgh Steelers | LAST YEAR: #6 |

2021 stats: 64 total tackles, 22.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 7 pass deflections (missed 2 games, due to injury)

Welcome to the top 3 TJ Watt! It is so crazy to me that his older brother JJ Watt was the best pass rusher in the sport for the last decade, and it's shaping up to look like TJ might be the best pass rusher in the sport for the NEXT decade! After two years in a row of being snubbed for Defensive Player of the Year honors, TJ Watt finally broke through in 2021. Behind tying the single season record for sacks with 22.5 (despite missing two games) and forcing a whopping 5 fumbles, Watt finally got his well deserved hardware. 

I've simply never seen a defensive player who makes an impact on every single down like TJ. While Aaron Donald might be considered the best defensive player in the game, and possibly ever, he does not make an eye-catching play on every down like Watt does. Watt is simply always involved, whether it's a sack, pressure, or forced fumble. I've also rarely seen a defensive player who singlehandedly is able to win his team a game like Watt, which he did on multiple occasions in 2021 (see the Seahawks game for a good example). While you are about to see Aaron Donald ranked higher, I really do believe that he and Donald are a sort of 1A and 1B in terms of best defensive player in the sport. Watt has deserved to be a DPOY winner for years now, and he finally gets his first. If he plays in all 17 games this year, I see him BREAKING that single season sack record that he already tied in 2021. TJ Watt is our #3 player in the NFL.

2. Tom Brady, Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers | LAST YEAR: #2 |

2021 stats: 5,316 yards, 43 TDs, 12 INTs passing

How does one begin to try and explain a 43-year-old QB leading the NFL in passing yards AND TDs? They can't. Tom Brady is unquestionably the GOAT and has been the unquestioned GOAT for years at this point. The most baffling part of it all, is that he's not just keeping afloat in today's game, he's getting BETTER! Brady just threw the second most TD passes of his 21 year career at age 43. How do you explain that?? He just doesn't regress. His accuracy and power are the same as they were 10 years ago, arguably better you could say. 

When the news came out that he was retiring, I was beyond sad. The game will never be the same without the GOAT suiting up every Sunday, but it also just didn't make sense to me. Brady is coming off one of the best seasons of his career after a shocking playoff loss and he just hangs them up? It made it all the more sweet when he announced he'd be back just a month later. I expect this to be his last year, for real this time. He's still the best QB in the NFL until proven otherwise and I expect the Buccaneers to be a Super Bowl favorite with him at the helm, once again. At age 44, Tom Brady projects to be the #2 player in the entire NFL in 2022, literal insanity.

1. Aaron Donald, Defensive Tackle, Los Angeles Rams | LAST YEAR: #3 |

2021 stats: 84 total tackles, 12.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 4 pass deflections, 16 stuffs | 3.5 sacks in PLAYOFFS

Aaron Donald was not happy that I snubbed him of the top spot last year. The three-time DPOY and now 1-time Super Bowl champ has reached the top of the mountain. He may be the best defensive player of all-time, and he's still in his prime. While Donald had achieved all of the individual accolades that one could ever want or need in the NFL, one continued to elude him, a Super Bowl ring. The ring signifies not only individual greatness, but it proves that you contributed to success, not just empty stats. While Donald has been considered by many as the best defensive player ever already for a few years now, that argument just got pretty airtight with what Donald did in 2021.

While he did not win another DPOY (though he was in the conversation again), he was the driving force to the Rams winning their first Super Bowl in years, and their first in LA. Donald is not only the strongest player in the NFL right now, but also probably of all-time as well. There are pictures you can find on the internet of him getting legitimately triple, or even quadrupled by opposing offensive lineman and you can find instances where he actually WON those match-ups. With what looks like a simple shove, Donald sends 300+ pounders hurdling to the ground and on their butts. He is a one man wrecking crew who will not be denied. Even at the defensive tackle position, Donald makes his mark. In the Super Bowl, Donald made his career defining play. With just under a minute in the game and the Bengals driving towards what would be a Super Bowl winning TD, Donald took matters into his own hands. On 4th & 2 he instantly crashed through the Bengal line and spun Joe Burrow to the ground, not giving him even a second to find Ja'Marr Chase who was WIDE open down the field and would have been the winning score had Burrow had one more second. "RING ME," Donald screamed, and then they did. Aaron Donald is the best player in the NFL right now on the best team in the league. What a career...and it's not even over yet!

That concludes the annual top 100! Here is a list of players who just missed and could easily be inside the prestigious list in a year from now:

Elgton Jenkins (OG), Jevon Holland (S), Matt Ryan (QB), Jalen Hurts (QB), Darrell Taylor (OLB), Justin Simmons (S), Ryan Jensen (C), Tee Higgins (WR), Patrick Surtain II (CB), Rashaad Penny (RB), Haason Redick (OLB), Leonard Fournette (RB), Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR), Tyron Smith (OT), Roquan Smith (LB), Chidobe Awuzie (CB), Jameis Winston (QB), Michael Thomas (WR), Chris Godwin (WR), James Conner (RB), Carson Wentz (QB), Dak Prescott (QB), Tre'Davious White (CB), Austin Ekeler (RB), Rashan Gary (OLB)