Underrated NFL Players for the 2025 Season
What does it mean for an NFL player to be underrated? Simply put, it’s someone who performs better than general perception suggests. This can manifest in various ways.
A player can be considered good when they are actually excellent. They can also be a player that fans perceive as average, but who demonstrates superior performance on the field. It can even refer to a player who is productive despite criticism.
Below, we highlight an underrated player by position in the league.
Quarterback: Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
Many argued that Purdy was not a true MVP candidate in 2023, attributing his success to San Francisco’s offensive scheme and his talented teammates. However, in 2024, despite injuries to several teammates, Purdy maintained a high level of play.
A key aspect is the production of yards after the catch in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. The 49ers led the NFL in this aspect for six consecutive years, from 2018 to 2023, but fell to sixth place last season. Despite this, Purdy’s numbers were solid.
Purdy excels in metrics that evaluate his performance independently of his receivers and blockers. For example, in 2024, Purdy ranked seventh in the NFL with a QBR of 67.9. According to Kevin Cole’s adjusted quarterback efficiency, which considers factors such as yards after the catch and dropped passes, Purdy was seventh in value per play (ninth in total value). In addition, he ranked fourth in Ben Baldwin’s adjusted EPA per play, which also adjusts for pass protection.
Does his recent contract extension make him a no-longer-underrated player? On the contrary, some criticism suggests that how superior Purdy has been compared to other Shanahan quarterbacks in San Francisco is not appreciated.
Running Back: Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
Public perception of running backs is often based on their fantasy football value. Hubbard was never among the top 20 fantasy running backs in his first three seasons. Although last season was his best performance as a professional, he only ranked 13th in fantasy points.
However, Hubbard rushed for 1,195 rushing yards and scored 11 touchdowns. In terms of performance per play, he was outstanding. Hubbard ranked fourth among qualified running backs in rushing yards over expected per carry (1.1) according to NFL Next Gen Stats. It was his best year in that metric, but he was also above average in 2022 and 2023.
Despite the addition of Rico Dowdle and the selection of Trevor Etienne, Hubbard should still be Carolina’s primary running back in 2025.
Open Receiver: Darius Slayton, New York Giants
Slayton, selected in the fifth round in 2019, was not seen as a prominent figure, but in his rookie season, he started nine games and caught eight touchdown passes. Although he hasn’t matched that production since then, the Giants kept him alongside Malik Nabers last season, demonstrating the importance of having at least two starting wide receivers in the modern NFL. Slayton achieved 39 receptions for 573 yards, which convinced the Giants to extend his contract for three years and 36 million dollars.
Advanced metrics support this decision, as Slayton has had a positive DVOA (Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average) for three consecutive seasons. Playing with Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and/or Jaxson Dart in 2025, Slayton should continue to be a deep threat alongside Nabers, producing an efficient and productive season.
Closed Wing: Zach Ertz, Washington Commanders
After playing only seven games with the Cardinals in 2023, it seemed that Ertz’s career, at 33 years old, might be coming to an end. However, he had an outstanding comeback season with the Commanders in 2024. Ertz caught 66 passes for 654 yards and seven touchdowns, becoming one of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels’ favorite receivers.
Ertz also ranked tenth among tight ends in the DYAR metric (yards over replacement adjusted for defense). In addition, he had an 85.7% run blocking success rate, one of the best among starting tight ends. The Commanders re-signed him to a one-year, $6.25 million contract for 2025, without adding other tight ends, indicating that he will remain the starter.
Offensive Tackle: Garett Bolles, Denver Broncos
After a difficult start to his career, the player selected in the first round of 2017 has become one of the best left tackles in the league. Although he is still waiting for his first Pro Bowl selection, Bolles ranked seventh among tackles in pass-blocking success rate last season (93.4%) and thirteenth in 2023 (91.6%).
Bolles led an offensive line for the Broncos that finished No. 1 in run-blocking success rate (74.9%) in 2024. FTN data also placed him seventh in pressures allowed as a left tackle. His only issue could be penalties, as he was fifth among linemen last season with 15 total penalties.
Interior Offensive Line: Elgton Jenkins, Green Bay Packers
Unlike Bolles, Jenkins has been selected twice for the Pro Bowl in his six-year career. However, many fans still do not consider him one of the best linemen in the NFL.
Last season, Jenkins led left guards in the fewest pressures allowed, according to FTN data. He ranked eighth among all guards in pass-blocking success rate (92.4%), in addition to providing versatility to Green Bay’s offensive line. He has played at both tackle positions and is now slated to be the starting center in 2025. Jenkins is awaiting a new contract.
Interior Defensive Line: Zach Allen, Denver Broncos
Although he was selected as a second-team All-Pro, many fans outside of Denver may not realize how good Allen was in 2024. He plays as a 5-technique defensive end in Denver’s 3-4 scheme and was key to the Broncos’ unit. He dominated in the stops, which is the sum of big defensive plays (turnovers, tackles for loss, and tackles/passes defended to prevent a third or fourth down conversion). Allen’s 25 stops tied for second among interior defensive linemen with Cameron Heyward of the Steelers and was one fewer than Leonard Williams of the Seahawks.
Allen was also second in career stop rate (89%), which measures how often one of his tackles prevented a successful run for the offense. He had 36 pressures for good measure, which ranked second behind Chris Jones of the Chiefs among interior linemen in 2024.
Defensive End: George Karlaftis, Kansas City Chiefs
If you’re looking for an underrated defensive end, there’s a general rule: look for someone who has many more pressures than sacks. This indicates that he is getting to the quarterback and causing negative plays for the opponent, even if he isn’t getting the sacks.
In 2024, Karlaftis fit that profile. After a 10.5-sack season in 2023, he managed eight sacks last season, but his pressure total was much more impressive. Karlaftis tied for 14th in the NFL with 44 pressures. He added 11 more pressures in three playoff games and had three sacks against the Texans in the AFC divisional round.
Linebacker: Lavonte David, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This could be a career achievement award for one of the most underrated players in NFL history, but David is still performing at 35 years old. He is the all-time leader (since 1991) in tackles, and David still made these great plays last season (tied for fourth with 29 tackles). David made his career average tackle after a gain of only 2.7 yards, which also placed him sixth among starting off-ball linebackers.
His only (relative) weakness was pass coverage, where he had a below-average coverage DVOA and allowed 7.7 yards per target. He returns to Tampa Bay for another season after signing a one-year contract.
Cornerback: Christian Benford, Buffalo Bills
One of the difficulties in identifying an underrated cornerback is that the position’s metrics are very inconsistent from one season to the next. However, Benford comes from two very solid consecutive seasons, which doesn’t seem like a coincidence.
You may not have noticed Benford’s impact in 2024 because he only had two interceptions. But overall success in coverage is based on a much larger sample of numbers than just interceptions.
In 2023, Benford ranked 18th in my coverage DVOA metric among qualified cornerbacks. Last season, he climbed to fourth overall. He was targeted on 10.1% of passes when he was on the field, one of the lowest figures in the league, and allowed just 6.1 yards per target.
Safety: Taylor Rapp, Buffalo Bills
We’re back to the Bills’ defense here, but in a different way. As I mentioned before, there are different ways to be an underrated player in the NFL. Benford, for example, is considered good, but is actually one of the best in the league at his position. Rapp, for his part, is considered a weak spot on the Buffalo roster, but is actually reasonably productive.
Although many have described the Bills’ safeties as disappointing, they were an important part of a defense that finished 11th in DVOA last season. They ranked seventh in defensive DVOA on deep passes (16 or more air yards), and Rapp was most often in the deep safety role.
He also had a solid season as a tackler, with only four missed tackles compared to 48 solo tackles, one of the lowest broken tackle rates in the league. And despite playing primarily from the line of scrimmage, he ranked among the top 20 safeties with 48 run plays (tackles and assists).
Specialist: Corey Bojorquez, Cleveland Browns
The Browns’ punter led the NFL in my gross punt metric last season, which is based on punt distance assuming average returns (adjusted for weather and altitude). However, Bojorquez had a negative net value because the Browns’ punt coverage team was terrible. This was not a problem of Bojorquez outkicking his coverage. He was third in the league with 36 punts inside the 20-yard line, but the Browns also allowed three returns of over 50 yards.
His talent can be seen in his consistency. Last season marked the fourth consecutive year that Bojorquez ranked in the top 10 in gross punt value. He was ninth in 2023, fifth in 2022, and tenth in 2021.
