The NFL playoffs are down to the final four teams for the conference championship games, and as one could expect, each roster is loaded with some of the league’s best talent.
The two title matchups — the Kansas City Chiefs at the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game, followed by the Detroit Lions at the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game — feature a total of 13 first-team All-Pro selections, eight second-team All-Pro selections, and 26 Pro Bowl players.
With that in mind, if you combined the four teams in the NFL playoffs, who would be the top 25 players overall? Given the depth of talent, some hard choices needed to be made to trim the list to 25.
Below is our list, which includes eight 49ers, six Ravens, six Lions and five Chiefs. Please note that a top 25 ranking of individual players in the NFL playoffs does not suggest one team is better than another or predict how each team will perform on Sunday.
The players from each team who just missed the cut, but definitely have our attention and respect, are the following: Kansas City Chiefs — C Creed Humphrey; Baltimore Ravens — DE Jadeveon Clowney; Detroit Lions — S Ifeatu Melifonwu; San Francisco 49ers — CB Charvarius Ward.
Related: NFL Divisional Playoffs: 8 winners and losers
The top 25 players remaining in the NFL playoffs
25. Justin Tucker, Ravens K
Tucker is the GOAT among NFL kickers, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection who has made an all-time best 90.2 percent of his field-goal tries. Of the four remaining kickers in the NFL playoffs, this is the guy you want kicking your game-winning field goal.
24. Aiden Hutchinson, Lions DE
Hutchinson, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, just made his first Pro Bowl and finished the regular season with a team-best 11.5 sacks.
23. Deebo Samuel, 49ers WR
Samuel, who scored a total of 12 touchdowns in 2023, is questionable for the NFC Championship Game with a shoulder injury, but there’s no doubting his impact on the 49ers’ offense when he’s on the field.
22. Jared Goff, Lions QB
Goff, the former No. 1 overall pick in 2016, has flourished under offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and finished second in the NFL in passing yards (4,575) to go with 30 TD passes and 12 interceptions.
21. Patrick Queen, Ravens LB
Queen, who forms a stellar linebacking duo with Roquan Smith, was invited to his first Pro Bowl, while also being named a second-team All-Pro.
20. Joe Thuney, Chiefs G
Thuney, who has three Super Bowl rings with New England and Kansas City, is only getting better; he was selected as a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his eight-year career.
19. Sam LaPorta, Lions TE
LaPorta is the only rookie on this list, and for good reason: He set the NFL rookie record for receptions (86) and scored 10 touchdowns, only two short of Mike Ditka’s record set in 1961.
18. Justin Madubuike, Ravens DT
The Ravens led the NFL in sacks, and no one was better than Madubuike, a second-team All-Pro, who led the way with 13 sacks, which included sacks in 11 straight games.
17. Brock Purdy, 49ers QB
For all the talk about Purdy being a “system quarterback” or a “game manager,” he answered with arguably the best season of any NFL quarterback, leading the league in QB rating, QBR, yards per attempt and TD percentage. And he just led his first game-winning drive in the NFL playoffs.
16. Trent McDuffie, Chiefs CB
McDuffie, in only his second season, has become a big-play machine for a much-improved Chiefs’ defense, leading the way with five forced fumbles and getting recognized as a first-team All-Pro as a slot corner.
15. Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers WR
Aiyuk, the NFL’s top-rated receiver according to Pro Football Focus, has been the 49ers’ leading receiver the past two seasons, registering his second straight 1,000-yard season and being selected as a second-team All-Pro.
14. Frank Ragnow, Lions C
In debates about who is the NFC’s best center, it’s either Jason Kelce or Ragnow, who was just selected to his third Pro Bowl and was named Pro Football Focus’ top center.
13. Kyle Hamilton, Ravens S
In only his second NFL season, Hamilton has emerged as one of the game’s best do-everything defenders, one who can cover receivers, stuff running backs in the run game, and sack the quarterback on blitzes.
12. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions WR
A three-year pro, St. Brown is already among the game’s best go-to receivers; he tied for second in receptions (119), finished third in receiving yards (1,515) and scored 10 touchdowns to receive first-team All-Pro honors.
11. Nick Bosa, 49ers DE
It might seem odd to put a reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year just outside the top 10, but Bosa’s 10.5 sacks fell well short of his normal output, even though PFF rated him the league’s second-best edge defender.
The Top 10 players left in the NFL playoffs
10. Roquan Smith, Ravens LB
Smith is a four-time first-team All-Pro as one of the league’s best linebackers, and he’s the unquestioned leader of a Ravens’ No. 1 ranked scoring defense.
9. Travis Kelce, Chiefs TE
A nine-time Pro Bowl performer, Kelce could end up as the greatest receiving tight end in NFL history, but statistically he’s had a down year compared to past seasons.
8. Fred Warner, 49ers LB
Warner, the 49ers’ defensive captain, is arguably the NFL’s best linebacker, a three-time All-Pro who’s excelled equally against the run (four forced fumbles) and in pass coverage (four interceptions).
7. Chris Jones, Chiefs DT
Jones, now in his ninth season, is an absolute beast and the heart of the Chiefs’ defense, notching 10.5 sacks to earn his second straight first-team All-Pro selection.
6. George Kittle, 49ers TE
Among the game’s tight ends, Kittle, a five-time Pro Bowler, has set himself apart as both a receiver and a blocker; he led the way in receiving yards (1,020) and yards per catch (15.7), earned PFF’s highest overall grade at his position, and was named a first-team All-Pro.
5. Trent Williams, 49ers LT
An 11-time Pro Bowler, Williams is one of the game’s all-time greats at offensive tackle and is still playing at a peak level according to PFF, which ranked him second to only the guy above him on this list among the game’s offensive tackles in 2023.
4. Penei Sewell, Lions RT
In his third season, Sewell is already revered as an equal to Williams; he finished with best overall PFF score among the game’s offensive tackles and earned his first first-team All-Pro selection.
3. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs QB
It wasn’t his best regular season, but he’s still Patrick Mahomes, a two-time Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP and NFL MVP, and that matters greatly going into his sixth straight AFC Championship Game.
2. Christian McCaffrey, 49ers RB
McCaffrey, the rushing champion who scored a league-best 21 touchdowns to go with 2,023 yards from scrimmage, is both the NFL’s best running back and No. 1 offensive weapon who doesn’t play quarterback.
1. Lamar Jackson, Ravens QB
There’s been no better player in the NFL this season that Jackson, the ultimate dual-threat quarterback who’s on his way to his second NFL Most Valuable Player while ravaging defenses with his feet and his arm.