Who Is The Most Underrated Player in the NFL Entering 2024?

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver (91) celebrates a sack of New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe (4). (Democrat and Chronicle/USA TODAY-Sports)

3. Ed Oliver, iDL, Buffalo Bills

Ed Oliver has the rare feat of getting a sizable second contract as a first-round pick yet still sitting well outside the top 10 at his position. Oliver signed a four-year, $68 million extension last offseason and his $17 million average annual value only ranks 17th at the position. His three-year cash flow of $51.4 million ranks 16th.

When Oliver signed that deal, he was coming off an uneven 2022 season. He produced just 2.5 sacks after he started the year with an ankle injury and played in only 13 games. But Oliver had been a productive player when healthy, and in stretches of that 2022 season, even if some of the raw numbers would not indicate it.

In 2021, Oliver ranked seventh in pass rush win rate and ninth in run stop win rate, the only interior defender to rank in the top 10 of both metrics. While he was only 59th in pressures, he tied for ninth among all defenders that season in tackles for loss against the run.

This past season, Oliver’s production started to match his impact on the field. His 9.5 sacks were a career-high, while his 65 pressures ranked 21st and tied with Justin Madubuike.

But even that underrated what Buffalo asked Oliver to do in the Buffalo defense this past season. Oliver moved around the defense at a higher rate than he’s ever been and was a big part of opening up opportunities for others.

Oliver played nearly 65 percent of his snaps on the edge on third down in 2023 and his 30 third-down pressures ranked 15th in the league.

He also kept up with his run defense, with seven run tackles for loss (16th) and an average depth of tackle behind the line of scrimmage. 

Oliver might not have the impact of Chris Jones, but that’s not what we’re looking for here. He is, however, closer to that type of player than he’s been given credit for, and at 26, he still has room to grow.

2. Ernest Jones, LB, Los Angeles Rams

We reviewed Ernest Jones’ qualifications in our piece on breakout candidates for 2024, but they bear repeating because his play to this point has gone overlooked in the middle of the Rams’ defense.

A third-round pick in 2021, Jones played 38 percent of the snaps as a rookie but started seven games. Once he got on the field as a starter, he did not play fewer than 60 percent of the defensive snaps in a game until an injury in Week 16 forced him to miss the next two regular-season games and the first two games of the Rams’ playoff run. He returned to play 43 percent of the defensive snaps in the NFC Championship Game and 93 percent in the Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jones started as the type of late-round pick that found success during the Rams’ picks-don’t-matter era — a player with a specific skill set dropped into a defense full of stars so the transition period could be as easy as possible. 

Over the next two seasons, Jones’s role in the defense grew, and he became a bigger part of making it go.

In 2022, his ability to play with range lessened the responsibility on Bobby Wagner and opened up clear lanes for the veteran to shoot through and rack up high-impact tackles when the Rams were in nickel personnel. Jones played 66 percent of the snaps that season alongside Wagner, who was a second-team All-Pro.

Last season showed what Jones could do on his own. He had 145 tackles and made a stop on 27.9 percent of his run-defense snaps. Only one other player of the 62 with at least 100 tackles had more than 25 percent.

He also ranked 19th among linebackers in yards allowed per coverage snap last season. Jones added a pass rush to his arsenal, as the Jets used him more as a blitzer than he had been during the first two years of his career. He rushed the passer on 22.6 percent of his pass snaps in 2023, which resulted in 33 pressures and 4.5 sacks.

Jones is entering the last year of his rookie deal. If he gets an extension with the Rams, he’ll likely jump into the top 10 at the position — though that’s because the bar is quite low there, at just $10 million per year. But if that is the case, there will be plenty of NFL observers who would need to come to this writeup to find out why.

1. D.J. Reed, CB, new York Jets

It might be a bit bold to say the most underrated player in the NFL plays on a team that was just scheduled to have six primetime games and an international game within the first 11 weeks of the season. However, on a team filled with star power and potentially the best player at the position playing opposite him, D.J. Reed can easily be overlooked.

Reed was a fifth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2018 as a slot/safety hybrid. After his second season, Reed tore his pec in the offseason and was placed on the non-football injury list to start training camp and eventually released by the 49ers. 

He was claimed by the Seahawks, still under his rookie contract, and had two productive seasons. Despite being 5-foot-9, Reed played on the outside in Seattle, opposite Shaq Griffin. He played 71 percent of his snaps outside in 2020 and 85.5 percent in 2021.

Following the 2021 season, Reed signed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Jets, where he played 89 and 93 percent of his snaps outside — now opposite Sauce Gardner. Reed won’t turn 28 until November after entering the final year of that contract.

For the Jets to do what they do in coverage — play sides with their corners — Reed must be good. If there is a weakness at the second outside corner opposite Gardner, opposing offenses could just barrage that player with targets. That has not been the case with Reed, who has been able to deter targets himself.

In 2022, Reed ranked 12th among cornerbacks in yards allowed per coverage snap and just 22nd in targets per coverage snap. Reed was 40th among 150 cornerbacks this past season with at least 100 coverage snaps. He was 30th at the position in coverage DVOA per FTN.

Because the Jets play sides, Reed sees opposing No. 1 receivers more than a typical CB2 would. But with Reed taking on that responsibility, the Jets haven’t seen a split in coverage. Last season, the Jets ranked sixth in DVOA against opposing No. 1 receivers and fifth against opposing No. 2s. They were seventh in DVOA on throws to the left and second on throws to the right.

Over his two seasons with the Jets, Reed has 21 passes defensed (T-24th) but just two interceptions. Those are numbers that are going to stand out. That adds to the underrated aspect of his game. He’s not a boom-or-bust corner. Reed often plays with good technique that allows him to stay on the receiver and not give up many big plays — if he allows a target at all.

A worse corner would make life harder on Gardner and the Jets. Reed doesn’t just avoid that; he makes life easier. He doesn’t get enough credit for that, so he tops this list.