Dolphins star Tyreek Hill, not Patrick Mahomes, named No. 1 player on NFL Top 100 list

Tyreek Hill, not Patrick Mahomes, is the best player in the league this season.

While this may seem like a ridiculous approach considering the remarkable dynasty-building campaign Mahomes has had with the Kansas City Chiefs in recent years, blame it on the NFL players.

The league released the remainder of its annual Top 100 Players list on social media Friday night, a list it produces before each season after voting by NFL players. For the first time in the history of the list, a wide receiver took the top spot.

In his defense, Hill absolutely deserved to be present for this honor. He racked up a ridiculous 1,799 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, both the most in the league. He also had an NFL-best 112.4 receiving yards per game. The Dolphins also made their second consecutive playoff appearance under Hill last season, but were eliminated in the opening round by the same Chiefs.

But Mahomes wasn’t right behind him. The NFL roster considers him the fourth-best player in the league, despite the fact that he and the Chiefs just won their second consecutive Super Bowl earlier this year. Mahomes threw for 4,183 yards, sixth-best in the league, and 27 touchdowns last season while leading the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Chiefs also only lost 20 regular-season games in that span, thanks in large part to Mahomes.

While Hill’s season was great, it’s not hard to argue that Mahomes had a much bigger impact on the field than Hill did last season. You don’t need to look much further than the second consecutive championship ring, and the third in the last five years, he was able to prove that too.

The NFL has Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is coming off an MVP campaign, as the second-best player in the league. Jackson also moved up 70 spots on the list year after year. San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey ranked third on the list after his first full season with the franchise, where he rushed for a league-high 1,459 yards and scored 21 total touchdowns. Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett rounded out the top five. Fellow Chiefs star and boyfriend of pop star Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce ranked 9th.

In reality, the specifics of this list don’t matter much. Hill doesn’t get a bonus for coming in first, that won’t help the Dolphins, and everyone in the top 10 deserves to be there.

But it remains to be seen whether players will feel the same way a few months from now as they did when they voted, especially if Mahomes and the Chiefs continue to play as they have for half a decade.