Power-Ranking Every Player in Super Bowl LIV

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Associated Press

25. Joe Staley, OT, 49ers

Staley is one of the best tackles in football and will have his hands full with a potent Chiefs pass rush. 

24. Mike McGlinchey, T, 49ers

Next to Person, McGlinchey is one of the more important players in the Super Bowl. Aside from his role in the running game, if he needs help on the edge against pass-rushers, the 49ers may not be able to deploy all the weapons they want to in the passing attack.

23. Laken Tomlinson, G, 49ers

From Detroit castaway to a mauler and bully for a Super Bowl running game, Tomlinson will help swing Sunday's result.

22. Deebo Samuel, WR, 49ers

The second-round pick burst onto the scene this year with 800-plus yards and three scores. He's averaging 17.6 yards per catch in the playoffs and heads to a Super Bowl where one big play could decide the result.

21. Derrick Nnadi, DT, Chiefs

Can the big man in the middle free up his pass-rushers to get after the 49ers? Whether he can lock down the trenches could decide if the Niners can impose their will on the ground.

20. Mitchell Schwartz, T, Chiefs

Schwartz is one of the best in the NFL at what he does, hence the 84.0 grade at Pro Football Focus. He's set for epic matchups against potent 49ers edge-rushers.

19. Fred Warner, LB, 49ers

Warner hit home on three sacks and seven pressures this year in a key role. Whether he can lock down his area of the field could help determine Mahomes' level of success.

18. Anthony Hitchens, LB, Chiefs

Hitchens is a leader in the middle of the Chiefs defense even if he didn't have the best season. His attitude and consistency against the run will be crucial.

17. Damien Wilson, LB, Chiefs

It's a similar story for Wilson, who will need a steady game when he's on the field after appearing in 16 this year.

16. Mecole Hardman, WR, Chiefs

Like Samuel, Hardman didn't need long to make an impression. The second-round pick slotted into the Kansas City attack and put up 500-plus yards and six scores while averaging more than 20 yards per catch.

15. Arik Armstead, DL, 49ers

The owner of 17 hurries and 35 pressures this year, Armstead forms a wicked tandem with the likes of Nick Bosa that could fluster Mahomes unlike anything he's faced in the playoffs.

14. Sammy Watkins, WR, Chiefs

Watkins didn't have the biggest year, scoring just three times, but his presence and veteran status combined with his potential for big plays means he could unexpectedly have a massive game.

13. Raheem Mostert, RB, 49ers

Mostert, previously a journeyman running back, has been a hero of the postseason for the 49ers. After scoring eight times during the regular season, he has posted 278 yards on a 6.8 average and four touchdowns over two playoff games.

12. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, 49ers

A savvy veteran, Sanders arrived in October and fit right in with the 49ers over 10 games, going for 500-plus yards and three scores. He hasn't put up big numbers in the playoffs, but the Super Bowl 50 champion is no stranger to postseason production or Super Bowl showings.

11. Chris Jones, DT, Chiefs

Jones isn't necessarily a household name, but he's one of the game's most dominant forces in the trenches. Odds are he'll have a much bigger reputation after the Super Bowl.

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Josie Lepe/Associated Press

DeForest Buckner didn't make the biggest splash after the 49ers made him the seventh pick in the 2016 draft.

While the Oregon product didn't match expectations out of the gate compared to his high draft slot, he's since played a key role in San Francisco's massive turnaround.

This year, Buckner played in all 16 games for the third consecutive season, putting up 7.5 sacks, five quarterback knockdowns, seven hurries and 20 pressures along with 61 tackles while missing just three.

A mauler against the run who commands offensive attention and frees up his fellow pass-rushers, the 6'7″ Buckner could end up making a Lombardi Trophy-deciding play or two.

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Ed Zurga/Associated Press

Charged with playing a key role in helping one of the worst defenses in the NFL transition into a complementary asset for Patrick Mahomes' offense, Frank Clark largely succeeded in 2019.

In his first season with the Chiefs, he got on the field for 14 games and forced three fumbles, grabbed an interception and hit home on eight sacks and 27 pressures. While some of his output didn't match that of his Seattle days, it is hard to complain about a new arrival who has a strong ripple effect on an entire unit.

He has surged in the postseason through two appearances, putting up eight total tackles and four sacks.

Clark not only has game-breaking potential; his mere presence will also encourage the 49ers into a quick-moving attack potentially away from where he lines up. Rest assured No. 55 has been highlighted on film in San Francisco meeting rooms.

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Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Nobody said the Super Bowl wouldn't have familiar faces because the usual quarterbacks aren't playing.

Richard Sherman is on an incredible career rebound after tearing his Achilles and getting released by the Seahawks. He joined an NFC West rival and is now playing in a Super Bowl for the third time at just 31 years of age.

While some might throw out semantics about whether Sherman plays zone or on an island, the fact remains he's a workhorse (played 87 percent of snaps, highest since 2016) who helped uplift a top defense. He picked off three passes this year on 69 targets, allowing 43 completions on a 62.3 percentage and a 64.1 rating with just one touchdown surrendered over 15 games.

Given his skill, the storyline surrounding him and the weight of what's at stake, it's going to be fun to see him square off with a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes.

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Colin E. Braley/Associated Press

Tyreek Hill only got on the field for 12 games in 2019, but he still piled up 860 yards and seven touchdowns on 14.8 yards per catch, once again assuring the 2016 fifth-round pick a spot among the league's top weapons.

The speedster remains a crucial chess piece in Andy Reid's attack. Hill put up 39 first downs on his 58 catches, dropping just three and blazing 585 of his total yards before the catch.

A deep threat without comparison, he has zoomed through the postseason with relative ease, catching eight of his 11 targets for 108 yards and a 13.5 average with two touchdowns.

His efficiency should have the 49ers worried. But so too should the idea that Reid and his staff had an extra week to draw up some creative, never-before-seen looks with perhaps the NFL's most dangerous weapon, be it as a receiver or otherwise.



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Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Talk about a story of meeting expectations for Jimmy Garoppolo.

Garoppolo suffered a season-ruining torn ACL last year but has more than made up for it in what amounts to his debut season as the franchise quarterback for the 49ers. In a savvy tandem with Kyle Shanahan, he completed 69.1 percent of his passes with 3,978 yards and 27 touchdowns against 13 interceptions.

While he isn't going to pop off the stat sheet or the television screen like his Super Bowl counterpart, he led four fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives for a 13-win team and averaged more than eight yards per attempt with a touchdown percentage of 5.7.

Garoppolo hasn't had to do much in the playoffs, attempting just 27 passes over two games with hardly over 200 yards passing. But if the Chiefs defense focuses on the running game, it'll fall to Shanahan's chosen quarterback to go out and win the game.

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Ed Zurga/Associated Press

Arguably the biggest name among the elite talent at tight end in this game, Travis Kelce rolls into the Super Bowl as one of Patrick Mahomes' favorite targets and figures to receive plenty of attention from the 49ers.

Kelce put up at least 1,000 yards for the fourth consecutive season and scored at least five times for the third straight season. The size (6'5″, 260 pounds), catch radius and matchup-inducing nightmares he creates for defensive coordinators make him one of the most dynamic talents in football.

He played north of 90 percent of his team's snaps for the second straight year. He posted 65 first downs with more than 400 yards coming after the catch, and he dropped just eight of his 136 targets.

Kelce erupted in the divisional round during a 51-point outburst for the Chiefs, catching 10 of his 12 targets for 134 yards and three touchdowns. The 49ers have to throw lots of resources his way to make sure he doesn't open things up for the rest of the attack, slotting him high in the power rankings.

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Ben Margot/Associated Press

This Super Bowl doesn't have a Rob Gronkowski, but it doesn't fall short of offering up two players at the position who represent the next era.

One is San Francisco's George Kittle, a 2017 fifth-round pick who put up 1,300-plus yards and five scores with a bad quarterback situation a year ago. He followed up with 1,053 yards and five more scores this season.

Kittle is an offense-altering presence because of the relief he provides a unit without an elite wideout or running back. His blend of athleticism, size (6'4″, 250 pounds) and catch radius makes it all possible. He picked up 53 first downs with 602 yards after the catch this year, dropping just two passes.

Don't forget him in the running game—there's a reason he checked in with a 95.0 grade at Pro Football Focus this year. Kittle might not be the biggest name at his position in the game, but he has the potential to have the bigger impact.

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Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Nick Bosa didn't need long to help propel a team to a Super Bowl, and he might not need much longer to have a Super Bowl-defining play too.

That's just how things have gone for him at the pro level since the 49ers made him the second pick in the 2019 draft.

He played in all 16 games as a rookie and grabbed a forced fumble and interception, getting after passers to the tune of 24 hurries, 12 quarterback knockdowns, nine sacks and 45 pressures. It wasn't a one-dimensional performance either, not with a stellar 86.7 grade at Pro Football Focus.

Bosa hasn't turned off the gas in the postseason with 10 total tackles and three sacks over two games while shuttering potent Minnesota and Green Bay offenses. If there is a big play to be made in the Super Bowl, Bosa is probably going to be involved.

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Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

One of the most beloved personalities in the NFL moved from Houston to Kansas City over the offseason and kept on doing what he does, helping to spur a rebuilding defense into a contender while switching to a new scheme.

Tyrann Mathieu had another elite season, playing at least 97 percent of his defense's snaps for the third consecutive season. He remains one of the NFL's most versatile, dangerous weapons and put the proof in the numbers again with two sacks, 75 tackles, four interceptions and 12 passes defensed.

In coverage, quarterbacks tried Mathieu 80 times, and he only allowed 45 catches (56.3 percent) at 5.1 yards per target.

Sitting on 12 postseason tackles with three passes defensed, Mathieu is one of those rare talents who could swing the big game outright and perhaps win some individual honors in the process.

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Ed Zurga/Associated Press

There aren't many fitting words left to describe Patrick Mahomes. His no-look passes, impossible-to-bring-down nature and amazing traits help him put up video game numbers and place him first in these rankings.

Mahomes missed two games in 2019 yet completed 65.9 percent of his passes with 4,031 yards and 26 touchdowns against just five interceptions, following up well on his MVP season.

That's only a 5.4 touchdown percentage compared to 8.6 the year prior, but many other numbers hovered around the same areas, and he lowered his turnovers. One could argue Mahomes has saved his best for the playoffs, where he's completed 65.7 percent of his passes with 615 yards and eight touchdowns against no picks, including a casual come-from-behind win after falling in a 24-0 hole against Houston in the divisional round.

While San Francisco is sure to have drummed up some exotic, unexpected looks for the Super Bowl, the safest bet seems to be at least another steady performance from the best quarterback in the game today.

Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.

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