2026 NFL WAR: The five most valuable players at every position this season

• Joe Burrow leads all players in Wins Above Replacement: Burrow's 2.63 WAR are nearly 0.50 more than any other quarterback.

• Evan Williams takes over as the highest-graded safety: The Packers‘ third-year star paces the position in PFF coverage grade.

• Two Browns defenders topping their charts: Quincy Williams and Denzel Ward are the NFL's most valuable linebacker and cornerback, respectively, thus far for a standout Cleveland defense.

It’s hard to fathom, but the 2026 NFL regular season is already more than halfway complete. While much has shifted around the league in only two months, certain players have continued to compile award-winning resumes, seemingly getting better each and every week.

There are multiple means of quantifying individual greatness, including anything from EPA per play to overall PFF grade to even more basic counting stats. However, a resounding metric is PFF’s signature Wins Above Replacement, which accounts for positional value and total impact made over the course of the year while weighing both snap counts and holistic success.

At the halfway point of this year, here are the five players with the highest WAR totals at every position. In many ways, this could be a portent of what the All-Pro teams could look like come January.

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Quarterback

1. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals – 2.33

2. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys – 1.85

3. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans – 1.69

4. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers – 1.59

5. Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings – 1.45

Burrow would probably have been the only name listed here anticipated before the start of the year. His 93.7 overall PFF grade and 92.5 PFF passing grade are easily the best among qualifiers, putting him in position to potentially take home his first career MVP award. Prescott’s 125 first downs lead the position, while Young and Stroud own the two lowest turnover-worthy play rates among qualified passers at 1.2% or lower. Cousins, the Vikings’ newest passer, is eighth in both positively and negatively graded play rates at the position in 2026.

Running Back

1. Kenneth Walker III, Kansas City Chiefs – 0.16

2. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions – 0.13

3. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons – 0.12

4. Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers – 0.12

5. Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers – 0.12

Walker enters Week 10 as the league’s highest-graded running back, leveraging a 90.2 PFF rushing grade in addition to an 87.4 PFF receiving mark. Gibbs and Robinson have remained as elusive and efficient as ever, ranking in the top five among missed tackles forced at the position. Warren has taken strides in 2026, leading the NFL in PFF rushing grade (91.1) while averaging a position-best 4.14 yards after contact per carry as well as 14.2 extra yards per reception. Hubbard’s 29 missed tackles forced and 16 explosive runs are each the eighth-most during what’s been a rebound season.

Wide Receiver

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks – 0.67

2. Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals – 0.65

3. Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals – 0.53

4. Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints – 0.45

5. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys – 0.44

Smith-Njigba is doing everything he can to secure another Offensive Player of the Year award, pacing all receivers in PFF receiving grade (92.9) and yards per route run (3.49). Higgins has made a certifiable jump after years of being underrated, owning the sixth-highest yards per route run (2.71) while dominating man coverage. Chase, Olave and Lamb all sit no lower than sixth in PFF receiving mark, sustaining their year-over-year dominance.

Tight End

1. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders – 0.30

2. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers – 0.26

3. Cade Otton, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 0.25

4. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals – 0.22

5. Isaiah Likely, New York Giants – 0.22

Any list of the game’s best tight ends simply has to include Bowers, Kittle and McBride, and it’s no surprise to see them incorporated through the first half of 2026. Bowers leads the position in overall PFF grade (90.4), with Kittle eight full points behind in second. Otton may not have been a ready guess for third, but his 71.7 PFF pass-blocking grade is the fourth-best among qualified tight ends. Likely has justified his big payday with New York, moving the chains 27 times already — the third-most at the position — while dropping only one pass.

Tackle

1. Darnell Wright, Chicago Bears – 0.42

2. Penei Sewell, Detroit Lions – 0.41

3. Jordan Mailata, Philadelphia Eagles – 0.34

4. Colton McKivitz, San Francisco 49ers – 0.30

5. Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers – 0.30

Wright has entrenched himself as one of the game’s premier tackles since the start of last season, ranking in the top 10 in PFF run- and pass-blocking grades in 2026. Sewell has had little trouble adjusting to left tackle, where his 93.2 PFF run-blocking mark is the best for any lineman. Mailata and Williams are two of the three tackles with 80.0-plus grades in both blocking categories, while the slept-on McKivitz has let up only nine pressures all year.

Guard

1. Quenton Nelson, Seattle Seahawks – 0.35

2. Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta Falcons – 0.31

3. Trey Smith, Kansas City Chiefs – 0.30

T-4. Joe Thuney, Chicago Bears – 0.28

T-4. Quinn Meinerz, Denver Broncos – 0.28

T-4. Matthew Bergeron, Atlanta Falcons – 0.28

T-4. Dalton Risner, Cincinnati Bengals – 0.28

Even at 30 years old and in the last year of his contract, there’s a reason Nelson — the league’s second-highest-graded guard — cost a third- and fifth-round pick to head to Seattle. Lindstrom has continued to excel as a run-blocker with a 90.1 PFF run-blocking grade and position-low 6.8% negatively graded run-block rate. Smith has rebounded nicely after a down 2025, with his 2.3% pressure rate given up the fifth-best at the position.

Center

1. Zach Frazier, Pittsburgh Steelers – 0.23

2. Erik McCoy, New Orleans Saints – 0.22

3. Juice Scruggs, Detroit Lions – 0.21

T-4. Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs – 0.20

T-4. Coleman Shelton, Los Angeles Rams – 0.20

T-4. Connor McGovern, Buffalo Bills – 0.20

Frazier’s third season as a pro has seen him elevate to lead the position in overall PFF grade (79.5), sitting no worse than fourth in either pass- or run-blocking. McCoy’s 82.8 PFF pass-blocking mark is the best, buoyed by giving up just five pressures over 352 pass-blocking snaps. With Cade Mays missing considerable time due to injury, Scruggs has looked like a sharp trade addition with an 80.0 PFF run-blocking grade over 262 pass-blocking snaps.

Interior Defender

1. Jeffery Simmons, Chicago Bears – 0.18

2. Zach Allen, Denver Broncos – 0.17

T-3. Alim McNeill, Detroit Lions – 0.10

T-3. Deone Walker, Buffalo Bills – 0.10

T-5. Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers – 0.09

T-5. Dexter Lawrence, Cincinnati Bengals – 0.09

T-5. Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams – 0.09

T-5. Quinnen Williams, Dallas Cowboys – 0.09

T-5. Gervon Dexter Sr., Atlanta Falcons – 0.09

T-5. Adetomiwa Adebawore, Indianapolis Colts – 0.09

After years of destroying games in Tennessee, Simmons is now in Chicago, where he’s proliferated his pass-rushing success with an 80.9 PFF pass-rush grade and eight pressures over two contests. Allen’s 38 pressures are the most among interior defenders, coming on a position-best 15.9% pass-rush win rate. McNeill and Walker both place in the top eight in PFF pass-rush grade among defensive linemen, while a logjam for fifth includes veteran stars as well as younger breakouts warranting their big paydays. While the Giants’ DJ Reader leads the position in overall PFF grade (90.0), his 289 snaps restrict his cumulative WAR.

Edge Rusher

1. Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit Lions – 0.14

2. Abdul Carter, New York Giants – 0.11

T-3. Will Anderson Jr., Houston Texans – 0.10

T-3. Nik Bonitto, Denver Broncos – 0.10

T-3. Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas Raiders – 0.10

Hutchinson has continued to wreck opposing offenses with a positional-best 90.9 PFF pass-rush grade and 21.7% pass-rush win rate. Carter has furthered his stardom by developing even more in his sophomore campaign, with his 82.5 PFF pass-rush grade the fifth-best among his counterparts. Anderson’s 26 stops lead all defensive linemen, while AFC West monsters Bonitto and Crosby both sit in the top 10 in pass-rush win rate out of qualified edge defenders.

Linebacker

1. Quincy Williams, Cleveland Browns – 0.12

T-2. Zack Baun, Philadelphia Eagles – 0.11

T-2. Blake Cashman, Minnesota Vikings – 0.11

T-2. Alex Singleton, Denver Broncos – 0.11

T-5. Fred Warner, San Francisco 49ers – 0.10

T-5. Ventrell Miller, Jacksonville Jaguars – 0.10

T-5. Carson Schwesinger, Cleveland Browns – 0.10

T-5. Arvell Reese, New York Giants – 0.10

Williams ties for the sixth-best overall PFF grade among linebackers (80.0), although his 589 snaps are the seventh-most and, crucially, well ahead of players like Warner and Miller. Baun has continued making plays on a down Eagles defense with an 80.0 PFF run-defense grade, while Cashman’s 16 pressures are second out of all linebackers. While Singleton has missed 14.3% of tackle attempts, he ranks in the top four in both PFF run-defense and pass-rush grades. The players tied for fifth include two of the three highest-graded linebackers in Miller and Warner, plus the 2025 and potentially 2026 Defensive Rookies of the Year.

Cornerback

1. Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns – 0.34

2. Jacob Parrish, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 0.24

3. Amik Robertson, Washington Commanders – 0.22

T-4. Trent McDuffie, Los Angeles Rams – 0.19

T-4. D.J. Reed, Detroit Lions – 0.19

T-4. Josh Wallace, Los Angeles Rams – 0.19

Ward has played like a first-team All-Pro this year, with his 91.8 PFF coverage grade the best among qualified defensive backs — and him consistently blanketing opponents’ WR1s. Parrish has broken out in earnest in Year 2 with an 18% forced incompletion rate and 14 stops. Robertson ranks no worse than 13^th in PFF run-defense and coverage grades at the position, looking like a prudent addition for Washington. McDuffie and Wallace are two of the three Rams among the top 10 corners in PFF coverage grade, helping form the league’s best and deepest cornerback unit.

Safety

1. Evan Williams, Green Bay Packers – 0.08

T-2. Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore Ravens – 0.06

T-2. Xavier McKinney, Green Bay Packers – 0.06

T-2. Jessie Bates III, Jacksonville Jaguars – 0.06

T-2. Dane Belton, New York Jets – 0.06

Supplanting Hamilton as the league’s highest-graded safety is a remarkable task, but Williams has done just that — leading the position in PFF coverage grade (91.0) and placing fourth in PFF run-defense mark (87.6). He and McKinney (80.0) have teamed up to forge the NFL’s highest-graded coverage unit. The versatile Hamilton ties for the positional lead with 23 stops while adding an 85.3 PFF run-defense grade. Bates’ 89.3 PFF coverage grade and 6.3% missed tackle rate are both top-nine marks among qualifiers, reflecting why the Jaguars paid top dollar to obtain him. Not to be forgotten, the 25-year-old Belton has turned in a career-best performance with a 91.1 PFF run-defense grade and miniscule 5.9% missed tackle rate.