See which Bears players made PFF’s top 50 players list

It’s that time of the year again when media outlets begin sharing their rankings of the NFL’s best players. Pro Football Focus unveiled their list of the top 50 players in the league, and there were a couple of Bears who made the cut.

Outside linebacker Khalil Mack and wide receiver Allen Robinson, who have been mainstays on lists like these over the last couple of years, represented the Bears on PFF’s list, both landing inside the top 35.

Mack was the highest ranked at sixth, landing ahead of the likes of Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and George Kittle. Mack was PFF’s top-graded edge rusher last season. Mack totaled 47 tackles, nine sacks, 13 quarterback hits, 16 hurries, three forced fumbles, three passes defensed, one interception and one safety in 2020. He was also voted to the All-Pro second team.

Mack was once again the highest-graded edge defender in the NFL last season, finishing the campaign with an overall PFF grade of 92.3. Only Mack and T.J. Watt finished the year with PFF grades above 90.0 in run defense and as a pass-rusher.

For Mack, it was his fifth PFF grade above 90.0 in seven years at the NFL level, with the other two seeing him slip only to the level of 86.0. He recorded 59 total pressures, including the playoffs.

Robinson landed at No. 34 on the list, which doesn’t come as a surprise following his impressive contributions despite inconsistent quarterback play. Last year, Robinson had 102 catches for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns, which marked his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.

Robinson has never had an even vaguely competent quarterback throwing him the football, and that dates back to at least high school and perhaps even beyond that. The likes of Christian Hackenberg, Blake Bortles, Mitchell Trubisky and post-deal-with-the-devil Nick Foles have meant that the version of Robinson we have seen is only a fraction of what he could be with a real quarterback.

Maybe Justin Fields can provide that once he gets on the field, but even without that competent quarterback, Robinson was the No. 5-graded receiver in the league last season with a mark of 88.4 overall. He is a perennial top-10 receiver who has achieved all that without the benefit of having a quality passer that most other great receivers have.

There’s certainly an argument to be made that linebacker Roquan Smith was snubbed from this list, as he has been on most, even coming off a breakout season in 2020 where he was one of the best linebackers in the game.