Category: The All-22

New Orleans Saints’ most underrated player: EDGE Carl Granderson

Carl Granderson has made his way to the top of the Saints’ pass-rushing depth chart with an underrated skill set.

Josh Allen, Jim Kiick, Conrad Dobler, Tashaun Gipson Sr., Jay Novacek, and Dave Hampton have all had nice careers after coming out of Wyoming, and Saints edge-rusher Carl Granderson is looking to add his name to that roll.

An undrafted free agent who signed on with New Orleans in 2019, Granderson worked his way up from roster afterthought to key piece in the Saints’ defense, and he was rewarded with a four-year, $52 million contract extension with $32.3 million guaranteed last September. All he did after that was to put up career years in just about every possible category with nine sacks and 63 total pressures.

While Granderson has the speed to get around the edge, his premier skill has him wasting blockers with pure power to beat one-on-ones and double teams.

New England Patriots most underrated player: DB Jabrill Peppers

Jabrill Peppers’ versatility confused some of his former coaches, but he’s found an ideal home with the Patriots.

Earlier in his NFL career, Jabrill Peppers suffered from what I call the “piano in the living room” problem — a great centerpiece for a house, but nobody’s quite sure where to put it. The Browns selected Peppers with the 23rd overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Michigan, trying him first as a primary free safety, and then as a hybrid defender. Then, Peppers was shipped to the Giants as part of a massive trade that also saw Big Blue get Kevin Zeitler and Cleveland’s first- and second-round picks in the 2019 draft in exchange for Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon. The Giants made Peppers mostly a box and slot defender over the next three seasons.

Then, the Patriots signed Peppers to a one-year, $2 million deal in 2022, and let him do what he does best — act as a guided missile all over the field. Peppers’ real game is less about specific positional value and more about athleticism and awareness. In 2023, New England re-signed him to a two-year, $9 million deal with $6 million guaranteed, and Peppers paid the Patriots back with his best season to date — one sack, five total pressures, 54 solo tackles, and 28 stops. In coverage, Peppers allowed 20 receptions on 34 targets for 132 yards, 101 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 52.6.

One of Bill Belichick’s claims to greatness was his ability to take players from other, lesser systems and turn them loose in roles that emphasized what they did well. Even to the end of his Patriots career, Belichick was doing that, and he did it with Peppers. 

Minnesota Vikings’ most underrated player: Safety Josh Metellus

The Vikings have an underrated defender in safety Josh Metellus, who can do just about anything on the field.

The key to being a standout defensive back in today’s NFL is versatility, and that’s true no matter where you line up. It’s certainly been the case for Josh Metellus of the Vikings.

Listed as a safety, Metellus has all kinds of tricks up his sleeve. The 2020 sixth-round pick out of Michigan saw a bit of playing time in his first three NFL seasons, and it all came together for him in 2023. That’s when he totaled three sacks, 29 total pressures, 86 solo tackles, and 45 stops.

Metellus also demonstrated the ability to cover receivers everywhere from press on short crossers to the deep third on vertical routes. And he’s great at making the most of Brian Flores’ blitz looks by either hammering home to the quarterback, or dropping into coverage.

Miami Dolphins’ most underrated player: DL Zach Sieler

As the Dolphins continue to undergo defensive line transitions, Zach Sieler has been the constant consistent player.

Former Dolphins defensive tackle Christian Wilkins is recognized as one of the NFL’s premier interior disruptors — that’s why the Raiders gave him a four-year, $110 million contract with $57.5 million guaranteed this offseason. Taking a bit of the sting out of that loss for Miami is the performance of Zach Sieler.

Selected by the Ravens in the seventh round of the 2018 draft from Ferris State (go, Bulldogs), Sieler was a bit player in Baltimore until the Dolphins picked up on waivers on December 5, 2019. Sieler has seen his profile rise ever since, and 2023 was his best season to date. Not only did he total nine sacks and 20 total pressures (one less than Wilkins’ 10 and 61 last season), but he also took a Will Levis pass to the house for a #THICCSIX in Week 14.

At 6-foot-6 and 305 pounds, Sieler can make things happen all over the line, but he’s especially effective when he’s asked to upend interior offensive linemen with power moves. And his current contract extension, signed in August, 2023, costs the Dolphins $30.75 million with $20 million guaranteed over three seasons.

Los Angeles Rams’ most underrated player: CB Darious Williams

Cornerback Darious Williams has returned home to the Rams, and he’ll make that secondary a lot better — again.

Who says you can’t go home again?

The Ravens were the first team to display an interest in UAB cornerback Darious Williams, signing the undrafted free agent to a contract in 2018, and then waiving him when Jimmy Smith returned from a four-game suspension. The Rams picked Williams up on waivers, and over the next four seasons, Williams worked his way up from roster afterthought to top-tier defender. In 2022, the Jaguars stole him away with a three-year, $30 million contract, but released him from that contract in March. That’s when the Rams came charging back in, signing Williams to a three-year, $22.5 million contract.

Williams is built like a slot-only cornerback at 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, but he’s been a great outside cornerback for years, and that was just as true in 2023, when he allowed 51 catches on 86 targets for 613 yards, 178 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, four interceptions, 18 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 69.6. Through his NFL career, Williams has allowed 10 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, and has a lifetime opponent passer rating of 76.7. It’s safe to say that nobody expected that when he came out of college. 

Los Angeles Chargers’ most underrated player: WR Josh Palmer

Chargers receiver Josh Palmer has great vertical ability, and hopefully, his coaches will let him show it off more often someday.

The Chargers’ risk-averse passing game over the last three years under Joe Lombardi and then Kellen Moore has driven a lot of people nuts when there’s a quarterback in Justin Herbert who would seem to have the ability to drive the ball all over the field on a no-matter-what basis.

But the tape and the metrics bear it out — last season, Herbert had just 55 attempts of 20+ air yards — to put that in perspective, Jordan Love of the Packers led the league with 90. Herbert did complete 20 of those passes, which is about the standard ratio for deep completions, but the hope is that Jim Harbaugh and new offensive coordinator Greg Roman will unleash things a bit more often.

That dink-and-dunk approach has also done receiver Josh Palmer no favors. Selected in the third round of the 2021 draft out of Tennessee, Palmer is a big (6′ 1¼”, 210-pound) target who can singe cornerbacks and safeties downfield when given the chance. Last season, even under those circumstances, Palmer had seven deep catches on 14 targets for 299 yards and two touchdowns.

Some players are underrated simply because their coaches aren’t in the mood to let them show what they can do best. Hopefully, that changes for the Chargers this season. 

Las Vegas Raiders’ most underrated player: EDGE Malcolm Koonce

Raiders edge-rusher Malcolm Koonce is a highly underrated player who is just coming into his own.

In 2014, the Raiders selected Khalil Mack with the fifth overall pick in the 2014 draft out of Buffalo, and that worked out pretty well for them. They went back to the well in 2021, taking Buffalo edge-rusher Malcolm Koonce with the 80th overall pick in the third round.

Not that Koonce came out with Mack’s terrestrial skill set, but he put up some pretty good numbers in college, and he was the 2019 Bahamas Bowl Defensive MVP with two sacks against Charlotte in what turned out to be Buffalo’s first bowl game victory.

Still, Koonce got very little play in his first two seasons with the Raiders — he had a total of two sacks and six pressures in 2021 and 2022 on just 73 pass-rushing snaps. But given a chance in 2023, Koonce really showed what he could do — he had eight sacks and 52 total pressures, and the only more productive Raiders pass-rusher last season was Maxx Crosby. 

Kansas City Chiefs’ most underrated player: WR Marquise Brown

New Chiefs receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown could be the key to re-igniting Patrick Mahomes’ deep passing game.

Not that the Chiefs have a lot to repair this offseason — when you win two straight Super Bowls, and you don’t lose a lot of personnel, it’s all good. But Patrick Mahomes completed just 24 of 76 passes of 20 or more air yards in the 2023 season for 817 yards, two touchdowns, six interceptions, and a passer rating of 49.1 — the worst in the league among starting quarterbacks. The marquee move to try and correct the deep receiver deficit Mahomes has had since his team traded Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins was the selection of Texas speed receiver Xavier Worthy with the 28th overall pick in the draft, but let’s not underestimate one signing that could pay off — former Ravens and Cardinals receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to a one-year, $7 million deal.

Last season with the Cardinals, Brown caught just six passes of 20 or more air yards on 21 attempts for 175 yards and a touchdown, but it could also be said that Brown’s quarterback deficit was roughly equivalent to Mahomes’ receiver deficit, so maybe this pairing could pay off for all involved.

“He’s a smart kid and he just kind of gets it,” Andy Reid said of Brown on May 22. “Pat [Mahomes] and he – there’s so much talking going on which I look at and I think that’s important. As long as the receivers are willing to listen and then share what they saw and it’s accurate, you normally can develop a pretty good relationship relatively quick as you go.” 

As Greg Cosell and I discussed in a recent edition of “The Xs and Os,” Brown’s tape shows a speed separator who might be a perfect fit in his third NFL offense. 

Jacksonville Jaguars’ most underrated player: DL Roy Robertson-Harris

Jaguars veteran defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris is the kind of player who glues a line together.

An undrafted free agent out of UTEP who first signed with the Bears in 2018, Robertson-Harris is a bit of a tweener at 6-foot-5 and 290 pounds, and he’s never put up huge pressure numbers.

But in his last three seasons with the Jaguars after four years in Chicago, he has been more of a factor in both playing time and quarterback pressure. Moreover, he’s the kind of guy — and this is a relative intangible you need to see on tape — who glues a defensive line together with his ability to play everywhere from nose tackle to the edge.

Last season, Robertson-Harris compiled four sacks and a career-high 42 total pressures, and his combination of athleticism and awareness makes him an underrated force on Jacksonville’s defensive line. New defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen should have a lot of fun with Robertson-Harris’ skill set. 

Green Bay Packers’ most underrated player: DL Karl Brooks

Packers rookie pass-rusher Karl Brooks had scheme changes to deal with last season, and he proved that it was no problem at all.

Brooks first hit my radar when I watched him wreck opposing offenses for Bowling Green as a 6-foot-4, 300-pound guy who played the edge on more than 75% of his snaps in 2022. Brooks totaled 12 sacks and an FBS-high 69 total pressures despite his size, and the Packers stole him in the sixth round of the 2023 draft.

The decision was made to put Brooks inside on 74% of his snaps last season — which wasn’t as fun, but Brooks managed to be a very good disruptor in his new role. He had four sacks and 30 pressures overall on 309 pass-rushing snaps, and one sack and nine pressures came from the edge.

So, here’s an ascending young player who can win from just about anywhere on the line.