Predicting the top 10 players in the NFL five years from now: Listed two-way college star; Where Patrick Mahomes Ranks

The year is 2029. Tom Brady’s purchase of the New England Patriots has now been finalized, while 86-year-old Jerry Jones has replaced 77-year-old Bill Belichick as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. The NFL is still the king of sports, and some of today’s stars are still on the rise as we approach 2030.

If you think writers who put out future mock drafts the day after the conclusion of the current NFL Draft are crazy, then what I’m about to do is certified crazy. This is the final boss of the polarizing part of the offseason we’ve dubbed “List SZN.” Who will be the best soccer player five years from now? That’s what I’m here today to casually speculate about.

I am going to talk about the top 10 players in the NFL entering the 2029 season. Not all these players will be household names. I’m not sure Patrick Mahomes challenged Brady for best quarterback of all time on his bingo card during his time at Texas Tech, so I’ll have to delve into the college ranks to promote those players who can survive. Are there or not. Till the publicity. These names vary in age, with some players entering the final stages of their NFL careers in 2029, while others will be entering their prime. Let’s start with a young talent making a name for himself in Boulder.

10. Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado (age 26)

Hunter shocked the college football recruiting world when he committed to Jackson State University to play for Deion Sanders as the No. 1 prospect in the class. He played cornerback and wide receiver, and continued to play on both sides of the ball after following Sanders to Colorado. In Hunter’s first season for the Buffaloes, he caught 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns, and made 30 tackles with three interceptions and five passes defensed.

With Colorado now a member of the Big 12, Hunter was selected to the preseason all-conference team as a defensive back. Our prediction is that he’ll be a high NFL draft pick, and even contribute in all three phases of the game – just like Troy Brown did for the Patriots in 2004. Ultimately, Hunter would line up as a cornerback due to his athleticism. and ball skills, but his versatility would add to his “legend”.

9. Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (age 23)

If we’re talking about the best players in the NFL five years from now, at least one of those players will be very, very young. I’d go with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the freshman from Ohio State who hasn’t played a game in college football, but he could be the star of tomorrow. check out CBS Sports Profile On this child.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Ohio State freshman led Chaminade-Madonna Prep to its third consecutive state title with a 14-0 record, and his stats are straight out of “Road to Glory” mode. , Smith caught 88 passes for 1,376 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2023. It’s no surprise that he is the first wide receiver to be ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in the top 247 rankings since 247 Sports’ inception in 2010.

Smith also had a strong performance in Columbus and became the first freshman Ohio State player to have the black stripe removed from his helmet. It will be fun to see if he can make an immediate impact on one of the schools claiming to be the “WRU.”

Gardner was recently nominated Best cornerback in the NFL By CBS Sports, because he has allowed the fewest yards per target (4.6) over the past two seasons. The Cincinnati product led the league with 20 pass defenses in his first NFL season, and made 75 tackles, while he won Defensive Rookie of the Year. Gardner is the seventh cornerback in the last half century to make the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons, and the first cornerback to be named First Team All-Pro in his first two seasons since Dick Harris in 1961.

Chase has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in all three of his NFL seasons, including an incredible rookie campaign in which he caught 81 passes for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. Last season, he caught a career-high 100 passes for 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns, while Joe Burrow missed seven games due to injury. Chase is one of the best receivers in the NFL, and is ready to break the bank soon. He and Burrow, who of course also played together at LSU, should be a dynamic duo for years to come.

Alt CBS Sports had the No. 7 overall prospect this past class, but it could fall lower. Ultimately, the Notre Dame product was selected No. 5 overall. The 2023 consensus All-American stands 6-foot-9, 321 pounds, and recorded the highest overall PFF grade (90.7) by an FBS offensive lineman last season. According to Next Gen Stats, Ault allowed only one sack on 740 pass-blocking snaps over the past two years, reaching 14.14 mph He posted a 5.05 40-yard dash time in the first five yards of his final 40 at the NFL Combine, which is the fastest speed recorded by any offensive lineman in the first five yards of the 40 compared to the last two combines.

I’m well aware that Ault hasn’t played a single down in NFL football, but he looks like one of those guys who is going to be an elite offensive player for more than a decade. His father was also an offensive tackle selected in the first round, and is in the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame.

It was just a year, but it was more than a year. In 15 games, Stroud completed 63.9% of his passes for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and only five interceptions. His 273.9 passing yards per game led the league, as well as his 1.0% interception percentage. Stroud had the highest TD-INT ratio versus winning teams in NFL history, including the playoffs, and he became the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game. The Texans went from worst to first in the AFC South, and appear to be legitimate contenders if Stroud can build on his historic rookie season.

4. Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals (age 32)

Entering 2024, the story around Buro is his health as he has suffered season-ending injuries in two of his four years in the league. The questions are legitimate, but if Burrow is out in 2024 and wins MVP, everyone will forget about this story. Everyone knows Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and you’d be surprised how high his potential really is. The former No. 1 overall pick is a cerebral player who can age like fine wine if he stays on the field.

The best wide receiver in the NFL isn’t going anywhere. Even though he missed seven games due to injury in 2023, Jefferson averaged a career-high 107.4 receiving yards per game, and still ranked in the top 20 in receiving yards. He became one of only three players to reach 1,000 receiving yards in 10 or fewer games played. Jefferson has recorded the most receiving yards (5,899) in a player’s first four seasons in NFL history, and the most receiving yards per game (98.3) in NFL history. So yes, he should be good in 2029 too.

2. Micah Parsons, EDGE, Dallas Cowboys (30)

Parsons is already an elite pass rusher, and he’s still getting better and better. In his third NFL season at the age of 24, Parsons recorded a career-high 14 sacks, 64 combined tackles, 33 QB hits and 18 tackles for loss. He recorded the most pressures in the NFL with 103, and the best pass-rush win rate (35%) among edge defenders. With his athleticism and versatility, imagine what kind of beast he’s going to become as he continues to gain more and more experience. Parsons has only played 50 NFL games! He will be very good for a long time.

1. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs (34)

Mahomes is No. 1 in 2024, and could even be No. 1 in 2029 at age 34. If Mahomes wants to take the 2023 Chiefs to the Super Bowl, he can do it any year — but I think we already knew that. He’s already a Hall of Famer, and it’s absurd to say he’s on his way to surpassing Brady as the best of all-time. It will be tough to lose both Travis Kelce and Andy Reid in the coming years, but Mahomes is one of those rare individual players who can dictate the outcome of a team game.