The PFF 101: Highlighting the top 101 players from the 2021 NFL season
 

I know PFF is not universally loved here (or anywhere), but thought it worthy of sharing. Chiefs have 6 players on the list, all in the top 70.

1. Creed Humphrey - #27
2. Travis Kelce - #32
3. Tyreek Hill - #33
4. Chris Jones - #38
5. Joe Thuney - #63
6. Patrick Mahomes - #69 :doh!:

See all the details at: https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-pff-101...021-nfl-season

Super Bowl 56 brought a close to the 2021 season, and before we move on to the excitement of free agency and the NFL draft, it's time to reflect for a moment on some of the best individual performances of the season.

The PFF Top 101 represents the top 101 individual performances this season, regardless of position, and credits the best players of the season that was.

PFF remains a player evaluation site at its heart, and the 101 is our chance to acknowledge and praise the best players from the 2020 season one last time before we all look ahead to assembling rosters for the upcoming year.

Here is a quick reminder of our basic criteria:

• This list is based solely on 2021 play. Past or future play is not accounted for. This isn't about class or talent; it's about performance throughout the 2020 NFL season.

• This list is created with an “all positions are created equal” mantra. So, you won't see 32 quarterbacks heading the list, even though that is the game's most valuable position. Instead, we take a look at how guys played relative to what is expected from their position.

• Unlike PFF's awards, the 101 factors in the postseason, so some players who won PFF awards may find themselves jumped in the 101 by rivals who had a playoff run worthy of a change in ranking.

Disagree with the players we've included here? Let us know on Twitter (@PFF).

27. C CREED HUMPHREY, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
2021 Snaps: 1,328 | 2021 PFF Grade: 92.5
The Chiefs overhauled their entire offensive line after last season’s Super Bowl defeat, and drafting Humphrey was a major part of the success of that endeavor. The second-round center played like the best in the game from Day 1, allowing 12 pressures in 20 games across almost 1,400 snaps of action, including the playoffs. Humphrey’s run blocking was elite and looked like something we would hope to see from an established veteran.
PFF 101 Rank, 2020: unranked

32. TE TRAVIS KELCE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
2021 Snaps: 1,041 | 2021 PFF Grade: 87.1
Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs had their lull during the 2021 season, but when all was said and done, he still racked up 1,424 yards and 12 touchdowns including the playoffs. He averaged 1.92 yards per route run, and passes thrown in his direction resulted in a 112.4 passer rating for his quarterback. Kelce scored in each of his last six games and was a go-to receiver during some of the team’s biggest “gotta-have-it” situations of the season.
PFF 101 Rank, 2020: 3

33. WR TYREEK HILL, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
2021 Snaps: 991 | 2021 PFF Grade: 87.1
Hill is one of the most terrifying playmakers in the game, and the fact that he was still able to amass over 1,200 yards and score nine touchdowns with the league on an almost religious mission to take away the explosive plays from Kansas City’s offense tells you a lot about how good he is. Hill caught 71.6% of passes thrown his way and still had a 75-yard score to his name in the regular season and one of 64 yards in the playoffs.
PFF 101 Rank, 2020: 20

38. DI CHRIS JONES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
2021 Snaps: 764 | 2021 PFF Grade: 83.4
The Chiefs started the year playing Jones as a full-time edge rusher, which seems absurd given the fact he typically weighs in at 310 pounds and is 6-foot-6. The fact that he was moved back inside tells you how well the plan worked overall, but Jones wasn’t bad on the edge, registering 21 pressures in six games before he became a full-time interior player again. Once he moved back inside, he was back to being a dominant force as a pass-rusher, finishing the year with 75 pressures, including 10 in the playoffs.
PFF 101 Rank, 2020: 25

63. G JOE THUNEY, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
2021 Snaps: 1,328 | 2021 PFF Grade: 82.6
Kansas City invested huge money into Thuney last offseason as part of a concerted effort to overhaul the offensive line, and he repaid them with a fine season. Thuney earned a 90.5 pass-blocking grade — the best of his career — while blocking for quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the first time. He allowed 17 pressures all season, the same number as a season ago but on 445 more pass-blocking snaps.
PFF 101 Rank, 2020: unranked

69. QB PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
2021 Snaps: 1,308 | 2021 PFF Grade: 81.8
Mahomes and the Kansas City offense had a very strange season, each struggling at various points and not quite looking the same as in previous years. Mahomes more than doubled his interception total from 2020 but actually had a lower turnover-worthy play rate (2.8% versus 3.2%). The big difference came on big-time throws, where his rate more than halved from last season as teams concentrated on eliminating explosive plays from the Chiefs’ offense. Even in a relative down year, Mahomes tossed 37 touchdowns and needed only 13 seconds to execute a game-saving scoring drive in the playoffs.
PFF 101 Rank, 2020: 7

Man, I never would have guessed that Patrick Mahomes is only the 6th-best player on our team.

DO NOT LISTEN TO THESE ****ING IDIOTS

They don't know shit about f***

These people are delusional. They thought Kirk Cousins, Ryan Tannehill, and Justin Herbert were better than Patrick Mahomes this year.

Please take a moment to let that sink in.

I find it extremely difficult to follow the logic of a ranking system that has Kirk Cousins and Ryan Tennehill ranked ahead of Mahomes.

Perhaps we should trade him to Tennessee for Ryan Tannehill.

Mahomes at 69. Lmfao epic.

ZERO Denver Donkeys made the list:evil:

They lost me when they said Chris Jones wasn't bad at DE.

Wow, even with their "Top 5 Roster." LMAO


:)

IF THEY HAD A GOOD QB THEN THEY WOULD ALL BE ON THE LIST AND WENT UNDEFEATED AND WON THE SB!! - knowmo

What's better than wined dined and 69nd? Way to go Patrick!!

People don't seem to understand these rankings or what they really mean.

They don't say that the players are rated on their talent level, but on how they actually played during the year.

Everyone on this board knows Pat had a "down" year.

Not a single person at PFF thinks any QB's higher on the list are actually more talented or a better QB than Pat.

For instance, Waller didn't make the list this year despite clearly being one of the best 100 players in the NFL. He had a down year due to injury.

Mahomes had an average year

Own it.

I saw a 3-round 2021 re-draft yesterday.

Humphrey went like 22nd overall. Smith went at 34 and Bolton at 44.

Pretty damn good draft.