Sportsnaut
Who is the most underrated NFL player? The perennial MVP candidates and All-Pro selections generate most of the attention, as do a lot of top NFL Draft picks. When examining all of the talent across the league, it’s not hard to find players who deserve far more recognition from fans and even some inside the NFL than they get.
After examining the most overrated NFL players right now, it’s time to highlight some of the most underrated NFL players in 2025 at each position.
The Las Vegas Raiders finally have a good quarterback and a very good one at that. While he only finished last season with 21 passing touchdowns while throwing 21 interceptions, Smith remains a high-end starter. He led all NFL quarterbacks in On-Target rate (81.8 percent) with the lowest Bad Throw rate (10.4 percent) in the NFL last season. It’s also worth noting that of his 15 interceptions, 13 came when pressured. He now leaves behind a Seattle Seahawks offensive line that allowed the most pressures (232) for a Raiders’ offense with a dynamic running game and better pass protection. That means a lot more passes from a clean pocket, a situation in which Smith had the 10th-highest QB rating (109.2) and the eighth-most passing yards (3,077) last year. He can be a top-12 quarterback this season and, at the very least, is an above-average starter.
Related: NFL QB Rankings 2025
The Arizona Cardinals offense ranked 10th in EPA per Play (0.067) and seventh in yards-per-play average (5.9) last season in large part because of running back James Conner. While he only finished the season with 1,094 rushing yards and 9 total touchdowns, Conner performed like a top-five running back in other areas. He finished fourth among ball-carriers with 200-plus carries in yards after contact per attempt (2.4), tied with Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson. He also finished third in rush attempts per broken tackle (9.8), sixth in yards created per touch (4.27) and he had the fourth-most runs of 10-plus yards (34), again tied with Robinson. He’s been great for a while now and the 30-year-old deserves more recognition.
Related: Best NFL Running Backs 2025
Instead of using their first-round pick on a wide receiver, the Los Angeles Chargers selected offensive tackle oe Alt and then snagged Ladd McConkey with the 34th overall pick. As a rookie, in an offense with the 10th-highest rushing rate in the NFL, McConkey snagged 82 receptions for 1,149 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 16 games. Far more impressive, though, is the fact that he had the sixth-highest yards per route run (2.38) among wide receivers with 100-plus targets, right behind Ja’Marr Chase and ahead of Amon-Ra St. Brown. He also had the fourth-highest QB rating when targeted (123.0) in that group, just slightly higher than A.J. Brown. As long as McConkey stays healthy, he can emerge as a top-10...
