The NFL is with no doubt the most prominent American football franchise in the country. With the 2020 season nearing the playoffs, it’s hard not to speculate on how the game could turn out, let alone which team will win the Super Bowl. With the games still ongoing, it’s still hard to determine who is winning since there are so far only two teams qualified for the playoffs as of writing.
A team’s strength relies heavily on its players. Fortunately, the NFL has its fair share of excellent players over the years. The following players are some of those who might propel their team to victory in the incoming playoffs and players on whom you might want to bet.
Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson is a quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens. He has been on the team since his debut, which was two years ago. Before embarking on his professional career, he had already been an American football player in college. He currently has an overall point of 90 throughout the two years with the Ravens. As of writing, he’s had 6,276 passing yards, 847 passing attempts, with 539 of these passes completed. He currently has a passer rating of 101.0
At age 23, Jackson has amassed several awards for himself from college to the NFL. He was the MVP of the NFL in 2019 and has made records in the same year. These are the most rushing yards in a season by a quarterback and most rushing attempts by a quarterback in a season.
He has also been given other awards like the Atlantic Coast Conference Athlete of the Year and the Bert Bell Award, both in 2018. He is also ranked first in the NFL’s top 100 players of 2020.
Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Mahomes has been a quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs since his debut in 2017. Like Jackson, he also had been a member of an American football team in college. He was also exposed to various sports at an early age, which may have contributed to his quarterback strength. He has 13,227 passing yards, 1,562 passing attempts, with 1,040 of them completed as of writing. He has a passer rating of 110.3.
From college to his professional career, Mahomes has also bagged several awards. In 2016 he received the Sammy Baugh Trophy, an award given to outstanding collegiate athletes. In 2018, he received several awards. These are the Bert Bell Award, the NFL passing touchdowns leader, the NFL’s most offensive player of the year, and most of all, he was awarded the MVP. Last February 2, for the Superbowl LIV, the Kansas City Chiefs were the champion, with Mahomes being the MVP once again. He is currently 4th in the top 100 players of 2020.
Christian McCaffrey
Christian McCaffrey is a running back for the Carolina Panthers and has been part of the said team since his debut in 2017. The 24-year old player has been involved with American football since high school, where he began breaking records. He entered Stanford University to play the same sport, earning him several awards. For his current statistics, he has 3,076 rushing yards, 28 rushing touchdowns with an average of 4.6, 2,590 receiving yards, 15 receiving touchdowns, and 220 return yards.
2015 was a year of recognition for McCaffrey’s college football experience. His awards include the Jet Award, an award for the top return specialist in college football, the Paul Hornung Award, an award for versatile college football players, and the Associated Press College Football Player of the year. For his NFL years, he is known as one of the very few players to record 1000 rushing and receiving yards in one season. He is placed sixth in NFL’s top 100 players for this year.
DeAndre Hopkins
DeAndre Hopkins is a receiver for the Arizona Cardinals. The 28-year old player has a long experience of American football since his college football days. He was part of the Clemson Tigers Football of Clemson University from 2010-2012 and was part of the NFL from 2013 to the present. He was a member of the Houston Texans from 2013- 2019, but in 2020 he was traded to the Cardinals with a two-year contract with them. As of writing, he has 9,621 receiving yards, a receiving average of 13.4, and 59 receiving touchdowns.
Hopkins’ years in the NFL were fruitful. He was part of the Pro Football Writers Association in his rookie years, which recognized the best rookies per position. He was also the NFL receiving touchdowns leader in 2017. In 2017-2019 he was part of the All-Pro, an honor designating the best player based on position. Hopkins was also part of the Pro Bowl four times. He is eight in the top 100 players for this year.
Aaron Donald
Aaron Donald is the defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams. The 29-year-old has been around in the NFL since his debut in 2014 and has stuck with the Rams ever since. He has also played in college football, amassing several awards in his senior year. In his career with the Rams, he has been recognized for his defense. He’s had 346 tackles, 83 sacks, 19 fumbles, six fumble recoveries, and 12 pass deflections.
Donald has had several recognitions for playing American Football for years. In his college years, he was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year by the ACC in 2013. In the NFL, he was the Defensive Rookie of the year in 2014 and part of the PFWA All rookie team in the same year. He was also a 6x Pro Bowl player and was awarded the NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice. Donald used to be the top of the NFL top 100 in 2019 but dropped to third place.
Takeaway
With the 2020 Season Playoffs and the Superbowl also right around the corner, we can’t help but root for our team as they go out and do their best to win the match. But until then, it’s up to each of the team’s hardworking and talented players to go out and show the world what they’re made of. You can read the NFL Playoff Odds here.
Leave a Reply