For the past two weeks, our CBS Sports team has been working all over the field, going through the list of the top 10 players in each position.
First, we had the offensive side of the ball. Cody Benjamin watched the quarterbacks, led by Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Patrik Walker took care of the runners, led by Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry. Cody was back in front with the receivers open, led by Davante Adams, nine of the Las Vegas Raiders. Jordan Dajani looked at the tight ends, led by Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. And Jeff Kerr looked at the offensive line players, led by San Francisco 49ers tackle Trent Williams and Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin.
Then we moved to the defensive side of the ball. Kerr dug back into the trenches with the defensive line players, led by Aaron Donald of Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams inside and TJ Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers on the edge. Dajani had Cowboys star Micah Parsons at the top of the list of top contributors. Walker ranked Rams All-Pro Jalen Ramsey as the best cornerback in the league. And Tyler Sullivan identified Kevin Byard of the Titans as the best of the best in safety. Oh, and our resident kicking expert John Breech had Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens as the best kicker in the league and Michael Dickson of the Seattle Seahawks as the best gambler.
Now that we’ve worked through individuals, it’s time to focus more on the best units in the league. Today, we’re handing out awards to the NFL’s best offensive line, skill position group, defensive front and defensive back.
Best offensive line: Eagles
Honorable Mention: Browns, Buccaneers, Ravens, Chiefs
Philadelphia was one of only two teams in the NFL to rank in the top five in the Pro Football Focus standings for both blocking the race and blocking the past last season. The other was Dallas Cowboys division rival, who landed two of the five starters and has age issues and injuries to deal with. The Eagles will return the five starters from last season and have also secured their eventual replacement for longtime center Jason Kelce after selecting Cam Jurgens in the second round. This is a big, bad group (Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Isaac Seumalo, Lane Johnson and Kelce) that can really move opposing fronts in the race game, and it’s also among the best passing protection units in the league. The philosophical shift in the team’s attack in the middle of last season put a lot of pressure on that unit to dominate, and it did so while leading the Eagles to the playoffs. There should be no very low (if any) in 2022.
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Best offensive skill players (no QB): Bengals
Honorable Mention: Raiders, Chargers, Broncos, Dolphins, 49ers, Rams, Buccaneers, Vikings
We could have gone in a lot of different directions with this one. The Raiders can have the most versatile group thanks to the fact that they own perhaps the main external receiver of the league, one of its better men of slots and a fit tight wing of elite. The Chargers have arguably the best runner in the NFL to catch passes outside of Christian McCaffrey and two first-class wide receivers. The Broncos have three wide starts that are between good and very good, and a duo of high-level runners. The Dolphins have one of the fastest skill groups in league history and plenty of depth in each spot. The Niners have two otherworldly game creators unlike anyone in their respective positions. The Rams have Cooper Kupp and lots of fun free players. The Vikings are very heavy but electric. The Bucs may be the team to win in this area when they are healthy … but they are not at the moment.
So we stayed with the Bengals. Ja’Marr Chase took the league by storm as a rookie, reached the Pro Bowl, won the Rookie Offensive of the Year and was named All-Pro of the second team. Tee Higgins was almost as good as Chase last year. Tyler Boyd is a very overrated third option in the passing game. Joe Mixon has been consistently good since he entered the league, and even though his contributions in the passing game have been more muted in recent seasons, Cincy has gotten a good job from Semaje Perine and Chris Evans in these situations. In addition, the Bengals bounced back from losing CJ Uzomah by signing Hayden Hurst, who is more than capable of working the midfield areas while the defenses are worried about everyone else.
Best defensive front: Steelers
Honorable Mention: Bills, Chargers, 49ers, Ravens, Rams, Saints, Buccaneers, Cowboys
Do you want an elite runner? Okay, here’s TJ Watt. Do you want an elite indoor runner? Okay, there’s Cameron Heyward. Do you want a large nasal appliance? Okay, there’s Tyson Alualu. Do you want depth? Well, let’s deploy Chris Wormley, newly signed Larry Ogunjobi, Montravius Adams and DeMarvin Leal, along with Alex Highsmith coming off the edge in front of Watt. Devin Bush hasn’t kept his promise, but he still has a lot of athletics as a linebacker, and combining him with Myles Jack gives Pittsburgh one of the strangest linebacker duos in the league. There are arguments for other teams, of course, such as quality edge depth (Bills), high-end talent (Chargers, Rams, Cowboys), versatility (Ravens) and lack of clear weaknesses (49ers , Saints), but the Steelers still stand out.
Best defensive backfield: Packers
Honorable Mention: Ravens, Chargers, Bills, Saints, Browns, Broncos, Dolphins
If he had confidence in the health of the Ravens (or Bills), they would have gotten this place. But with Marcus Peters and Tre’Davious White with a torn ACL and Marlon Humphrey working from a broken pectoral muscle, he tipped the scales toward Green Bay. The Packers have one of the real closing corners of the league in Jaire Alexander. Eric Stokes had a fantastic debut season, including playing at a high level while Alexander was out with an injury of his own last year. Rasul Douglas left the street and became an absolute star. And Green Bay has one of the best, most versatile and most interchangeable safety duos in the league with Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage patrolling the back. While Green Bay doesn’t have the depth that other units have, the top-notch talent here is too much to ignore.