It seemed like a bit of a formality, but the annual "NFL Top 100" rankings – which were revealed in full on Monday night – confirmed once again that quarterback Patrick Mahomes is viewed as the best player in the game.
The rankings – which were voted on by the players themselves – awarded Mahomes the top spot following a truly historic campaign in which the 27-year-old quarterback became the first player to win both NFL and Super Bowl MVP honors in the same season since 1999.
Mahomes set a single-season league record in 2022 with 5,420 yards of total offense while also becoming just the seventh quarterback in league history to own multiple 40-touchdown campaigns, securing the league marks for touchdown passes (192) and passing yards (24,241) through 80 career regular season games in NFL history.
There is simply no better player in the league, and for the second time in his career, the NFL Top 100 affirmed that reality.
Mahomes was one of three Chiefs to earn a spot in the top 10 of this year's rankings, joining tight end Travis Kelce (No. 5) and defensive tackle Chris Jones (No. 10).
Kelce earned his placement on the list after compiling a seventh-straight 1,000-yard season in 2022, marking the longest stretch by a tight end in league history by a wide margin. In fact, prior to Kelce's recent efforts, the NFL record for total career 1,000-yard seasons by a tight end was four. Kelce is on the cusp of not only doubling that record, but doing so by compiling all of those 1,000-yard campaigns consecutively.
Additionally, Kelce is the only player in the NFL to haul in at least 90 receptions in each of the last five seasons. In that span, Kelce ranks second in the league in receptions (507), third in receiving yards (6,444) and fourth in touchdown catches (47).
Kelce tallied a career-best 110 receptions for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2022, and despite being the most-tenured player on the Chiefs' roster, the All-Pro tight end has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Lastly, Jones checked in at No. 10 in this year's rankings following a season in which he matched a career-high with 15.5 sacks. His 77 pressures led all defensive tackles and ranked fifth among all players, trailing only the Dallas Cowboys' Micah Parsons (90), the San Francisco 49ers' Nick Bosa (90), the Las Vegas Raiders' Maxx Crosby (81) and the Minnesota Vikings' Za'Darius Smith (78).
All three players held an instrumental role in the Chiefs' march to a championship last season, and as these rankings clearly indicate, their respective performances earned the ultimate respect of their peers from around the league.
