Super Bowl LX is approaching and it is one of the most fascinating matchups in recent years. In a game lacking Super Bowl experience, with only eight players across each team having been to the big game, who are the standout players as we build up to Super Bowl Sunday in Santa Clara?
Number 10 – Byron Murphy II (Seattle Seahawks, NT/DT)
The Seattle Seahawks selected Byron Murphy II as their first round pick in 2024 and, after a quiet rookie year, he has taken a huge step up in year two. His freakish strength allows him to blow up runs no matter who is blocking him, just what you want from your nose tackle. If you turn on the tape from the NFC Championship game, there were several plays where he helped blow up the run even when facing double team blocks. Murphy is a big reason this defense was so dominant at stopping the ground game this season and along with that, his eight sacks this year, playoffs included, show that he can certainly help out in the pass rush as well.
Number 9 – Milton Williams (New England Patriots, DT/DE)
Milton Williams has been one of the New England Patriots’ most important players this season. To find evidence of that, just look at their run defense with and without him. In the five games Williams has missed this season, New England gives up just over 146 rushing yards per game, which would have been the second worst in the regular season amongst all teams, as well as 4.96 yards per carry, which would have been fifth worst in the regular season amongst all teams. With Williams they are a different team against the run, giving up just 3.7 yards per attempt and only 80 yards per game in the 15 matchups he has featured in. While his 3.5 regular season sacks don’t stand out on the stats sheet, Williams can be a game wrecker in the pass rush, particularly in the playoffs. He had two sacks in the wildcard victory over the Los Angeles Chargers and as well as that, against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship, he ranked first in pressures with eight, and in pass rush win rate at 28%. Don’t forget as well that Williams appeared in last year’s Super Bowl, and helped his Philadelphia Eagles to victory with two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Number 8 – Sam Darnold (Seattle Seahawks, QB)
Many would rank Sam Darnold higher on this list, however, we mustn’t get caught up in the moment. The Seahawks quarterback had a rough second half of the regular season, throwing eight touchdowns and eight interceptions in his final eight regular season games, with a combined passer rating of 85.81 over that period. Of course, Darnold has proven over the last two years that he is one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL, leading his teams to more wins than any other signal caller over the past two seasons. In addition to that, he has put to bed any doubts that he could produce four quarters of great play in a big spot. In the biggest game of his career in the NFC Championship against the Los Angeles Rams, he had the best game of his career, throwing for 346 yards and three touchdowns while completing just under 70% of his passes to give him a 127.8 passer rating. It wasn’t clear up until that point whether Seattle’s coaching staff truly trusted him to be the deciding factor in a big game but we can see now that they do, and rightly so. A big game in the Super Bowl for Darnold would cap off one of the best redemption stories in NFL history.
Number 7 – DeMarcus Lawrence (Seattle Seahawks, DE)
If it wasn’t for DeMarcus Lawrence, then the majority of this list may well be filled with players from the Rams. In the biggest play of the NFC Championship, Lawrence’s instinct to drop into coverage on 4th and 4 with the game on the line saved a touchdown, as he noticed LA’s running back, Kyren Williams, make a fast move out of the backfield, prompting Lawrence to drop into coverage and therefore double team Williams’ route. But don’t be fooled by the ‘savvy vet’ narrative around Lawrence. While he is one of the smartest players in this game having played in the league for so long, he gives his team much more than just experience. Lawrence forced four turnovers this season, including in the divisional round with a strip sack on Brock Purdy. Lawrence’s real strength this season has been his run defending, though, an aspect of his game that has always been dominant. In the regular season, he was Pro Football Focus’ highest graded run defender for defensive ends, and was the only edge defender to force multiple fumbles against the run this season.
Number 6 – Ernest Jones IV (Seattle Seahawks, MLB)
Ernest Jones has changed the game for Seattle’s defense in his first full season in the Pacific Northwest. A Super Bowl LVI champion with the Rams, Jones does everything Mike Macdonald asks him to do and more. Per NFL Researcher, Jones is one of three players since 2000 to have at least 140 total tackles along with six or more interceptions in a single season, including the playoffs, with his company in that category being Ray Lewis and Luke Kuechly, not too bad. Jones has established himself as one of the best linebackers in the league this season, and was rewarded with a Second Team All-Pro nod for his elite regular season play. The Seahawks’ defense may have had a tough outing against the Rams in the NFC Championship, but in the divisional round Jones was arguably the most dominant player on the field as he forced two turnovers, had six total tackles, and a pass breakup. There aren’t many other players in the entire league that you would rather have leading your defense than Jones.
Number 5 – Nick Emmanwori (Seattle Seahawks, S)
It is not hyperbole to say that Nick Emmanwori has been a rookie sensation. You could just look at the stats and see that that he led all safeties and rookies this season with 13 forced incompletions, or the fact that against the likely MVP in the NFC Championship he added on three more on five targets, giving up just two catches for eight yards. However, Emmanwori is so much more than what shows up on the stats sheet. His athleticism and intelligence allows Mike Macdonald to make this defense to set the tone. Rather than matching the offense’s formation, with a base 4-3 look against a two wide receiver set, for example, the Seahawks are able to stay in a nickel formation with five defensive backs practically all game long, and that is because of Emmanwori. He can play as a linebacker against the run and is an excellent pass defender as the stats show. He is the key reason as to why the Seahawks can line up in a nickel formation and still be strong against the run, making it tough for what offenses can do against the Seahawks as they can’t dictate Seattle’s personnel. When Macdonald was in Baltimore with the Ravens, Kyle Hamilton, a First Team All-Pro in 2023 and 2025, was his most important player because of his adaptability at safety. In his second draft as head coach of the Seahawks, Macdonald went and got himself someone who can be just as good in Emmanwori out of South Carolina.
Number Four – Christian Gonzalez (New England Patriots, CB)
Christian Gonzalez is the gold standard at outside cornerback in the NFL. As the Patriots’ first round draft pick in 2023, Gonzalez has been everything they could have hoped for and more. After an injury-riddled first season, he was named a Second Team All-Pro in his second year in the league and has had another stellar season this year. Through the regular season and the playoffs, Gonzalez allowed just a 47.15 completion rate when thrown at, as well as a 60.15 passer rating, with the league average for passer rating being 91.4. New England’s 2023 first round pick has also given up just 5.7 yards per target in the NFL this season, including the playoffs, a number that would have been third worst amongst 42 eligible quarterbacks in the regular season, pretty impressive since Gonzalez is often facing opposing teams’ best receivers. He has also allowed just two touchdowns in his 17 games this season and, while he didn’t get an interception in the regular season, his last snap on the field before the Super Bowl was a pick to practically win his team the AFC.
Number Three – Devon Witherspoon (Seattle Seahawks, CB)
Devon Witherspoon is arguably the most versatile cornerback in the league, shown by his 89.9 overall PFF grade, first amongst cornerbacks this season. Witherspoon is able to play both as a slot corner and as an outside corner when necessary. While he has allowed a completion percentage of 66.9 this season, that isn’t helped by the fact he is asked to play a lot of snaps as a slot corner. In terms of yardage against Witherspoon, he gave up just 6.4 yards per target against him in the regular season, and only 9.1 yards per completion against him in the regular season. Those numbers would leave a quarterback at 32nd out of 42 in yards per attempt in the regular season, and 39th out of 42 in yards per completion, evidence that Witherspoon has been very strong in coverage this year even if he does allow a high percentage of completions. Seattle’s star cornerback also gave up just 173 air yards in the entire regular season. If you add in the fact that Witherspoon is the best tackling corner in the league, can be trusted to be sent on blitzes by Macdonald, where he will often generate pressure, and can also be relied upon to line up practically anywhere on the defense, you can see the value he brings to Seattle. He is another weapon on their defense that can cause opposing offenses difficulty whether they are passing or running the ball, in multiple different ways. Witherspoon more than earned his Second Team All-Pro selection this season.
Number Two – Drake Maye (New England Patriots, QB)
With the help of head coach Mike Vrabel, who is in his first year with the team, Drake Maye has taken the NEw England Patrios from a four-win side to a Super Bowl contender in just his second season. With 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions, Maye has elevated himself into the category of being one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He has been an MVP candidate throughout the regular season and has had the best deep ball out of any quarterback this season, leading the league in expected points added (EPA) on 20+ air yard passes with a +62.8 EPA according to NextGenStats. He did all that while completing 72% of his passes in the regular season. New England’s quarterback may have benefitted from a favourable schedule this season but you can only beat what’s in front of you and he has done exactly that. While he might have struggled in the playoffs, he has stepped up in big moments, such as delivering a 32-yard touchdown pass on 3rd down to Kayshon Boutte to ice the divisional round game against the Houston Texans, as well as his AFC Championship-sealing first down run against the Broncos. Maye has announced himself to the league this year and a strong performance in the Super Bowl against the best scoring defense in the league would firmly cement his place amongst the elite quarterbacks in the NFL.
Number One – Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seattle Seahawks, WR)
Jaxon Smith-Njigba (JSN) has established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the entire league this season. 2024, his second year in the NFL, was a productive season as he hit the 1k receiving mark for the first time but this year, as the team’s true number one receiver, he has risen to another level. It’s not just the fact that he led the league with 1,793 receiving yards, as well as finding the endzone 10 times. Some receivers may rely on a particular route against certain looks to have success but JSN is so versatile, shown by the fact that he didn’t lead the league in yards on any particular route despite leading the league in yards as a whole. In fact, according to NextGenStats, he was top five on five different routes, showing how much he can be utilised in a game against any sort of defensive look. He will happily go up and make a big contested catch as well, shown by his 42-yard catch against the Rams in the NFC Championship where he ate a huge hit and held onto the ball, before finding the endzone with a route out of the backfield three plays later. In the same game he also had an incredible one-handed snag. To put it simply, there is nothing JSN can’t do. If he has 35 yards in the Super Bowl, he will become the third player ever to have 2,000 receiving yards in a single season including the playoffs, and he’s done it all at just 23 years of age.