70) Kendall Fuller, CB, Kansas City Chiefs
2019 stats: 11 games, 49 tackles, 2 pass deflections, 1 sack, 3 tackles for loss
Kendall Fuller’s stats won’t pop out at you, especially since Kansas City’s defense struggled to piece things together until after their bye week. Once Fuller returned to the lineup after a five-week absence, this defensive unit shifted into an elite unit. Fuller’s real value came as a Tyrann Mathieu-lite role. When sharing a team with Tyrann Mathieu, Fuller’s competency at the same positions as their star defensive back allowed for Mathieu to roam free as a truly positionless standout. Fuller also seemingly saved his best performance for last, accumulating 2 pass deflections and his first interception of the season in the Super Bowl.
69) Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers
2019 stats: 12 games, 83 receptions, 997 receiving yards, 5 receiving touchdowns, 12.0 yards-per-catch
The Packers’ passing offense survived Davante Adams’ mid-season injury, but Aaron Rodgers’ play drastically improved when Adams was healthy and available. The fact that Adams fell just three yards short of a 1,000-yard season despite missing four games and averaged 10.5 targets per game proved that Rodgers and the passing game relies on the Fresno State product working on the opposition’s best cornerback. The wide receiver was especially essential to Green Bay in the playoffs, collecting 298 receiving yards and two touchdowns over two games.
68) Joe Staley, OT, San Francisco 49ers
2019 stats: 7 games, 2 sacks allowed, 2 penalties
Justin Skule stepped in well enough to collect a 70.8 run-blocking grade on PFF, but the 49ers struggled to hold the pocket when Joe Staley left the lineup. While Staley missed nine regular-season games, Staley played some of the best football of his career in those remaining games, including San Francisco’s Super Bowl run in 2019. This offense would not have had such an easy time running over Green Bay in the NFC Conference Championship without Staley setting the edge against Za’Darius and Preston Smith.
67) Maurkice Pouncey, C, Pittsburgh Steelers
2019 stats: 13 games, 0 sacks allowed, 4 penalties
James Conner’s first season as designated started did not go as well as his previous season, when Conner ended up replacing Le’Veon Bell in the backfield due to Bell’s holdout. However, Maurkice Pouncey was not at fault for the issues in the running game. The longtime Steelers center didn’t allow a sack all season, doing a fantastic job reducing pressure from the inside and allowing Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges to do their thing (for better or worse).
66) Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
2019 stats: 16 games, 132 carries, 557 rushing yards, 4.2 yards-per-carry, 92 receptions, 993 receiving yards, 11 total touchdowns
Austin Ekeler took advantage of Melvin Gordon’s extended holdout and served as an upgrade over the former first-round pick. Most of Ekeler’s damage done came through the passing game, catching 85.2% of his 108 targets. The former undrafted free agent was shifty enough to ignore the offensive line’s issues, a luxury that Philip Rivers and Gordon were not afforded. With 6.9 yards-per-touch, Ekeler was a chain-moving nightmare for opponents to deal with.
65) Joey Bosa, DE, Los Angeles Chargers
2019 stats: 16 games, 67 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 18 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 31 quarterback hits
After an injury-plagued year three, Joey Bosa took the field all 16 games for the otherwise injury-plagued Chargers team and delivered arguably his best season as a pro. The Ohio State product failed to match his career-high in sacks, but Bosa racked up career-highs in his tackles for loss total (18) and quarterback hits (31). The defensive end seemingly lived in opposing backfields in 2019.
64) Jaire Alexander, CB, Green Bay Packers
2019 stats: 16 games, 58 tackles, 2 interceptions, 17 pass deflections, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 tackles for loss
In his second year out of Louisville, Jaire Alexander was an absolute asset as Green Bay’s number one cornerback. The former first-round pick only allowed 53.6% of passes his way to be completed and was slated for his first Pro Bowl appearance, but couldn’t appear due to an injury picked up in the conference championship against the 49ers. Alexander was exposed by D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett in the Divisional Round, but the Packers couldn’t have gotten as far as they did this season without their cornerback’s improved play to begin with.
63) Richie Incognito, G, Oakland Raiders
2019 stats: 12 games, 8 penalties, 1 sack allowed
The penalties should come as no surprise, being that Incognito seemingly was shown the door by the NFL due to an unnecessary nasty streak and occasional mental instability, but the erratic offensive lineman was a huge part of Josh Jacobs’ huge rookie season while keeping a cleaner pocket for Derek Carr. The four-time Pro Bowler stayed problem-free off the field for the Raiders during their final season in Oakland and helped the offensive line reduce its sack total from 51 to 29.
62) Earl Thomas, S, Baltimore Ravens
2019 stats: 15 games, 49 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 pass deflections, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 tackles for loss
Grouping with the likes of Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Peters, and Jimmy Smith doesn’t help the headlines, but Earl Thomas returned to the NFL field at a quietly spectacular level after his unceremonious exit from Seattle. The former Legion of Boom member was moved around relatively often by defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale after almost exclusively playing free safety in Seattle, Thomas looked comfortable adapting to the new jobs that were asked of him.
61) La’el Collins, OT, Dallas Cowboys
2019 stats: 15 games, 3 penalties, 2 sacks allowed
La’el Collins has paired with Zack Martin on the right side of Dallas’ offensive line to form arguably the best side-to-side pairing in the NFL. Collins’ quietly steady development has brought him to a similar tier of offensive linemen as Martin and his fellow left tackle, Tyron Smith. Collins was among the best run and pass-blockers in the NFL, helping contribute to a top-five finish in each category for the Cowboys.
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