Tag: Underrated

PFF ranks Carl Granderson among the NFL’s 32 best defensive ends

Pro Football Focus ranked Carl Granderson among the NFL’s 32 best defensive ends going into the 2024 season. Expectations are high for the former UDFA:

Carl Granderson isn’t underrated anymore. The New Orleans Saints defensive end broke out in 2023, and he’s attracting notice from the likes of Pro Football Focus. PFF’s Trevor Sikkema ranked Granderson among the NFL’s 32 best edge defenders — an in-house category that lumps together traditional defensive ends like Granderson with pass-rushing outside linebackers from odd-front defenses.

Here’s why Sikkema argues Granderseon is the 28th-best player among his peers:

Granderson put together the best two seasons of his career in 2022 and 2023, with overall grades of 80.5 and 74.0, respectively. His run defense has been his calling card, highlighted by grades above 70.0 in each of the past two years. His 62 quarterback pressures in 2023 were by far the most in any single season in his NFL career.

That’s high praise, and expectations are high for the former undrafted free agent. Granderson has developed better than several teammates the Saints have drafted at the same position group since signing with the team as an undrafted rookie out of Wyoming. Now he’s expected to lead the charge opposite Cameron Jordan and Chase Young, and with both of those players managing injuries in the offseason he’ll have ample opportunities.

Still, it would be better if the Saints didn’t have to lean so hard on one single player off the edge. Getting more production out of young draft picks like Isaiah Foskey (the No. 40 pick in 2023) or Payton Turner (the No. 28 pick back in 2021) would do a lot to relieve the pressure on guys at the top of the depth chart like Granderson, Jordan, or Young. The best pass-rush units around the league work like hockey teams and rotate a powerful second line into games while spelling the starters. Maybe the Saints can take a similar approach, but it’ll be tough to do so without veteran backup Tanoh Kpassagnon.

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TD Wire says Carl Granderson is the Saints’ most underrated player

Touchdown Wire says Carl Granderson is the Saints’ most underrated player. The team’s 2023 sacks leader looks to repeat that feat in 2024:

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar highlighted the most underrated player for all 32 teams in the NFL, and defensive end Carl Granderson was his choice for the New Orleans Saints.

The team’s 2023 sacks leader is looking to repeat that feat in 2024 — Granderson broke out last year by nearly doubling his snap count after working his way into the starting lineup, posting career-highs in sacks, tackles, and pressures.

Even after signing Chase Young in free agency while bringing back Payton Turner from a season-long injury (and with Isaiah Foskey pushing for reps), the Saints are going to be leaning hard on Granderson again this season. They’ll need more from him as Cameron Jordan’s career draws to a close.

Here’s why Farrar argues Granderson deserves more acknowledgement around the league:

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.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how the Saints divide snaps and roles to the different players they’ve stacked up at defensive end. Granderson should be starting again opposite Jordan, whose reps should decline to make room for Young on third downs and obvious passing situations. Making room for Turner, Foskey, and the always-underrated Tanoh Kpassgnon is going to be challenging for a Saints defense which typically dresses just four players each week on game days. Whoever ends up in the rotation, expect Granderson to lead the charge.

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PFF names Paulson Adebo one of the NFL’s most underrated players

Pro Football Focus picked New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo as one of the NFL’s most underrated players:

Paulson Adebo developed into a player the New Orleans saints could lean on in 2023. The cornerback is going into his fourth season in black and gold, and he’s gotten the team through some tough situations when Marshon Lattimore was sidelined by injuries and Alontae Taylor was getting picked on while learning to cover the slot. Adebo is still searching for his first Pro Bowl Games appearance, but he is well-known to those in the know.

And he’s starting to draw more attention. Pro Football Focus analyst Zoltan Buday, who identified the most underrated player on all 32 teams. Here’s why he says Adebo stands apart from his Saints teammates:

Although Adebo has earned a lot of playing time since the Saints drafted him in the third round in 2021, it was not until 2023 that he put it all together and started playing as one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL. His 78.7 PFF overall grade ranked 15th among cornerbacks in 2023, and he orchestrated a three-game stretch between Weeks 8 and 10 as the NFL’s highest-graded cornerback in coverage (94.6). Adebo recorded four interceptions over those three weeks

While he’s intercepted just seven passes in 44 career games, Adebo has gotten his hands on plenty of footballs. He’s tied with L’Jarius Sneed for the most passes defensed (33) since entering the league in 2021, which ranks 16th among all cornerbacks over the last three years.

And like Sneed, Adebo is headed for a big payday. After being traded to the Tennessee Titans this offseason, Sneed agreed to terms on a four-year, $76.4 million deal that guaranteed him $51.4 million at signing. For context, Sneed has matched Adebo’s totals in interceptions (7) and passes deflected (33) while playing in four more games. He’s also more than two years Adebo’s senior, having turned 27 in January (Adebo celebrates his 25th birthday in July).

So Adebo won’t be an underrated player much longer. If he can sustain his impressive level of play in 2023 into 2024 he’ll be a coveted free agent in 2025. The question then becomes whether the Saints can afford to re-sign him. With trade speculation surrounding Lattimore, Adebo’s uncertain future helps explain why the Saints have drafted second-round corners like Taylor and Kool-Aid McKinstry in recent years. For now, they should enjoy the benefits of strong depth in the secondary.

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6 under-the-radar free agents Saints could target

6 under-the-radar free agents the New Orleans Saints could target on offense and defense:

The New Orleans Saints will have largely the same roster next year as they did last season, but will need to look around for some role players to replace those that are on the way out.

The Saints likely won’t be in on the big name targets such as defensive linemen Chris Jones, Justin Madubike or Josh Allen but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t options at more available price points.

Last year, they signed players like veteran safeties Jonathan Abram and Ugo Amadi that flew under the radar during free agency, but ended up making a bit of an impact and will likely stick around for another year.

Here are some under-the-radar options in this free agency class at some positions of need:

Alontae Taylor named a ‘Secret Superstar’ for the Saints in 2023

Alontae Taylor was named a ‘Secret Superstar’ for the New Orleans Saints in 2023. He’s built a lot of momentum, but first he needs to win a starting job:

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There doesn’t seem to be any stopping the momentum propelling Alontae Taylor. The second-year New Orleans Saints cornerback is carrying lofty expectations into 2023 (not slowed by his new jersey number), with Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire being the latest NFL analyst to bring up Taylor as an underrated talent around the league.

Here’s what Farrar had to say of Taylor’s prospects while highlighting a pass breakup against Los Angeles Rams receiver Van Jefferson last season:

The Saints got Taylor in the second round of the 2022 draft out of Tennessee, and the rookie proved to be a natural in Dennis Allen’s aggressive, man-heavy coverages. Last season, Taylor allowed just 29 catches on 64 targets for 283 yards, 87 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, no interceptions, 10 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 58.3. Among rookie cornerbacks who played at least 20% of their teams’ snaps, only Sauce Gardner allowed a lower passer rating at 53.9, and Taylor’s was the fifth-lowest in the league, regardless of tenure.

Whether in the slot, or playing overhang roles, Taylor is aggressive when he needs to be, and he can also hang back and wait for things to develop. It’s not easy playing press in the slot no matter how experienced you are; you’re vulnerable to receivers who can move to both sides, and the boundary is no longer your friend.

Taylor is going to be competing with Paulson Adebo in training camp for the opportunity to start across from Marshon Lattimore, but reports out of voluntary workouts this spring say the Saints have been training him in covering the slot.

That’s not something Taylor did often in college at Tennessee (only 44 snaps from 2018 to 2021) or in his rookie year with New Orleans (just 22 snaps in 2022), but if he can comfortably handle coverage assignments out wide and in the slot it will help him get on the field early and often regardless of how that battle with Adebo unfolds.

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6 underrated prospects to watch for the Saints in 2023 NFL draft

Penn State TE Brendon Strange and San Jose State DE Viliami Fehoko are among 6 underrated prospects to watch for the Saints in the 2023 NFL draft’s third day:

Everyone knows the big names in the 2023 NFL draft: the first-round prospects who get fans excited and who draw swarms of scouts and coaches to their pro day workouts. But the New Orleans Saints have done well in the later rounds of the draft, and it’s important to identify players they could be looking at in rounds four, five, six, and seven — as well as undrafted free agency. They always seem to find some diamonds in the rough.

So who qualifies as a sleeper? Draft coverage is so oversaturated these days that even casual fans can recognize dozens of names, and some dedicated draftniks even have their own top-100 rankings (with the real sickos among them ranking hundreds of prospects).

To help thin out the herd, we’re only considering prospects who were ranked outside the top 150 at both NFL Mock Draft Database and Pro Football Network’s industry consensus big board. That gives us an opportunity to highlight some undersung players who should be available on Day 3 of this year’s event. These aren’t going to be perfect prospects, or even players who can step into a big role right away. The goal is to find guys with enough traits that can give them a shot at making the roster as a backup or on special teams, buying them time to develop into better pros.

Here are six underrated prospects we could see the Saints targeting on the draft’s third day:

5 underrated Chiefs performances in preseason Week 1 vs. Bears

Upon closer inspection, these five #Chiefs had great performances in preseason Week 1.

The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t come away with a win against the Chicago Bears in Week 1 of the preseason, but they did get some very valuable snaps for members of their roster.

The coaching staff will use those snaps to help evaluate players as they whittle down the roster to 53 players at the start of the NFL’s regular season. The first wave of roster cuts comes on Tuesday, Aug. 16, with Kansas City needing to trim its roster from 85 to 90 players.

While everyone knows the standout performers from the Chiefs’ Week 1 preseason game, there was a handful that might have flown under the radar. Here’s a look at five of the team’s underrated performances in Week 1:

Every NFL team’s most underrated player heading into 2022

These players don’t get the recognition they deserve in the NFL, starting with Saints linebacker Demario Davis — who still hasn’t been voted into a single Pro Bowl:

The NFL has no shortage of superstars who are the face of the league. But there are plenty of impact players in the NFL who don’t necessarily get the recognition they deserve.

Whether overlooked or ignored all together, these players are significant contributors for their respective teams. They’ve had proven success but haven’t necessarily gotten the praise they deserve.

Our NFL Wire editors examined the most underrated player for each team heading into the 2022 season, highlighting why they’re deserving of recognition.

Why Safety Quandre Diggs is Seahawks most underrated player

It was close, but safety Quandre Diggs has earned the nod as the Seattle Seahawks’ most underrated player heading into the 2022 NFL season.

The start of training camp is just weeks away, but for now, the lists continue! In Touchdown Wire’s latest, editors from all 32 Wire sites picked the player they deemed most deserving of the team’s most underrated heading into the 2022 season.

Seahawks Wire’s Tim Weaver gave safety Quandre Diggs the nod.

“A strong case can be made here for WR Tyler Lockett, but I’ll go with Diggs, who is one of the most underappreciated defenders in the league,” Weaver writes. “Much of his impact on the game can’t be seen on the broadcast angle on TV and doesn’t make it into the box score.”

“However, Diggs plays his position about as well as anyone and his ball skills have been a massive difference-maker for this team,” Weaver continues. “Since coming over in a lopsided trade with Detroit, Diggs has posted 13 interceptions in 38 games in Seattle.”

Click here for a look at the most underrated players for all 32 clubs.

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Every NFL team’s most underrated player heading into 2022

These players don’t get the recognition they deserve in the NFL.

The NFL has no shortage of superstars who are the face of the league. But there are plenty of impact players in the NFL who don’t necessarily get the recognition they deserve.
Whether overlooked or ignored all together, these players are significant contributors for their respective teams. They’ve had proven success but haven’t necessarily gotten the praise they deserve.
Our NFL Wire editors examined the most underrated player for each team heading into the 2022 season, highlighting why they’re deserving of recognition.