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.
Touchdown Wire named two Vikings defensders secret superstars.
Minnesota Vikings inside linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. and defensive lineman Harrison Phillips were named secret superstars by Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.
The idea of secret superstars was created by Farrar to highlight players with excellent performances that fly under the radar.
Not every great NFL performance is given by a well-known player. Just as often as you see the league’s marquee names ball out, there are those under-the-radar guys who rise up at the right time to add weight to their own names.
It happens every week, and we have collected this list of the most prominent Week 2 performances from those players whose deeds outweighed the import of their reputations.
Pace has been the highlight of the Vikings defense over the first two games, starting both of them as a UDFA out of Cincinnati. Farrar highlighted his impact on the Vikings as both a blitzer and stopping the run.
Pace was a highly productive and versatile linebacker out of Cincinnati, but he went undrafted in 2023 due to concerns about his size. You’d think NFL teams would re-think the effect of speed linebackers in a base nickel and dime defense league even when that speed linebacker is 5-foot-10 and 235 pounds, but it is what it is. So, the Vikings got themselves a steal in Pace, who has a sack, five total pressures, 14 tackles, and six stops through his first two professional regular-season games.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has liked to use Pace as a blitzer from just about every gap through the first two weeks of Pace’s NFL career, and he’s quite effective, especially around the middle. On this stunt against the Eagles last Thursday night, Pace crossed the right side of Philly’s offensive line with defensive tackle Pat Jones II, messing up the protection. From there, it was chaos in the backfield, and this set up Danielle Hunter’s spin-move sack from the other side.
Phillips was the highlight for the Vikings in the running game, tying for the NFL lead among defensive linemen in week two with five stops.
Against the Philadelphia Eagles last Thursday night, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores chose to work with light boxes and a frequent five-man umbrella up top, which led to the Eagles rushing for 259 yards and three touchdowns on 48 carries. When 63% of your defensive snaps are in light boxes, your defensive linemen had better be able to hold up.
That wasn’t true for all of Minnesota’s defensive linemen, but Phillips was the exception. He tied with QuInnen Williams of the New York Jets with five stops in Week 2 — the most for any interior defensive lineman — and he had a sack and a quarterback hurry. When the Eagles ran No. 97’s way, the play usually wasn’t a success.
The Vikings have some players on defense, now the scheme needs to keep putting them in positions to thrive.
From Baker Mayfield to Zack Moss to Ivan Pace Jr. to Deommodore Lenoir to Geno Stone, here are the NFL’s Secret Superstars for Week 2.
Not every great NFL performance is given by a well-known player. Just as often as you see the league’s marquee names ball out, there are those under-the-radar guys who rise up at the right time to add weight to their own names.
It happens every week, and we have collected this list of the most prominent Week 2 performances from those players whose deeds outweighed the import of their reputations.
Here are the NFL’s Secret Superstars for Week 2 of the 2023 NFL season.
Who are the players capable of playing their best in the biggest games of their lives? Here are the Secret Superstars of Super Bowl LVII.
There are players in just about every Super Bowl who, quite unexpectedly, save their greatest performances for the biggest games of their lives. Packers receiver Max McGee tearing up the Chiefs’ esteemed secondary for seven catches, 138 yards, and two touchdowns in Super Bowl I. Jets running back Matt Snell doing what nobody else could do in Super Bowl III, and tearing through the Colts’ defensive line for 30 carries, 138 yards, and a touchdown. Raiders linebacker Rob Martin picking off three Ron Jaworski passes in Super Bowl XV. Doug Williams resuscitating his career and becoming the first Black quarterback to start in a Super Bowl, win a Super Bowl, and become Super Bowl MVP in one fell swoop in Super Bowl XXII against the Broncos. Eagles quarterback Nick Foles helping his team win its first Super Bowl in LII.
Who could be the Secret Superstar of Super Bowl LVII? There are several candidates who, based on their in-season exploits, might be perfectly primed to take that all-important leap.
Here are the Secret Superstars of Super Bowl LVII.
Which unknown players will step up in the wild-card round? Here are this week’s Secret Superstars on the defensive side of the ball.
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 defensive side of the ball; the Secret Superstars on offense for the wild-card round can be found here.
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.
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar features Week 1’s great underrated players on his Secret Superstars team.
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 1 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 1 of the 2022 NFL season.
Travis Homer made Touchdown Wire’s list of the Secret Superstars for Week 2 of the 2022 preseason.
The Seahawks have played some ugly football during their first two preseason games of the year. Their backup receivers can’t catch, their defenders can’t tackle and nobody on special teams seems to have any clue what they’re doing.
One bright exception to the rule has been the play of the running backs, one of the strongest position groups on the team. Even with Rashaad Penny missing in action and Ken Walker getting injured, Seattle has gotten quality contributions from this group. That includes the efforts of Travis Homer, who’s been named to Touchdown Wire’s list of the Secret Superstars of Week 2 of the preseason.
“Selected in the sixth round of the 2019 draft out of Miami, Homer has made the most of his relatively limited opportunities, averaging 5.9 yards per carry on 64 rushes, and proving to be an above-average receiver out of the backfield… In two preseason games, Homer has amassed 85 yards on nine carries, four of those runs have been explosive plays (10 or more yards), and 49 of those yards have come after contact.”
Homer has done good work as a third-down back and was the Seahawks’ most-splashy special teams player last season. His spot on the initial 53-man roster should be a sure thing. NFL teams have until Tuesday, Aug. 30 to make their final cuts.
From Tyrod Taylor to Minkah Fitzpatrick, here are the players who had the best under-the-radar performances in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season.
Every NFL season features a certain number of players who come out of nowhere to surprise and entertain at a level we did not expect. Perhaps they’re veterans for whom everything finally clicks. Perhaps they’re rookies who show that the NFL curve can be navigated at a quicker pace by some more than others.
Whatever the circumstances, there were several players who either expanded their 2020 performances, or came into the NFL as first-year players in 2021 and showed that they didn’t need too much preparation to ball out at a professional level.
Here are the NFL’s Secret Superstars of Week 1 of the 2021 season.
Every week, there are players doing spectacular things under the radar. Here are the NFL’s Secret Superstars of Week 10.
Every NFL season features a certain number of players who come out of nowhere to surprise and entertain at a level we did not expect. Perhaps they’re veterans for whom everything finally clicks. Perhaps they’re rookies who show that the NFL curve can be navigated at a quicker pace by some more than others.
Whatever the circumstances, there were several players who either expanded their 2019 performances, or came into the NFL as first-year players in 2020 and showed that they didn’t need a preseason to ball out at a professional level.
