It’s 2029. Tom Brady has completed his purchase of the New England Patriots, while Jerry Jones, 86, has just fired Bill Belichick, 77, as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. The NFL is still the king of global sports, and some of today’s stars continue to lead the way as we approach 2030.
If you think writers who publish mock drafts the day after the current NFL Draft ends are crazy, then what I’m about to do is absolutely crazy. This is the final boss of the polarizing part of the offseason we’ve dubbed “list szn.” Who will be the best football players in five years? That’s what I’m here today to speculate recklessly about.
I’m going to talk about the top 10 players in the NFL heading into the 2029 season. Not all of these players will be household names. I’m not sure many had Patrick Mahomes challenging Brady for the title of all-time quarterback on their bingo cards during his time at Texas Tech, so I’m going to have to dig into the college ranks to back players who may or may not live up to the hype. These names range in age, with some players entering the latter stages of their NFL careers in 2029, while others will be entering their prime. Let’s start with a young talent making a name for himself in Boulder.
10. Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado (26 years old)
Hunter shocked the college football recruiting world when he committed to Jackson State University to play for Deion Sanders as the No. 1 prospect in the class. He played cornerback and receiver, and continued to play on both sides of the ball after following Sanders to Colorado. In his first season with the Buffaloes, he caught 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns, and had 30 tackles, along with three interceptions and five pass deflections.
With Colorado now a member of the Big 12, Hunter was selected to the preseason All-Conference team as a defensive back. We predict he will be a high-level NFL draft pick and even contribute to all three phases of the game, like Troy Brown did for the Patriots in 2004. Ultimately, Hunter will stand out as a cornerback due to his athleticism and ball skills, but his versatility will add to his “legend.”
9. Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State (23 years old)
If we’re talking about the best players in the NFL in five years, at least one of them will be very, very young. I’d go with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the Ohio State freshman who hasn’t even played a single college football game, but he could very well be the star of tomorrow. Find out CBS Sports Profile on this kid.
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Ohio State freshman led Chaminade-Madonna Prep to a 14-0 record that earned it its third straight state title, and his numbers are straight out of “Road to Glory” mode. Smith has 88 catches for 1,376 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2023. It’s no wonder he’s the first receiver to be ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in the Top247 rankings since 247 Sports began them in 2010.
Smith also had a strong spring in Columbus, becoming the first Ohio State freshman to have the black stripe removed from his helmet. It will be fun to see if he can make an immediate impact at one of the schools that claim to be a “WRU.”
Gardner was recently appointed best cornerback in the NFL by CBS Sports, as he allowed the fewest yards per target (4.6) over the past two seasons. The Cincinnati product led the league with 20 pass deflections in his first NFL season, and added 75 tackles as he won Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Gardner is the seventh cornerback in the last half-century to make the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons, and the first cornerback to be named first-team All-Pro in his first two seasons since Dick Harris in 1961.
Chase has topped 1,000 receiving yards in all three of his NFL seasons, including an incredible rookie campaign in which he caught 81 passes for 1,455 yards and 13 touchdowns. Last season, he caught 100 passes for 1,216 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns while Joe Burrow missed seven games due to injury. Chase is one of the best receivers in the NFL and is poised to break the bank soon. He and Burrow, who of course also played together at LSU, should form a dynamic duo for years to come.
Alt was CBS Sports’ No. 7 overall prospect in the last class, but that number may be low. After all, the Notre Dame product was selected No. 5 overall. The 2023 unanimous All-American stands 6-foot-1, weighs 300 pounds and posted the highest overall PFF grade (90.7) by an FBS offensive lineman last season. Alt has allowed just one sack in 740 pass-blocking snaps over the past two years, according to Next Gen Stats, and has reached 14.14 miles per hour in the first five yards of his final 40-yard dash time of 5.05 seconds at the NFL Combine, which is the fastest speed recorded by an offensive lineman in the first five yards of the 40 in the last two combines.
I realize Alt hasn’t played a single NFL game, but he looks like one of those guys who’s going to be an elite offensive tackle for a decade-plus. His father was even a first-round offensive tackle and is a Hall of Famer with the Kansas City Chiefs.
It was only one year, but it was a hell of a year. In 15 games, Stroud completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just five interceptions. His 273.9 passing yards per game led the league, as did his 1.0 percent interception percentage. Stroud had the highest TD-INT ratio against winning teams in NFL HISTORY, including the playoffs, and he became the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game. The Texans went from worst to first place in the AFC South, and look like legitimate contenders if Stroud can build on his historic rookie season.
4. Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals (32 years old)
In 2024, the story around Burrow is his health, as he has suffered season-ending injuries in two of his four years in the league. The questions are warranted, but everyone will forget that story if Burrow succeeds in 2024 and wins the MVP award. Everyone knows Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and it’s fair to wonder how much grit he really has. The former first overall pick is a cerebral player who could age like fine wine if he can stay on the field.
The NFL’s leading receiver isn’t going away anytime soon. Despite missing seven games due to injury in 2023, Jefferson averaged a career-high 107.4 receiving yards per game and still finished in the top 20 in receiving yards. He became one of only three players to reach 1,000 receiving yards in 10 games or fewer. Jefferson recorded the most receiving yards in the first four seasons of a player in NFL history (5,899) and holds the most receiving yards per game in NFL history (98.3). So yeah, he should still be good in 2029.
2. Micah Parsons, EDGE, Dallas Cowboys (30)
Parsons is already a great pass rusher and he continues to improve. In his third NFL season at age 24, Parsons recorded 14 sacks, 64 combined tackles, 33 QB hits, and 18 tackles for loss. He recorded the most pressures in the NFL with 103, and the best pass rush win rate among edge defenders (35%). With his athleticism and versatility, imagine the kind of animal he’s going to become as he continues to gain more and more experience. Parsons has only played 50 NFL games! He’s going to be very good for a long time.
1. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs (34)
Mahomes is the No. 1 pick in 2024 and could still be No. 1 in 2029 at age 34. If Mahomes got the 2023 Chiefs offense to the Super Bowl, he could do it any year — but I guess we already knew that. He’s already a Hall of Famer and, crazy as it may sound, he’s on pace to surpass Brady as the greatest of all time. Losing Travis Kelce and Andy Reid in the coming years will be tough, but Mahomes is one of those rare individual players who can determine the outcome of a team sport.