The best playmaker on every NFL team

While there will be few defensive players on the list, that’s where we start. The Cardinals offense has the potential to be much more explosive this season with rookie quarterback Kyler Murray, but the biggest playmaker coming off the 2018 season for Arizona is Jones, who reached double-digit sacks for the fourth straight year last fall.

Even at 30 years old, Jones has an argument as the best wide receiver in the league. Last year he led the NFL with 1,677 receiving yards and posted his third 100-catch season. Jones already has 698 receptions and 10,731 receiving yards in eight seasons.

There won’t be many quarterbacks on this list, but then again there aren’t many signal-callers like Jackson. He is the classic modern-day, dual-threat NFL quarterback. Jackson took the NFL by storm as a rookie, going 6-1 as a starter and rushing for 695 yards in seven starts.

The soon-to-be-31-year-old saw his yards per rushing attempt drop to 3.2 last year, and for the first time since 2009, McCoy didn’t reach 1,000 yards from scrimmage. Yet, he still led the Bills with 752 yards from scrimmage last year and enters 2019 as their most dangerous weapon.

With Cam Newton still rehabbing from a shoulder injury, McCaffrey is the clear-cut choice for the Panthers. He nearly reached 2,000 yards from scrimmage with 1,965 yards in 2018, which also was his first 1,000-yard rushing season. He has a chance to be one of the best dual-threat backs in the NFL for years to come.

It would take a special player to edge Tarik Cohen on this list, but that’s exactly what Mack is. He’s posted double-digit sacks in each of the last four years, and last season Mack had a career-best six forced fumbles. He can take over a game at any time.

With A.J. Green dealing with injuries the last couple of seasons, Mixon earns the nomination from the Bengals. Behind a 4.9 yards per rush average, Mixon registered 1,168 rushing yards and 1,464 yards from scrimmage last year. 

His arrival in Cleveland makes the Browns a true contender in the AFC North. Beckham’s 2018 numbers are just average for today’s NFL — 77 catches, 1,052 yards and six touchdowns — but he reached those numbers in just 12 games.

Nobody has more rushing yards than Elliott since he arrived in the NFL before the 2016 season. He has won two rushing titles in three years and has led the league with 101.2 rushing yards per game during his career. Even Amari Cooper can’t compete with that.

In eight seasons, Miller has reached double-digit sacks seven times, and in the only year he didn’t, he played just nine games. Last year Miller posted 14.5 sacks and 26 quarterback hits. Just like Mack and Jones, he can change a game in an instant.

The 25-year-old developed into Matthew Stafford’s go-to receiver last year, posting 70 catches, 1,063 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He’s averaged 15.2 yards per catch in 26 NFL games.

Adams was good before 2018, but last fall he exploded for 111 receptions, 1,386 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. He has 35 receiving touchdowns in the last three years.

The 27-year-old has developed into one of the best wide receivers in the league the last two years. He’s made the All-Pro team each of the last two seasons, and in 2018 he registered 115 catches, 1,572 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The 29-year-old didn’t make the Pro Bowl last year for the first time since 2013, but he’s posted at least 15.9 yards per catch in each of the last five years and led the league in receiving in 2016. Hilton can take the top off any defense as good as any receiver in the NFL.

The 24-year-old had a rocky second season, but his 1,966 yards from scrimmage the last two seasons still makes him the best playmaker in Jacksonville. Fournette will be looking to get back to his 2017 rookie form when he rushed for 1,040 yards and nine touchdowns.

While he’s extremely controversial off the field, Hill is one of the best playmakers in the league. He made the All-Pro team in 2018, recording 87 receptions with 1,479 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

The 24-year-old may not yet be the best Chargers wide receiver, but when Philip Rivers needed a big play, he looked first to Williams. He posted 15.4 yards per catch and 10 touchdowns in 2018. Williams also caught a two-point conversion to beat the Chiefs in Kansas City last year.

Despite a late-season injury, Gurley still posted 1,251 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns in 2018. Since Sean McVay arrived, the 24-year-old has 3,924 yards from scrimmage and a league-high 40 touchdowns in the last two seasons.

Drake hasn’t rushed for 650 yards in any of his three seasons, but his 1,012 yards from scrimmage led the Dolphins last year. He also gave fans one of the most memorable moments of the 2018 season, scoring a touchdown on a final-second miracle play against the Patriots in December.

The 28-year-old finally gained the respect he deserves in 2018 when he posted 113 catches with 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns. He has 3,616 receiving yards in the last three seasons.

The 33-year-old has never made the Pro Bowl and has only two 1,000-yard seasons, but when Tom Brady is in a tough spot, he always seems to find Edelman. That was certainly the case in this past Super Bowl when he posted 141 receiving yards on 10 catches on his way to the game’s MVP Award.

The Saints have plenty of weapons, but Kamara has been special as one of the best dual-threat running backs in the last two seasons. He has posted nearly the same amount of rushing and receiving yards (1,611 rushing and 1,535 receiving) with 3,146 yards from scrimmage since the start of 2017.

As a rookie, Barkley posted 2,028 yards from scrimmage. The Giants may not have Sam Darnold or Odell Beckham, but Barkley is definitely their best weapon and will be the focal point of their offense for years to come.

It will be interesting to see what Bell can do after taking a year off, but he’s averaged nearly 129 yards from scrimmage per game in his career. Bell led the league in rushing attempts and touches while posting 1,291 rushing yards and almost 1,950 yards from scrimmage in 2017.

Just like Bell, Brown arrives in his new home as the best playmaker on his new offense. Brown has made the All-Pro team four of the last five years with at least 100 catches and 1,200 receiving yards each season. He has 837 catches, 11,207 receiving yards and 74 touchdowns in his nine-year career.

He may be 32, but Jackson led the NFL with an 18.9 yards per reception average in 2018. That’s a category in which Jackson has been No. 1 in the league three times in the last five years. He’s averaged 17.4 yards per catch in his 10-year career.

It will be interesting to see what Smith-Schuster can do drawing the opposition’s top cornerback in 2019, but playing opposite Antonio Brown for two years, he showed the potential for huge stardom. Smith-Schuster posted 111 catches and 1,426 yards — both more than Brown — with seven touchdowns in 2018.

Jerick McKinnon will have something to say about this list during the fall, but Coleman’s tenure with the Falcons makes him the best playmaker in San Francisco heading into the season. Coleman rushed for a career-high 800 yards and 4.8 yards per rush last year.

The 24-year-old broke out during his second season last year, posting 1,151 rushing yards and 4.7 yards per attempt. Carson still needs to develop into a better pass catcher, but without Doug Baldwin, he’s Seattle’s biggest playmaker heading into 2019.

Evans has played five years in the NFL and posted five 1,000-yard seasons. Last fall he posted a career-high 1,524 receiving yards and 17.7 yards per catch. Evans has 395 catches, 6,103 yards and 40 touchdowns in five years.

The 25-year-old was on his way to bust label in the middle of last season, but a great December allowed Henry to reach his first 1,000-yard rushing season. He averaged 4.9 yards per rush and 12 touchdowns in 2018.

As good as Peterson was last year, it says something about Washington’s offense that a 34-year-old is its best weapon. Peterson did prove last year, though, that he has something left in the tank. He rushed for 1,042 yards and seven touchdowns last fall.