Ranking the Most Valuable Positions in Today’s NFL

The NFL now has five premium positions.

For decades, that number stood strong at four. But the wide receiver position has exploded in recent years, with eight players inking contracts worth $80 million or more since 2022.

The value of those positions can vary, though. The top one is obvious, but the others aren’t.

Organizations understand that dynamic and tailor their roster-building approach around those premium positions.

“You build your [draft] board knowing the position values,” Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane told reporters at last year’s NFL Scouting Combine.

There are exceptions to every rule, and standout players at “lesser” positions can also break the bank at times. But the rule in the NFL is the same in every business: Follow the money.

Based on the league’s current financial landscape, we’ve ranked the five most valuable positions in the NFL. It’s tilting more and more toward the offense with each passing year.

Interestingly, the cornerback market is lagging behind the other premium positions despite the NFL’s continued evolution and reliance on the passing game.

Cornerbacks are essentially the best athletes on the field. They need the speed, quickness and reaction skills to mirror elite wide receivers, and they begin every snap in reverse.

Despite that, there’s only one cornerback—Denzel Ward of the Cleveland Browns—who currently has a contract worth more than $100 million. There are 37 different players on nine-figure contracts across the NFL, although nearly half of them are quarterbacks.

Some may argue that a market correction is needed to combat the exploding top-dollar wide receiver class. However, the NFL’s rules are geared toward offenses, which could limit how much teams shell out even for high-end cornerbacks.

It’s become harder for cornerbacks to be true impact performers because the NFL continues to hinder their ability to blanket targets. Defenses are now relying more on soft coverage shells to prevent chunk plays, force quarterbacks into being patient and hopefully force a turnover.

Upcoming contract extensions for the Denver Broncos’ Patrick Surtain II, New York Jets’ Sauce Gardner, Dallas Cowboys’ DaRon Bland and Seattle Seahawks’ Tariq Woolen could change this math to a degree. Still, the cornerback position isn’t the glorified spot it once was because of how the game has changed.

Every NFL team is searching for playmakers. Today’s game is predicated on getting the ball out and letting receivers or ball-carriers go to work.

It’s not so much about just doing their job. It’s more about what they can do beyond the designed play.

The growth of the position has been constant. Last season, 11 wide receivers caught at least 100 passes and 27 eclipsed 1,000 yards. In 2013, only five wideouts snagged 100 passes, while 23 went over the 1,000-yard mark.

Granted, an extra regular-season game is now played every year. But it’s clear how important an explosive target can be for an offense.

That led to a financial boom in recent years, with Justin Jefferson’s extension serving as the new high-water mark. The Minnesota Vikings made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history (average annual salary plus guaranteed money at signing) when the two sides agreed to four-year, $140 million—including $110 million guaranteed—deal on Monday.

The wide receiver market has almost reached the same point as the quarterback market, where the next star who’s due for a new deal becomes the highest-paid player at his position. However, the Jefferson contract might put a cap on how much teams are willing to shell out for their own star wideouts.

Still, no one can deny how different the landscape is. Five years ago, only one wide receiver had a salary-cap figure over $19 million. This upcoming season, 11 wideouts have a cap hit north of $21 million, per Over The Cap.

Scarcity is the only reason why wide receiver hasn’t worked its way higher up the list of positional value. Because of the position’s prevalence from the high school level on up, a massive batch of talented wideouts enters the NFL every year.

The planet theory still applies to NFL offensive tackles: There are only so many people on this planet big enough, strong enough and athletic enough to protect a quarterback at a high level.

The NFL has a difficult time finding enough players who can protect a quarterback’s blind side, let alone address how the value of a good right tackle has narrowed significantly compared to its counterpart.

These two positions are now interchangeable, as evidenced by five of the top 10 highest-paid offensive tackles in average annual salary playing on the right side. In fact, the Detroit Lions’ Penei Sewell signed a market-setting contract extension this offseason with an AAV of $28 million and $85 million in total guaranteed money.

Traditionally, left tackle had been the sweet spot, and it still is to a degree. He’s the blindside protector in most instances. But the NFL is no longer in the days of Lawrence Taylor lining up as a right defensive end on nearly every play and pinning his ears back. Today’s top pass-rushers move up and down the line up scrimmage searching for a weak link.

Every team needs a pair of bookend tackles. That isn’t easy to achieve, though.

If anything, the NFL is experiencing a crisis regarding the development of quality offensive linemen. Due to practice and contact restrictions at multiple levels, it’s more difficult than ever to bring along a young blocker and have him fully prepared for the NFL.

The search will continue, but quality options aren’t plentiful.

There are two primary ways to win in the NFL. Either a franchise quarterback leads the way, or the defense can get to opposing quarterbacks and make their lives miserable.

Everyone knows how important quarterbacks are at every level of football. Teams must find players who can get into the head of those triggermen and disrupt the offensive rhythm. That’s particularly true in today’s NFL, where it’s more difficult than ever to establish a physical presence considering the halo that’s been created around quarterbacks.

A great pass-rusher can now come from any angle. Aaron Donald’s retirement took away one elite interior presence from the NFL, but Chris Jones, who plays all over the Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive front, signed a record-setting five-year, $158.8 million contract extension before free agency began in March.

Jones isn’t the only defensive lineman who broke the bank this offseason. Christian Wilkins, who is coming off a career-high nine sacks last season, signed a four-year, $110 million deal to join the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency. Justin Madubuike of the Baltimore Ravens exploded for 13 sacks this season and inked a four-year $98 million contract extension. Jacksonville Jaguars edge-rusher Josh Allen and New York Giants edge-rusher Brian Burns both landed big deals this offseason worth more than $140 million.

Jones, Wilkins, Madubuike, Allen and Burns are but the latest examples of defensive linemen cashing in. They don’t take into account previous monster deals signed by the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby, Green Bay Packers’ Rashan Gary, Miami Dolphins’ Bradley Chubb, Pittsburgh Steelers’ T.J. Watt, Buffalo Bills’ Von Miller, Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett or San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa, all of which exceeded $90 million.

If you can get after opposing quarterbacks at a high level, NFL teams will pay a premium.

Elite NFL quarterbacks become a part of the American tapestry. Every move that the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes makes is newsworthy. Former greats Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are still all over our televisions.

That’s because quarterback is the most difficult position to play in any sport. They must absorb an enormous amount of information and translate it to the field, where they need to make split-second decisions while some of the biggest and most athletic men on the planet are bearing down on them.

Teams draft quarterbacks in the first round knowing full well that they have a 50-50 shot (at best) of that player panning out. Even if they do become a quality starter, there’s a difference between being a capable starter and a difference-maker who can elevate his teammates.

In recent years, everyone has seen the evolution of the position based on how Mahomes, the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen play. Quarterbacks aren’t just quarterbacks anymore; they’re playmakers in the truest sense of the word.

No comparison exists in football when it comes to compensation. The game’s 10 highest-paid players and 14 of the top 16 are quarterbacks. If a team doesn’t have its long-term answer under center, it’s always searching for one.

The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, more so now than ever before.