Best Criminal Minds characters

Spencer Reid wins 71% of his duels and tops the Criminal Minds ranking ahead of Derek Morgan.

Reid holds 1407 ELO points after 34 duels, followed by Morgan at 1374 points across 48 matchups and Penelope Garcia at 1359 points with 45 duels behind her. The sharpest divide appears between Garcia and Aaron Hotchner, separated by 38 ELO points at ranks 3 and 4. Reid's command of the ranking reflects the character's devoted following within the fanbase, while Morgan remains close enough to challenge that lead. Hotchner sits at rank 4 with 1321 points despite a 64% win rate across 47 duels, and Jennifer Jareau rounds out the top 5 at 1316 points. At the opposite end, Stephen Walker lands at rank 15 with 1005 points and a 26% win rate over 27 duels, illustrating how later BAU additions struggle to compete with the appeal of longstanding team members. Tara Lewis and Matt Simmons occupy ranks 13 and 14 with similarly modest scores.

This ranking draws on 1248 duels between 15 BAU members, shaped by 31 players who weighed in on VAINKEURZ. The standings reflect community preferences as of 12 October 2026. Visit the Criminal Minds TopList to vote in head-to-head duels and influence the rankings yourself.

Updated on October 12, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →