Overrated and underrated are two terms that are tossed around too often in NFL circles. A player has a bad game? He’s the most overrated player in the league. Someone breaks out for 100 yards in a big win? Apparently, everyone knew he was one of the most underrated players in the game.

But the truth is, pretty much everyone in the league is properly rated. There aren’t many truly overrated or underrated players, because nowadays, we have access to every single snap and so many advanced analytics, but there are still a few players that fit into these two categories.

Today, I’ve set out to identify the most overrated and underrated players at every single position. Starting with quarterback…

Quarterback

Overrated: Justin Herbert

Is Justin Herbert a very good quarterback? Yes, he is. Is he also the most overrated quarterback in the league? I think so.

A lot of NFL teams would take Justin Herbert over their current quarterback. However, I think fans overrate him a bit. He’s constantly mentioned as a top-10 quarterback in the league, but I’m not sure that’s true. So, as a test, I went through every team and listed the quarterbacks I would rank above Herbert if I needed a quarterback for the 2026 season in no particular order.

• Dak Prescott
• Jayden Daniels
• Matthew Stafford
• Brock Purdy
• Jared Goff
• Caleb Williams
• Patrick Mahomes
• Lamar Jackson
• Joe Burrow
• Drake Maye
• Josh Allen
• Trevor Lawrence

That’s at least 12 guys I’d rather have over Herbert in 2026, and if I wanted to expand the parameters and talk about guys I’d rather start a franchise with, I could add in some younger QBs like Tyler Shough, Jaxson Dart, Cam Ward, since they’re on their rookie contract.

Herbert is a great QB, but it’s okay to admit that he’s not as good as everyone wants him to be.

Underrated: Jared Goff

A lot of people think Jared Goff is one of the most overrated quarterbacks in the NFL, but I think he’s actually the most underrated.

Nobody really talks very highly of him, but all this guy does is produce. He’s thrown for 4,400+ yards in each of his last four seasons and 30+ touchdowns in each of his last three (and four years ago he threw 29).

If I asked you who has the most passing yards over the last four years, you may guess it’s someone like Dak Prescott, Patrick Mahomes, or Matthew Stafford, but you’d be wrong. It’s Jared Goff, and it’s not particularly close.

Over the past four seasons, Goff has racked up 18,206 passing yards. Second place? Patrick Mahomes with 16,948. That’s a near-1,300-yard difference.

Goff plays in a very QB-friendly offense, but that shouldn’t take away from how great a quarterback he’s become in Detroit.

Running Back

Overrated: Chuba Hubbard

Finding an overrated running back was pretty tough. Most of the top guys are considered top guys for a reason. They’ve produced for multiple years, so I had to dig a bit deeper, and I landed on Chuba Hubbard.

For some reason, year after year, it feels like Hubbard receives a ton of hype, and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have a ton of backfield competition in Carolina, but that’s what we thought last year before he lost his job midseason to Rico Dowdle. Now, once again, people are hyping Hubbard up as a solid fantasy football option. But he’s just going to let you down again.

Hubbard has two seasons with over 650 rushing yards, and in one of those, he averaged just 3.8 yards per carry. He just happened to receive the ninth-most carries of any running back in the NFL, but still managed to finish 20th in yards.

I know Hubbard isn’t a super hyped up player, but he shouldn’t even be talked about as a starting running back in this league.

Underrated: De’Von Achane

De’Von Achane is a very highly rated running back in the NFL, but I genuinely believe he’s still a very underrated player.

In 2025, while playing behind a bad offensive line in a pretty poor offense where he was one of the only threats, Achane rushed for the fifth-most yards in the league (1,350), finished fourth among running backs in receiving yards (488), and totaled 12 touchdowns, which accounted for nearly a third of his team’s scores.

A lot of people have Achane ranked in the 5-10 range, but the only three running backs that I can say are 100 percent better than Achane are Christian McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Bijan Robinson. You could throw Jonathan Taylor or Derrick Henry in there, but I would rather have Achane over both of them because he’s much more versatile.

Wide Receiver

Overrated: George Pickens

This isn’t a knock on George Pickens, because he’s a very good player, but I’ve seen some rankings where people have him as their sixth or seventh best receiver in the league, and that’s just not right. Did he break out in 2025? Yes. Was he also in a very pass-heavy system with CeeDee Lamb out for multiple weeks? Also yes.

Pretty much any receiver could thrive with Dak Prescott throwing them the ball in one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the league. Pickens is a top-15 receiver in the league after last year, but top-10? Probably not. Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, CeeDee Lamb, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Nico Collins, and Malik Nabers clear him, and I’d still have some guys like Chris Olave, Drake London, Rashee Rice, and A.J. Brown ranked higher than him.

Now, if Pickens can repeat that same success in 2026, I’ll move him up the board. But after one breakout season, I’m not ready to dub him as this elite wideout.

Underrated: Parker Washington

This is a very popular opinion right now, but Parker Washington might be the most underrated receiver in the entire league.

Washington had a quiet first two years in the league, but in year one under Liam Coen, he really broke out. After a zero-yard performance in Week 1, Washington came back with 76 yards in Week 2 and slowly built on that performance. By the end of the year, Washington finished the season with three 100+ yard games in his final four games (the only game he didn’t hit 100, he had 87 yards). He was outperforming Jakobi Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr. by the time the season was over.

Washington is 5-foot-10, but he’s 204 pounds and is actually a really good contested catch threat. On top of that, he’s a very good after-the-catch player, averaging nearly five yards of YAC.

Washington isn’t a superstar, but the casual fan doesn’t even know about him despite having nearly 1,000 yards last season.

Tight End

Overrated: Jake Ferguson

Jake Ferguson was a fantasy machine this past year after catching 82 passes for 600 yards and eight touchdowns, but just because he’s great in fantasy doesn’t mean he’s a great tight end.

Don’t get me wrong, a lot of quarterbacks would love to have someone like Ferguson catching the football, but he’s just not a special playmaker. He’s only averaged 10+ yards per catch one time in his career and is coming off a season where he averaged 7.3, which was the third-lowest average in the NFL of players with 40+ targets, only ahead of Jonnu Smith and Malik Washington.

Being a safety blanket for your quarterback is an important part of playing tight end, but you also have to be able to make some plays downfield if you want to be elite. The only reason he’s being mentioned so highly is that he racks up a ton of catches and scores a lot of fantasy points.

Underrated: Kyle Pitts

Kyle Pitts has become a bit of a meme since entering the NFL. He had a very strong rookie season, going for 1,000+ yards, but he only caught one touchdown. His next three seasons were pretty disappointing, but he bounced back in 2025 and went for 88 receptions, 928 yards, and five touchdowns. He had the second-most yards and catches of any tight end in the league last year.

Again, I know it’s fun to hate on Pitts because that’s what everyone on the internet does, but he is a great athlete who can be a real threat downfield. If he had consistent quarterback play, he’d be considered a top-five tight end in this league, no doubt.

Offensive Line

Overrated: Taylor Decker

Taylor Decker was one of the best offensive linemen in the league for a long time. If you’re not a diehard fan who watches every single game and dives into the film, it’s hard to notice when an offensive lineman starts to fall off, but that’s exactly what Decker has done over the past three years.

After allowing five sacks as a rookie, Decker went on to surrender just 19 sacks over the next six years with the Lions. But over the last three seasons, Decker has given up 18 sacks, and that’s while missing six games over the past two seasons.

On paper, losing someone like Decker seems like a big blow for the Lions, but in all honesty, they probably weren’t too worried about losing him. His play has been falling off, and that’s why he probably won’t get a job until right before the season starts.

Underrated: Peter Skoronski

There are a ton of underrated offensive linemen in the league, so it’s hard to pinpoint who is the most underrated, but Peter Skoronski has to be in the conversation.

Skoronski struggled as a rookie, but bounced back with a really strong sophomore season before turning in his best year as a pro in 2025, allowing two sacks and 23 pressures while earning an 84.5 pass blocking grade. On top of that, he earned a career-best 73.2 run blocking grade from PFF.

Nobody talks about Skoronski because he plays for the Tennessee Titans, but he is quietly developing into one of the best guards in the entire NFL.

Edge Rusher

Overrated: Jaelan Phillips

Jaelan Phillips just got paid by the Carolina Panthers, who gave him a four-year, $120 million contract with $80 million in guarantees. That’s a lot of money for an edge rusher who has 11 sacks in the last four years combined.

Phillips was much better than his five sack total indicated last year, but if you’re paying a guy $100+ million, you expect him to be able to finish off plays. And that’s just something Phillips hasn’t proven he can do yet. The pressures are there, but he needs to be a perennial 10+ sack guy to live up to his contract.

Underrated: Chase Young

Chase Young was one of the most overrated edge rushers in the league for a while, but after some down years in Washington and a major neck injury, he’s starting to fly under the radar again.

In Young’s first year with the New Orleans Saints, he totaled 66 pressures and 5.5 sacks, which isn’t bad, but it’s far from what a No. 2 overall pick should be able to do. He ended up missing the start of the 2025 season, but once he returned, he was a demon on the field, racking up 49 pressures and 10 sacks in 12 games. He finished tied with Maxx Crosby and Montez Sweat for 15th in sacks despite missing five games.

Nobody is really talking about Young right now, but he’s quietly becoming one of the best edge rushers in football.

Defensive Tackle

Overrated: Dexter Lawrence

Dexter Lawrence is a tricky one. He’s been one of the best defensive tackles in football for a while now, but has been coming off a 0.5-sack season despite playing 150 more pass rush snaps than he did in 2024, when he finished with nine sacks.

Does one bad season make you overrated? No, but when all the reports are about how lazy he is and how he doesn’t want to practice, and then you go out and put up half a sack, it gets concerning.

I’m ready to be completely wrong about this and have Lawrence bounce back in his first year with Cincinnati, but I’m scared the Bengals massively overpaid for a player who is leaving his prime and has very little work ethic.

Underrated: Jeffery Simmons

How can the best defensive tackle in the sport be underrated? Because hardly anyone actually talks about Jeffery Simmons being the best defensive tackle in the league.

Everyone loves to talk about Chris Jones, Jalen Carter, and Dexter Lawrence, but all Simmons has done is put up huge numbers in the middle of an awful defense. In 2025, Simmons led all defensive tackles with 11 sacks while posting 64 pressures and 42 hurries. And on top of that, he finished the year with 42 run stops and three forced fumbles in the run game.

All Simmons does is produce, but since he’s on the Titans, he rarely gets any attention. Put him in New England, and everyone would be calling him the best defensive tackle in the league.

Linebacker

Overrated: Patrick Queen

A lot of fans just look at tackle numbers for linebackers to determine who is good and who isn’t. If you look at Patrick Queen’s tackle numbers (117+ in each of the last four seasons), you’d think he’s pretty good. But he isn’t.

Okay, that was harsh. Queen is a solid run defender and pass rusher, but he is an absolute liability in coverage. In his two seasons as a Steeler, Queen has given up a total of 136 receptions on 168 targets for 1,532 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. An 80 percent completion rate and 1,500 yards in two years is absurdly bad.

Queen is a big name, but he’s really not as good as fans make him out to be.

Underrated: Divine Deablo

Divine Deablo has taken a few years to get adjusted to the NFL, but in 2025, he really stepped up his game and developed into one of the best coverage linebackers in the league.

In 2025, Deablo allowed a 67.6 percent completion rate, 197 yards, and zero touchdowns with seven pass breakups. Deablo also gave up multiple receptions in just five games this year. That’s a pretty good stat line for a cornerback, but it’s basically unheard of for a linebacker who played 430 coverage snaps.

You don’t hear many people talk about it, but having an elite coverage linebacker is a massive help for a defense. Keep an eye on him this year, because if he replicates that performance, he’s going to be considered one of the best young linebackers in football.

Cornerback

Overrated: Sauce Gardner

This one’s going to catch a lot of hate because Sauce Gardner is a very good player, but people make him out to be this elite, lockdown cornerback, but that isn’t necessarily true.

Gardner was fantastic over his first two seasons, and while he’s still been really good the past two years, he hasn’t played to that same level. He’s been targeted 82 times over the past two seasons, giving up 42 catches (51.2 percent) for 612 yards and three touchdowns while picking off one pass. Those are really solid numbers, but they’re not All-Pro numbers.

Again, Gardner is a fantastic player and would be CB1 on a lot of teams, but there are at least 5-8 other corners playing better ball over the past two seasons. He’s not the best corner in the league.

Underrated: DJ Turner II

DJ Turner II is one of the most slept-on cornerbacks in football. The Cincinnati Bengals continuously left him on an island against some of the best receivers in the league, and he delivered time and time again.

Turner had two bad games at the start of the season, where he gave up 64 and 72 yards in Weeks 2 and 3 against Brian Thomas Jr. and Justin Jefferson, but after that, he was a monster. Over the final 14 weeks of the year, Turner gave up an average of 19.2 yards per game while surrendering a 44.7 percent completion rate. Is that good? Someone tell me if that’s good?

The best part about it is that he did that with no help. Cincy’s defense was awful last year, but now he has a pass rush in front of him and Bryan Cook to help him out on the backend. He should only get better in 2026.

Safety

Overrated: Jalen Ramsey

Jalen Ramsey might be one of the most overrated players in football right now. People still rate him highly because he used to be one of the best cornerbacks in football, but he’s regressed so much that he has made the transition to safety. And when that happens to a cornerback, you know they’re cooked.

Despite moving to safety midway through the season, Ramsey still had one of the worst coverage seasons of his career, giving up a 73.8 percent completion rate, 466 yards, and six touchdowns with one pick and six pass breakups. I will give him credit for being really solid in the run game, but he has completely lost it in coverage.

It sucks to see, but one of the NFL’s best corners is now just a washed safety.

Underrated: Jalen Pitre

It feels like, outside of Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, you could pick anyone from Houston’s defense and call them the most underrated player in the league. Their defense, which was incredible last year, isn’t filled with household names, but it’s filled with guys who just know how to ball.

Jalen Pitre is one of those guys. He wasn’t anything special early in his career, but in 2025, he was great in coverage, giving up fewer than 10 yards per catch and zero touchdowns while picking off four passes and breaking up six more, both of which ranked fourth among safeties in the NFL.

A casual fan probably doesn’t even know Pitre’s name, but if he keeps up this level of play, soon everyone will.