What makes a player underappreciated?
That’s a sliding scale, to be sure, but the basic goal here is to give more love to those who deserve it. In a 32-team league with 53-man rosters, it’s impossible to properly praise ALL quality contributors. But as we head into summer -- the NFL’s slow season -- it’s a perfect time to check some of those boxes.
So, Tom Blair and Gennaro Filice are spotlighting one player on each roster who warrants wider appreciation from the football-watching masses. Check out Gennaro’s selections for every NFC team below -- and click here for Tom's AFC rundown.
Despite tearing his ACL at Syracuse in October of 2022, Williams declared for the 2023 NFL Draft and landed with the Cardinals early in Round 3. The knee rehab delayed his professional debut until Week 7 of the ’23 campaign, but he picked off a pass in his very first game and went on to log six starts as a rookie, proving proficient in the increasingly crucial nickel role. Williams truly emerged as a stud slot defender in Year 2, leading the Cardinals with nine pass breakups while recording 58 tackles and two picks. An instinctive cover man who’s at his best with eyes on the quarterback, Williams fits swimmingly in Arizona’s zone-heavy scheme, and Cardinals coaches rave about his maniacal preparation.
"You look at his iPad, it's like, 'Dude, how'd you watch six hours of tape from seven to midnight? Like, there's only five hours,' " head man Jonathan Gannon said to the assembled media halfway through last season.
One of the biggest Pro Bowl snubs from this past season, Elliss comfortably led Atlanta with 151 tackles, but this isn’t your typical inside linebacker. While the former seventh-round pick of the rival Saints leaves something to be desired in pass coverage, he was easily the 2024 Falcons’ most efficient pass rusher. Tied for first with Lavonte David among off-ball ‘backers in pressures (34, per NGS), Elliss paced Atlanta with 16 quarterback hits and fell just one sack shy of the team lead with five. The versatile defender was a one-man army in many games, including the Week 9 win over Dallas, when Elliss piled up 13 tackles (including two for loss), five pressures, three QB hits and a sack. It will be interesting to see how the linebacker’s role evolves under new defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, especially considering the Falcons’ aggressive efforts to upgrade the edge-rushing group this offseason.
Moton is a rock-solid right tackle. That’s really the best way to describe him. The last pick of the second round back in 2017, Moton took over the Panthers’ starting RT job in 2018 and has capably manned it since. While he’s never made a Pro Bowl, he has made 113 starts, including an ironman streak of 104 in a row that came to an end this past October, when Moton missed two games with a triceps injury. According to Pro Football Focus’ charting, he has only allowed one sack in three of the past four seasons. To be clear, Moton is indeed appreciated by the Panthers, who gave him a four-year, $71.25 million extension back in July of 2021. But as the 30-year-old heads into a contract season, I question whether the wider football-watching public recognizes Moton’s immense value as a reliable bookend in a league that just doesn’t have enough quality offensive linemen.
Dexter started last season on a tear with four sacks and 10 QB hits in Chicago’s first five games. He only recorded one sack and nine QB hits in his final 10 games, though, missing two contests due to a knee injury. To be fair, the second-year pro didn’t have much support on the Bears’ defensive interior, especially after fellow DT Andrew Billings suffered a season-ending injury in early November. But Ryan Poles fortified the D-line in free agency (adding Dayo Odeyingbo and Grady Jarrett) and the draft (second-round pick Shemar Turner). With that influx of talent, Dexter could be set to move around the front more as a more versatile weapon in new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s scheme.
One of the immediate benefits of the George Pickens trade: Jalen Tolbert stops getting hate he doesn’t deserve. A third-round pick out of South Alabama back in 2022, Tolbert unsurprisingly needed a couple seasons to find his bearings in the NFL. He broke through in Year 3, though, catching 49 balls for 610 yards and seven touchdowns. Not to say that’s eye-popping production, but it represents encouraging growth. And yet, through the first four months of this year, Tolbert’s name became something of a punchline when Cowboys critics rhetorically asked, “Who are Dallas’ weapons beyond CeeDee Lamb?” With Pickens’ arrival as the new WR2, Tolbert is a more-than-functional WR3, so everyone can get off the man’s case.
Brad Holmes has been a wildly successful drafter in Detroit. Just look at the general manager’s 2023 haul. You can reasonably argue that three of the Lions’ first four picks from that draft are now top-five players at their respective positions: running back Jahmyr Gibbs, tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch. The unmentioned selection in that span of picks? Jack Campbell, who just led the team with 131 tackles. While the linebacker hasn’t received Pro Bowl recognition like his draft classmates, he certainly has made an impact in Detroit -- especially last season, when injuries ravaged the Lions’ linebacker group and defense as a whole. The former first-round pick started every game and left quite an impression on his old defensive coordinator.
"He's a damn good player for us, and I keep saying this: He's a true MIKE linebacker. For him to stand in front of a group of men, the way they respect him is unreal, and you see it, and I'm sure the players talk about that, too," Aaron Glenn said last December, a month before he became head coach of the Jets. "He's a man's man, he understands what we're trying to do, and he continues to try to get better."
A first-round pick in 2022, Wyatt took a big step forward in 2023, posting 5.5 sacks and 48 QB pressures (per PFF). With Jeff Hafley taking over the defense in 2024 -- switching the scheme from Joe Barry’s 3-4 front to a base 4-3 approach -- Wyatt appeared poised for a full-fledged breakout as a gap-shooting 3-tech. And he was indeed a monster in the first three games of the season, racking up three sacks, five QB hits and nine pressures. But then he sprained his ankle in Week 4, sidelining him for three games. He appeared to get his mojo back late in the season, logging a sack in back-to-back December games, but I want to see a fully healthy season from Wyatt in Hafley’s system.
Blame the Underwear Olympics. Shoddy athletic testing at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine depressed the safety’s draft stock, allowing the Rams to scoop him up with the penultimate pick of Round 3. But the 4.65 40-yard dash didn’t prevent the rookie from picking off four passes -- and taking one 103 yards to the house. An instinctive ballhawk who grabbed 11 interceptions in his final two collegiate campaigns at Miami, Kinchens is further proof that play speed transfers quite nicely to the NFL. After all, Ed Reed ran a 4.57 40 in Indy, and he might be the greatest center fielder in league history.
With his impressive renovation of Minnesota’s defense over the past two seasons, Brian Flores has established himself as one of the most esteemed coordinators in football today. But one of his key cogs hasn’t received the national shine he deserves. The Vikings’ second-leading tackler in each of the past two seasons, Metellus is the chess piece Flores moves all over the board. Just look at how Pro Football Focus charted his positional alignment from this past season:
- Box: 512 snaps
- Slot corner: 330 snaps
- Free safety: 90 snaps
- D-line: 63 snaps
- Wide corner: 33 snaps
Currently in the final year of his contract, Metellus feels like a prime extension candidate, given his Swiss Army Knife role in Flores’ attacking defense.
A New Orleans native who played his college ball at LSU before spending his first four pro campaigns with the Raiders, Moreau hit free agency in 2023 and had a fateful visit with his hometown team: During a routine physical with the Saints, the tight end discovered he had Hodgkin lymphoma. After stepping away for a couple months to undergo treatment, Moreau ultimately signed with the Saints and started 10 games that very season. In 2024, he started all 17 games and provided efficient returns -- 32 catches (with zero drops on 43 targets) for 413 yards and five touchdowns -- during a tough season in the Big Easy. Moreau suffered a knee injury in Week 18, though he was recently spotted catching passes from rookie quarterback Tyler Shough. Yeah, Moreau was wearing a knee brace, but it appears he’s on the road to recovery. No surprise there -- the guy already beat cancer.
A versatile offensive lineman who began his NFL career at guard, Eluemunor started last season as New York’s right tackle, but injuries eventually forced him over to the blind side. Starting the final four games of the season at LT, the London native allowed just one sack and two pressures, according to PFF. With Andrew Thomas returning to health, Eluemunor will be back at RT for a contract season in 2025. Although the Giants are his fourth NFL team, the former fifth-round pick could be due for a healthy raise if he continues to thrive. And an influx of loot could come in handy, as the big man has an eye for style.
Admittedly, this is my biggest projection in this exercise, given that the 2023 seventh-round pick has played just 456 defensive snaps in the NFL. But in the wake of Milton Williams’ departure in free agency, Ojomo is set to assume a bigger role, and I think he’ll seize the opportunity. Why? Well, among interior defenders with at least 300 pass-rushing snaps last season, Ojomo boasted PFF’s second-highest win rate (18.2%), trailing only Chris Jones (18.8%). Williams actually finished fourth (17.6%), underscoring what a blessing it is to line up next to double-team destroyer Jalen Carter. But unlike Milton, Moro will continue to reap that benefit in 2025.
Having just signed Brock Purdy to a quarterback megadeal, San Francisco is entering a new phase in team-building. Nailing draft picks is always important, obviously, but it becomes essential when you’re committing such a large chunk of the salary cap to one man. In order to balance the books, you need to roster viable starters on cost-controlled rookie contracts. The 49ers found one of those in the fourth round of last year’s draft, with Mustapha immediately making his presence felt as a violent playmaker. Unfortunately, as if the Niners didn’t suffer enough of an injury-riddled Super Bowl hangover last year, we recently discovered that Mustapha hurt his ACL in San Francisco’s season finale. This puts his availability for the start of the 2025 campaign in question. He still gets shine here, though, because I self-consciously feel like I personally underappreciated the safety by completely omitting him from last season’s rookie rankings. This dude’s punishing play style is too endearing to go unrecognized!
Walker was appropriately appreciated during his debut campaign of 2022, when he cleared 1,000 yards rushing and finished a close second to Garrett Wilson in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. But the running back’s past two seasons have been marred by injuries and the continual deterioration of Seattle’s offensive line. In the final year of his rookie contract, though, Walker could enjoy a significant bounceback. First of all, GM John Schneider used April’s first-round pick on Grey Zabel, giving the interior O-line a much-needed infusion of talent. More importantly, second-year head coach Mike Macdonald has painstakingly expressed his desire to re-establish the ground game in Seattle. After a one-year dalliance with the more aerially oriented Ryan Grubb as his offensive coordinator, Macdonald swapped in Klint Kubiak, whose outside-zone scheme feels like a really nice fit for Walker’s one-cut explosiveness.
While Baker Mayfield, Bucky Irving and the receiving corps get most of the attention, Tampa Bay’s bedrock strength is the offensive line, which is bookended by a pair of 26-year-old tackles. Everyone knows about perennial Pro Bowler Tristan Wirfs, but Goedeke deserves more love. Just ask Baker.
"Luke Goedeke, I think, is one of the most underrated linemen in the league," Mayfield said in January.
A second-round pick in 2022, Goedeke struggled as a rookie guard. But the Buccaneers switched him to right tackle for the 2023 campaign and haven’t looked back since. Though he can still cut down on the penalties, Goedeke’s a stout pass protector. And in the run game, he teams up with mauling RG Cody Mauch to blow open holes on the right side. With one year left on his rookie deal, Goedeke’s nearing a major payday.
While we’re talking about underappreciated players, how about an underappreciated NFL pipeline? The Illinois secondary has churned out a bevy of ballers in recent years. The 2021 draft brought Nate Hobbs, who established himself as one of the game’s better nickelbacks in Las Vegas before signing a $48 million deal with Green Bay in March. The 2022 draft offered Kerby Joseph, who just signed an extension with Detroit that made him the highest-paid safety in league history. And then the 2023 draft provided a trio of talents: Devon Witherspoon (a Pro Bowler in each of his first two seasons), Sydney Brown (a projected starter for the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles) and Jartavius Quan Martin. Martin took over as a full-time starter in Washington last season, acquitting himself quite well at free safety. He stuffed the stat sheet with 87 tackles, three forced fumbles, three passes defensed, one interception … and two separated shoulders? Yup, apparently, he played most of the year with janky joins in each arm before undergoing offseason surgery. I appreciate your preposterous pain tolerance, Quan.