Ranking Most Invaluable Non-QBs in NFL Ahead of 2023 Week 1
If the first game of the 2023 NFL season taught us anything it's that despite how important the position is, football is a team game and the quarterback can't do it all on his own. Without tight end Travis Kelce in the lineup for the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense struggled to put up points and suffered a rare home loss.
That got me thinking, 'Who are the most invaluable non-quarterbacks heading into the 2023 campaign?"
The players were selected and ranked based on a simple criterion of 'What would their unit (offense or defense) look like if they weren't in the lineup?' So a few factors were like the supporting cast, how many roles they play, and how statistically dominant they were compared to their teammates last season.
10. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
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Supporting cast: TE T.J. Hockenson, WR K.J. Osborn, WR Jordan Addison
While leading the league in both receptions (128) and receiving yards (1,809) was a big reason why Justin Jefferson was last year's Offensive Player of the Year, how dominant he was compared to the other pass-catchers for the Minnesota Vikings had to play a factor, too.
Jefferson had nearly 60 more catches than any other Viking and almost 1,100 more yards, accounting for 28.6 percent and 37.5 percent of the team's total for those two metrics, respectively. His dominance was part of the reason why the organization felt long-time wideout Adam Thielen was expendable and was willing to eat $13.5 million in deap cap space, per Over The Cap, by letting Thielen go.
The only thing keeping Jefferson from being higher on this list is that Minnesota does have a few quality offensive weapons this season.
Hockenson will play his first full season in purple this year after logging 60 catches and 519 yards in 10 games with the club a year ago. Meanwhile, Osborn has 1,305 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns over the last two campaigns, and Minnesota spent a first-round pick on Addison.
So, while the 2022 OPOY is a huge factor in the team's offense, the Vikings would have other options if he were to miss a game.
9. Derwin James Jr., Los Angeles Chargers
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Supporting cast: EDGE Khalil Mack, EDGE Joey Bosa, CB Michael Davis
Derwin James Jr. has built a career as almost a positionless defensive player. He lines up on all three levels of the Los Angeles' defense and knows how to fill up the stat sheet. Over the last two seasons, James has 233 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, six sacks, four interceptions, 11 passes defended and five forced fumbles.
That's a ton of impact plays and he was toward the top of a lot of statistical categories for the Chargers last season.
In 2022, James Jr. ranked second on the team in total tackles (115), second in interceptions (two), tied for third in passes defended (six) and fifth in sacks (four), per Pro Football Reference. The latter is especially impressive seeing as he's a natural safety and only rushed the passer 31 times, per Pro Football Focus.
That being said, Los Angeles does have a good crew surrounding him with the three players mentioned above in addition to cornerbacks Asante Samuel Jr. and J.C. Jackson. While Jackson was injured for most of last season, he does have 25 career interceptions and 55 pass breakups to round out a pretty strong secondary.
Also, James Jr. has suffered several injuries throughout his career to slightly decrease his value, including three games a year ago where the Chargers allowed 17, 14 and 10 points, respectively, and won all three contests. So, while he's invaluable enough to crack the top 10 list, it's hard to make an argument that he should be any higher than No. 9.
8. Sauce Gardner, New York Jets
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Supporting cast: DT Quinnen Williams, EDGE John Franklin-Myers, CB D.J. Reed
It took Sauce Gardner just one year to prove how valuable he is to the New York Jets defense. He consistently lined up across from the opponent's top receiver and surrendered just a 53.5 completion percentage, 452 yards and one touchdown in 17 games, according to Pro Football Reference.
But Gardner's ball skills are what stood out as he led the entire league with 20 passes defended in 2022. That was also eight more than any other Jets defender and a big reason why he was named a first-team All-Pro, made the Pro Bowl and won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award while also receiving some Defensive Player of the Year votes.
The only thing that decreases the Cincinnati product's value is New York does have a strong supporting cast around him.
Led by Williams and Franklin-Myers, Gang Green has one of the best defensive lines in the NFL with Carl Lawson, Michael Clemons, Quinton Jefferson and Al Woods serving in complementary roles. Not to be forgotten are two first-round picks, Jermaine Johnson and Will McDonald IV, who might struggle to get playing time in such a deep position group.
That front would give any secondary plenty of support, so while Gardner's ball skills are invaluable, he's stuck toward the bottom of the list since the Jets have enough in the trenches to get by if he weren't on the field.
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7. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers
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Supporting cast: DT Cameron Heyward, Edge T.J. Watt, CB Patrick Peterson
Minkah Fitzpatrick is another Swiss army knife type of player. He can play free safety, in the box, cover the slot and even has some experience as a wide corner. Granted, the Miami Dolphins found out the hard way the latter isn't his preferred position...
Having a player who can be so effective at multiple spots is extremely valuable for a defense and makes it difficult for opposing offenses to gameplan around Fitzpatrick, which is a big reason why he's invaluable for the Pittsburgh Steelers. On top of that, he's also a stat sheet stuffer.
Last year, Fitzpatrick ranked second on the Steelers with 96 total tackles and third in passes defended with 11, while his six interceptions led the team and also were tied for the most across the entire league. It's hard to replace that level of production.
But Pittsburgh does have a good defense overall, slightly shrinking the three-time All-Pro's value. Heyward has 20.5 sacks over the last two seasons and Watt is two years removed from being the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year. Also, the addition of Peterson elevates the Steelers' secondary, so the team could get by if Fitzpatrick were to miss a game or two.
6. Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders
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Supporting cast: CB Marcus Peters, CB Nate Hobbs, DT Bilal Nichols
During the offseason, Maxx Crosby mentioned several times about how he wants to be considered the best pass-rusher in the NFL. He's starting to get that level of respect as Pro Football Focus listed him as the fifth-best edge defender in the league and in 'Tier 1' for the position.
PFF cited that Crosby has more pressures than anyone else and is second in cumulative pass-rush win rate over the last two seasons as part of their rationale, but his value to the Las Vegas Raiders defense could push him even higher up the rankings.
Madd Maxx's 12.5 sacks last season were eight more than any other Raider with Chandler Jones coming in second and Clelin Ferrell finishing in third with two sacks. Jones is likely out for Week 1 and could be away from the team even longer in light of recent events, and Ferrell is now suiting up for the San Francisco 49ers.
In other words, Las Vegas doesn't have another pass-rusher who was productive last season outside of the 2019 fourth-round pick. Also, their secondary is led by Peters, who is still a quality player but is past his prime.
What keeps Crosby out of the top five in terms of being invaluable is that despite his success, the Raiders' defense still ranked toward the bottom of the league in 2022. They were 26th in points allowed a year ago, so it's not as if there would be a dramatic difference in the end result if he weren't on the field.
5. Nick Bosa, San Francisco 49ers
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Supporting cast: LB Fred Warner, DT Javon Hargrave, DT Arik Armstead
Perhaps the best example of how Nick Bosa is one of the most invaluable players in the NFL is the fact that the San Francisco 49ers were willing to make him the highest-paid defensive player in league history earlier this week. San Francisco essentially said; 'Nick, here's 170 million reasons why we think you're so important to this team!'
And it's hard to blame them as the reigning Defensive Player of the Year had 18.5 sacks last season, the most in the league and 13.5 more than any other 49er. He also had 12 more tackles for loss than any of his teammates while Samson Ebukam was second in both categories. Ebukam is now with the Colts, helping increase Bosa's value in 2023.
What prevents Bosa from topping this list is San Francisco has no shortage of playmakers on defense. Warner is widely considered the best player in the NFL at his position, and Hargrave adds another Pro Bowl-caliber defensive lineman in the Bay with his 23 sacks over the last three seasons.
Plus, Armstead can provide pressure up the middle, linebacker Dre Greenlaw is no slouch either and safety Talanoa Hufanga is coming off of a first-team All-Pro bid. So, it's not as if Bosa is without help in San Francisco.
4. Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
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Supporting cast: TE Tyler Higbee, WR Van Jefferson, WR Puka Nacua
If the Los Angeles Rams didn't find out last season how valuable Cooper Kupp is to the team, they're about to learn their lesson again as Kupp has already been ruled out of the season opener with a hamstring injury.
Kupp battled injuries last season too and only played in nine games. However, he still managed to lead the Rams' receiving corps in every major statical category with 75 grabs for 812 yards and six touchdowns. The latter was twice as many as anyone else, and he also had the most first-down catches on the team by 10 with 42, per Pro Football Reference.
Higbee was the only player that really came close to the wideout's numbers, and Higbee played in eight more games.
In other words, the Rams' receiving corps is pretty lackluster behind Kupp. While I don't mean this as a slight to Nacua, as he has plenty of potential, Los Angeles' lack of pass-catching talent is a big reason why Nacua got so much attention or hype for a fifth-round pick during the preseason/training camp.
It's also impossible to ignore the fact that the last time the Rams had Kupp for a full season was 2021 when they had the seventh-best offense in the league and won the Super Bowl. But when he played in just half of the team's games last year, they were 27th in points scored and finished 5-12.
3. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
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Supporting cast: WR Skyy Moore, WR Kadarius Toney, WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
As alluded to in the introduction, Thursday night proved just how valuable Travis Kelce is to the Kansas City Chiefs.
For perspective, the Chiefs led the NFL with about 297.8 passing yards per game and 29.2 points per game in 2022. Against the Lions, managed just 226 passing yards and 20 points, over 70 yards and two possessions lower than the standard they set last season.
But that really shouldn't have come as much of a surprise seeing as Kelce accounted for the bulk of their production through the air a year ago. His 110 receptions during the regular season were 32 more than any other Chief, he led the team in receiving yards by over 400, and his 12 touchdowns were more than any other player, rushing or receiving.
The only other receiver to come close to the tight end's numbers last season was JuJu Smith-Schuster, who ranked second in catches and receiving yards, and Smith-Schuster is now playing for the New England Patriots.
With Moore, Toney and Valdes-Scantling leading the way, Kansas City's offense and Patrick Mahomes looked like a shell of themselves. You'd be hard-pressed to find an offensive player who means more to his team than Kelce does.
2. Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys
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Supporting cast: CB Trevon Diggs, Edge DeMarcus Lawrence, CB Stephon Gilmore
Two years ago, Micah Parsons came into the league as an off-ball linebacker and there were some questions as to how his unique skill set would translate in the NFL. However, he's erased all doubts by becoming one of the more versatile defenders in the league.
As a rookie, Parsons primarily lined up at linebacker and logged 84 total tackles with 20 tackles for loss and 13 sacks, running away with the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and finishing in second place for DPOY while also earning first-team All-Pro honors. He spent more time as an 'edge' last season but the results were pretty similar.
Granted, the Penn State product's total tackles and TFL were down a bit to 65 and 13, which is expected when he's having to take on more blocks from offensive linemen, but he still had 13.5 sacks, received the second-most DPOY votes and was a first-team All-Pro. Not a bad two-year start to his professional career.
Parsons is also very clearly the most valuable player on the Dallas Cowboys defense as he's led the team in sacks over the last two seasons and has been no lower than fourth in total tackles, per Pro Football Reference. Take him off of the field and the Cowboys' defense isn't ranking seventh and fifth in points allowed as they have over the last two campaigns.
1. Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
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Supporting cast: S Jordan Fuller, Edge Byron Young, CB Ahkello Witherspoon
If Aaron Donald retires tomorrow, the Pro Football Hall of Fame committee can go ahead and submit the purchase order for his bronze bust. In NFL history, eight people have won the Defensive Player of the Year Award multiple times and only three men have won it three times, Donald being one of them.
That alone shows how invaluable he is but, for good measure, he also finished no lower than fifth in voting for the league's top defender from 2015 to 2021 and was a first-team All-Pro every season during that seven-year span.
Also, he's eclipsed double-digit sacks in six out of nine seasons with eight and nine quarterback takedowns in two of the three outliers. That's outstanding production as a pass-rusher for a defensive tackle.
While 2022 was a down year for Donald, he battled injuries and still finished third on the Los Angeles Rams in sacks with five and tied for first with 10 tackles for loss. The two players who were ahead or tied with him were Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd, both of whom participated in six more games and are playing elsewhere in 2023.
Beyond the perpetual first-team All-Pro, Los Angeles' defense has a serious lack of talent. He's the only player on the unit who strikes fear in opposing offense and without him, the Rams would likely be historically bad defensively this season.
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