Top-100 NFL Players of 2026: 70-61
- Zak Drapeau
- 7 minutes ago
- 6 min read
by Zak Drapeau
Sportz Nation - 6/21/2026
70. Deommodore Lenoir
49ers Cornerback
Last Year's Rank: Not Ranked
Here's a guy that if you're not a 49ers fan you may never had heard of but has become the backbone of San Francisco's secondary. Lenoir signed a 5-year extension with the 49ers worth up to $88 million and immediately paid dividends for the niners with his best season to date.
A rare Cornerback in the league who is considered elite at both zone and man coverage, Lenoir took the leap to being an elite corner in the league after his first 4 years in San Fran were just above average. With Robert Saleh leaving for Tennessee, one can predict the scheme of the defense may change but with the versatile Lenoir able to cover multiple schemes, I don't see his play dropping much if at all.
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69. Drake London
Falcons Wide Receiver
Last Year's Rank: Not Ranked
I have underrated Drake London for too long and I'm comfortable now more than ever in saying that even with a lackluster Michael Penix Jr. throwing him the ball, London is a premier pass catcher in this league. London missed 5 games last season and had Penix and Cousins throwing him the ball for the games he did play where he averaged 77 yards and a game and a touchdown every other.
London is the quintesential make lemonade out of lemons receiver. His route running mixed with run after catch ability makes him one of the premier short-range, boundary receivers in the game. Would be a shame if he didn't get a good Quarterback to throw him the ball soon though.
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68. Brian Burns
Panthers Edge Rusher
Last Year's Rank: 88
There is no question that the skill is there for Brian burns after he put up his highest sack total of his career in his age-27 season. As a pure pass rusher Burns really is around the category of Top-7 in the league which is saying something but even saying that I have questions about a potential fall off in snap counts next season.
The Giants as a team have a great problem; too many mouths to feed. Last season Burns had to contend with superstar rookie Abdul Carter as well as former top pic Kayvon Thibodeaux and now you add another top pick Edge Rusher/linebacker in Arvell Reese. Burns is absolutely the best of the bunch right now but will New York bring Burns to the bench enough to give these young guns some plays that his production falls off?
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67. Chris Lindstrom
Falcons Guard
Last Year's Rank: 34
Mr. consistency, Chris Lindstrom has been a staple in the league's and my Top-100 players and has been a Top-5 Guard in the NFL for almost half a decade now. Lindstrom was already an elite run blocking Guard before Bijan Robinson made his life a whole lot easier but I just feel at some point there should be a small bit of a fall off for the Falcons run game as a whole.
2025 should be a good but not great season for Bijan and the Falcons and similarly for Lindstrom. As a team Captain and the heart and soul of basically their whole offense, the team's success may have an unfair effect on how good he is this season. Even if Lindstrom has another elite year, it will still be a quiet one while Atlanta figures out what their doing.
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66. Maxx Crosby
Raiders Edge Rusher
Last Year's Rank: 12
More so than any other player this season I can not pin down my predictions for how Maxx Crosby's 2026 will go. An elite edge rusher coming off a great, but to his standards subpar year, who has enough injury concerns that he failed a physical but also seems to be in the midst of a "revenge tour" type season leaves me flabbergasted.
Crosby's talent on the edge is well-known that if he's on his game for a full 17 games he is a Top-3 Edge Rusher in the league bar none. Crosby is recovering from meniscus surgery this offseason which is why his Ravens trade fell through but everything from Vegas' camp says he should be a full participant at the start of late-July's training camp. If he is fully healthy for season's start I probably have him WAYYYYYYY TOO LOW at 66 and he may end up finishing the season with 16+ sacks but I just feel like there's something about his rehab we haven't heard about.
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65. Derwin James Jr.
Chargers Safety
Last Year's Rank: 72
We all know that Derwin James is among the league best at the Safety position and he has been floating there for many years now but after another All-Pro 2nd team season last year I think it's time we start really considering him as an underrated, Hall of Fame case as well.
James is known as a hard hitter but in the last few years has upped his game as not only a leader and Captain for the Chargers but as a razor sharp mind in the Secondary too. The new generation of do-it-all Safeties like the Hamilton's, Watts' and Downs' started with James and even at 30 he is doing it just as good if not better than all of them.
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64. Tuli Tulipulotu
Chargers Edge Rusher
Last Year's Rank: Not Ranked
Making a huge jump from years 2 to 3, Tuli Tulipulotu became the Chargers' number one rusher last season as Khalil Mack continued to look older and consistently take double teams. Tuli is almost a clone copy, power rusher as Mack and made his stake as LA's future in pass rush.
With Jesse Minter's departure as DC to the Ravens I am not sure if the Chargers' defense will pick up where they left off last season which is why I don't project another jump in Tuli's 4th year. I do see him with double digit sacks again as the Chargers' primary guy but not much more than 11 sacks this year.
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63. Xavier McKinney
Packers Safety
Last Year's Rank: 26
McKinney came to Green Bay and immediately made himself known as one of the best Safeties in terms of turnovers and zone coverage in the game. In his second season in Green and Yellow, he was less impressive but still pretty good. I do believe 2026 will be closer to the 2025 campaign since Green Bay's ace defensive coordinator now runs things in Miami.
McKinney is rangy and smart and has a knack for the ball. The Packers are reliant on his ball hawking in the secondary after an exodus in the last 3 years left him as their sole playmaker. Can the now 28-year old reenact his unbelievable 2025 season or will he remain a good player who is stuck on an under-achieving defense.
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62. Drake Maye
Patriots Quarterback
Last Year's Rank: Not Ranked
This is going to be a big red flag to some especially here in New England but at the same time will be completely accurate to some others. Drake Maye had his coming out party in 2025 and secured a 2nd place vote in MVP in the closest race of all time. At the same time however, he had the easiest schedule any Quarterback has ever had on his way to the Super Bowl.
Maye had a brilliant regular season when they were playing the Raiders, Dolphins and Jets but became much more average or even less than average in the Playoffs. I see Maye taking a small step back but not a significant one in 2026 especially now that the Patriots traded for A.J. Brown. Something like 27 TDs to 13 INTs and a much lower completion percentage than last year's 72%.
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61. Laremy Tunsil
Commanders Tackle
Last Year's Rank: 74
I really wish I could make a list of just lineman in this league and give them all the credit they deserve, especially for a guy like Tunsil. After being traded to Washington in his 10th season in the NFL, Tunsil was perhaps the only silver lining in one of the league's worst offenses.
Tunsil will be 32 at the start of next season but is still firmly in his prime as one of the best Tackles in the game. If the Commanders and Jayden Daniels can return to their 2024 form in addition to their shiny new Tackle, Tunsil could be a part of a seriously contending team in the NFC.
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