In the spirit of the NFL releasing the top 100 players list for the upcoming season, we'll do something similar on a smaller scale. The main issue with rankings, no matter what position, is that they're almost entirely subjective. Yes, there are some obvious truths with rankings.
Myles Garrett, for example, was pretty obviously the best player in the league last year and is very likely coming in at No. 1 in the NFL's top-100 players list, which is voted on by the players themselves. As you get further down that list, though, things get cloudier.
Let's do our best to get an accurate ranking of the 10 best players in the NFL for the 2026 season. We'll use 2025 performance as the primary basis for our rankings here.
Power-ranking the top 10 players in the NFL for the 2026 season
10. Trey McBride, TE, Arizona Cardinals
Trey McBride is probably the best tight end in the NFL right now. In 2025, McBride hauled in 126 receptions for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors. 2025 was the second season in a row for McBride with at least 1,146 yards and a Pro Bowl nod.
Yes, he is on the Arizona Cardinals, but that doesn't make him any less of an awesome player, and he's only set to play in his age-27 season this year. Ideally, McBride is still right in the middle of his prime when the Cardinals figure out a quarterback situation.
He also plays a pretty difficult position, as tight ends in the NFL typically take longer in their development process than other positions.
9. Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots
Drake Maye finished second in the MVP voting, just barely losing out to Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams. Maye was firing on all cylinders and, to his credit, did take advantage of the New England Patriots easy schedule in 2025.
I would understand if there are people out there who aren't yet fully sold on Maye and the Patriots, as this was just one season of Maye playing lights out, and it did come with a schedule so easy it's almost too hard to believe. However, great quarterback play is great quarterback play, and it's important we recognize Maye for it.
This ranking of No. 9 doesn't mean he'll continue this pace into 2026 - New England's schedule gets a lot tougher this year, so we could be entering a bit of a 'contender or pretender' year for this franchise.
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