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CBS Sports includes 8 Lions in Top 100 players of 2025 list
A list released Tuesday includes eight Detroit Lions among the best 100 players in the NFL entering the 2025-26 season.
CBS Sports senior NFL columnist Pete Prisco's NFL Top 100 players of 2025 list is headlined by star players at the top including Patrick Mahomes at No. 1 and Saquon Barkley at No. 3. The first Lions player doesn't appear until outside the top 10.
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Lions superstar edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson slots in at No. 15 coming off of last season's injury that put a halt to his Defensive Player of the Year campaign. To his credit, Prisco ranked Hutchinson No. 47 before the start of last season.
Hutchinson fell below other top pass rushers on this year's list including Myles Garrett (No. 2), Micah Parsons (No. 10), and T.J. Watt (No. 11). He's just a few spots ahead of Chris Jones (No. 18) and Trey Hendrickson (No. 26).
The next Lion ranked is right tackle Penei Sewell at No. 21. Prisco acknowledged in his list that Sewell is in the conversation for best right tackle in the NFL, but did have him ranked at No. 17 in last season's list.
The only right tackle ranked ahead of Sewell is longtime Eagles O-lineman Lane Johnson (No. 12).
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A couple more scrolls down this list is running back Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 32. Gibbs had a stellar 2024-25 season while splitting time with David Montgomery and is expected to build on that this season.
Prisco didn't have Gibbs ranked ahead of last season. He only trails Barkley at No. 3 and Derrick Henry at No. 14 on this year's list.
The gap at this point in the list is a bit jarring, getting all the way outside the top 50 before getting to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown at No. 58. St. Brown finished second in the NFL in catches last season and was ranked No. 39 on Prisco's list entering last season.
St. Brown surprisingly fell behind several other receivers on this list including Brian Thomas Jr. (No. 44) and Malik Nabers (No. 45). Even sitting a spot behind Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield at No. 57 seems like a stretch.
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The list lumps the Lions' talented safety duo fairly close together at this point in the list with Kerby Joseph at No. 60 and Brian Branch at No. 65. Neither of them were ranked on Prisco's list last season, but they were one of the bright spots on a struggling defensive unit by the time the playoffs rolled around.
Quarterback Jared Goff comes in at No. 77 after having the best year of his career last season. He moved down only one spot from last season's list. He's several spots below peers like Jalen Hurts (No. 52) and Mayfield (No. 57), but is sitting well ahead of Dak Prescott (No. 90) and Jordan Love (No. 92).
The last Lion on this list is tight end Sam LaPorta at No. 86. It's a steep drop from his spot on last season's list (No. 58), but his numbers did see a steep decline compared to his rookie season.
Still, LaPorta is ranked ahead of Travis Kelce (No. 96) and is one of only five tight ends included in the top 100.
You can see Prisco's full list here.
This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: These 8 Lions made CBS Sports list of the top 100 players of 2025
