Packers safety Xavier McKinney lands at No. 70 on NFL Top 100 Players list

Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney has been ranked No. 70 on the NFL’s annual Top 100 Players list for the second straight year, according to a release from the Packers. The recognition places McKinney among the league’s most highly regarded players heading into the next season cycle, a voting-based honor that spotlights established impact on both sides of the ball.

McKinney’s standing at No. 70 continues a trend of sustained league-wide respect for his play in the secondary. The Packers’ announcement frames the selection as an All-Pro level achievement, tying the ranking to his reputation as a safety who can affect games through coverage responsibilities and the physicality required to handle modern offensive schemes.

For Green Bay, the ranking offers more than a line in the offseason checklist. Safety is a central position in the Packers’ defensive identity, because the group’s communication and assignment discipline determine how efficiently the defense can respond to motion, pre-snap shifts, and tempo changes. A highly ranked safety can also set a tone for the rest of the secondary, especially when the defense leans on reading routes and matching the ball quickly.

The Top 100 list is also notable because it reflects broad impressions of players across the league rather than a single-team evaluation. Being selected consecutively suggests that McKinney’s performance has remained within the conversation of top-tier players year to year, not just as a one-season breakout. In this context, the difference between where a player lands, such as No. 70 this year, becomes a snapshot of how voters view current impact relative to the rest of the league.

At 70, McKinney is being positioned in a tier that typically includes starters who are reliable week to week and disruptive in key moments, whether that shows up as pass breakup production, run support, or how consistently the player is trusted to handle complicated defensive responsibilities. The ranking does not, by itself, indicate a specific statistical output for the upcoming season, but it does underline how coaches and opponents (depending on the voting format) view his overall value.

What to watch next is how that reputation translates into the Packers’ defensive execution as training camp progresses and the team approaches the preseason and regular-season phases. Rankings can influence expectations, but the practical measure will be consistency: whether McKinney’s assignments fit the Packers’ defensive plan and whether his presence continues to stabilize the back end.

For McKinney personally, the No. 70 selection adds another mark to a profile that has already drawn top-league attention. For Green Bay, it reinforces that the team has a marquee piece in its secondary as it works through offseason preparation. The next step is simple: keep raising the baseline so that another Top 100 placement, and potentially a higher position, is earned again through on-field performance.