Tag: nfl most underrated players

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.

Cleveland Browns’ most underrated player: CB Martin Emerson Jr.

Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. has become a top-10 defender, and he’s especially dominant in press coverage.

Emerson ranked third in my recent list of the NFL’s best press cornerbacks, which he did by dint of his eight catches allowed in press on 26 targets for 4.2 yards per catch, three explosive plays, no touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Overall last season, regardless of scheme, Emerson gave up 36 catches on 73 targets for 498 yards, 161 yards after the catch, one touchdown, four interceptions, nine pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 53.3 — the fourth-lowest in the NFL among cornerbacks playing at least 50% of their snaps.

Not bad for a guy the Browns absolutely stole in the third round of the 2022 draft out of Mississippi State.

 

Cincinnati Bengals’ most underrated player: Safety Geno Stone

The Bengals got former Ravens safety Geno Stone for a massive bargain, given Stone’s abilities in the deep third of any defense.

Given the importance of the deep safety in today’s NFL, it’s a bit bizarre that former Ravens safety Geno Stone could do no better on the 2024 open market than the two-year, $14 million contract he got from the Bengals.

It’s a great move for Lou Anarumo’s defense, which had been struggling at safety for a while, but when a guy plays in the deep third on 80% of his snaps and allows 28 catches on 42 targets for 197 yards, 145 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, seven interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 53.5…

Perhaps it was the fact that Stone had a rough season in 2022, or that he had limited snaps in his first two NFL seasons as a seventh-round pick out of Iowa in 2020, but there was no element of one-hit wonder in Stone’s game last season, and the Bengals reaped the rewards.

Chicago Bears’ most underrated player: CB Jaylon Johnson

Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson has become one of the NFL’s best lockdown defenders.

The Bears selected Jaylon Johnson out of Utah in the second round of the 2020 draft, and watched as his coverage profile expanded in a positive sense over the next four seasons. Johnson went from allowing an opponent passer rating of 106.7 in 2020, to 101.3 in 2021, to 96.8 in 2022… to 33.3 in 2023. That was the lowest passer rating allowed by any NFL cornerback playing at least 50% of his snaps, and that was the case to an amazing degree. DaRon Bland ranked second with an opponent passer rating of 52.6.

How do you get an opponent passer rating of 33.3? If you’re Johnson, you allow 25 catches on 50 targets for 195 yards, 115 yards after the catch, one touchdown, four interceptions, and six pass breakups. That got Johnson a new four-year, $76 million contract with $43.8 million guaranteed, so he’s not internally underrated. But if he has another season like he just did, it will be time to talk about Johnson as one of the NFL’s best at his position. https://twitter.com/NFL_DougFarrar/status/1793663827000918070