Tag: underrated nfl players

Baltimore Ravens’ most underrated player: RB Keaton Mitchell

The Ravens had an undrafted star last season in running back Keaton Mitchell, and their offense suffered in his absence.

It seems counter-intuitive to say this about an undrafted rookie running back from East Carolina, but had Keaton Mitchell not suffered a torn ACL last December, the Ravens’ postseason might have gone differently, and in a more favorable fashion. We all remember Baltimore’s inexplicable decision to give their running backs just six carries in the AFC Championship game against the Chiefs’ vulnerable run defense, but had Mitchell been good to go, I doubt offensive coordinator Todd Monken would have taken the same tack.

Because when you have a back who averages 8.4 yards per carry, forces 15 missed tackles, and has seven runs of 15+ yards on just 47 carries, that’s a guy you want to deploy in the most important moments. The addition of Derrick Henry in free agency should give the Ravens a highly interesting one-two punch when Mitchell is able to return from his recovery.

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

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.

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

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 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 1 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.

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The NFL’s most underrated offensive players

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar reveals his All-Underrated offense heading into the 2022 NFL season.

In the NFL, players are underrated for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes, they’re second banana to a superstar whose deeds take up all the oxygen. Other times, it may be that the player has to climb up the depth chart as a little-regarded contributor, and the media hasn’t caught up yet. It’s also possible that the player has an incandescent talent that’s hidden by an unfavorable scheme. And it could also be that the player has had one great season, and everyone’s waiting to see if it’s a fluke.

If we were to assemble a team made out of underrated players, how far could that team go? Given the talent on this All-Underrated offense, we tend to think that opposing defenses would not enjoy their prospects.