NFL ‘elite player’ test exposes a myth Lions fans keep hearing — and Detroit comes out on top
Hey, it’s June — so yeah, it’s fight-with-the-fans season. We graded every NFL roster using a strict 100-point model (production, efficiency, impact, durability). The result flips a lot of assumptions about “super teams,” and where Detroit actually stands.
Hey, it’s June. What do you want from me? It’s fight with the fans time.
One thing I think a good number of Detroit Lions fans want to believe all the time is that a bunch of other teams have a ton of elite players and keep trading for more all the time. It’s just not true. So here’s a scientific way to disprove it and how we did it.
We built a simple but strict way to cut through the noise on what actually makes an NFL player “elite.”
Instead of leaning on reputation, Pro Bowls, or raw counting stats, we graded every player on a 100-point scale that blends production, efficiency, impact on winning, film gravity, and durability/consistency. Each category carries its own weight, so no single stat or highlight-driven narrative can inflate a player’s value.
From there, we set a clear cutoff—85 and above is elite, with 90+ reserved for the true game-changers who force entire game plans to shift around them. Once every player is graded, we simply count how many elite players each team has, split into true elite and high-end elite tiers, and use that as a clean snapshot of roster strength across the league. Here’s what we came away with:
How the Lions match up against the rest of the league in terms of having elite players
| team | true elite (90+) | high-end elite (85–89) | total elite |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Nick Bosa, Christian McCaffrey | Trent Williams, Fred Warner, George Kittle | 5 |
| Eagles | Jalen Carter, Lane Johnson | Jalen Hurts, Quinyon Mitchell | 4 |
| Lions | Jahmyr Gibbs, Penei Sewell | Amon-Ra St. Brown, Aidan Hutchinson | 4 |
| Bengals | Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase | Tee Higgins | 3 |
| Chiefs | Patrick Mahomes | Chris Jones, Creed Humphrey | 3 |
| Cowboys | Brandon Aubrey | CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott | 3 |
| Chargers | — | Justin Herbert, Derwin James | 2 |
| Colts | — | Jonathan Taylor, Sauce Gardner | 2 |
| Steelers | — | T.J. Watt | 1 |
| Rams | Myles Garrett, Matthew Stafford | — | 2 |
| Patriots | A.J. Brown, Christian Gonzalez | — | 2 |
| Bills | Josh Allen | James Cook | 2 |
| Broncos | Patrick Surtain II | Garrett Boles | 2 |
| Ravens | Lamar Jackson | — | 1 |
| Texans | Will Anderson Jr. | — | 1 |
| Jets | — | Minkah Fitzpatrick | 1 |
| Packers | Micah Parsons | — | 1 |
| Raiders | Maxx Crosby | — | 1 |
| Vikings | Justin Jefferson | — | 1 |
| Buccaneers | Tristan Wirfs | — | 1 |
| Falcons | Bijan Robinson | Jessie Bates III | 1 |
| Titans | — | Jeffery Simmons | 1 |
| Giants | — | Brian Burns | 1 |
| Panthers | — | Derrick Brown | 1 |
| Seahawks | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | — | 1 |
| Dolphins | — | — | 0 |
| Browns | — | — | 0 |
| Commanders | — | — | 0 |
| Jaguars | — | — | 0 |
| Saints | — | — | 0 |
| Cardinals | — | — | 0 |
| Bears | – | – | 0 |
Look, I know what you’re going to say. ” You cheated to make sure the Lions had the most, or something like that. The thing is that this isn’t like a Google Sheets thing I made. This was coded with the parameters we listed above, and this is what came out.
The Lions have the second-most elite players on one single team in the NFL, according to this methodology, which is more than “bro, trust me. Tucker Kraft is the best tight end who has ever lived. Go Packers.”
The point of the story I’m trying to tell here is that there isn’t some magical team out there stockpiling elite players. Most of the league just has the same number of guys for the most part. I’d also note that the overwhelming amount of these guys were drafted by the teams they play for.
What matters is how you surround those guys. This is where Lions fans might be able to make a strong argument, but the retort would simply be to say that the Lions have surrounded these guys with good players; they just can’t keep them healthy.
They were 31st in the NFL in adjusted games lost to injury in 2025 and 25th in 2024. They have some of the worst injury luck in NFL history at this point. But that does not mean they don’t have some of the best players in the NFL.