Category: Secret Superstars

The Secret Superstars of Super Bowl LVIII

From Jauan Jennings to L’Jarius Sneed, here are 10 underrated players for the 49ers and Chiefs who could make all the difference in Super Bowl LVIII.

For every Super Bowl star you’d expect, there’s a player who comes out of nowhere in a relative sense to take over the biggest game of his life. That was just as true for Green Bay Packers receiver Max McGee in Super Bowl I as it was for Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco in Super Bowl LVII.

For the upcoming matchup between the Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, we’d like to present 10 players — five from each team — whose deeds on the field have gone relatively unnoticed, but every one of them could be the one to take his team’s fortunes over the top.

Here are the Secret Superstars of Super Bowl LVIII.

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Secret superstars of the Senior Bowl, Day 1

The potential gems of the Senior Bowl are making themselves known. Here are the Secret Superstars of Day 1’s practices.

MOBILE, Alabama — The unofficial starting point in the NFL Draft season is the Senior Bowl down here in Mobile.

Practices began Tuesday with a hodgepodge of media, scouts, and agents in attendance to watch the next potential crop of NFL talent begin to be planted. While many names are expected to be taken on the first two days of the draft, multiple players are fighting for a chance at recognition to get a shot with an NFL team. These secret superstars stuck out on Tuesday and could see their names rise up draft boards

Secret Superstars: The top underrated players for Week 3 of the NFL season

From De’Von Achane to Tank Dell to Hjalte Froholdt to Terrel Bernard to Kendall Fuller, here are the Secret Superstars for Week 3 of the 2023 NFL season.

There are all kinds of reasons that NFL players are underrated.

Perhaps they’re in systems that don’t best show their skills. Maybe they’re buried on a depth chart. Or, they’re in somebody’s doghouse, and their coaches can’t see their potential. Sometimes, young players haven’t quite put it all together, but there are enough flashes to make you sit up and take notice, and when it does work, it’s all good.

Week 3 of the 2022 regular season features players at every position who showed up and showed out despite their underrated statuses, and here at Touchdown Wire, it’s our job to point them out.

Here are the Secret Superstars for Week 3 of the 2022 NFL season.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus unless otherwise indicated). 

The NFL’s All-Underrated Team: One Secret Superstar for all 32 teams

From Matt Milano to Denico Autry to Tyler Lockett to Tony Pollard, here are the NFL’s most underrated players by team.

Why are great players underrated in any sport?

There are all kinds of reasons. In football, it could be that the guy playing your position is even better than you are, and he’s been doing it longer. Maybe we only have the attention span for one great player at your position Maybe you’re on a team that doesn’t get much national praise, or you’re part of a unit that… well, stinks… and you’re one of the few bright spots. Or, you’re just getting started on the ascent, and the world hasn’t quite caught up yet.

No matter the reason, there are many NFL players who ply their trade at an exceedingly high level, and they’re not given their proper due. Here, we look to rectify this in 32 individual instances with the most underrated player for every NFL team. Some of these guys have been doing it the right way in the shade for a long time for their teams; a few are new in their uniforms.

No matter why, all 32 of these NFL players deserve more love than they get, and here’s why. Here is every NFL team’s most underrated player.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated). 

NFL playoffs: Secret Superstars of the divisional round — the offense

Doug Farrar’s list of Secret Superstars on offense for the divisional round is full of players who had to hit their second teams before things went well.

NFL players don’t always find their ideal environs with their first NFL teams. You can be drafted into a nightmare of an organization in which nobody is utilized to their ultimate potential. You can hit the bottom of a positional logjam. Or maybe your skill set just wasn’t developed enough in your first few seasons.

As we prepare for the divisional round of the 2022 season, there are all kinds of under-the-radar players who had to travel on a second (or third, or fourth) contract before things went the right way for them. But however they arrived, they arrived.

This week’s list of Secret Superstars on the offensive side of the ball is relatively packed with such players, along with some guys who have managed to have the lights go on in their first stop.

Here’s our list of the most underrated (and perhaps most crucial) players on offense for the divisional round.

NFL Playoffs: Secret Superstars of the wild-card round — the offense

Which players whose names you might now know could go off in the wild-card round of the playoffs? Here’s our potential Secret Superstars.

If your team is going to win a Super Bowl, at some point along that ride, your team will have to get at least one remarkable postseason performance from a player nobody saw coming. Yes, we all expect the big names to come up big in big moments in big games, and other attendant cliches, but somewhere along the line, you will need a Secret Superstar to get the job done.

If you expected Buffalo Bills receiver Gabe Davis to go off for four touchdown catches against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 divisional round, you should probably be working for a team. Because, with all due respect to Davis, I don’t think even the Bills were expecting that.

The same could be said for Houston Oilers defensive back Vernon Perry in the divisional round of the 1979 playoffs against the San Diego Chargers of Don Coryell and Dan Fouts. The undrafted rookie from Jackson State picked off four of Fouts’ passes, and blocked a field goal for good measure. As the game ended 17-14 in Houston’s favor, that block was as important as any of the picks.

You get the idea. At some point in the wild-card round of the upcoming playoffs, there will be at least one player whose name you don’t know who will pop up on the screen, and grab your attention. Here are my most likely players to do just that on the offensive side of the ball; the defensive players on this week’s Secret Superstars team will be up shortly.

And here’s the wild-card schedule for all who are curious; I tried to focus on repeat matchups as much as possible.

NFL sets Super Wild-Card Weekend schedule: Times, days, and networks

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Secret Superstars for Week 7 of the 2022 NFL season

From P.J. Walker to Marquise Goodwin to Dre’Mont Jones to Jevon Holland, here are the Secret Superstars for Week 7 of the 2022 NFL season.

There are all kinds of reasons that NFL players are underrated and unsung.

Perhaps they’re in systems that don’t best show their skills. Maybe they’re buried on a depth chart. Or, they’re in somebody’s doghouse, and their coaches can’t see their potential. Or, their efforts are relatively unnoticed among their more celebrated teammates. Sometimes, young players haven’t quite put it all together, but there are enough flashes to make you sit up and take notice, and when it does work, it’s all good.

Week 7 of the 2022 regular season featured players at just about every position who showed up and showed out despite their underrated statuses, and here at Touchdown Wire, it’s our job to point them out.

P.J. Walker, Josh Jacobs, D’Onta Foreman, Marquise Goodwin, Tyler Boyd, Thayer Munford, Aaron Banks, Matt Judon, Dre’Mont Jones, De’Vondre Campbell, Jevon Holland, and Ryan Neal are our Secret Superstars for Week 7.

Here’s why each of them made the cut.

Secret Superstars for Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season

Taysom Hill, Rhamondre Stevenson, Daymi Brown, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Baron Browning are among Doug Farrar’s Secret Superstars for Week 5.

There are all kinds of reasons that NFL players are underrated and unsung.

Perhaps they’re in systems that don’t best show their skills. Maybe they’re buried on a depth chart. Or, they’re in somebody’s doghouse, and their coaches can’t see their potential. Or, their efforts are relatively unnoticed among their more celebrated teammates. Sometimes, young players haven’t quite put it all together, but there are enough flashes to make you sit up and take notice, and when it does work, it’s all good.

Week 5 of the 2022 regular season featured players at just about every position who showed up and showed out despite their underrated statuses, and here at Touchdown Wire, it’s our job to point them out.

Rhamondre Stevenson, Dameon Pierce, Daymi Brown, Taysom Hill, Ethan Pocic, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Matt Judon, Baron Browning, Osa Odighizuwa, Teair Tart, Dre Greenlaw, Camerson Dantzler, and Caden Sterns are our Secret Superstars for Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season.

Here’s why each of them made the cut.

Secret Superstars for Week 4 of the 2022 NFL season

From Geno Smith to Jamaree Salyer to Talanoa Hufanga, here are the Secret Superstars for Week 4 of the 2022 NFL season.

There are all kinds of reasons that NFL players are underrated and unsung.

Perhaps they’re in systems that don’t best show their skills. Maybe they’re buried on a depth chart. Or, they’re in somebody’s doghouse, and their coaches can’t see their potential. Or, their efforts are relatively unnoticed among their more celebrated teammates. Sometimes, young players haven’t quite put it all together, but there are enough flashes to make you sit up and take notice, and when it does work, it’s all good.

Week 4 of the 2022 regular season featured players at just about every position who showed up and showed out despite their underrated statuses, and here at Touchdown Wire, it’s our job to point them out.

Here are the Secret Superstars for Week 4 of the 2022 NFL season.

Secret Superstars for Week 3 of the 2022 NFL season

From Jacoby Brissett to Khalil Herbert to Christian Darrisaw to Jevon Holland, here’s Doug Farrar’s Secret Superstars for Week 3 of the NFL season.

There are all kinds of reasons that NFL players are underrated and unsung.

Perhaps they’re in systems that don’t best show their skills. Maybe they’re buried on a depth chart. Or, they’re in somebody’s doghouse, and their coaches can’t see their potential. Sometimes, young players haven’t quite put it all together, but there are enough flashes to make you sit up and take notice, and when it does work, it’s all good.

Week 3 of the 2022 regular season featured players at just about every position who showed up and showed out despite their underrated statuses, and here at Touchdown Wire, it’s our job to point them out.

Here are the Secret Superstars for Week 3 of the 2022 NFL season.