The 2026 NFL season is about to start next week on Sept. 9, and technically all 32 teams have the same chance at making it all the way to the Super Bowl. However, the reality is that not all 32 teams have been created equally and only a select dozen of them have a realistic chance of winning a championship.
Talent is simply not distributed evenly to every team, and ESPN’s new ranking of the top 100 players in the NFL proves the point pretty well.
Twelve ESPN analysts and reporters helped compile the new list, including Field Yates, Dan Graziano and Mina Kimes. The ESPN rankings are based on projected performance for the 2026 season rather than past accomplishments.
In ESPN’s most recent projections of the top 100 players in the league this year, only two players on the Jaguars made the list – edge rusher Josh Hines-Allen at No. 67 and quarterback Trevor Lawrence at No. 96.
Despite Lawrence finishing fifth in MVP voting for the 2025 season, he was highly disrespected being ranked here at 96. Knowing the way Mina Kimes loves Trevor Lawrence’s game there is no way she had anything to do with ranking T-Law so low. He should have been somewhere in the 50-60 range in my eyes. Lawrence had a major breakout season in 2025, where he set several career highs including a passer rating of 91.0 with 4,007 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also ran for a career-high nine touchdowns.
As far as Josh Hines-Allen, he was rated just about right in the NFL at No. 67, but again could’ve been higher in the 40-50 range. Hines-Allen was consistent as always recording 8.0 sacks, 49 total tackles (28 solo) and 28 quarterback hits in 17 regular season games.
ESPN’s Michael DiRocco noted Hines-Allen’s steady production and that there should be additional help around him this season. That could help lead to additional production.
“Hines-Allen — who ranks in the top seven in pressures, sacks and QB hits over the past three seasons — should have more support now that Travon Walker is healthy and second-year player B.J. Green II has emerged in camp as the No. 3 rusher. The Jaguars might use Walker more as an interior rusher, and that should create more one-on-one matchups for Hines-Allen, especially if the two are rushing next to each other.”
DiRocco also mentioned how being in Liam Coen’s offense for a second year in 2026 can provide Lawrence with another boost.
“It can’t be coincidence that Liam Coen coached quarterback Baker Mayfield and Lawrence to their best seasons in back-to-back years. Unlike 2025, Lawrence isn’t learning a new offense or changing his footwork. So, it shouldn’t take half of the season for him to get rolling the way he did over the final eight games of 2025 (19 TD passes and five rushing TDs).”
ESPN’s NFL Top 100 Players list for the upcoming season also included notable names like Sam Darnold at No. 100, Will Anderson at No. 15, Derek Stingley at No. 21, Justin Herbert at No. 32, Saquon Barkley at No. 63 and Derrick Henry at No. 72.
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