Top 100 NFL players entering the 2020 season: No. 10-1

Concluding our top 100 rankings with the 10 best NFL players for the 2020 season.

It took two and a half weeks, but we’re at the final edition of the top 100 NFL players for 2020. This latest rankings feature players performing at Hall of Fame levels and taking home prestigious awards annually. The league’s last two MVPs both make appearances along with several deserving candidates.

While I tried to keep the top 100 as balanced as possible, only two defensive players cracked the top ten. Nos. 20-11 featured six defenders, including Jamal Adams and Bobby Wagner, but offensive playmakers dominate the list’s top spots. The modern NFL is an offense-orientated league, and it shows in the final rankings.

The reigning Defensive and Offensive Players of the Year open the final edition of the top 100.

10. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints

Thomas shattered Marvin Harrison’s single-season receptions record last year, hauling in 149 passes. The stud Ohio St. product even reached the record despite Teddy Bridgewater playing five games in place of the injured Drew Brees. While Bridgewater isn’t a bad quarterback, he’s certainly not on the same level as Brees.

Four years into his career, Thomas has the résumé of a veteran. He’s made 470 receptions for 5,512 yards and 32 touchdowns without every dipping below 90 receptions or 1,100 yards in a season. Thomas made the last three Pro Bowls and earned First-Team All-Pro selections from the Associated Press (AP) in 2018 and 2019.

Thomas’s crowning achievement was winning the Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY) award in 2019 for leading the NFL with 149 receptions and 1,725 yards. While he isn’t the highest-ranking receiver on the top 100, Thomas is positioning himself to be a decade-defining player in the 2020s.

9. Stephon Gilmore, CB, New England Patriots

If Thomas was the game’s best wide receiver last year, then Gilmore was his foil. The 19-year-old earned his second consecutive AP First-Team All-Pro selection and won the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award. In a season where Shaquil Barrett, Chandler Jones, and T.J. Watt crushed quarterbacks, Gilmore separated himself as the league’s best defensive player.

Gilmore made his first Pro Bowl with the Buffalo Bills in 2016. However, the South Carolina product unlocked his potential when he arrived in New England. According to Pro Football Reference’s advanced numbers, Gilmore only allowed a 44.1 passer rating when targeted last season. In comparison, Marcus Peters, a fellow All-Pro, allowed a 71.4 passer rating.

In a league that increasingly focuses on sack-artists, Gilmore stole the spotlight last year. He tied for the league-lead with six interceptions and defensed 20 passes for the second consecutive year. Gilmore also made an impact on the scoreboard, returning two interceptions for touchdowns.