NFL Trade Rumors
July is the driest month of the year when it comes to NFL news, which makes it the perfect time for something like a top 100 players list. For the fourth straight year, we’re happy to bring you our 2025 NFLTR Top 100 Players.
We’re not the only outlet that does a top 100 — NFL Media has done one with at least some democratic input from current players since 2011 — but our goal is to give more credit to players and positions that are often easy to overlook, especially in the trenches. We build it using traditional and advanced statistics, awards, positional value, career trajectory and a good old-fashioned dash of the eye test. Our list won’t be perfect but the goal is to give as much credit where it’s due as possible.
We’ll be rolling this list out over the next couple of weeks, so keep checking back for updates to our 2025 NFLTR Top 100 Players list.
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Some NFL records stand for so long that they’re viewed as virtually unbeatable. Mike Ditka’s rookie record of 1,076 receiving yards was the platinum standard for tight ends for well over 60 years. That is, until this year, when Bowers blew past him with 1,194 yards to set a new high-water mark. Bowers did it in 17 games instead of 14 but his rookie season remains an impressive accomplishment considering the poor quarterback play that plagued the Raiders last year.
Bowers doesn’t have traditional in-line tight end size but at 6-4 and 230 pounds, he’s got outstanding movement skills, closer to a receiver than a tight end. At 1.87 yards per route run against man coverage, Bowers was 44th in the league and fifth among all tight ends. He was third in PFF’s receiving grade and third overall at the position. The highest honor though was being voted first-team All Pro by the Associated Press — just the fourth in history.
Finishing as PFF’s No. 1-graded guard for three straight years probably won’t headline Lindstrom’s resume when his playing career is eventually done. But it’s still pretty neat and speaks to the consistently high bar he sets in the middle of the Falcons’ offensive line. Lindstrom has missed just one game in the past five years and has been selected to both the Pro Bowl selection and as a second-team AP All Pro each of the past three seasons.
Lindstrom’s calling card remains his work in the run game, where PFF gave him a devastating 94.6 grade that was far and away above the next closest player. Pass protection remains a slightly...
