Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, Joe Burrow Fail to Make It to Stephen A. Smith’s Top 5 NFL Players List

In the list of best players in the NFL right now by Stephen A. Smith, there are no players from the NFC.

Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, Joe Burrow Fail to Make It to Stephen A. Smith’s Top 5 NFL Players List

Joe Burrow (left), Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts (from top to down right); Stephen A. Smith (circle) (Images via The Spun/Time/People/AP News)

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ESPN analyst and a profound voice in the sportscasting industry, Stephen A. Smith, unveiled his current top five footballers ahead of the Hall of Fame Weekend. The top five had some major omissions, including recent Super Bowl champions, Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts, as well as the current NFL CPOY, Joe Burrow.

Saquon Barkley became the ninth player in the history of the game to cross the 2000-rushing-yard threshold. He also broke a longstanding record held by Terrell Davis by recording the most rushing yards in a single season, with 2504 yards to his name. Hurts, on the other hand, won the Super Bowl MVP. He also mushed up a bunch of records under his name in the process.

Hurts became the first Eagles quarterback to make the Super Bowl twice. He also became the fourth in the history of gridiron football to win both the Super Bowl and the NCAA Championship. The Texas-native won the CFP National Championship in 2017 with the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Despite the Cincinnati Bengals missing out on the playoffs, Joe Burrow had one of the best seasons of his career. He posted career-high numbers and led the league in most attempts, completions, passing yards, and passing TDs. Burrow threw 460-for-652 for 4918 yards while scoring 43 touchdowns. His completion rate of 70.6 was also his best figure yet.

So, who made the Stephen A. list then? Patrick Mahomes is the best player in the league right now, according to Stephen A. Smith. Mahomes was followed by Baltimore Ravens two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, reigning MVP Josh Allen in second and third places, respectively. What surprised most people was the fourth and fifth names on Smith’s list.

Smith put down Myles Garrett and TJ Watt in those ranks. The top five successfully omitted two Super Bowl winners with historical numbers, who could have been the NFC inclusion. The five members all belong to the AFC and add to the long-standing bias of the Conference’s supremacy in the 21st century. In the last four years, the NFC has challenged the AFC with two Super Bowl wins.

Did Stephen A. Smith get it right with Patrick Mahomes on top?

There’s no questioning that Patrick Mahomes is one of the best players to have graced the gridiron field. He has led his team, the Kansas City Chiefs, to five Super Bowl appearances in seven years. He has won the ring thrice, the division championship in all of his seasons as a starter. But, is he the best right now?

Patrick Mahomes
Patrick Mahomes (Image via Associated Press)

In the last season, Mahomes had a reduction in his numbers. He failed to post 4000 or more yards for the first time in his career since taking over as a starter in his second year. Mahomes also had the fewest recorded passing yards per attempt in his career. The stalwart had been intercepted 25 times in the last two regular seasons combined.

Nevertheless, Mahomes rose to the occasion in the postseason in 2025. He was rather silent this time. He posted 679 yards from 55 completions at a 66.3 completion rate and recorded five touchdowns. Despite all this, the Chiefs still reached the Super Bowl.

However, with the advent of quarterbacks who possess dual-threat skills and consistently record great numbers, whether postseason success and somehow winning the recipe for being the best is a question to be asked.

The postseason success has long helped Mahomes fit the best quarterback or player in the league narrative. Recently, Chris Canty echoed something similar while noting that the only way he doesn’t remain the best quarterback is a failure of epic proportions.

But if the Kansas City Chiefs find themselves in a situation where they are not in the AFC Championship games and Mahomes has less than 30 touchdown passes and he has 15 to 20 turnovers, then it is going to become a question of who the best quarterback in the NFL is.

Chris Canty noted on Unsportsmanlike

The Chiefs are looking forward to bouncing back from the gutwrenching loss at the hands of the Eagles last season. As they set their goals towards it, the limelight on Patrick Mahomes questions whether he will have another of those sleeping years.

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