NFL Top 100 Players of 2026: Caleb Williams Debuts at No. 51 as Countdown Hits Nos. 60-51
The NFL Top 100 countdown keeps rolling, and its latest stretch tells two very different stories: one about a Bears quarterback finally arriving, and another about a Niners linebacker forced to watch from the sideline.
Nos. 60 through 51 of the 2026 NFL Top 100, the annual list voted on by players themselves, dropped this week, headlined by Bears QB Caleb Williams cracking the countdown for the first time at No. 51. The full list rolls out in pairs each weekday through Aug. 21, before the top 10 gets a full week of daily reveals starting Aug. 24, according to NFL.com.
Caleb Williams Arrives After Turnaround Season
Williams didn’t just improve in Year 2. He transformed. Playing under new Bears coach Ben Johnson, the 2024 No. 1 overall pick threw for 3,942 yards and 27 touchdowns while directing a league-high six fourth-quarter comebacks. He also cut his sack total nearly in third, going from an NFL-worst 68 sacks taken as a rookie to just 24 in 2025.
The turnaround showed up on the scoreboard. Chicago won its first division title since 2018 and picked up its first playoff win since 2010. Williams scrambled on 20.5% of his dropbacks last season, the highest rate of any qualified quarterback in football, according to NFL.com‘s Pro Insight data.
It’s Williams’ first appearance on the Top 100 in his career.
Jalen Hurts Falls 37 Spots Despite Career Year
Not every player moving through this stretch of the countdown is trending up. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts dropped 37 spots to No. 56, his lowest ranking since debuting at No. 3 back in 2023, even though he posted a career-high 25 passing touchdowns and added eight more scores on the ground. The dip appears tied to a lower completion percentage and reduced usage in the run game, plus Philadelphia’s wild-card exit after last year’s Super Bowl run.
Hurts still earned his third Pro Bowl nod in four seasons. He also joined Bills quarterback Josh Allen as the only active players since 2000 with at least 30 total touchdowns in four straight years, according to the Eagles’ official site.
Fred Warner’s Injury Costs Him in the Voting
Few drops sting more than San Francisco linebacker Fred Warner’s. A three-time reigning All-Pro, Warner tumbled to No. 54 after a severe ankle injury in Week 6 ended his season early. He played just six games, but the numbers before the injury were elite: Warner allowed a league-low -18.9% completion percentage over expected among linebackers before going down.
The Niners defense felt his absence. San Francisco allowed 7.9 yards per attempt on play-action passes when Warner was off the field, compared to just 5.5 yards per attempt when he was on it, per the Top 100’s Pro Insight breakdown.
Where the Rest of the Pack Landed
The full Nos. 60-51 stretch spans quarterbacks, receivers, tackles and one veteran linebacker working his way back from injury.
| Rank | Player | Team | Position | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | Caleb Williams | Bears | QB | Debut |
| 52 | Tristan Wirfs | Buccaneers | OT | Down 24 |
| 53 | Davante Adams | Rams | WR | Returns after absence |
| 54 | Fred Warner | 49ers | MLB | Down 38 |
| 55 | CeeDee Lamb | Cowboys | WR | Down 20 |
| 56 | Jalen Hurts | Eagles | QB | Down 37 |
| 57 | Dion Dawkins | Bills | OT | Up 15, 3rd straight year |
| 58 | Nico Collins | Texans | WR | Up 26 |
| 59 | Bo Nix | Broncos | QB | Up 5 |
| 60 | Brock Bowers | Raiders | TE | Down 36 |
Rams wideout Davante Adams checks in at No. 53 in his first season alongside Matthew Stafford. Adams led the league in receiving touchdowns with 14 despite missing 1,000 yards for the first time since 2019, largely because Los Angeles fed him relentlessly near the goal line. He ran 49 routes inside the 10-yard line last season, the most of any receiver in football.
Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb slid 20 spots to No. 55 after George Pickens’ arrival in Dallas cut into his target share. Still, Lamb posted his fifth straight 1,000-yard season, a mark matched in franchise history only by Hall of Famer Michael Irvin.
Buccaneers left tackle Tristan Wirfs fell 24 spots to No. 52 in a season interrupted by a knee injury, though he protected Baker Mayfield’s blind side effectively down the stretch and caught his first career touchdown pass, a 2-yard grab in a Week 13 win over Arizona.
Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins climbed into the countdown at No. 57 for a third consecutive year, backed by a fifth straight Pro Bowl selection. He allowed just a 7.5% pressure rate last season, seventh-lowest among left tackles with at least 200 pass-block snaps.
Texans receiver Nico Collins jumped 26 spots to No. 58 after a third straight 1,000-yard season, catching 71 passes for 1,117 yards before a Divisional Round concussion ended his year. Despite offseason trade speculation that Texans GM Nick Caserio shot down directly, Collins remains in Houston heading into 2026.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix rose five spots to No. 59 after leading Denver to the AFC’s top seed. Nix threw more passes than any quarterback in football and directed a league-high seven game-winning drives, though an ankle injury in overtime of the Divisional Round cost him the AFC Championship Game.
Raiders tight end Brock Bowers rounds out the group at No. 60, dropping 36 spots after a sophomore season slowed by knee trouble. He still posted a standout Week 9 return from injury, catching 12 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns against Jacksonville. Bowers now has 176 career receptions through two seasons, the most by any tight end in NFL history over that span.
What Comes Next
The Top 100 rollout continues with two names revealed each weekday morning through late August before shifting to daily single reveals for the top 10 in early September. Reaction and reveals are tracked in real time on NFL Films’ X account.