Some of the NFL’s most consistently productive and impactful players just always seem to fly under the radar. For whatever reason, they just never seem to receive enough love and appreciation for their excellent play on the field.
With that said, let’s dive into the 10 most under-appreciated players in the NFL right now.
Tyler Lockett
The No. 69 selection of the 2015 NFL Draft made his name as a star special teams return man. He was a solid No. 3 receiving option for Russell Wilson from 2015 to 2017, but the Kansas State product began to turn a corner in 2018.
Fast forward half a decade later, and he’s now one of the most under-appreciated players in the game. Consider this: Only four guys hauled in more receiving touchdowns than Lockett from 2018 to 2022: Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill,Mike Evans and Travis Kelce.
That’s it. That’s the list. The only guys who topped Lockett’s receiving TDs total of 45.
Lockett was once overshadowed by ex-teammate Doug Baldwin. Now he’s overshadowed by five-star receiver DK Metcalf, arguably a top-five wideout in the game right now.
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Now, what if we told you that 2022 marked Lockett’s fourth straight season of 70-plus catches, over 1,000 yards receiving AND at least eight touchdown receptions. But when do you ever hear Lockett’s name come up in the list of the game’s best offensive weapons and playmakers?
Almost never. Let’s work on changing that, folks.
Lavonte David
It shouldn’t have taken Tom Brady’s arrival in Tampa Bay for the football world to finally understand and respect David’s greatness.
The No. 58 selection of the 2012 NFL Draft has greatly exceeded expectations, developing as the backbone of the Buccaneers’ defense for a decade.
Through his first 11 NFL seasons, David had nine seasons of 100-plus tackles. The athletically-gifted workhorse has done it all with 29 sacks, 12 interceptions, 59 pass defenses and 27 forced fumbles.
The Buccaneers were totally irrelevant during David’s first eight years with the franchise. Once Brady arrived, Tampa’s vaunted defense got more recognition and attention. But as evidenced by the lone Pro Bowl nod and just one first-team all-pro selection, David has been far too overlooked for far too long.
The Bucs would not have won Super Bowl 55 without Brady. They also wouldn’t have won it without David. His leadership, intangibles and game-wrecking abilities were also instrumental in bringing the franchise its first championship.
Tyler Boyd
Boyd first came into the spotlight when he caught a late game-winning touchdown pass against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17 of the 2017 season. Y’know, the TD that eliminated Baltimore from the playoffs while also ending the Buffalo Bills’ 18-year postseason drought?
As it turned out, that was merely the start of something special for the speedy wideout. Boyd followed that up with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2018 and 2019 – even notching a career-high seven touchdowns in 2018.
The arrivals of Tee Higgins and superstar Ja’Marr Chase to accommodate Joe Burrow meant a reduced role for Boyd — hence the whole “under-appreciated” factor. Boyd, when healthy, is still good for 60-plus catches and over 800 yards a season as a WR3.
He put up over 800 receiving yards four years in a row from 2018 to 2021. Boyd’s speed and sure-handedness have made him a special weapon in Cincy for more than half a decade now.
Just because he isn’t Higgins or Chase, it doesn’t give the football world a reason to under-appreciate Boyd. Just sayin’.
Laremy Tunsil
Tunsil is overlooked for one simple reason: He was the centerpiece of a “panic” move by then-Houston Texans GM and head coach Bill O’Brien back in 2019.
Needing offensive line help, O’Brien acquired Tunsil and wide receiver Kenny Stills in a blockbuster move with the Miami Dolphins ahead of the 2019 season. O’Brien dealt away two first-round picks plus a second-rounder to make the move work.
That was a giant overpay on O’Brien’s end. And of course, Houston’s 2021 first-rounder wound up being the No. 3 pick, which the Dolphins dealt to the San Francisco 49ers. It stings, we know.
But that’s not at all on Tunsil. He has held up his end of the bargain since coming to Houston, going from “good” in Miami to great in H-town. Tunsil has earned three Pro Bowl nods as a Texans, having allowed only three sacks since the 2020 season, per Pro Football Focus.
The Texans have been a trainwreck since 2020, so it’s easy to overlook guys like Tunsil…especially when they play a position that never gets enough love to begin with.
Tunsil is unquestionably a top-10 offensive tackle in the game, and it’s time to put more respect on his name.
Germaine Pratt
The Bengals’ top offensive players will always get most of the spotlight and attention. That’s just how it is.
When you think of the Bengals’ top defensive players, pass-rush specialist Trey Hendrickson immediately pops out. But let’s also give some love to linebacker Germaine Pratt, the glue who holds this Cincinnati defense together.
Pratt low-key broke out for the Bengals in 2022, garnering a superb Pro Football Focus grade of 80.6 on the year. He had two interceptions, 10 pass defenses and 99 tackles, all career-bests by a country mile.
Not only that, but he yielded just a 62.1 opposing quarterback passer rating when targeted, and only one touchdown while in coverage. Prior to that, Pratt had given up an opposing passer rating of over 100.
But Pratt made the jump to borderline elite in 2022, and there’s no reason to think he won’t continue to improve from here. Without his efforts, the Bengals probably don’t make a second straight trip to the AFC Championship Game.
PFF also ranked Pratt as the 20th-best linebacker ahead of the 2023 season. Pretty good considering that a ton of NFL fans outside of Cincinnati probably wouldn’t be able to tell you what team he’s on, nor what position he plays.
Kyle Dugger
Many were surprised when Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots took little-known safety Kyle Dugger in round two at No. 37 overall in the 2020 draft.
Dugger certainly wasn’t that highly-ranked among the defensive backs, and he played at the smaller school of Lenoir-Rhyne. But now we see why Belichick took the chance on Dugger when nobody else had him so early on their board…
Per Pro Football Focus, Dugger had a 76.7 grade in run defense and a coverage grade of 78.3 in 2022. He was just one of four safeties to grade above .500 in both those categories, too.
Dugger racked up seven total interceptions and 13 pass defenses over the 2021 and 2022 season. And per Pro Football Reference, opposing QBs had a woeful 66.7 passer rating when targeting Dugger in the 2021 season.
Devin McCourty’s retirement surely hurt the Pats’ locker room and fanbase from a sentimental standpoint. But in terms of the on-field aspect? They’ll be just fine. Dugger is everything Belichick looks for in a safety, and it’s only a matter of time until multiple Pro Bowl and/or All-Pro nods go on his resume.
Ryan Ramcyzk
Among all active NFL players who have played at least, say, four seasons, Ramczyk may be the best one who has yet to earn a Pro Bowl nod.
The New Orleans Saints drafted Ramczyk 32nd overall in 2017. He was one of several key members from their dream 2017 class, along with Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, Marcus Williams and Trey Hendrickson.
Again, offensive linemen in general are always overlooked. It’s especially been the case for Ramczyk, who was overshadowed by major stars like Kamara, Drew Brees and Michael Thomas.
Consider this: Pro Football Focus graded him in the 80s through each of his first five NFL seasons. His “lowest” grade in a single season thus far is 77.9 — which he garnered in 2022 — which is still Pro Bowl-caliber.
Ramcyk has consistently been one of the NFL’s elite pass and run-blockers. As far as individual accolades go, Ramczyk was a First-Team All-Pro in 2019 and a second-team all-pro in both 2018 and 2020.
But you never hear his name come up when it’s time to discuss the game’s premier offensive tackles. If the Saints emerge as a contender again, maybe Ramczyk will start getting more love?
Justin Simmons
The Broncos have been among the most irrelevant NFL teams since their Super Bowl 50 championship-winning 2015 season. And when the team is irrelevant, it’s hard to pay much attention to any of their players.
But safety Justin Simmons has been, low-key, one of the NFL’s premier defensive backs dating back to his age-26 2019 seasons. Maybe he didn’t cut it as a head coach, but Vic Fangio deserves credit for fully unlocking the potential of the 2016 third-round pick.
Simmons earned Pro Bowl honors in 2020 as well as second-team all-pro selections in 2019, 2021 and 2022. He has the second-most interceptions since 2019 with 20; only JC Jackson is ahead of Simmons during that span with 22.
Over that four-year period, Simmons also racked up an insane pass defense total of 43. Also, his six interceptions in the 2022 campaign co-led the NFL.
And finally, Simmons has yielded an opposition’s passer rating of 84.0 or lower when targeted in three of the last four years. That included a gross opposing QB passer rating of 43.6 in the 2019 season.
Someone’s long overdue to be in the conversation of the NFL’s premium safeties by now…
Matt Milano
What a gem of a find Milano was in the fifth round by the Buffalo Bills back in 2017.
Milano has shared the field with other stars like Tre’Davious White, Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Von Miller and previously Tremaine Edmunds. But the Boston College product has been just as vital to the success of the Bills’ defense during their rise to power under Sean McDermott.
Milano’s numbers on paper won’t exactly jump out to you: 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and just one 100-tackle season. But don’t overlook his eight interceptions nor an impressive pass defense total of 37 since his rookie year — including a career-high 11 in the 2022 season.
It’s Milano’s work in coverage that also doesn’t get enough love. Per Pro Football Reference, he’s only allowed two TDs in coverage since 2020. And in four of the last five years, opposing QBs have combined for a passer rating of 71.9 or lower when targeting Milano.
The Bills’ secondary is scary enough with White, Poyer and Hyde. And then you throw in one of football’s elite cover linebackers, and it’s no wonder teams have consistently struggled to throw the ball on this guy.
Milano earned his first career Pro Bowl and first-team all-pro selections in 2022. Perhaps that will have finally marked the beginning of this guy actually getting long overdue and deserving recognition as a top-tier NFL linebacker?
Jared Goff
Make no mistake, Sean McVay is one of the NFL’s top quarterback gurus. But it’s also clear that Jared Goff was not a product of playing in McVay’s QB-friendly system.
Goff doesn’t get enough credit for his role in elevating the Los Angeles Rams from the land of irrelevance to annual playoff contention. In four years with McVay, Goff posted four straight winning seasons and led the Rams to two division titles, a wild card berth and a Super Bowl 53 appearance.
McVay figured he could do better than Goff, hence the 2021 blockbuster trade that sent Matt Stafford to the Rams. Yes, Stafford led LA to a Super Bowl 56 championship in his first season under McVay, but that shouldn’t take away any of Goff’s accomplishments.
The No. 1 pick of 2016 was supposed to be a “bridge” to the Lions’ next starting QB. But after a shaky 2021 season, Goff turned in arguably his best season in 2022 with 4,438 passing yards and 29 touchdowns against only seven interceptions.
Goff led the Lions to their first winning season in six years, and they only missed out on the postseason because of a tiebreaker. And with the Lions seemingly committed to Goff for the long term, it’s probably a good idea to start acknowledging him as a real-solid QB and not just a guy who lost his starting job to Stafford in LA.
Quarterbacks in football tend to be rated WELL or overrated. They’re rarely under-appreciated, but Goff certainly is right now.
Who do you think is the most under-appreciated player in the NFL right now? Join us in the comments section
