Four Chiefs make first release of PFF’s Top 101 of the 2010s

A little over a month ago, football analytics site Pro Football Focus released its All-Decade Team for the 2010s. No Kansas City Chiefs made the list — although Travis Kelce, Derrick Johnson and Mitchell Schwartz were given second-team honors.

This week, PFF is releasing its Top 101 NFL players of the decade — starting with Monday’s release of number 75 through 101. Four Chiefs made bottom quarter of the list:

78. EDGE Tamba Hali

Before J.J. Watt came along, Tamba Hali owned the record for the most total pressures registered in a single season, posting 97 back in 2010. Including the playoffs, Hali got up to 103 pressures that year, which still ranks as one of the most prolific pass-rushing performances we have ever graded at PFF. That season marked the high-point in Hali’s career, a level that he never quite got back to. However, he was a consistently productive pass rusher for years before seeing a decline in the last few seasons of his career. At his best, Hali was one of the most unstoppable pass rushers in the game.

Hali came in ahead of the Arizona Cardinals’ Chandler Jones (80) and the Cincinnati Bengals’ Carols Dunlap (89).

86. RB Jamaal Charles

One of the fastest running backs to play the game, Jamaal Charles had track speed that would break angles and statistics because of how difficult he was to hit, let alone tackle. Though the decade caught only the last few seasons of his career, the sample size for running backs is lower than it is for most positions. And even in those seasons, Charles averaged 5.3 yards per carry, 2.5 of which came after contact. He forced 157 missed tackles on 1,151 carries and generated a first down or touchdown on 26% of his carries.

As we’ve seen in our Ranking the Chiefs series — which will continue on Saturday with Craig Stout’s top five all-time Chiefs — Charles is considered by many Chiefs fans as the greatest running back in franchise history. On this list, he comes in ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Le’veon Bell (92).

100. T Mitchell Schwartz

Mitchell Schwartz has been one of the best offensive linemen of the past decade. His run to the Super Bowl last season was one of the greatest postseason performances in NFL history by any player at any position, but it went largely unnoticed because he’s a tackle. Schwartz was a good player in Cleveland to begin his career, but his final season there hinted at how good he could become. In Kansas City, he has kicked on to another level and is able to shut down some of the game’s best pass-rushers in the AFC West. Schwartz has racked up almost 9,000 total snaps over the decade, and it took until last season for him to miss any.

Schwartz, in fact, became an All-Pro in his third season with the Chiefs. PFF has him behind the Philadelphia Eagles’ Lane Johnson (79), the New Orleans Saints’ Terron Armstead (82) and the Green Bay Packers’ David Bakhtiari (84).

101. S Eric Berry

Much of Eric Berry’s legacy will revolve around beating cancer to return to play at an extremely high level. In addition to that incredible achievement, Berry was one of the best players of the past decade. He showed incredible versatility within the Kansas City Chiefs‘ defense, excelling as a deep-lying free safety as well as an in-the-box joker on defense. It speaks to his skill set that his best seasons in terms of overall PFF grade (both well above 85.0) came in completely different roles and responsibilities within the defense.

For many Chiefs fans, Berry’s legacy will likely always be tarnished by his final season. But when healthy — which wasn’t often enough during his nine seasons with the team — he was a force, garnering five Pro Bowl nods and three All-Pro selections. On this list, he is behind the Tennessee Titans’ Kevin Byard (93).