The 2020 NFL season is right around the corner, and you don't have to be a whiz to project big things from Super Bowl favorites like the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens. But it does take some work to identify the best players at every single jersey number around the league. Fortunately, we did it for you!
That's right; we've declared the top players around the NFL according to their digits, from 1 all the way to 99. But quickly, before you dive in, just a couple of ground rules regarding the rankings:
- These aren't all-time rankings; they're centered on players in 2020. So, for example, while Jason Witten makes a lot of sense as the best player to wear No. 82 on this list, he's not exactly a Pro Bowl-caliber playmaker these days.
- When it's a truly close call, positional value matters. So, for example, if it's down to a really good quarterback and a really good kicker at jersey No. 8, well, the obvious choice is to ride with the QB.
Not that these rankings mean much for your favorite team's chances this year, but here's how the list stacks up in terms of players represented (keeping in mind that certain positions face steeper competition for bragging rights at their jersey numbers):
- Baltimore Ravens: 9
- New Orleans Saints: 8
- Seattle Seahawks: 7
- Cleveland Browns: 7
- Kansas City Chiefs: 5
- Buffalo Bills: 5
- Atlanta Falcons: 5
- Dallas Cowboys: 5
- Philadelphia Eagles: 4
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 4
- Green Bay Packers: 4
- San Francisco 49ers: 4
- Indianapolis Colts: 4
- Cincinnati Bengals: 4
- Denver Broncos: 3
- Arizona Cardinals: 3
- Los Angeles Rams: 2
- Houston Texans: 2
- Carolina Panthers: 2
- Chicago Bears: 2
- Los Angeles Chargers: 2
- Detroit Lions: 2
- Las Vegas Raiders: 1
- New York Giants: 1
- Minnesota Vikings: 1
- New England Patriots: 1
- New York Jets: 1
- Miami Dolphins: 1
Without further ado, we present ... the top 99 players for the NFL's 2020 season, ranked by jersey number:
1 | Kyler Murray
This might still be "owned" by Cam Newton, but let's not kid ourselves. In 2020, Murray is the better and more exciting QB.
2 | Matt Ryan
3 | Russell Wilson
4 | Deshaun Watson
There's a real argument to be made for Dak Prescott here, but Watson has still done more with less.
5 | Teddy Bridgewater
This number went to Joe Flacco in 2019. Fan of Teddy or not, good for him to even be on this list in 2020.
6 | Baker Mayfield
No lie: Thomas Morstead got a long, hard look here. Johnny Hekker, too. Still, Mayfield's got plenty of upside.
7 | Ben Roethlisberger
8 | Lamar Jackson
9 | Drew Brees
Would it be nuts to contend for Matthew Stafford here? Justin Tucker is also gold. Keep an eye on Joe Burrow in 2021-2022.
10 | Tyreek Hill
DeAndre Hopkins might be more complete, but who's taking him over Hill at his most explosive? Cooper Kupp is 1C here.
11 | Julio Jones
Carson Wentz needed that playoff win to steal this. Larry Fitzgerald would be the shoo-in for the active/all-time honor.
12 | Aaron Rodgers
This comes down to which aging QB you prefer on his own merits: Rodgers or Tom Brady. While the latter is easily better positioned for big numbers in 2020, Rodgers seems to have the physical edge. Chris Godwin (who ceded his digits to Tom Brady) and Allen Robinson are solid, too.
13 | Michael Thomas
The consistency is just incredible, even if Odell Beckham Jr., Mike Evans, T.Y. Hilton and Keenan Allen offer lots of juice.
14 | Stefon Diggs
15 | Patrick Mahomes
Only Bart Starr stands in his way as a true all-time threat at this number.
16 | Tyler Lockett
17 | Davante Adams
18 | A.J. Green
He's missed 29 games in the last four years, but he's apparently healthy now, and the skill set remains intact. Calvin Ridley could easily overtake him in 2020. Look out for Jalen Reagor and/or Justin Jefferson down the road.
19 | Amari Cooper
Maybe the best WR number out there, considering the alternatives: Adam Thielen, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Deebo Samuel.
20 | Jalen Ramsey
21 | Ezekiel Elliott
22 | Christian McCaffrey
23 | Jaire Alexander
The No. 1 corner number: Joe Haden and Marshon Lattimore were the other top candidates.
24 | Nick Chubb
It's hard to keep lock-down corners like Stephon Gilmore, Darius Slay and Marcus Peters sidelined, and any one of them would rep No. 24 well, but take a look at Chubb's numbers again. This guy might be a top-three RB in the NFL.
25 | Richard Sherman
26 | Saquon Barkley
27 | Tre'Davious White
28 | Joe Mixon
The Bengals standout is underrated league-wide, though Josh Jacobs' rookie year suggests he's also in the mix.
29 | Earl Thomas
30 | Austin Ekeler
Todd Gurley and James Conner are more complete when healthy, but Ekeler flat-out produces.
31 | Justin Simmons
32 | Tyrann Mathieu
33 | Jamal Adams
Seattle probably overpaid to land him, but he's still a wrecking ball. Derwin James and Dalvin Cook aren't too shabby, either.
34 | Brian Poole
35 | Gus Edwards
36 | Chuck Clark
Another Raven! Here comes that Super Bowl run!
37 | Quandre Diggs
38 | Jeff Heath
39 | Minkah Fitzpatrick
This one's for you, Pete Prisco.
40 | Jarrad Davis
41 | Alvin Kamara
42 | Anthony Sherman
43 | Marcus Williams
44 | Marlon Humphrey
Kyle Juszczyk makes some sense here, but Humphrey is a top-level corner on a contender at his best.
45 | Deion Jones
46 | Morgan Cox
The long snapper behind all those beautiful Justin Tucker field goals.
47 | Vince Biegel
48 | Isaiah Simmons
Bud Dupree broke out as a sack artist in 2019, but Simmons' athleticism is off the charts. Whereas Dupree is generally a good, if unspectacular, edge rusher, Simmons should be the Swiss Army knife that centers Arizona's "D."
49 | Tremaine Edmunds
50 | K.J. Wright
Age is going to creep up on him soon, but he's still a rock-solid piece of Seattle's defensive foundation.
51 | Alex Mack
52 | Khalil Mack
53 | Darius Leonard
It's scary how productive he's been to open his career. No one comes close to repping No. 53 like Leonard.
54 | Bobby Wagner
55 | Chandler Jones
This one's absolutely loaded: Bradley Chubb, Brandon Graham, Dee Ford, Frank Clark and Za'Darius Smith are all part of the conversation.
56 | Quenton Nelson
57 | Dre Greenlaw
This probably would've been C.J. Mosley, had the Jets LB not oped out.
58 | Von Miller
Shaquil Barrett may have a similar ceiling right now, but you're still choosing Miller if you want an elite rusher.
59 | Whitney Mercilus
60 | David Andrews
61 | Graham Glasgow
62 | Jason Kelce
Kelce remains mobile as ever, but you could also make a case for Joe Thuney here.
63 | Chris Lindstrom
64 | J.C. Tretter
Bonus points for NFLPA leadership!
65 | Lane Johnson
66 | David DeCastro
67 | Quinton Spain
68 | Taylor Decker
69 | David Bakhtiari
70 | Zack Martin
Talk about a rock-solid guard group: Trai Turner and Kevin Zeitler also man this spot.
71 | Ryan Ramczyk
Take your pick of big-time linemen: La'el Collins, Mitchell Schwartz, Jason Peters, Trent Williams.
72 | Terron Armstead
73 | Dion Dawkins
74 | Anthony Castonzo
75 | Joel Bitonio
76 | Duane Brown
77 | Tyron Smith
Taylor Lewan and Frank Ragnow make just as much sense here as franchise LT and C material, respectively.
78 | Jack Conklin
Another top-notch group of OL: Alejandro Villanueva, Laremy Tunsil and Ryan Kelly are all possibilities.
79 | Ronnie Stanley
80 | Jarvis Landry
81 | Mike Williams
Both Austin Hooper and Jonnu Smith could work, but Williams finally flashed star WR play-making abilities in 2019.
82 | Kyle Rudolph
83 | Tyler Boyd
If you're comfortable betting big on Darren Waller after his breakout, you might have a case here.
84 | Jack Doyle
This isn't about Doyle dominating this number as much as it is the league sorely lacking elite pass catchers in the 80s.
85 | George Kittle
86 | Zach Ertz
87 | Travis Kelce
Sorry, Gronk. Look, Rob Gronkowski may own the number in terms of popularity, but there's no debate here.
88 | CeeDee Lamb
A really solid crop of TEs makes sense here: Mike Gesicki, Evan Engram, Dallas Goedert, Greg Olsen. But Lamb is the kind of explosive wideout who figures to keep Dak Prescott in the MVP conversation.
89 | Mark Andrews
90 | T.J. Watt
91 | Fletcher Cox
Yannick Ngakoue and Arik Armstead give you something different in the trenches, but Cox is still a game-changer when he's on.
92 | Marcus Davenport
93 | Calais Campbell
94 | Cameron Jordan
95 | Myles Garrett
This was actually a really close call between Garrett and Chris Jones. Take either one, and your D-line becomes a force.
96 | Akiem Hicks
97 | Nick Bosa
Joey just got paid, and Joey's got more of a track record, but you know what? Nick wasted absolutely zero time showing the NFL he's just as dominant off the edge.
98 | D.J. Reader
99 | Aaron Donald
Danielle Hunter deserves way, way more credit here than he gets. It wouldn't be outlandish to put him over Donald. This one's got good prospects for the future, too, in Chase Young and Javon Kinlaw.
