SEC's best players of 2015: 1-5

Derrick Henry rushed for the most yards in SEC history in 2015. Matt Kartozian/USA TODAY Sports

This week in the SEC blog, we're reviewing the top 25 SEC players from the 2015 season, as chosen by our staff of reporters. After four days, we showed you 21-25, 16-20, 11-15 and 10-6 on the list. Today, we're down to the end of our countdown and are unveiling our five best SEC players from the 2015 season:

1. Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama: Well, this one was easy. Henry became Alabama's second Heisman Trophy winner and set SEC records for rushing yards (2,219), rushing touchdowns (28) and carries (395). He also won the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year and the Doak Walker Award before helping the Tide win its fourth national championship in seven years. Henry averaged a SEC-high 180.3 yards per game in league play and 1,494 of his rushing yards came in nine games against ranked opponents (166 yards per game). The bullish Henry, who required multiple defenders to take him down with each punishing run, scored a touchdown in all 15 games, including having nine multi-touchdown performances, and totaled just 63 negative rushing yards on the season.

2. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU: At one point, Fournette was the runaway Heisman favorite. Then he ran into the Alabama defensive buzzsaw, and he was held to a measly 31 yards. But outside of that performance, Fournette proved to be one of the nation's best overall players. He rushed for at least 150 yards in each of the first seven games of the season, including becoming the first SEC player to rush for 200 yards in three straight games. Fournette finished the season with 1,953 yards, 22 touchdowns and averaged a league-high 6.5 yards per carry. He rushed for at least 100 yards in 10 of LSU's 12 games in 2015.

3. Reggie Ragland, LB, Alabama: Some say that Ragland might have even been Alabama's best overall player in 2015. He easily was one of the nation's best defenders, as Alabama's defensive quarterback. He led the Tide with 102 tackles, including 60 solo stops. He also had 6.5 tackles for loss, registered 2.5 sacks and generated seven pass breakups. Ragland, who is a projected first-round draft pick this April, was a terror making plays in the middle, in opposing backfields and from sideline to sideline. According to Pro Football Focus, Ragland graded an impressive plus-13.6 against the run, plus-8.1 in coverage and plus-10.3 as a pass-rusher.

4. Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss: The SEC's best receiver came back from a horrific leg injury bigger, stronger and faster. The All-American led the SEC with 1,153 receiving yards and 11 touchdown receptions on 82 catches. All three of those numbers set Ole Miss records. Treadwell also was second in the SEC with 85.6 receiving yards per game in conference play. He had six 100-yard performances and accumulated at least 102 yards in five straight games.

5. Jonathan Allen, DE, Alabama: Alabama's entire defensive line was a menace and Allen was the linchpin. Allen led the team with 14.5 tackles for loss and 12 sacks (second-most in the SEC). Mr. Disruptive was an excellent pass-rusher and run-stopper who also defended four passes and forced two fumbles. Rated the fifth-best defensive end prospect for the NFL draft by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., Allen decided to return to school for his senior year despite his first-round grade.