The NFL’s most underrated defensive players
In the NFL, players are underrated for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes, they’re second banana to a superstar whose deeds take up all the oxygen. Other times, it may be that the player has to climb up the depth chart as a little-regarded contributor, and the media hasn’t caught up yet. It’s also possible that the player has an incandescent talent that’s hidden by an unfavorable scheme. And it could also be that the player has had one great season, and everyone’s waiting to see if it’s a fluke.
We’ve already assembled our list of the NFL’s most underrated offensive players; it’s safe to say that a matchup between those players and these underrated defenders would be quite something.
Edge defender: Rashan Gary, Green Bay Packers
(Syndication: The Post-Crescent)
The Packers took 6-foot-5, 277-pound pass-rusher Rashan Gary with the 12th overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Michigan, and watched him develop exponentially from NFL season to NFL season. Gary had 16 total pressures in his rookie season, 47 total pressures in 2020, and 87 pressures in his breakout season of 2021 — 12 sacks, 17 quarterback hits, and 58 hurries last year. Only Maxx Crosby, Nick Bosa, and Trey Hendrickson affected opposing quarterbacks more often in 2021.
Gary (No. 52) may have saved his best for last. In that playoff loss to the 49ers, he had two sacks, six total pressures, and four stops — right tackle Tom Compton had a nightmare day against him.
The Packers have assembled a defense that might just take them to the Super Bowl, and if that’s the case, Gary will have a lot to do with it.
Edge defender: Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati Bengals
(Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
There are times as an analyst where you do your best, you think you have it right, and in the end, you have to take the L. Hopefully, you learn from it, and you move on. When the Bengals signed former Saints edge-rusher Trey Hendrickson to a four-year, $60 million contract in March, 2021, I panned the deal, giving it a B- because Hendrickson didn’t offer a lot of gap versatility. I thought that Hendrickson might be limited in a Bengals defense that wasn’t as versatile upfront.
Uh… whoops. I would hereby like to apologize to Mr. Hendrickson, and anybody else I may have offended. Hendrickson wasn’t very gap-versatile in 2021 for the AFC champs — he played 835 snaps outside the tackles and 56 inside — but if you have a fastball with enough velocity and movement… sometimes that’s all you need. In the 2021 season, only Maxx Crosby and Nick Bosa had more total pressures than Hendrickson’s 87, tying with the aforementioned Rashan Gary for third-best in the league.
And since I was dumb enough to question Hendrickson’s gap versatility, here’s the one quarterback pressure he got from inside the tackles last season — against the Jaguars in Week 4, where Hendrickson (No. 91) chased Trevor Lawrence all over the field, forcing an incompletion.
Edge defender: John Franklin-Myers, New York Jets
(Syndication: The Record)
The Rams selected Franklin-Myers in the fourth round of the 2018 draft out of Stephen F. Austin State University (Go, Lumberjacks!), but it was the Jets who claimed him off waivers in 2019 and benefited from his attributes. Franklin-Myers had 51 total pressures in 2020, and upped that to 53 last season — six sacks, nine quarterback hits, and 38 quarterback hurries. He also had 19 stops and showed force against the run.
This was a major thing for a Jets pass-rush that lad little else going for it (Quinnen Williams aside) after Carl Lawson was lost for the season to a torn Achilles tendon. Now that Lawson is estimated to be ready for 2022, and the Jets absolutely stole Florida State pass-rusher Jermaine Johnson with the 26th overall pick, head coach Robert Saleh should be able to hit opposing offenses with the pressure concepts he’d prefer.
Here’s Franklin-Myers (No. 91) crashing through an entire side of the Texans’ offensive line in Week 4 last season to bring down quarterback Tyrod Taylor. He can also play inside, and we’re excited to see packages in which Lawson, Johnson, and Franklin-Myers are on the line at the same time. That, as they say, is a spicy meatball.
Interior defensive lineman: Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee Titans
(Syndication: The Tennessean)
There are a handful of interior defensive linemen categorized in the minds of most as the NFL’s best. Aaron Donald, obviously. Cameron Heyward, obviously. You can get into Kenny Clark, Chris Jones, DeForest Buckner, Jonathan Allen, Vita Vea… but after the 2021 season, if Jeffery Simmons’ name isn’t on your list, you are missing out. Taken with the 19th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Simmons had by far his best season in 2021, with 14 sacks, five quarterback hits, 47 quarterback hurries, 49 stops, and the proven ability to demolish enemy offensive line from any gap. Right now, outside of Donald, there isn’t an inside guy who has obviously better tape than Simmons when he’s on his game.
Simmons’ signature game came against the Rams in Week 9 — he single-handedly demolished the eventual Super Bowl champs, and nobody could block him. Simmons had three sacks, one quarterback hit, and five quarterback hurries, and each of those three sacks game from different gaps. This sack of Matthew Stafford might have been the most impressive; Simmons (No. 98) took left guard David Edwards and just put him on skates all the way to the quarterback. That, as they say, is grown-man strength.
Interior defensive lineman: Javon Hargrave, Philadelphia Eagles
(Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
The Steelers took Hargrave in the third round of the 2016 draft out of South Carolina and watched him become an outstanding disruptor over time. 2020 was the breakout season of sorts, as Hargrave amassed four sacks, two quarterback hits, and 43 quarterback hurries. It was confirmation of what he showed the year before, with seven sacks and fewer total pressures. In the end, it was enough for the Eagles to win the in-state bidding war for his services in 2020, with a three-year, $39 million contract. Injuries limited Hargrave’s production in 2020, but not last season — that’s when he totaled 10 sacks, nine quarterback hits, and 44 quarterback hurries.
Chiefs rookie center Creed Humphrey allowed just three sacks last season, and this was certainly one of them — against Hargrave in Week 4. Hargrave shows power and strength on tape, but it’s his agility and closing speed to the ballcarrier than set him apart. Humphrey got an expensive education here, as Hargrave (No. 97) just evaded him from a head-up nose tackle look, and from there, it was an easy run to Patrick Mahomes for the takedown.
Fletcher Cox will be on that line for a little bit longer on a one-year deal, and the Eagles took Georgia IDL/Small Planet Jordan Davis with the 13th overall pick in the 2022 draft. It’ll make for quite the rotation, with Hargrave as the anchor in the short term.
Linebacker: De'Vondre Campbell, Green Bay Packers
(Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports)
Outside of Nick Barnett in the early 2000s, Desmond Bishop in 2010 and 2011, those instances a few years back when Clay Matthews was moved from the edge to inside, and a few other short-term examples, the Packers have lived with linebacker deficits for years — you could say going all the way back to the days of Ray Nitschke and Dave Robinson. Given that Nitschke retired in 1972 and Robinson retired in 1974, that’s a long way to go without consistently above-average linebacker play.
That all changed in 2021 when the Packers signed former Falcons and Cardinals linebacker De’Vondre Campbell to a one-year deal that turned out to be worth $2.5 million. That was one of the best signings in the NFL in 2021, because Campbell immediately became a shot-caller on that defense, and proved able to do everything from blowing up run fits to blitzing from multiple gaps to covering just about everywhere. Overnight, the Packers had what they’d lacked for so long — the prototypical three-down, do-it-all linebacker who fits exactly in the modern NFL. Green Bay was smart to re-sign Campbell to a five-year, $50 million contract, because Campbell should be able to affect opposing offenses in all those ways for a good long while.
This interception against Jared Goff and the Lions shows precisely why Campbell is so valuable — when he’s in there, he’s got the middle of the defense covered without help, which allows you to do all kinds of things with your 10 other defenses. You no longer have to worry about your ‘backers, because No. 59 has it all on lock.
Linebacker: Logan Wilson, Cincinnati Bengals
(Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports)
One of several Bengals players who seemed to pop up out of nowhere in Lou Anarumo’s defense last season, Wilson finished Cincinnati’s Super Bowl run with 101 tackles, 43 stops, and some outstanding coverage numbers — 69 catches allowed on 85 targets for 678 yards, 409 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, five interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 83.2. Wilson, the second-year man from Wyoming, led all NFL linebackers with those five thefts.
On this interceptions of a Ben Roethlisberger pass in Week 3, Wilson comes off the left defensive edge, and has the awareness to drop once the pressure gets to Big Ben from the other side. You see this kind of acumen from Wilson all the time, and it’s why 2021 was no fluke when it comes to his excellence in coverage.
Linebacker: Foyesade Oluokun, Jacksonville Jaguars
(AP Photo/John Raoux)
The Falcons selected Oluokun, who wasn’t invited to the scouting combine the year he was eligible, in the sixth round of the 2018 draft out of Yale. It took a couple years for Oluokun to get the reps his talent deserved, but things started to come together for him over the last two seasons. Whether in coverage, blowing up run fits, or providing pressure, Oluokun has become a real asset. The Jaguars agreed, signing him to a three-year, $45 million contract with $28 million guaranteed. It seems a bit rich unless you’ve seen him play.
Oluokun brings great speed and athleticism to the field, and this sack of Mac Jones against the Patriots in Week 11 is a prime example. If you allow Oluokun to cruise into your backfield unblocked, Bad Things are going to happen to your quarterback — and your entire offense.
Cornerback: Rasul Douglas, Green Bay Packers
(Syndication: PackersNews)
As frustrating as it must have been for the Packers to lose cornerback Jaire Alexander to injury for three months in the 2021 regular season, Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst and his staff made a brilliant move by signing cornerback Rasul Douglas off the Cardinals’ practice squad, putting him in Joe Barry’s defense, and watching him become a Pro Bowl-level player for the first time in his career.
Douglas (No. 26) was a one-year gamble that paid off big, and thus, Douglas also secured the bag with a new three-year, $21 million contract. If Douglas plays like this over the next three seasons, that’s a ridiculous bargain. In his first four NFL seasons, Douglas had five interceptions, allowed 14 touchdowns, and never had an opponent passer rating lower than 83.7. For the Packers last season, Douglas matched his career total of five picks, allowed just two touchdowns, and gave up an opponent passer rating of 46.3 — the NFL’s lowest for any cornerback playing at least 50% of his defense’s snaps.
Two of those interceptions went for touchdowns, including the pick of this Matthew Stafford pass to Cooper Kupp in Week 12. Douglas (No. 29) does a brilliant jog of waiting for the route to develop, and jumping Kupp for the theft and the score.
Cornerback: A.J. Terrell, Atlanta Falcons
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
The Falcons took Terrell out of Clemson with the 16th pick int he 2020 draft, despite the fact that the most recent on-field memory of Terrell was the fact that Ja’Marr Chase absolutely lit him up in the 2019 CFP National Championship. The Falcons no doubt gave Terrell a mulligan on the presumption that Ja.Marr Chase lights just about everybody up, which has proven to be true. In his rookie season, Terrell allowed 71 receptions on 102 targets for 901 yards, 301 yards after the catch, five touchdowns, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 109.2.
Less than optimal. However, Terrell had a complete reversal of fortune in 2021, allowing 29 catches on 66 targets for 200 yards, 93 yards after the catch, three touchdowns, three interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 47.5. Only Rasul Douglas (the guy right above Terrell on this list) had a lower passer rating allowed among starting cornerbacks. Terrell also had 13 pass breakups, which ranked fifth in the league.
This interception against the Panthers in Week 14 shows how Terrell (No. 24) has become an adept pattern-reader. He starts outside and then works inside to slot placement, taking the ball away from receiver Robby Anderson.
Terrell can play press and off coverage well, but when you have a cornerback who understands what the offense is doing, that’s the third power — the kind of stuff of which future All-Pros are made.
Cornerback: Amani Oruwariye, Detroit Lions
(Syndication: Detroit Free Press)
Perhaps the least-known player on this list, Oruwariye was taken by the Lions in the fifth round of the 2019 draft out of Penn State and had just 215 snaps in his rookie season. Still, he had two interceptions in that limited window, and he showed even more potential in 2020, even as the whole Matt Patricia thing was blowing up in the Lions’ collective faces. Under new management in 2021, Oruwariye realized his NFL potential with 41 catches allowed on 69 targets for 582 yards, 154 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, six interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 60.2. Only Rasul Douglas, A.J. Terrell, and J.C. Jackson allowed lower passer ratings, and only Jackson and Trevon Diggs had more interceptions.
Oruwariye (No. 24) has proven the ability to be in the right place at the right time for some of his picks, but he’s also quite good at creating opportunities. On this pick against the Cardinals in Week 15, watch how he works receiver A.J. Green through the route, and jumps it for the win.
Slot defender: David Long, Los Angeles Rams
(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The common narrative with the Rams is that they sacrificed their draft picks for a few big names, and dream-teamed their way to a Super Bowl win. A good story, but not the whole story — in truth, general manager Les Snead and his staff have done an outstanding job of extracting player value in the later rounds. Long, taken in the third round of the 2019 draft out of Michigan, is but one example. Long had limited reps in his first two NFL seasons, but in 2021, he had 671 snaps and became one of the league’s better slot defenders. From inside, Long allowed 12 catches on 21 targets for 66 yards, 42 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, one interception, and the league’s lowest opponent passer rating allowed at 43.0. (Miami’s Justin Coleman ranked second with a 61.1 passer rating allowed).
Long’s pick-six against the Cardinals in the wild-card round of the playoffs was an exercise in patience. Long (No. 22) originally passes the middle slot receiver off to cornerback Darious Williams, and then crashed down to take the ball away from Kyler Murray, who was dealing with blitzing linebacker Troy Reeder, and threw up a desperation heave. Not the best decision by Murray, but give Long credit for getting himself where he needed to be, and understanding that any hot route was probably going to be an option against his defense’s pass rush.
Safety: Jordan Poyer, Buffalo Bills
(Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports)
There are certain statistics you see that make you shake your head and look again to see if maybe there was something in the Wheaties. Bills safety Jordan Poyer provided one of those stats last season. In coverage, Poyer — part of the NFL’s best safety tandem with Micah Hyde — allowed 13 catches on 28 targets for 61 yards, 40 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, five interceptions, and an opponent passer rating allowed of… wait for it…
13.6.
This means that opposing quarterbacks were several times more successful throwing the ball into Section 230 than they were when testing Poyer.
But when it comes to this particular player, I think it’s important to highlight two plays against the Jets in Week 18. Because when you’re as good a deep-third safety as Poyer is, the perception is that you’re not great at anything else, or we would be talking about you more often. Hence Poyer’s place on this list of underrated players.
Here, the idea was for quarterback Zach Wilson to pitch the ball to receiver Jamison Crowder, and for Crowder to throw the ball downfield. But Poyer blew it all up — first by reading and reacting to Crowder as a runner, and then, chasing him to the sideline, preventing him from throwing anything to anyone.
It’s stuff like this that makes Poyer not only one of the NFL’s best safeties, but one of the league’s most effective defenders, regardless of position.
Safety: Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
One of the reasons the NFL is moving to more two-high coverage in recent years is that truly great deep-third safeties are really hard to find. You need the speed to cover sideline to sideline and to roll back 20-30 yards in a flash. You need to be able to crash up to stop run fits, and when it’s time to blitz, you need to have that on lock, as well. But mostly, you need to be able to be your defensive coordinator’s one answer when the opposing offense is throwing deep. Not an easy thing to do.
The Buccaneers selected Winfield with the 45th overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Minnesota, and Winfield — the son of the former first-round pick who played cornerback for the Bills and Vikings from 1999 through 2012 — proved to be ready for the NFL right away.
In 2021, Winfield gave up 29 passes on 38 targets for 269 yards, 137 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 73.2. Perhaps more importantly, he showed the skills to be that rarest of all birds on a defense — the shutdown deep-third defender.
This interception against the Colts in Week 12 allowed Winfield to show just about everything you want in that role. As receiver Michael Pittman tries to run a stutter-post against Tampa Bay’s Cover-3 look, Winfield (Mo. 31) matches him step for step, and manages to get himself to the ball as Pittman simply couldn’t.
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