July is top 100 season in the NFL as everyone tries to kill the days until training camp and the start of the new season. Unfortunately, the official top 100 list from the league is not good. We’re not trying to hate; it’s just a well-accepted fact at this point in time.

For five years, we’ve been trying to do better. The time has come for the 2026 version of our NFL Trade Rumors Top 100 Players. Instead of using player polls, we aim to better reflect reality with traditional and advanced statistical analysis, evaluations from league personnel, positional value, awards, career trajectory and, of course, the good old-fashioned gut check. Our hope is to give more credit to players who are overlooked, either because they don’t play a glamorous position or because they’re not household names (yet).

We’ll have updates daily over the next couple of weeks, so keep checking back!

Previous Entries:

• NFLTR Top 100: 100-91
• NFLTR Top 100: 90-81
• NFLTR Top 100: 80-71
• NFLTR Top 100: 70-61
• NFLTR Top 100: 60-51
• NFLTR Top 100: 50-41
• NFLTR Top 100: 40-31
• NFLTR Top 100: 30-21
• NFLTR Top 100: 20-11

Resources:

• Pro Football Reference
• QB advanced stats
• Win rates from ESPN for OL and DL
• PFF advanced stats (grades, pass rush productivity, blocking efficiency, coverage stats)
• ESPN WR tracking metrics
• Past NFLTR Top 100s

10 – Titans DT Jeffery Simmons

Simmons has vaulted into the top defensive tackle spot on our list thanks to a dominant 2025 season. He was a force on the interior of the Titans’ defense, racking up 11 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, three batted passes and a safety for good measure. Double-digit sacks are extra impressive for defensive tackles, and Simmons gets even more degree of difficulty points for doing all of this for a morose Titans team that won three games, trailed most of the season and fired its coach before the halfway mark.

Not only was Simmons a dynamic pass rusher — finishing second in ESPN’s pass rush win rate at 15 percent and recording 64 total pressures per PFF — he was outstanding against the run, too. His 42 stops tied for the fourth-best mark among 142 qualifying defensive tackles last year. What’s scary is that Simmons could be even better in 2026. He’s still in the prime of his career, turning 29 years old this month, and new HC Robert Saleh’s defense is great for defensive linemen who can attack and wreck blocks like Simmons. He might not top 80 percent of the snaps like he has each of the past six years, but it would not be surprising at all if Simmons had better numbers on fewer snaps thanks to being fresher.

9 – Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase

The NFL is absolutely loaded with great receivers. It was a chore to cut down the candidates for this top 100 list...