The NFL Top 100 countdown wrapped up its eleventh season since it first aired in 2011, ranking the top 10 players in 2021. The list, which is produced by NFL Network, allows players to grade their peers from around the leagues by the impact they have on the game. Before the show’s airing on Saturday evening, safety Tyrann Mathieu (the 58th-ranked player on this year’s list) was joined by teammates Chris Jones (34th) and Tyreek Hill (15th) in last week’s airing in which select players were ranked from 40 through 11, respectively.
Last Night, two more members of the Chiefs’ locker room made the list as the show rounded out the top 5 players on the countdown.
Coming in at #5, the best tight end in the league, Travis Kelce, rises 13 slots to the highest-ranking he’s ever gotten on the show. Kelce has consistently been the premier tight end in the NFL with five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. In 2020, Kelce finished with career-highs in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, with 105 catches for 1,416 yards and 11 TDs.
There’s no disputing Kelce’s level of consistency and dominance he has on the field at the TE position and he’s rapidly catching up with another all-time great, in Tony Gonzalez, for the Chiefs franchise record in receiving yards.
Now with a new offensive line that will give Patrick Mahomes more time to stand in the pocket, Kecle is poised to have another great year in 2021.
Speaking of Patrick Mahomes, no list is complete with a quarterback to round out the top spot. Last year, it was Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady, but this year’s honor of best player in 2021 goes to the indisputably best quarterback of the NFL, Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes rises three spots from his #4 ranking from a year ago to take first place as the best player and passer in the league, and rightfully so. The 25-year-old’s success that he’s accomplished in just three seasons since being named the Chiefs starting QB, has made him a celebrity as the face of the Chiefs’ franchise, the Kansas City community, and the entire National Football League.
Mahomes has gone to the AFC Championship in each of his three seasons as the starter behind center and has taken Chiefs Kingdom on two trips to the Super Bowl over the previous two years, and has one championship ring.
Mahomes finished 2020 setting career highs in completions, throwing attempts, and completion percentage by connecting on 388 out of 588 of his throws (66.3-percent) for 4,740 yards, 38 touchdowns, and only six interceptions.
Standing behind a newly built offensive line going into the 2021 season, Mahomes and the Chiefs have their eyes set to regain what is rightfully theirs and take back the Lombardi trophy in Super Bowl 56.
This year, five members of the Kansas City Chiefs locker room have made the NFL Top 100 Players list. They are as follows:
1st Patrick Mahomes
5th Travis Kelce
15th Tyreek Hill
34th Chris Jones
58th Tyrann Mathieu
