Plenty of players are worthy of more recognition after this past season: Most NFL fans know the skill-position stars, but this list shines a light on some of the unsung heroes at the less glamorous positions.
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Estimated Reading Time: 18 minutes
Following free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, the 32 teams’ rosters are starting to get finalized as training camp nears. With that in mind, here is a look at 32 players who we believe should get more recognition for their efforts.
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ARIZONA CARDINALS: CB Garrett Williams
Williams operated as the Cardinals' primary slot cornerback in 2024, delivering the second-best PFF coverage grade (83.7) among qualifying cornerbacks in the regular season. He is set to once again man the slot in 2025 after allowing just a 25.9% first-down-plus-touchdown rate in coverage there this past season — tied for the seventh-best mark among 114 qualifying slot cornerbacks.
Williams also let up just 0.67 yards per coverage snap while working out of the slot, which was a top-five mark.
ATLANTA FALCONS: DI David Onyemata
The Manitoba product has been a staple in the middle of NFC South defensive lines since 2016, playing more than 5,300 defensive snaps between his time with the New Orleans Saints and the Falcons. At 32 years old, Onyemata is coming off his seventh season of logging more than 500 defensive snaps, proving to be one of the more reliable players at his position in recent years.
Since joining the Falcons in 2023, Onyemata owns the 14th-best PFF run-defense grade (73.1) and the 21st-best PFF overall grade (77.7) among qualifying players at his position.
David Onyemata's Career PFF Grades
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BALTIMORE RAVENS: RB Justice Hill
Derrick Henry is at the forefront of the conversation around the Ravens' backfield as one of the top names at his position in the league. However, Hill is the unsung hero of the unit, playing primarily on passing downs to provide Henry a breather so he can dominate on early downs. Hill earned a top-five PFF receiving grade (89.0) in 2024, bringing in 48 of 52 targets for 403 yards and four receiving touchdowns.
BUFFALO BILLS: WR Khalil Shakir
Shakir has been a stable contributor for the Bills’ receiving corps over the past two seasons, and he stepped up significantly in 2024 in Stefon Diggs‘ absence, leading the team in targets (115), receiving yards (995), PFF receiving grade (80.1) and yards per route run (2.20). Shakir placed in the top 25 for the position in all of those categories.
He has also been one of the most effective receivers with the ball in his hands, averaging 7.7 yards after the catch per reception since 2023, which is tied for the sixth-best mark among wide receivers.
CAROLINA PANTHERS: WR Jalen Coker
The Panthers spent a first-round pick on wide receiver Xavier Legette last offseason and only scooped up Coker as an undrafted free agent. The expectation for Legette to be the most effective receiver wasn’t unreasonable, though Coker consistently looked like the better option in 2024. He ranked fourth among qualifying rookie wide receivers in yards per route run (1.72) on the year.
Coker finished with a 73.8 PFF receiving grade, which was also a top-five mark among rookie receivers. He delivered 478 receiving yards on just 45 targets — just over half as many targets as Legette, who finished with a 59.4 PFF receiving grade and 497 yards.
CHICAGO BEARS: DI Gervon Dexter Sr.
Dexter took a step forward in Year 2, delivering a 70.3 PFF overall grade, which ranked 24th among players at his position. His 39 quarterback pressures formed a top-20 mark for the regular season, coming in 15 games and across 356 pass-rush snaps, which ranked 39th at the position.
Over the past two seasons, Dexter has been in on 10 sacks, which ranks behind only Montez Sweat on the team during that span.
CINCINNATI BENGALS: DI B.J. Hill
Hill is coming off his second-best PFF overall grade as a member of the Bengals since 2021, earning a 70.2 mark, which ranked in the top 25 mark for the position in 2024.
Hill’s strength at this point in his career is as a run defender, where he posted an 18th-ranked 69.2 PFF run-defense grade this past season. On 273 run defense snaps, Hill delivered a 9.3% run-stop-rate — another top-20 mark and an impressive feat for a defensive lineman heading into Year 8.
CLEVELAND BROWNS: LB Jordan Hicks
Year 10 in the NFL resulted in a top-10 PFF overall grade at the position for Hicks (77.4), and the best mark of his career since 2018. He started the year having ceded snaps to Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah as the team’s top linebacker, but after Koramoah’s injury, Hicks regained the role and finished the year as one of just eight linebackers to earn a top-25 PFF grade in run defense (77.7) and coverage (70.0), proving there’s still plenty left in the tank for the near-33-year-old linebacker heading in 2025.
DALLAS COWBOYS: CB Jourdan Lewis
Among 97 qualifying slot cornerbacks in 2024, Lewis ranked sixth in PFF coverage grade (80.5) from a slot alignment. Among the same cohort, he placed 11th-best in first-down-plus-touchdown rate allowed in coverage (27.9%).
Considering the struggles of the Cowboys’ defense in 2024, and the team missing starters at cornerback for large chunks of the year, Lewis was undoubtedly one of the bright spots and should be viewed as an encouraging piece heading into 2025. He ranks behind only Micah Parsons in PFF overall grade (71.7) among returning defenders in Dallas.
DENVER BRONCOS: S Brandon Jones
2024 was a massive season for Jones, who signed a three-year free-agent contract with the Broncos this past offseason, despite not having played more than 644 defensive snaps in a year while dealing with several injuries.
Jones not only proved the Broncos right in signing him, but he also exceeded expectations by finishing as one of the five highest-graded safeties overall (84.8) and in coverage (89.8) in 2024. He played a career-high 1,042 defensive snaps — almost double his previous career high — and looked more comfortable than he ever has in Vance Joseph’s defense, putting him in the conversation as one of the league’s best heading into 2025.
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DETROIT LIONS: CB Amik Robertson
On a defense with two All-Pro safeties, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, Robertson has provided a boost to the team’s run defense, earning an 89.7 PFF run-defense grade, which ranked sixth at the position in 2024.
Robertson’s role as the team’s primary nickel cornerback allows him to provide support closer to the box and serve as a key run defender, so his being able to step up in that role is key, as he allows Branch to play a more typical safety role.
GREEN BAY PACKERS: WR Romeo Doubs
Doubs has quietly put up more than 1,500 receiving yards over the past two seasons — the second most among all Packers players, behind only Jayden Reed. He has also delivered a 75.0 PFF receiving grade, also ranking second on the team, behind only Reed, since 2023.
Doubs’ ability to step up deep downfield and come down with contested catches has been crucial for Green Bay, as he not only leads the team in contested-catch rate over the past two seasons (58.7%) but also ranks 11th among 104 qualifying wide receivers over that span.
HOUSTON TEXANS: S Jalen Pitre
Pitre made a position change from a typical safety to more of a primary slot defender in 2024 with a career-high 434 defensive snaps in the slot. With the role change, Pitre also delivered career-high grades across the board, including a 73.9 overall mark, a 79.5 run-defense mark and a 71.3 coverage mark — all top-20 figures at the position.
Pitre missed time near the end of last season, but if he continues to play as well as he did in 2024, he should be a big boost to Houston's defense in 2025.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: T Bernhard Raimann
Former first- and second-round picks Quenton Nelson, Braden Smith and Ryan Kelly are typically the first names referenced when discussing the Colts’ offensive line, but the 2022 third-round pick has earned his place in that conversation and, arguably, been the best of the bunch coming off a career year in 2024.
Raimann led the team in PFF pass-blocking grade (82.0) in 2024, ranking 14th among offensive tackles in that regard. He was one of just six offensive tackles to rank in the top 12 at his position in both PFF pass-blocking grade and run-defense grade in 2024, leading to a top-10 PFF overall grade (85.1) at the position.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: T Walker Little
Little delivered a career year in 2024, emerging as a steady presence on Jacksonville’s offensive line, and the team rewarded him with a contract extension this past year.
Little was not just Jacksonville’s best offensive linemen this past season, but has also done a solid job for his career, allowing just a 1.5% knockdown (sacks plus quarterback hits) rate, which ranks tied for 29th with 2021 draft peer Rashawn Slater among 115 qualifying offensive tackles since 2021.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: LB Leo Chenal
Chenal has a very specific role in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, operating as an early-down/run-defending specialist and playing just 26% of the team’s possible third- and fourth-down snaps since 2023.
Chenal has thrived in that early-down role, earning the third-best PFF run-defense grade (91.3) at his position since 2023, behind only Bobby Wagner (94.1) and Fred Warner (92.1). He has done this by engineering back-to-back seasons with top-four marks as a run defender, and as he enters a contract year, he should continue to be a key member of the Chiefs' run-defense unit.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS: WR Jakobi Meyers
The Raiders relied heavily on Davante Adams as their top receiver during his time with the team, and over the past two years with Meyers on the roster, Adams earned nearly 200 targets across 20 games. With Adams gone since Week 3 of 2024, Meyers really stepped up, earning 108 targets and going for 875 receiving yards and 1.87 yards per route run to rank second on the team, behind only Brock Bowers.
Meyers has established himself as a reliable second option in the passing game for the Raiders, ranking 39th in PFF receiving grade (78.2) and 17th in total targets (232) among 147 qualifying wide receivers since 2023.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS: LB Daiyan Henley
It wouldn’t have been a major surprise for the Chargers' new coaching staff to lean on either veteran Denzel Perryman or third-round pick Junior Colson, considering his familiarity with Jim Harbaugh and Jesse Minter’s defense, as the team’s lead linebacker in 2024.
However, Henley seized that opportunity, despite playing just 54 defensive snaps as a rookie. He became a key player for the defense, even earning a 71.3 PFF coverage grade, which ranked 11th at the position last season.
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LOS ANGELES RAMS: T Alaric Jackson
Jackson was a 2021 undrafted free agent, so his emergence as a 1,000-plus-snap player in 2023 probably wasn’t viewed as an ideal path for the Rams, considering past contributors at the position, Andrew Whitworth and Joe Noteboom.
While Jackson had his ups and downs in 2023 as a first-time starter, he really came into his own in 2024, delivering a 78.4 PFF overall grade, which ranked 18th at the position, while leading the team in PFF pass-blocking grade (79.2). He ranked 22nd in PFF pass-blocking grade among all offensive tackles in 2024 while playing more than 1,000 snaps for the second straight season — way more mileage than any team can expect to get out of a former UDFA offensive lineman.
MIAMI DOLPHINS: DI Zach Sieler
Sieler has been a workhorse on Miami’s defensive line for the past three seasons, and while that hasn’t always led to the most efficient production, he did come through in that regard this past season, delivering a 71.5 PFF pass-rush grade (24th), which led to a position-leading 13 total sacks in 2024.
This was not just a result of high-end snaps, either. Sieler played more than 100 fewer pass-rush snaps than in each of his past two seasons. His 78.9 PFF overall grade was also the second best of his career and ranked tied for 11th at his position in 2024.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS: LB Blake Cashman
Cashman is a relative unknown in the league as a former fifth-round pick who, outside of his rookie season and prior to becoming a starter in 2023, had failed to crack 150 defensive snaps in three straight years.
However, Cashman broke out in a big way in 2023 with the Texans, earning a top-10 PFF overall grade for his position (82.1), which helped him land a three-year deal with Brian Flores in Minnesota. Cashman delivered another strong year in 2024, playing a career-high 947 defensive snaps, ranking 22nd in PFF overall grade (72.0) and faring well in run defense (76.3).
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: EDGE Keion White
White experienced a Year 2 breakout in 2024, playing a crucial role along New England’s defensive line, leading the team in pass-rush snaps (427), PFF pass-rush grade (76.7), pressures (45) and sacks (six).
Despite logging more than 500 defensive snaps as a rookie in 2023, White didn’t produce all that much, He stepped up in 2024 with the team trusting him in a larger role, even ranking 22nd at the position in PFF pass-rush grade while lining up in multiple spots and even dropping into coverage on occasion.
New Orleans Saints: EDGE Carl Granderson
Granderson’s teammate Cameron Jordan has long been a poster boy for the league’s most underrated players, but with Jordan reaching the end of his career, Granderson has taken over that lead edge defender role and is potentially an underrated player in his own right.
Over the past two regular seasons, Granderson has delivered 119 quarterback pressures — the 16th most among all players at his position. He not only adds much-needed pass-rush upside, but his 80.7 PFF run-defense grade since 2022 ranks tied for 12th at the position.
NEW YORK GIANTS: CB Andru Phillips
Phillips was thrust into a key role as a rookie, manning the slot and playing more than 600 defensive snaps in a potential sink-or-swim scenario for the third-round pick out of Kentucky. To Phillips’ credit, he performed at a high level despite missing some time with injuries, finishing with a 77.5 PFF overall grade — a top-10 mark for the position.
Phillips was one of just eight cornerbacks to rank in the top 25 in PFF coverage grade (75.8) and PFF run-defense grade (78.1) in 2024 and one of just three (Cooper DeJean and Kyler Gordon) to do it while spending the majority of his snaps in the slot, where his run-defense skills come into play more often.
NEW YORK JETS: G Alijah Vera-Tucker
Vera-Tucker hasn’t played more than 432 snaps in a season since his 2021 rookie year, which has led to some disappointment in the former 14th overall pick. But 2024 was Vera-Tucker’s best season yet.
He played 15 games, earning a career-high 77.7 PFF overall grade and a career-high PFF pass-blocking (74.5). That mark as a pass blocker ranked 12th among qualifying guards in 2024 and aligns more closely with the expectations of a former top-15 pick.
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PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: S Reed Blankenship
On a Super Bowl-winning roster, there will always be some unsung heroes whose contributions might get overlooked, and Blankenship stands out.
As a former undrafted free agent, Blankenship has assumed a locked-in starter over the past two seasons and delivered an 87.2 PFF coverage grade, which ranks eighth among 129 qualifying safeties since 2022.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS: EDGE Nick Herbig
Herbig isn’t going to get the same recognition as T.J. Watt or Alex Highsmith along the Steelers' defensive line, and part of that has to do with his much lower snap share, but it’s worth noting how well he has performed when he is given an opportunity.
Since 2022, Herbig owns a 91.4 PFF pass-rush grade, which ranks seventh among all edge defenders with at least 250 pass-rush snaps. With Watt and Highsmith occasionally missing time due to injury, having a high-end pass rusher like Herbig waiting in the wings is a very underrated and valuable option that not many teams have the luxury of.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: WR Jauan Jennings
Jennings came into the 2024 season facing a crowded depth chart in San Francisco, between Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and even 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall, not to mention the added target competition of George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey.
Despite all odds, Jennings established himself as a top option on offense, ranking in the top 20 in PFF receiving grade (83.7), receptions (77) and yards per route run (2.26) in the regular season among qualifying wide receivers. Thanks to his most recent season, the former seventh-round pick is now in a prime spot to continue his stellar play in 2025.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: S Julian Love
Love came through with a career year in 2024 as a seemingly perfect fit in Mike MacDonald’s defense, which led to a more complete showing. Love finished sixth at the position in PFF overall grade (81.2) and was one of only two safeties (Kyle Hamilton) to rank in the top 10 in PFF run-defense grade (89.5) and PFF coverage grade (76.1) this past season.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: EDGE Yaya Diaby
Diaby didn’t explode in the sack column in 2024, which kept his play under the radar, but his underlying pass-rush metrics suggest he had a breakout season in 2024.
Perhaps most impressive about Diaby’s past season is that he delivered an 18.1% pass-rush win rate, which was a top-10 mark for the position, as were his 70 total pressures. Sacks are often what makes headlines, but Diaby is well on pace to regress positively in that regard, which will likely keep him from remaining underrated.
TENNESSEE TITANS: EDGE Arden Key
Key has bounced around the league a bit in his NFL career, playing for his fourth team in seven years now as a member of the Titans for the past two seasons. He has gone from being more of a role player on previous teams to that of a workhorse edge for Tennessee, playing more than 700 defensive snaps and landing six and 6.5 sacks, respectively, in each season with the team.
Over the past four seasons, Key has earned a 77.2 PFF pass-rush grade, which ranks 38th among 169 qualifying edge defenders since 2021.
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS: TE Zach Ertz
Ertz enjoyed some stellar seasons with the Eagles and was in no way underrated at that time, but as a 34-year-old tight end nearing the end of his career, it appeared his best seasons were behind him.
However, Ertz delivered more than 80 receptions in 2024 for the first time since 2019, which led to his best PFF receiving grade (72.5) and yardage total (809) in that same stretch. He ranked in the top 10 in targets for his position in the regular season, an impressive feat at this stage of his career.