Was Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes the NFL’s best player last season?
No, say the players who voted on the NFL’s Top 100 players list in 2024.
Mahomes finished ranked No. 4. He was one of three Chiefs to rank in the top 10. That’s the most of any team.
But Mahomes, despite leading the Chiefs to a second straight Lombardi Trophy and third in five years, didn’t repeat his role as the top NFL player. He wasn’t even the top quarterback.
Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens finished second in the voting. He also was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.
Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins became the first wide receiver to be voted the top player by his peers. After spending his first six years with the Chiefs, Hill turned in his best season in 2023, leading the NFL with 1,799 yards and 13 touchdown receptions.
Mahomes finished in the top 10 for the sixth straight year. Only Tom Brady has more top-10 finishes with nine.
From a statistical standpoint, Mahomes fell below his MVP seasons in 2018 and 2022 with 27 touchdowns and a career high 14 interceptions.
He was at his best when it mattered most: in the playoffs. While going 4-0, Mahomes won his first road postseason games, beating Buffalo and Baltimore.
And in the playoffs, the Chiefs defeated the teams of the top-3 vote-getters.
Jones (No. 6) was the leader of the a defense that finished second in points and yards allowed.
He finished the regular-season with 10 1/2 sacks, and in the playoffs was the force that applied pressure in key moments to Buffalo’s Josh Allen in the Divisional Round and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy in the Super Bowl.
Kelce (No. 9), who made the top 10 list for the fourth time in his career, saw his streak of consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons end because he elected to join other starters and not play in the regular-season finale. Kelce finished with 984 yards on 93 receptions.
He turned it on in the playoffs once again. With 32 receptions in four games, Kelce surpassed Jerry Rice as the NFL leader in postseason catches. Kelce now has 165.
The top 100 is voted on by the players. Here’s the top 10:
Tyreek Hill, WR, Dolphins
Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens
Christian McCaffrey, RB, 49ers
Patrick Mahomes, QB Chiefs
Myles Garrett, DE, Browns
Chris Jones, DT, Chiefs
Trent Williams, T, 49ers
Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs
Maxx Crosby, DE, Raiders
No other team placed three in the top 10. But no other Chiefs player was listed in the top 100.
That meant no guard Joe Thuney or cornerback Trent McDuffie, who were named All-Pro. Also, center Creed Humphrey, who was named to the Pro Bowl, wasn’t selected.
Also not making the list was L’Jarius Sneed, now with the Tennessee Titans. He was the Chiefs’ lock-down cornerback, assigned to the opponent’s top wide receiver. He didn’t allow a touchdown catch as the nearest defender in coverage all season until the Chiefs’ Divisional Round playoff win over the Buffalo Bills.
The CBS Sports list of top-100 players, compiled by NFL writer Pete Prisco and unveiled earlier in the week, included more Chiefs.
Mahomes was No. 1, Jones No. 14, Kelce No. 18, McDuffie No. 30, Humphrey No. 48, Sneed No. 51, Thuney No. 86 and guard Trey Smith No. 90.
