Best NFL Players Today

We have combed through the roughly 2,000 players in the league to determine the cream of the football crop.

Best NFL Players Today

Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

If you ever want to ignite a rowdy discussion among NFL fans, ask, "Who do you think is the best player in the game?" If there are 10 people involved, you may get 10 different answers.

Everyone has a different process for determining the best NFL player. And there’s no wrong answer. Unless you pick a kicker or punter.

We have combed through the roughly 2,000 players in the league to determine the cream of the football crop.

These are the best players in the NFL today.

30. Earl Thomas, Free Safety

Career: 10 seasons (2010-present)

Teams: Seattle Seahawks (2010-18), Baltimore Ravens (2019-present)

Career stats: 684 TKL, 28 INT, 67 PD, 3 TD

2018 stats: 22 TKL, 3 INT, 5 PD, 0 TD

Super Bowl titles: 1 (2013)

Bottom line: A tumultuous 2018 season with the Seahawks shouldn’t cloud the fact that Earl Thomas is still a game-changing safety when healthy. He missed all of training camp and preseason, picked off three passes in three games, broke his leg in the fourth and missed the entire season before signing with the Ravens in the offseason.

Even in limited action, Thomas graded out as Pro Football Focus’ second-best safety and he’s so much more than just a ballhawk. He also tied for second among safeties in tackling per PFF even though most don’t associate that part of the game with him.

He now will be playing with a chip on his shoulder, not just from the naysayers who say he can’t return to form after his injury, but also to prove the Seahawks were wrong in not offering him a new contract.

29. Geno Atkins, Defensive Tackle

Career: 10 seasons (2010-present)

Teams: Cincinnati Bengals (2010-present)

Career stats: 341 TKL, 71.0 SACK, 8 FF

2018 stats: 45 TKL, 10.0 SACK, 0 FF

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: Geno Atkins was part of the same draft class as fellow defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy. Both of those players were drafted in the top three picks overall while Atkins had to wait until the 120th pick to hear his name called.

However, those two players are also not on this list, unlike Atkins, who has more sacks and more Pro Bowls than both Suh and McCoy.

The only thing keeping Atkins from receiving more acclaim is postseason success, but his regular-season worth deserves notice.

28. Calais Campbell, Defensive End

Career: 12 seasons (2008-present)

Teams: Arizona Cardinals (2008-16), Jacksonville Jaguars (2017-present)

Career stats: 635 TKL, 81.5 SACK, 12 FF

2018 stats: 72 TKL, 10.5 SACK, 1 FF

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: Outside of a couple of aging, future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, the 33-year-old Calais Campbell is the oldest player on this list. You couldn’t tell with his play since his best two seasons have come with the Jaguars after turning 30.

While he never posted double-digit sacks in nine seasons in Arizona, Campbell had 14.5 sacks in 2017 and followed that up with 10.5 sacks in 2018.

In addition to his production, Campbell has helped establish a culture in Jacksonville, which became known as Sacksonville after his arrival.

He is considered one of the best leaders in all of football, and that leadership, combined with his ability, gives him immense value.

27. Saquon Barkley, Running Back

Career: 2 seasons (2018-present)

Teams: New York Giants (2018-present)

Career stats: 1,307 YDS, 11 TD, 5.0 AVG, 91 REC, 721 RYDS

2018 stats: 1,307 YDS, 11 TD, 5.0 AVG, 91 REC, 721 RYDS

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: One of two sophomores on this list, Saquon Barkley lived up to the hype despite not having the most talented players alongside him. His ability to make guys miss in space, at 233 pounds, is something we haven’t seen in quite a while.

Barkley had numerous highlight plays in 2018 as both the Giants running and passing games leaned on his broad shoulders and thick quads. He set an NFL record for scrimmage yards by a rookie and tied Randy Moss’ 20-year-old record for most 50-plus yard touchdowns by a rookie (5).

With Odell Beckham out of town and Eli Manning soon to be out of town, Barkley is the face of the New York Giants, and the G-Men fans couldn’t have asked for someone better than the Bronx-born Barkley.

26. Harrison Smith, Free Safety

Career: 8 seasons (2012-present)

Teams: Minnesota Vikings (2012-present)

Career stats: 566 TKL, 20 INT, 12.0 SACK, 4 TD

2018 stats: 84 TKL, 3 INT, 3.0 SACK, 0 TD

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: Harrison Smith continues to be one of the most underrated players in football. In 2018, he was one of four players with at least three sacks and three interceptions as the Vikings employed Smith closer to the line of scrimmage and it paid off.

Mike Zimmer always has been judicious on when to blitz Smith, who normally mans center field, but Zim can press the right buttons at the right time.

Smith has 12.0 career sacks, the most among all active defensive backs, and he still has plenty of years left.

25. Quenton Nelson, Left Guard

Career: 2 seasons (2018-present)

Teams: Indianapolis Colts (2018-present)

Career stats: 16 games started

2018 stats: 16 games started

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: Quenton Nelson’s rookie season was one of the best in NFL history, not just for an O-lineman, but for any player. He became the first guard to ever be named an Offensive Rookie of the Month and was one of three players to receive votes for Offensive Rookie of the Year along with Saquon Barkley and Baker Mayfield.

When Nelson wasn’t opening up rushing lanes, he was part of a unit that kept Andrew Luck upright as the Colts gave up an NFL-low 18 sacks in 2018.

For his efforts, Nelson graded out as the league’s best left guard, rookie or not.

24. Tyreek Hill, Wide Receiver

Career: 4 seasons (2016-present)

Teams: Kansas City Chiefs (2016-present)

Career stats: 223 REC, 3,255 YDS, 25 TD, 14.6 AVG

2018 stats: 87 REC, 1,479 YDS, 12 TD, 17.0 AVG

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: The NFL’s ultimate big-play weapon, Tyreek Hill has Olympic-level speed, and he applies it on the football field.

Since entering the league in 2016, he has 16 touchdowns of at least 50 yards in length. That’s as many as the second and third place players combined, and Hill has done them in every way possible. He’s scored rushing touchdowns, receiving touchdowns, kick return touchdowns and punt return touchdowns.

There was some question if the 5-foot-10 Hill could operate as a No. 1 receiver, but he quickly shut that speculation down by finishing in the top five in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in 2018.

23. Stephon Gilmore, Cornerback

Career: 8 seasons (2012-present)

Teams: Buffalo Bills (2012-16), New England Patriots (2017-present)

Career stats: 320 TKL, 18 INT, 91 PD, 0 TD

2018 stats: 45 TKL, 2 INT, 20 PD, 0 TD

Super Bowl titles: 1 (2018)

Bottom line: Pro Football Focus’ top-rated cornerback, Stephon Gilmore earned his first All-Pro recognition and first Super Bowl win in 2018. He finished second in the NFL with 20 pass deflections, and that number may go down as quarterbacks attempt to avoid Gilmore.

But Gilmore is more than just a lockdown corner. He also is active in the run game, unafraid afraid to stick his nose in there and bring down a ball carrier.

The Patriots even had him blitz, and he recorded his first career sack.

22. Le’Veon Bell, Running Back

Career: 7 seasons (2013-present)

Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, (2013-18), New York Jets (2019-present)

Career stats: 5,336 YDS, 35 TD, 4.3 AVG, 312 REC, 2,660 RYDS

2018 stats: Did not play

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: Le'Veon Bell pulled off the ultimate power move in 2018, holding out for all 16 games with the Steelers, so he should be well-rested for the Jets.

Bell is a dual-threat running back, as adept at finding creases in the offensive line as he is at catching passes out of the backfield. His patience while approaching the line of scrimmage is uncanny in today’s game ,and that patience was on full display while he was chilling at home, or at a Pittsburgh LA Fitness, during the 2018 season.

Bell’s performance will be interesting to monitor as we’ve rarely seen a player miss an entire year for something other than injury or illness. You may have to go back to John Riggins in 1980 to find a star running back who sat out due to a contract dispute. Riggins averaged 4.4 yards per carry the year before sitting out and just 3.7 yards per carry the year he came back.

21. Fletcher Cox, Defensive Tackle

Career: 8 seasons (2012-present)

Teams: Philadelphia Eagles (2012-present)

Career stats: 330 TKL, 44.5 SACK, 8 FF

2018 stats: 46 TKL, 10.5 SACK, 1 FF

Super Bowl titles: 1 (2017)

Bottom line: Sometimes players have to sacrifice their stats for the betterment of the team, and that’s what Flectcher Cox did early in his career. He played the five-technique defensive end in the Eagles’ 3-4 scheme before moving to tackle when Philly shifted to a 4-3 in 2016.

Since then, he’s made the Pro Bowl every season and posted a career-high 10.5 sacks in 2018. Even when he wasn’t sacking the quarterback, Cox still was disruptive in getting his hands on the quarterback. He recorded 34 quarterback hits, which trailed only Aaron Donald.

Cox was also voted as the second-best defensive tackle in the league by his peers, again trailing only Donald.

20. Alvin Kamara, Running Back

Career: 3 seasons (2017-present)

Teams: New Orleans Saints (2017-present)

Career stats: 1,611 YDS, 22 TD, 5.1 AVG, 162 REC, 1,535 RYDS

2018 stats: 883 YDS, 14 TD, 4.6 AVG, 81 REC, 709 RYDS

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: Sean Payton had Reggie Bush and Darren Sproles in his backfield, but Alvin Kamara is the best version of that type of scatback.

Kamara is the only player in NFL history to post at least 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards through his first 20 games, and now he gets to be the leading man for the Saints.

Mark Ingram is no longer there, and fantasy owners are licking their chops at the thought of Kamara getting 20 touches a game, every game.

Payton knows that the best way to protect his aging quarterback (Drew Brees) is to lean on the ground game, and Kamara provides home run-hitting ability every time he touches the ball.

19. Jalen Ramsey, Cornerback

Career: 4 seasons (2016-present)

Teams: Jacksonville Jaguars (2016-present)

Career stats: 193 TKL, 9 INT, 44 PD, 1 TD

2018 stats: 65 TKL, 3 INT, 13 PD, 0 TD

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: Just like the Jaguars in 2018, Jalen Ramsey had a down year after 2017’s breakout season. Even in a down year, he was named a Pro Bowler and graded out as the second-best cornerback in the league per Pro Football Focus.

Ramsey’s length and ball skills are what make him so special, but his effort comes and goes and seems to parallel that of the Jaguars' defense as a whole.

He didn’t make as many brash statements in the offseason or call out as many quarterbacks, so he appears to be more locked in. He’s also in a contract year and will do everything possible to become the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.

18. Andrew Luck, Quarterback

Career: 8 seasons (2012-present)

Teams: Indianapolis Colts (2012-present)

Career stats: 23,671 YDS, 171 TD, 83 INT, 60.8 CMP%, 89.5 RAT

2018 stats: 4,593 YDS, 39 TD, 15 INT, 67.3 CMP%, 98.7 RAT

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: What a difference one year makes. Prior to the 2018 season, many thought Andrew Luck would never be the same after undergoing a botched surgery and missing the entire 2017. They were correct. He wasn’t the same as before. He was even better.

Luck was more accurate than ever and posted a career-high passer rating as he was the Comeback Player of the Year. That’s never an award that you want to win twice, and with a stacked Colts roster around him, Luck has all of the tools to lead his team to the Super Bowl, which is exactly what many predicted of him when he was drafted first overall in 2012.

17. Odell Beckham Jr., Wide Receiver

Career: 6 (2014-present)

Teams: New York Giants (2014-18), Cleveland Browns (2019-present)

Career stats: 390 REC, 5,476 YDS, 44 TD, 14.0 AVG

2018 stats: 77 REC, 1,052 YDS, 6 TD, 13.7 AVG

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: According to Instagram followings, Odell Beckham Jr. is the league’s most popular player. With the Giants, he had the combination of talent, jaw-dropping plays, image and the New York market in his corner.

The first three are still present, but Beckham is doing a 180 by going from New York City to Cleveland. The move may be for the better.

There will be less media scrutiny and attention paid to OBJ, so he can just go out and play football. He already cut off his trademark blond hair (going with a more natural look), and a focused Beckham is dangerous.

16. Todd Gurley, Running Back

Career: 5 seasons (2015-present)

Teams: LA Rams (2015-present)

Career stats: 4,547 YDS, 46 TD, 4.4 AVG, 187 REC, 1,883 RYDS

2018 stats: 1,251 YDS, 17 TD, 4.9 AVG, 59 REC, 580 RYDS

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: When healthy Todd Gurley is the best running back in the NFL. When healthy. But that’s the problem.

Gurley didn’t look himself toward the end of the 2018 season. He lost carries to C.J. Anderson, who was signed off the street midseason. Gurley’s trainer confirmed reports that the running back has an arthritic knee, which means we’ve likely already seen the best of the 2017 Offensive Player of the Year.

Much like prospective fantasy football players, we also have to drop Gurley down our rankings due to his uncertainty. But if a miracle occurs and he looks like the old Todd Gurley instead of an old Todd Gurley, then he can do things that no one else in the league can do.

15. Von Miller, Outside Linebacker

Career: 9 seasons (2011-present)

Teams: Denver Broncos (2011-present)

Career stats: 450 TKL, 98 SACK, 2 INT, 26 FF

2018 stats: 48 TKL, 14.5 SACK, 1 INT, 4 FF

Super Bowl titles: 1 (2015)

Bottom line: Only Jared Allen (105) and DeMarcus Ware (99.5) had more sacks in their 20s than Von Miller (98), but the bespectacled linebacker has never led the league in sacks. Now at the age of 30, Miller is still a force on the edge and has a running mate in Bradley Chubb.

Miller has posted double-digit sacks in seven of his eight seasons, and he’s been an All-Pro in both a 4-3 alignment and a 3-4 alignment. Another couple of years of similar production, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame can start creating its bust for Miller.

14. Travis Kelce, Tight End

Career: 7 seasons (2013-present)

Teams: Kansas City Chiefs (2013-present)

Career stats: 410 REC, 5,236 YDS, 32 TD, 12.8 AVG

2018 stats: 103 REC, 1,336 YDS, 10 TD, 13.0 AVG

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: With Rob Gronkowski retired (for now), Travis Kelce is the unquestioned best receiving tight end in the NFL. It takes a special talent for an offense to be built around a tight end as Kelce was Patrick Mahomes’ favorite target on a Chiefs team that scored the third-most points in NFL history in 2018.

What makes Kelce so unique is that he runs routes reserved for wide receivers. The NFL has had many prolific tight ends, but most of them, such as Antonio Gates, just excelled at beating their defenders on normal tight end routes.

Kelce is more like a 260-pound wide receiver, which is a scary sight for whoever is covering him.

13. Bobby Wagner, Middle Linebacker

Career: 8 seasons (2012-present)

Teams: Seattle Seahawks (2012-present)

Career stats: 981 TKL, 16.5 SACK, 9 INT, 4 FF

2018 stats: 138 TKL, 1 SACK, 1 INT, 2 FF

Super Bowl titles: 1 (2013)

Bottom line: Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and the Legion of Boom may have gotten the most attention regarding this current Seahawks era, but Bobby Wagner has been the team’s best player.

He was a stalwart in the middle of a defense that led the league in scoring in four straight seasons, and he’s made first-team All-Pro in each of the last three seasons.

If it wasn’t for Luke Kuechly, Wagner would be talked about as the league’s best linebacker. And with the entire Legion of Boom now gone from Seattle, Wagner will be talked about more when Seattle is brought up.

12. Antonio Brown, Wide Receiver

Career: 10 seasons (2010-present)

Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers (2010-18), Oakland Raiders (2019-present)

Career stats: 837 REC, 11,207 YDS, 74 TD, 13.4 AVG

2018 stats: 104 REC, 1,297 YDS, 15 TD, 12.5 AVG

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: Drama aside, Antonio Brown may be the most sound route runner since Jerry Rice.

Although Brown stands just 5 feet, 10 inches, has unparalleled quickness to get into and out of his cuts. He also has elite hand-eye coordination which, you know, is pretty important for a wide receiver. All of those traits were on display in a recent workout video of Brown in which he’s catching small balls while running in place on a BOSU ball.

Even with all of the baggage that comes with Brown, he still is respected by his peers as they voted him the league’s best receiver in the NFL Top 100.

11. Tom Brady, Quarterback

Career: 20 seasons (2000-present)

Teams: New England Patriots (2000-present)

Career stats: 70,514 YDS, 517 TD, 171 INT, 64 CMP%, 97.6 RAT

2018 stats: 4,355 YDS, 29 TD, 11 INT, 65.8 CMP%, 97.7 RAT

Super Bowl titles: 6 (2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2018)

Bottom line: In both 2017 and 2018, Tom Brady’s peers voted him as the best player in the league in a poll run by the NFL Network. In the 2019 edition, they have him as the sixth-best player, pointing to the slippage he experienced in 2018.

After throwing 16 touchdowns through his first seven games, Brady threw just 15 touchdowns over the last 12 games, including the playoffs. His passer rating was also the lowest since the 2014 season, and at times, Brady looked like a 41-year-old quarterback.

If Brady can make it through 16 games as a starter in 2019, that would be a historic accomplishment. No QB has ever started more than 10 games in a season after turning 42, which Brady did in August.

10. Julio Jones, Wide Receiver

Career: 9 seasons (2011-present)

Teams: Atlanta Falcons (2011-present)

Career stats: 698 REC, 10,731 YDS, 51 TD, 15.4 AVG

2018 stats: 113 REC, 1,677 YDS, 8 TD, 14.8 AVG

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: No player in NFL history averages more receiving yards per game than Julio Jones (96.7), and he has led the league in that stat in three out of four seasons since 2015.

His size/speed ratio is unmatched, and Jones is as capable of creating separation from cornerbacks as he is at running away from them after the catch.

The one knock on Jones (and something his fantasy owners opine) is his lack of touchdowns, but that’s not his fault. The Falcons’ offensive scheme doesn’t feature Jones in the red zone because they prefer to run the ball to reduce turnover chances.

9. Drew Brees, Quarterback

Career: 19 seasons (2001-present)

Teams: San Diego Chargers (2001-05), New Orleans Saints (2006-present)

Career stats: 74,437 YDS, 520 TD, 233 INT, 67.3 CMP%, 97.7 RAT

2018 stats: 3,992 YDS, 32 TD, 5 INT, 74.4 CMP%, 115.7 RAT

Super Bowl titles: 1 (2009)

Bottom line: Less was more for Drew Brees and the Saints in 2018. He attempted his fewest passes in 14 years but had the highest passer rating of his career. As always, Brees was the maestro of the Saints' offense, spreading the ball around to his plethora of options, and an NFL-record 13 different Saints had at least one receiving touchdown.

In 2017, Brees set the NFL record for completion percentage in a season, and he followed that up by topping his own record the next year. Brees also broke Peyton Manning’s all-time passing yards mark in 2018 and is poised to top Manning’s all-time passing touchdowns mark, likely by midseason.

He needs just 20 more touchdowns to surpass Manning, and then Brees will have the passing Triple Crown as the all-time leader in completions, yards and touchdowns.

8. Zack Martin, Right Guard

Career: 6 seasons (2014-present)

Teams: Dallas Cowboys (2014-present)

Career stats: 78 games started

2018 stats: 14 games started

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: Offensive linemen deserve some love, too, and Zack Martin already is in the discussion for the best offensive guard of his generation.

He paves rushing lanes for Ezekiel Elliott, and the two-time rushing champion loves when the play call is to the right, where Martin lines up. Over his career, Elliott has averaged 4.7 yards per carry when running left and 5.1 yards per carry when running behind Martin to the right.

Martin has made the Pro Bowl in all five of his seasons and also has made three All-Pro first-teams. He is one of five players since the merger to accomplish that feat and joins the company of Barry Sanders, Dan Marino, Emmitt Smith and Joe Thomas.

7. J.J. Watt, Defensive End

Career: 9 seasons (2011-present)

Teams: Houston Texans (2011-present)

Career stats: 455 TKL, 92 SACK, 22 FF

2018 stats: 61 TKL, 16 SACK, 7 FF

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: J.J. Watt’s bounce-back season showed he still has plenty left in the tank. Watt likely would have topped this list 3-4 years ago, but injuries limited him to eight games from 2016 to 2017.

At 29, there were rumblings that he could retire, but he swatted those away just as he does so many passes. Watt led the NFL in forced fumbles and finished second in sacks in 2018 while also leading the Texans to the No. 4 scoring defense.

He may not be as great as he once was, but that’s only because Watt set the bar so high, and he’s still arguably the best defensive end in football.

6. DeAndre Hopkins, Wide Receiver

Career: 7 seasons (2013-present)

Teams: Houston Texans (2013-present)

Career stats: 528 REC, 7,437 YDS, 47 TD, 14.1 AVG

2018 stats: 115 REC, 1,572 YDS, 11 TD, 13.7 AVG

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: After playing with below-average quarterbacks for years, Nuk Hopkins showed what he’s capable of when fellow Clemson Tiger Deshaun Watson joined the Texans. Hopkins ranks second in receptions, second in receiving yards and first in receiving touchdowns since the 2017 season.

Hopkins’ production is only matched by his flair for the dramatic as he’s authored some of the most memorable plays in recent memory. He had a one-handed between-the-legs catch in 2018 against the Dolphins and had another acrobatic toe-tap catch versus the Steelers in 2017.

5. Luke Kuechly, Middle Linebacker

Career: 8 seasons (2012-present)

Teams: Carolina Panthers (2012-present)

Career stats: 977 TKL, 12.5 SACK, 16 INT, 7 FF

2018 stats: 130 TKL, 2 SACK, 1 INT, 2 FF

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: Luke Kuechly may no longer be the sideline-to-sideline menace he was in his first couple of seasons as age and injury have caught up to him, but he’s arguably the smartest defensive player in all of football.

His 130 tackles in 2018 were a career low for a 16-game season, but his 20 tackles for loss were a career high. He had as many tackles for loss in 2018 as he had in 2015 to 2017 combined since Kuechly can sniff out running plays from simply noticing alignments and shifts.

After playing in a 4-3 defense through his first seven seasons, it will be interesting to see how Kuechly’s production changes in a 3-4 formation. He still will be an inside linebacker, but he will have Shaq Thompson right next to him in the middle, which could cut down on tackle opportunities for Kuechly.

4. Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback

Career: 3 seasons (2017-present)

Teams: Kansas City Chiefs (2017-present)

Career stats: 50 TD, 13 INT, 5,381 YDS, 65.9 CMP%, 111.7 RAT

2018 stats: 50 TD, 12 INT, 5,097 YDS, 66 CMP%, 113.8 RAT

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: The league’s MVP took the NFL by storm in his first season as a starter and won many people fantasy football championships as a late-round selection. He is the perfect quarterback for Andy Reid’s offense, and he tied an NFL record with eight straight games with over 300 passing yards.

Much like Magic Johnson popularized the no-look pass in basketball, Mahomes pulled off the no-look football pass, which is equal parts exciting and terrifying.

It will be interesting to see what kind of jump Mahomes makes with a full season as a starter under his belt and more weapons added to the Chiefs' offense.

3. Khalil Mack, Outside Linebacker

Career: 6 seasons (2014-present)

Teams: Oakland Raiders (2014-17), Chicago Bears (2018-present)

Career stats: 53 SACK, 15 FF, 350 TKL, 2 INT

2018 stats: 12.5 SACK, 6 FF, 47 TKL, 1 INT

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: With Khalil Mack on a Hall of Fame trajectory, the only way the Raiders can win their trade with the Bears is if the players they draft both develop into multi-time All-Pros. Even then, the Bears may win the trade since Mack isn’t just a great individual player. He’s also a great team player, whose plays affects his team’s performance.

The Bears posted the league’s No. 1 scoring defense thanks primarily to the addition of Mack, and the Raiders had the league’s No. 32 scoring defense thanks primarily to the subtraction of Mack.

Another sign of Mack’s greatness is that the 2018 All-Pro selection came after he signed his huge contract, so no one can chalk it up to a "contract year."

2. Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback

Career: 15 seasons (2005-present)

Teams: Green Bay Packers (2005-present)

Career stats: 42,994 YDS, 338 TD, 80 INT, 64.8 CMP%, 103.1 RAT

2018 stats: 4,442, 25 TD, 2 INT, 62.3 CMP%, 97.6 RAT

Super Bowl titles: 1 (2010)

Bottom line: Aaron Rodgers quietly had the most effective season in league history in terms of throwing interceptions in 2018. With just two picks in nearly 600 pass attempts, his percentage of passes intercepted was the lowest of all time.

Hampered by an early-season leg injury, Rodgers wasn’t his usual self, but his unusual self is still better than everyone else at the position.

He will play under a new coach and play-caller in 2019 for the first time in his career, and many think former coach Mike McCarthy held back Rodgers and the Packers' offense.

This could be a turning-point season for Rodgers’ career, and a bounce-back year could put him back on top as the league’s best player.

1. Aaron Donald, Defensive Lineman

Career: 6 seasons (2014-present)

Teams: LA Rams (2014-present)

Career stats: 59.5 SACK, 13 FF, 263 TKL

2018 stats: 20.5 SACK, 4 FF, 59 TKL

Super Bowl titles: 0

Bottom line: It takes a lot for a defensive tackle to ascend to the mantle of "Best Player in the NFL," but Aaron Donald has done that with his play.

He’s the only player in the entire league to be named a first-team All-Pro in each of the past four seasons since 2015 and led the NFL with 20.5 sacks in 2018. That total wasn’t just the most among all players, but it also tied for the most in NFL history by any lineman in a 3-4 defensive front.

In his prime at 28 years old, Donald could remain atop this list for years to come.