• Jalen Carter kicks things off from Nos. 41-50: A dynamic rookie season vaults the Eagles interior defender into the top 50 ahead of the 2024 campaign.
• Two 49ers wideouts round out the list: Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel come in at Nos. 49 and 50, respectively, as elite offensive weapons for San Francisco.
• Get a head start on fantasy football: Use PFF’s fantasy football mock draft simulator to create real live mock draft simulations to prepare for your live draft!
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
The 2024 PFF50 showcases the league’s elite talent, highlighting the top 50 players in the NFL. These rankings will be based on a combination of past performance, future potential and overall impact on the game.
At its heart, PFF is a player evaluation company that quantifies hundreds of data points on any given play in an effort to identify the best players and use that information to create insights that cannot be found anywhere else.
This is a list of the best 50 players in the NFL entering the 2024 season. No single number or grade dictates this list, but the grading — along with PFF’s wins above replacement (WAR) metric — has been used as a foundation while leaning toward the most recent season.
Editor’s note: The PFF50 will be released throughout the week, starting with Nos. 41-50 on Monday, July 15. The top 10 players will drop on Friday, July 19.
For the first several weeks of the 2023 season — his rookie season — Jalen Carter was grading and producing like future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Donald. That level was perhaps inevitably unsustainable, but even so, he finished his debut season with an 89.0 PFF overall grade, ranking fifth in the NFL. Carter has the talent to be at the very top of this list. Only players like Donald have showcased that kind of instant impact at the position over the past decade or so.
Read more: 2024 NFL defensive line rankings
Jaylon Johnson had a career year in 2023 and was arguably the best cornerback in the game. His 91.0 PFF coverage grade was the top mark in football, and he allowed just a 33.3 passer rating into his coverage — a lower figure than if opposing quarterbacks had thrown the ball into the dirt 50 times instead. The Bears brought him back on a contract extension for 2024 and beyond, so Johnson is now tasked with repeating that level of play.
Derrick Brown is as good as it gets when it comes to defending the run from the inside, but he also brings a real pass-rushing presence. In each of the past two seasons, he has notched at least 40 quarterback pressures and a 77.9 PFF pass-rushing grade, even if he pushes the pocket more than he generates sacks. Brown is a problem for opposing offenses to deal with.
One of the best pass-protecting left tackles in the game, Laremy Tunsil posted the second-best PFF pass-blocking grade among offensive tackles in 2023, trailing only future Hall-of-Famer Tyron Smith. Tunsil can protect his quarterback with the best, but his run blocking isn’t at the same level as the other top tackles in the game, which explains the gap between him and some others at the position in these rankings.
At 35 years old, Demario Davis just continues to play elite-level football at linebacker for the Saints. Last season, he posted an 89.6 PFF overall grade, his best mark since 2019, racking up 48 defensive stops and missing only 11 tackles. He allowed an 89.3 passer rating when targeted in coverage, some 15 points lower than the average at the position.
While injuries derailed part of his 2023 campaign, Mark Andrews featured in 10 regular-season games for the Ravens and showed the type of weapon he is in that offense. Passes thrown his way generated a 135.7 passer rating, the highest mark of any player, at any position, with more than 50 targets to his name. Andrews is an elite-level player, and a fully healthy season in 2024 will remind people of it.
Detroit’s Frank Ragnow is about as good as it gets at the center position, despite battling injuries at times for the Lions. He has allowed just one sack in each of the past two seasons, earning a 90.1 PFF run-blocking grade in 2023 on his way to recording the highest overall grade at the position (88.1).
Jevon Holland is a dynamic, do-it-all safety in the heart of Miami’s defense. He missed some time in 2023, but he earned a 90.4 PFF overall grade across more than 700 snaps and was one of the best coverage defenders in the game at any position. Holland can line up all over the defense and is an exceptionally good tackler. He should anchor a secondary that still looks like it can be one of the league’s best, at least on paper, heading into 2024.
Read more: Top 32 safeties ahead of the 2024 NFL season
Brandon Aiyuk doesn’t get the volume of targets that other elite receivers do, but it’s because there are so many mouths to feed in Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers offense. Aiyuk is one of the most efficient receivers in football on the targets he does receive. Only Tyreek Hill earned a higher PFF grade among wideouts than Aiyuk last season, and he averaged 3.01 yards per route run, dropping only two of the 101 targets sent his way.
Deebo Samuel is a unique offensive weapon for the 49ers. He is a very good wide receiver, but his ability to move into the backfield and carry the ball like a running back — and a very good one — is what makes him special. On 80 fewer targets than Tyreek Hill, Samuel forced only one fewer missed tackle as a receiver, and he added 19 more as a rusher. Samuel’s impact on San Francisco’s offense is clear to see when he doesn’t suit up. He is an elite force, even if his true position is difficult to define.
