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We're just about a week away from Super LVIII, which will pit the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers against each other. This is the second time in recent memory that these two teams have met in the big game, with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes earning his first Super Bowl ring when these teams last met.
There are a lot of really talented players competing in this year's Super Bowl, but who is the best of the best?
Let's look at the 10 best players in Super Bowl LVIII.
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10. Rashee Rice - WR, KC
Maybe this rating is a little bit high for Chiefs rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice, but it reflects his importance to this receiving game. Rice has emerged as the No. 1 wide receiver for Kansas City, which has really smoothed a lot of issues over with this offense.
While Rice has been relatively quiet in the past two games, he came up big in the Wild Card Round against Miami, catching eight passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. Rice had 10 games with at least 50 receiving yards during the regular season for KC. He finished his rookie campaign with 79 catches for 938 yards and seven touchdowns.
9. Brock Purdy - QB, SF
Ranking Brock Purdy is probably the toughest part of this entire list. Ask some people and they wouldn't have him on it at all. Ask others and he might be near the top after he led the 49ers to the NFC's top seed.
It's fair to call Purdy a game manager, but he sure has been a heck of a good one this season. The second-year quarterback out of Iowa State led the NFL in several passing stats, including touchdown percentage, yards per attempt, and QBR. Overall, he completed 69.4% of his pass attempts for 4,280 yards and 31 touchdowns. He hasn't been great in the postseason, but he's done enough to get the Niners to the Super Bowl.
8. Fred Warner - LB, SF
The sixth-year pro out of BYU is coming off arguably his best NFL season. Warner picked off four passes this year, his best mark ever, and his 132 tackles rank behind only his 2021 season. He's a versatile defender who can make an impact in both the passing game and the run game.
7. Nick Bosa - DE, SF
If the 49ers are going to win this Super Bowl, they'll have to put pressure on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Nick Bosa is the player who is most expected to take on that role, as he had 10.5 sacks this season and 53.5 sacks during his five-year NFL career. That includes a league-high 18.5 sacks last season. Bosa hit opposing quarterbacks 35 times in 17 games this season, so the Chiefs are going to have to find a way to keep him out of the backfield.
6. Trent Williams - LT, SF
Kansas City has a really talented defense. The team ranked second to the Ravens this year in sacks with 57 and hurried opposing quarterbacks on 9.8% of dropbacks, the third-highest rate in the NFL. This 49ers offensive line is going to have to work hard to keep Brock Purdy upright, with a lot of that pressure falling on the head of Trent Williams. He should be up for the task though, as Williams just made First-Team AP All-Pro for the third season in a row and the Pro Bowl for the 11th season in a row.
5. George Kittle - TE, SF
Coming into 2023, George Kittle hadn't had a 1,000-yard season since 2019. That changed this past season though, as the former Iowa tight end caught 65 passes for 1,020 yards and six touchdowns. The tight ends have a chance to be the stars of this year's Super Bowl and while Kittle doesn't quite measure up from a career perspective to Travis Kelce, his 2023 regular season was arguably better. KC allowed the ninth-fewest receiving yards to opposing tight ends this season, but Kittle's just a matchup nightmare and should be able to find space to make a few big plays.
4. Travis Kelce - TE, KC
Travis Kelce might be the most famous NFL player on the planet right now because of his relationship with Taylor Swift, but he's only the fourth-best NFL player in this year's Super Bowl. That's not meant as a read or anything though, because being a top-five player in this year's Super Bowl is a big accomplishment. Kelce failed to hit 1,000 receiving yards in the regular season for the first time since 2015, but he's made up for that through three playoff games. Kelce is averaging 87.3 yards per game this postseason and has three touchdown receptions.
3. Chris Jones - DT, KC
The most important defender in this game is Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones, an unstoppable force who recorded 10.5 sacks in the regular season. His ability to create pressure up the middle adds another dimension to this defense because opposing offenses have to account for pass rushers all over the field.
2. Christian McCaffrey - RB, SF
The running back position might be devalued these days, but you won't find anyone who thinks Christian McCaffrey doesn't matter. He's been dominant through two playoff games, finding the end zone four times already.
McCaffrey led the NFL in rushing yards this season with 1,459 and also added 564 receiving yards. His 2,023 scrimmage yards led the league as well. Between his rushing and receiving work, McCaffrey scored 21 touchdowns which, you guessed it, also led the NFL. It was a great year for McCaffrey.
1. Patrick Mahomes - QB, KC
For as good as every other player in this game is, you can't put anyone but the defending Super Bowl MVP in the No. 1 spot. Patrick Mahomes might have had a bit of a down year compared to his 2020-2022 numbers, but he was still an elite quarterback, even if he threw a career-high 14 interceptions.
Mahomes has played well in these playoffs, completing over 70% of his pass attempts in two of the three games. He's getting ready to play in his fourth Super Bowl and already has an argument to be a top-five quarterback all time despite the relatively short length of his NFL career.
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