With the NFL Top 100 Players list ending soon, that has inspired us to take it a step further and try to predict the 10 best players for this upcoming season. The 2026 regular season is now a week away, so the top players in the NFL will get a new chance to cement themselves among the league's best.
The top players list that the NFL rolls out is obviously based on the previous season, so our attempt at predicting the 10 best players for this year would essentially be when the league rolls out the 2027 top player list.
Our predictions will surely feature some of the same players that we see being unveiled now, but the order could be different. Let's try to predict the league's 10 best players for the 2026 NFL Season.
Predicting the 10 best players in the league for the 2026 NFL Season
10. Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos
What's neat is that, for the second year in a row, Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II has taken ownership of the No. 10 spot in the NFL's top players list. Surtain and the Broncos have won a total of 24 regular season games since the start of 2024, and Surtain also won the Defensive Player of the Year award that season, which is quite hard for a cornerback.
At this point, Surtain has started his career off on a Hall of Fame pace, and he's also now earned that name recognition that would help him continue to be ranked this high. With that said, Surtain is also, unquestionably, the top corner in the sport, so this would also not be a shock to see him playing this well.
He essentially blankets half the field and allows the rest of the Broncos defense to feast.
9. Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow's 2024 season, for what it is worth, was plenty good enough for the quarterback to win the MVP award, but a horrendous defense had the Cincinnati Bengals looking on the outside of the AFC playoff picture. In 2025, Burrow missed extended time, and the Bengals again missed the playoffs.
With that said, the 2026 season does already feel different, as Cincy actually overhauled the defensive side of the ball and finally added some legitimate players to help this unit be at least average in 2026. An average defense with a high-end offense is all the Bengals would need to easily eclipse 10 wins and get back into the playoffs.
Burrow's high-end passing ability and already largely being looked at as a top-5 quarterback in the NFL does give him a ton of potential to continue that level of dominance in 2026. And if the Bengals defense is actually competent, we could see this entire team come together.
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