Each NFL franchise can name up to 46 players in their match day roster, but as we know it’s only the select few who really stand out as the best in the business.
From the magic hands of the quarterback, the speedy feat of the running back and the destructive physique of the defensive end, it takes many different components to form a successful NFL team – but there are individuals who continue to stand out from the crowd.
So here’s a look at the best players in the NFL for the 2021-22 season.
Tom Brady
He may be 44 years old, but Tom Brady has an evergreen quality that could see him dominate the NFL for plenty more seasons.
The quarterback is a seven-time Super Bowl champion, with many of those victories inspired by his fair hand, and even when those who thought he was finished wrote him off after he left the Patriots for the Bucs, Brady showed them once again never to write off the best in the game as he led Tampa Bay to victory in Super Bowl LV in February.
He’s up to his old tricks in the 2021-22 season too, and at the time of writing he ranks second amongst all quarterbacks for yards gained and first for touchdown assists. Is it any wonder that the Bucs are priced at +600 in the NFL odds on bet365 for Super Bowl LVI with the greatest of all time in their midst?
Patrick Mahomes
There are plenty who believe that Patrick Mahomes will take Brady’s mantle as the finest quarterback in the NFL.
The 26-year-old is already on the path to immortality, winning Super Bowl LIV with the Kansas City Chiefs and being named as the MVP for both the 2018 season and that Super Bowl game.
To offer some insight into Mahomes’ standing in worldwide sport, let alone the NFL, he has signed the second largest contract of any athlete ever – a mammoth $503 million extension to stay in Kansas until 2031.
T.J. Watt
The job of T.J. Watt is to cause havoc in the offensive line and go hunting for their quarterback.
It’s a task the 27-year-old performs with great aplomb too, and in 2021-22 he’s already been responsible for eleven sacks – putting him on course for career-best figures.
A runner-up in the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2020, Watt will be looking to go one better this term.
Myles Garrett
While defensive end is not a position that hogs the limelight in American football, Myles Garrett has turned the job into something of an art form.
Rightly recognized as one of the most valuable players in the NFL, the 25-year-old is rightly lauded by his colleagues in the sport and feared by quarterbacks alike.
Indeed, at his current rate, Garrett could break the record for most sacks in an NFL season – that stands at 23, with the Cleveland Browns man on 12 at the halfway mark of the campaign.
Tyreek Hill
As a wide receiver, it helps when you have a quarterback of Mahomes’ quality providing you with the ammunition.
But you still need to make yards and cross into the end zoen, and Tyreek Hill has proven to be one of the most adept at that in the NFL.
A former gold medallist in the 4 x 100m relay at the Junior World Championships, it goes without saying that the 27-year-old has speed to burn – that has helped him to three First Team All-Pro and five Pro Bowl selections, as well as clinching the Super Bowl in 2020.
At the time of writing, Hill ranks second in receiving yards for the 2021-22 season – confirming his, and the other four stars on the list, place in the pantheon of the top NFL players right now.