Tyreek Hill, Chris Jones make PFF’s Top 20 NFL players list

Over at Pro Football Focus, they are slowly unveiling their Top 50 NFL Players list for the upcoming season, and the entire top 10 still has yet to be unveiled. However, as the list counts backwards, the K.C.Chiefs saw their first two entries finally arrive when selections 11-20 were highlighted. Both wide receiver Tyreek Hill and defensive lineman Chris Jones were honored on the list.

No one will be surprised to see either player on the list overall, and it’s a subjective argument as to where exactly each player belongs. Given that this includes every player at every position, it’s going to  be impossible to come to a consensus across NFL writers and analysts as to where to put someone like, say, Hill. He’s a dynamic offensive weapon, but how do you stack him up against, say, the league’s best left tackle or the second best pass rusher? It’s just difficult.

That said, PFF put the Chiefs players back to back at No. 18 and 19 overall. For Hill, his presence as the game’s most dynamic offensive weapon was going to keep him near the top of this list. In fact, it might be a surprise to see him this low. He’s arguably the fastest player in the league, but he’s far more than a deep threat, as he’s also worked very hard on his game to become a well-round player—a tremendous route runner and a smaller target who plays much, much bigger than expected given his toughness and hands.

The Chiefs landed their first two players on PFF’s Top 50 for 2021 list.

As for Jones, PFF rates him as the second best pass rusher on this side of Aaron Donald along the defensive interior. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts or even improves as the Chiefs experiment this season with moving him outside opposite Frank Clark at defensive end from time to time. The results could help push him even higher in these rankings, given that edge players tend to get a bit more attention and love overall at their craft.

As the top 10 is unveiled, it makes sense to watch for both quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce. Does this mean Tyrann Mathieu is in the top 10, too? Or was he left off the list entirely? We will find out soon enough.