Kansas City Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey continues to prove he’s the best center in the NFL with the latest accolade voted by his peers
Kansas City Chiefs C Creed Humphrey earns his second consecutive NFL Top 100 Players selection, proving he remains among the NFL’s elite offensive linemen.
Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey has been voted by his peers into the NFL Top 100 Players list for the second consecutive year.
The 2-time Super Bowl champion, 2-time First-Team All-Pro, and 4-time Pro Bowl selection landed at No. 94. Humphrey dropped just one spot from his No. 93 selection a season ago. He continues to cement his place among the NFL’s best offensive linemen. This recognition reinforces what Chiefs fans already know: Humphrey is one of the most dominant centers in football.
He’s been the Chiefs’ starting center since his rookie campaign after entering the league out of the University of Oklahoma as a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Humphrey has gone on to start 85 career regular-season games and 13 postseason games. He has never missed a start, stamping himself as one of the most reliable players in the NFL since the 2021 season.
Humphrey’s peers continue to vouch for his dominance
Two consecutive NFL Top 100 list selections confirm what the tape has shown for years. Humphrey continues to raise the bar for himself, and his peers have had impressive things to say about the way he plays the game.
“The guy is so damn strong,” Chiefs RG Trey Smith said. “Oh, man! He has a wrestling background. Watching him, you see similarities in what wrestlers do and what he does out there. He’s an old, tough-ass country boy. He makes my job a lot easier, playing next to a guy like that.”
Humphrey was the only center to appear on the 2025 Top 100 Players list, and while placement at No. 94 might invite debate, there is little denying that he deserves the honor. It is not yet clear whether he will again be the only center on the 2026 list. However, given what we know about last season and the fact that no other elite centers emerged during the 2025 campaign, it is highly likely Humphrey stands alone at the position once more.
One of Kansas City’s biggest rivals, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, offered a glowing endorsement in the selection video.
“Creed (Humphrey) is, you know, arguably the best center in the league,” Crosby said. “He’s just so dang big, he’s a big, violent dude. If you’re coming across on games and stuff like that, he’s not passive in any type of way; he’s coming to try to take your head off. It’s respect when you have guys that don’t back down. You know what I mean? Typically, the inside guys see any type of speed. He definitely fights fire with fire. I respect the way he plays.”
He wasn’t the only AFC West rival to give Humphrey his flowers.
“His game is real well-rounded,” Broncos DT Zach Allen said. “There’s not anything he struggles with. He’s big, but he’s also really good at climbing to the second level.”
When divisional rivals and two of the league’s premier pass rushers speak that highly of a center, it carries weight. Crosby and Allen’s comments reflect what opposing defensive linemen deal with every time they line up across from Humphrey.
Humphrey’s leadership role grows as the Chiefs’ offensive line evolves
Humphrey has stepped up his game as a leader alongside right guard Trey Smith in their first season since the team traded away Joe Thuney. Both players have served as anchors on the offensive line for Kansas City, but Humphrey has been the most reliable and steady presence in the middle, bringing together a unit that has seen many changes over the last several seasons.
Asked about what he improved on in 2025, he pointed to leadership as the biggest change.
“You know, probably leadership,” Humphrey said. ” We had Joe Thuney. He was kind of our leader the last couple of years. Then he moved on to Chicago. So, there was a role I kind of needed to step up in. Every week, you’re playing against top talent. You’ve got to show up. Make sure you’re on your X’s and O’s, ready to roll at every point.”
Consistency at center is one of the hardest things to find in the NFL, and Humphrey has provided exactly that since Day 1. The fact that he has done it while roster turnover swirled around him makes his production all the more impressive. He turned 27 years old and should have plenty of elite football left ahead of him.
That peer recognition is well-earned. Humphrey’s combination of physicality, intelligence, and durability makes him the standard at the center position. As long as he anchors the middle of Kansas City’s offensive line, the Chiefs will have one of the best foundations in football to build around.