Josh Hines-Allen keeps climbing the NFL’s annual player rankings, and this year’s jump was a big one. The Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end landed at No. 48 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026, according to NFL.com, a 15-spot rise from where he sat on last year’s list.
The NFL revealed the ranking Tuesday as part of its daily rollout. The league’s official account confirmed the news on X, posting a video package built around Hines-Allen with a caption crediting him as No. 48 on the list and tagging NFL Films.
No. 48 on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2026…@Jaguars DE Josh Hines-Allen! @NFLFilms pic.twitter.com/60tdUUtsKT
— NFL (@NFL) July 28, 2026
The Top 100 is voted on by players around the league, not media panels, which makes the recognition carry extra weight inside locker rooms. NFL.com has been unveiling two players a day, Monday through Friday, since the countdown started June 22, working down from 100 toward the top 10, which will be revealed in late August and early September.
Why Hines-Allen Made the Jump
Hines-Allen’s sack total didn’t return to his career-best 2023 pace, but the numbers around it tell the real story. He finished the 2025 season with eight sacks, 28 quarterback hits and 12 tackles for loss over 17 games, according to NFL.com. Those hits ranked sixth among all defensive players in the league.
Pressure, not just sacks, is what pushed him up the board. Per NFL.com’s Pro Insight data, Hines-Allen racked up 80 quarterback pressures in 2025 — tied for fourth-most in the NFL and 46 more than any other Jaguar. That gap between Jacksonville’s top two pressure producers was the largest of any team in the league. He accounted for roughly a quarter of the Jaguars’ total sacks on the season.
The production came behind a defense that took a real step forward. Jacksonville finished eighth in the NFL in points allowed in 2025, the team’s best mark in that category since 2018, according to NFL.com. Hines-Allen anchors an edge-rush group that also includes former No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker and veteran Arik Armstead, giving new coach Liam Coen a defensive front that can win on early downs without needing constant blitz help.
This marks Hines-Allen’s third straight year on the Top 100 and the second time he’s cracked the top 50. He’s also now the Jaguars’ all-time franchise leader in sacks, a distinction that underscores how much of Jacksonville’s defensive identity runs through him.
Part of a Bigger Jaguars Story
Hines-Allen isn’t the only Jaguar on this year’s list. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence checked in at No. 62 earlier in the rollout, meaning Jacksonville now has two players in the top 65 heading into a season where expectations have shifted dramatically. The Jaguars won 13 games in 2025 and are being talked about as a legitimate Super Bowl contender for the first time in years.
Other rankings have echoed the NFL Top 100 movement. CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco released his own version of a top-100 list this offseason and had Hines-Allen at No. 53, up 23 spots from where Prisco had him a year earlier. Different methodology, same direction — evaluators around the league see Hines-Allen trending up.
| Category | 2025 Stat | League Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Sacks | 8.0 | — |
| QB Hits | 28 | 6th among all defenders |
| Tackles for Loss | 12 | Team-high |
| QB Pressures | 80 | Tied for 4th in NFL |
Slotted between Hines-Allen at No. 48 and Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell at No. 47, this stretch of the countdown has leaned heavily on defensive playmakers. Mitchell, a Defensive Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2024, followed his Super Bowl season with a first-team All-Pro campaign, another sign that this year’s list is rewarding sustained, not just flashy, production.
