Every year there always seems to be a handful of NFL players that fans, the media, and their own team’s front desks hold in a higher regard than what they’re probably worth. So here are the 10 most overrated NFL players heading into the 2025 season:

Deebo Samuel:

Deebo Samuel is a YAC machine, but his production doesn’t match the substantial hype surrounding him. 2021 was Samuel’s only season with over 1,000 receiving yards, and typically, about 20-30 receivers hit that mark each season. At best, Deebo is a top 30-35 receiver, but his PFF grade, which ranks him 51st out of 98 receivers, suggests otherwise.

Which players rank ahead of Samuel in receiving yards? Tyler Lockett, Quentin Johnston, and Evan Engram. Two of those players are secondary wideouts in their respective offenses, and one of them is a tight end. The 49ers knew all of this, trading Samuel to the Commanders for a 5th round pick this offseason.

Sam Darnold:

In the 2024 NFL MVP voting, Sam Darnold got only two votes less than Ja’Marr Chase, and only one vote more than Baker Mayfield. No idea how that happened, considering that Darnold finished the 2024 season with the 16th-best completion percentage, the 14th-best QB rating, and the 6th-most interceptions. Darnold did all of this with one of the NFL’s best receiving corps and one of the best offensive head coaches.

The Vikings were aware of Darnold’s flaws, trading him to Seattle this offseason, and choosing to start J.J. McCarthy instead. Sam Darnold was a fun storyline last season, and he was a productive quarterback in 2024, but he is not close to being a top-ten signal caller or an MVP candidate.

Jaire Alexander:

Jaire Alexander has been discussed as an elite cornerback; he’s been paid like an elite cornerback, but he has not played like one. Since signing a 4-year, $84 million contract, making him the highest-paid corner in 2022, Alexander has played 14 games.

Alexander hasn’t been as dominant on the field in the past two seasons, and he hasn’t been on the field very often. Locking up Justin Jefferson in 2022 was impressive, but Alexander only covered one elite receiver in 2024 and allowed 119 yards and a touchdown to A.J. Brown.

Stefon Diggs:

Unlike Deebo Samuel, Stefon Diggs has had multiple 1,000+ yard receiving seasons and multiple Pro Bowl selections. However, Diggs wanted us to believe that he was the key reason for Josh Allen’s success, but Allen won an MVP award without him.

Since joining the Bills in 2020, Diggs has ranked in the top six in targets each season in Buffalo, and other receivers such as Puka Nacua and A.J. Brown have gotten more yards with fewer targets. Stefon Diggs was also nowhere to be seen in the playoffs for the Bills, especially in those crucial games against the Chiefs.

George Pickens:  

George Pickens should not be in the conversation when it comes to the best receivers in the league, and we need to see it to believe it. Pickens will occasionally make an insane catch or a 130+ yard game, but through an entire season, Pickens racks up fewer yards than Michael Pittman Jr., Darnell Mooney, and Juan Jennings. None of those players are elite wide receivers, so it’s time to stop ranking George Pickens as a top-ten wideout in the NFL, when his PFF grade ranks him as the 27th-best receiver.

Joey Bosa:

It’s about time we stop putting Joey Bosa into the conversation of elite pass rushers. Even during Bosa’s few healthy seasons, he’s never ranked in the top five in sacks. And those “healthy” seasons are few and far between for Bosa. The Bills’ signing Bosa this offseason seemed like a smart move, as Buffalo needs a pass rusher. However, it’s unlikely Bosa can stay on the field and make it to the postseason, having not started more than nine games since 2021.

Justin Herbert:

Apparently, Justin Herbert doesn’t need to win a playoff game to be considered a top-ten quarterback in the NFL. Justin Herbert’s elite regular-season statistics should be able to compensate for his lack of playoff success, but those stats tend to oversell Herbert.

Herbert only recorded the most passing yards of any quarterback in their first three seasons because he threw the ball more than any quarterback in their first three seasons. In 2021 and 2022, no one threw the ball more than Herbert except Tom Brady. Even though Herbert can be a plus starter in the regular season, he has a playoff completion percentage of 52%, two touchdowns to four interceptions, and a passer rating of 60.7 in the postseason.

Haason Reddick:

Patrick Mahomes:

If you look at a ranking of all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks, you will usually see Patrick Mahomes within the top-3. That doesn’t make much sense, considering Mahomes finished 2024 well below the top 3 in completion percentage, QB rating, TD-INT ratio, and average yards per attempt.

Once Mahomes faced the NFL’s best defense in the Super Bowl, he completed 6 of 14 passes for 33 yards and two interceptions in the first half. Mahomes is obviously the NFL’s best quarterback over the past seven seasons, and one of the league’s best on third down, but not nearly the league’s best or most efficient current QB.

Najee Harris:

Najee Harris is a solid running back, but hasn’t quite lived up to his 24th overall selection in the 2021 draft. In four seasons with the Steelers, his 3.9 yards per carry, under nine touchdowns every season, and only one Pro Bowl selection, leave a lot to be desired, and make him one of the NFL’s most inefficient starting running backs.

Harris just isn’t the focal point or crucial factor in any offense that many make him out to be. Moving to a split-backfield in Los Angeles should help Harris’s efficiency, as he can’t be a productive running back while receiving 250+ carries.