The NFL has begun dishing out the top 100 players of 2021 as voted on by current players. The annual series on NFL Network began Sunday evening with numbers 100 through 41.
One Kansas City Chiefs player found himself being named among the best players in the NFL during the first episode of this year’s show. That player is safety, Tyrann Mathieu, who was listed as No. 58 in this year’s rankings. He was ranked in between Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul (59) and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Hayward (57).
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Mathieu Back-to-Back All-Pro
Mathieu, 29, is coming off back-to-back seasons in which he earned first-team All-Pro honors. In 2020, Mathieu played in 15 games, accumulating 48 tackles, nine passes defended, six interceptions, and three tackles for loss, per Pro Sports Reference. PFF wasn’t very kind to him — giving him a 67 overall grade, which is 36th-best among safeties — but anyone that knows Mathieu knows that you can’t calculate the impact he has on Kansas City’s football team.
Through eight seasons in the NFL — five with the Arizona Cardinals, one with the Houston Texans, and two with the Chiefs — Mathieu has recorded 464 tackles, 70 passes defended, 39 tackles for loss, 23 quarterback hits, 23 interceptions, and nine sacks, per Pro Sports Reference. He has been named a first-team All-Pro three times and a Pro Bowler the same amount.
Contract Year for Mathieu
The 2021 season will be an important one for Mathieu, as he is in the final year of his three-year, $42 million contract with Kansas City. He’s been a pivotal piece to a Chiefs defense that has improved since he joined the team, which merits a contract extension even if he is nearing the age of 30. However, Mathieu replied to a tweet by Show Me Football in May where the question was asked, “Are we ever going to get a Tyrann Mathieu contract extension?” with Mathieu saying “Probably not. Been here before. All good.”
Despite playing at a high level and not getting an extension, Mathieu said early in training camp that he’s just focused on playing football.
“I’m not disappointed at all,” said Mathieu to the media of him not getting an extension from the Chiefs. “I think most people that know me, know I love to play football, so I haven’t had a chance to do that. It’s all about my teammates; it’s all about the guys around me and me just continuing to try to be who I am and not letting anything outside of that kind of influence how I operate day-to-day.”
Which Other Chiefs Could Make Top 100?
Given that Kansas City was just in the Super Bowl last January and is still a super talented team, there’s no doubt there will be a few more Chiefs players that will be in the top 40 of the NFL’s Top 100. On offense, we should expect to see wide receiver Tyreek Hill, tight end Travis Kelce, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. On defense, lineman Chris Jones should also be another name to appear in the rankings.
There’s still a chance that guard, Joe Thuney, who played for the New England Patriots last year and is one of the league’s top guards, could make the NFL’s Top 100. But that chance is very, very slim. If a guard was going to make the rankings, they most likely would have been ranked in the bottom half of the list. Nevertheless, Kansas City fans should know that Thuney is one of the best and most versatile offensive linemen in the NFL, and the five-year, $80 million contract he signed with the Chiefs this offseason is a worthwhile investment.
Chiefs’ All-Pro Safety Drops 19 Spots in NFL’s Top 100