Mississippi was well-represented on this year’s NFL Top 100.
After players from across the league voted on their top peers from the most recent season, four stars with ties to a university in the Magnolia State found themselves ranked among the top performers in the sport. Of the four selected, two played at Ole Miss while the other two competed at Mississippi State. Two of the players were also born and raised in Mississippi.
Here’s who cracked this year’s list:
No. 86: Washington Commanders OT Laremy Tunsil (Ole Miss)
Tunsil, a five-time Pro Bowler with the Houston Texans, was one of the league’s top pass blockers last season and had a personal best run-blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus. The former Ole Miss standout and All-SEC tackle was traded to the Commanders in March so that Washington could build around the franchise’s highly esteemed young quarterback, Jayden Daniels.
No. 79: Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (Mississippi State)
Though Prescott, a recipient of the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year award, endured a hamstring injury that shortened his 2024-25 campaign, the goodwill he’s garnered with his colleagues earned him a spot in the top 100 for the sixth time. With Prescott as the starter in weeks 1-9, the Cowboys averaged an NFL second-best 254.1 passing yards per game. The team’s passing production then endured a sharp nosedive, dropping by nearly 50 yards per game in his absence.
No. 29: Philadelphia Eagles WR A.J. Brown (Ole Miss)
Brown earned his third-straight top 100 appearance after being one of Jalen Hurts’ top targets in the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl run. The former Ole Miss star logged his third straight, and fifth total, 1,000-yard season in the 2024-25 campaign and tacked on seven touchdowns to complement the yardage. The veteran wideout also caught 10 of 26 tight window targets (less than one yard of separation) for an NFL second-best 239 yards and a touchdown in 2024, per Pro Football Focus.
No. 12: Kansas City Chiefs DT Chris Jones (Mississippi State)
Aside from two-time NFL MVP recipient Patrick Mahomes, Jones has arguably been the Chiefs’ most valuable asset in the franchise’s recent Super Bowl campaigns. Last year, the former Mississippi State standout recorded the second-most pressures among defensive tackles (61) with 26 coming in under 2.5 seconds. Jones averaged the quickest get-off at his position, per Pro Football Focus, resulting in the fourth-quickest time to pressure among defensive tackles with at least 15 pressures.
When’s the 2025 NFL season?
The NFL season will get started with two of the aforementioned players squaring off against one another in a divisional showdown. A.J. Brown’s Eagles will host Dak Prescott’s Cowboys in an NFC East battle at 7:20 p.m. CT, with the game airing on NBC.
