CBS Sports recently highlighted the 100 “most important” players for the 2026 NFL season.

Zachary Pereles, who went through the exercise, noted that his ranking is of “the 100 most important players, not the 100 best players,” and that it’s “a list, not a ranking; the order doesn’t matter.”

Pereles separated the players into different categories, and two former Clemson stars made the list of 100 most important players — All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, now of the Cincinnati Bengals, and Trevor Lawrence, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ franchise quarterback. 

Dexter Lawrence checked in under the category of “old face, new place.”

The Bengals made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason in April when they acquired Lawrence from the New York Giants in exchange for the No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

As part of the trade, the Bengals signed Lawrence to a one-year, $28 million contract extension, keeping him under contract with the team through the 2028 season.

“It’s rare for any player to be traded for a top-10 pick straight up, much less a 28-year-old defensive lineman coming off a down year,” Pereles wrote. “But Lawrence is a uniquely disruptive interior force who fits the Bengals’ win-now M.O. Can he return to his All-Pro form and provide a much-needed lift to Cincinnati’s defense?”

Despite a down 2025 season with the Giants, by his own lofty standards, there’s no doubt Lawrence has established himself as a dominant interior defensive line presence in the league.

Lawrence collected three straight Pro Bowl selections from 2022-24 and also earned All-Pro honors in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He became the first Giants player to be voted to three straight Pro Bowls since safety Landon Collins from 2016-18, and if he hadn’t suffered a season-ending elbow injury in 2024, he could have very well earned his third consecutive All-Pro selection as well.

Heading into his eighth NFL season in 2026, Lawrence has racked up 341 total tackles, 40 tackles for loss and 30.5 sacks in 109 career games (102 starts) since being selected by the Giants in the first round (17th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.

As for Trevor Lawrence, he made the list of most important NFL players under the category of “quarterbacks on contenders.”

Lawrence is coming off a breakout 2025 season – his fifth NFL campaign, and first under Jaguars head coach Liam Coen.

The 2021 No. 1 overall draft pick was named an MVP finalist, as well as a finalist for Comeback Player of the Year. Though Lawrence didn’t win either award, it doesn’t take away from the stellar season he had while leading the Jaguars (13-4 regular season) to their first AFC South title since 2022 and first playoff berth since the same year.

“Lawrence ascended as one of the NFL’s very best down the stretch of last season, putting on a show with laser beams downfield and production with his legs, too,” Pereles wrote. “The flashes have always been there, and 2025 was the longest stretch of strong play he’s ever produced. Cutting out mistakes is key as the Jaguars, who didn’t do much this offseason, will look to Lawrence to be even better.”

Lawrence finished last season having completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 4,007 yards and a career-high 29 touchdown passes with 12 interceptions. He also recorded career highs in carries (82), rushing yards (359) and rushing touchdowns (nine) while accounting for a career-high 38 total touchdowns – the third-best mark in the NFL behind only Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (46) and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (39).

Lawrence will head into the 2026 season having completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 17,822 yards and 98 touchdowns with 58 interceptions, to go with 1,442 rushing yards and 23 more scores on the ground, over his NFL career from 2021-25. The 2018 national champion at Clemson and 2022 Pro Bowler has surpassed 4,000 passing yards three times in the last four seasons.

Before the 2024 season, Lawrence signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension with Jacksonville, including $200 million in guaranteed money and $142 million fully guaranteed at signing.