When it comes to success in the NFL, superstars may dominate the conversation, but more often than not, it’s the guys you don’t know who make the plays needed. when is They are needed. Such players can be rated low for all reasons. Perhaps they play in a small market, and the media is not properly reporting their exploits. Maybe they’re hidden deep in the chart behind big names that might not do that much. Or, maybe a coach never knew that someone needed height to get the best results for the team.
Whatever the reason, we at SB Nation always love to bring you the most underrated names. Offseason hidden gems and the then-Secret Superstars series. You can also find the AFC and NFC Secret Superstars for the 2026 season. Right here.
Here are our NFC Secret Superstars for Week 5 of the 2026 regular season. And if you haven’t already, Download the new SB Nation appSo read our stuff better and join the conversation wherever you are!
(According to all advanced parameters Next Gen statistics, Pro football focus, Sports information solutionsAnd Summer sports unless otherwise).
Bucky Irving, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
“If you have a day at work against the worst defense in the NFL?” It can be seen as a football version of “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?” Yes, the falling tree makes a sound, but what does it do? That is.man?
Bucky Irving’s third-year case with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers means a lot. In the Buccaneers’ 24-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys and the worst defense in the league on Thursday night, the fourth-round pick from Oregon had the game of his life on Minnesota’s side. Irving ran the ball 21 times for 165 yards (7.86 yards per carry), 120 yards per carry (5.71 per carry) and forced 11 fumbles.
In the year The 2026 Cowboys entered that game averaging 4.77 yards per carry, and 2.87 yards per carry after touchdown. That’s not entirely terrible, and much of that is because teams want to beat the pass defense instead — and for good reason. But with the Bucs starting undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels in relief of the injured Baker Mayfield, a comprehensive running game will certainly help, and that’s what the Buccaneers got.
Not that the Buccaneers have enjoyed an overall run game in the first month of the season. Irving rushed the ball 56 times for 241 yards, one touchdown and 11 forced fumbles in the opening four weeks, and Kenneth Gainwell was the exception with 26 yards on 13 carries.
So is this a breakdown or an anomaly? Yes, the tape shows all kinds of running breakdowns and tackle nightmares, but on Irving’s 72-yard run early in the third quarter, tight end Cade Otton got inside right guard Cody Mauch, nobody seemed to know who was blocking the inside, and it was Irving who made the magic happen. Remember: The Buccaneers’ offense never looked that dangerous.
“It was instinctive, and once you see the run, the linebacker gets on the field, so I had to cut, then it was just me,” Irving said of that play. Once I believe in my track, good things will happen (I told myself) only then will I believe. I got back on track when I had to hit it.
Whether that represents Irving and the Bucs offense getting back on track is another matter, but it was a good week for the former 0-4 team.
Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
Life in the NFC North is always better when the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears legitimately don’t like each other. and between Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and Bears head coach Ben Johnson against the Bullsthat’s how it is now. Sunday’s game was the latest example of the NFL’s longest rivalry, and it wasn’t really a rivalry. The Packers blew the Bears away from Lambeau Field with a 31-7 win and quarterback Jordan Love was slinging the ball like there was no tomorrow.
Through the first four weeks of the season, Love has completed 18 passes of 20 or more for 144 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and a 37.3 passer rating. But against the Bears, Love completed six of eight deep passes for 258 yards (32.3 yards per attempt!), two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 156.3, which is absolutely ridiculous.
The key scorer for Love in pushing the ball down the field was receiver Christian Watson, who caught three of those on four targets for 126 yards and two touchdowns. The first score was a 42-yarder with 5:57 left in the first quarter. Watson gestured from right to left as he picked up the pre-clip, and the Bears didn’t seem to know what to do with it. Safety Xavier Woods was caught in the shower, and that was that.
The Packers then opened the playbook for the entire second half of the “F***K YOU” game, in which Love was trying to embarrass Chicago’s defense until it stuck.
With 13:33 left in the third quarter, there was a deep incompletion to Watson on the left sideline that probably should have passed for an interception on Tyrique Stevenson. Then, to receiver J. Michael Sturdivant had a deep pass that was negated by offensive pass interference — a call the Packers were less than happy with. Finally, a 53-yard touchdown to Watson with 13:19 left in the quarter.
A highlight of the Bears defense that has allowed six deep catches for 243 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and an opponent passer rating of 104.2 on 10 targets through the first four weeks.
“You know, I think J-Mike did a great job of capturing that, and it’s one of those things, he’s “It’s sad, we got called back, but he’s the one we always talk about,” Love said of that series. How do you respond? It’s adversity, you never know when it’s going to strike. I thought he did a fantastic job of going to Christian (Watson), to go to that huge play, to hold that, but that’s where he is.
“I told him, ‘Don’t lie to the ball.'”
The ball doesn’t lie, and at least in this game, the reality is that Christian Watson was the Packers’ nuclear option whenever he had an explosive play.
Renardo Green, CB, San Francisco 49ers
Last time we checked in on 49ers cornerback Renardo Green, He was in Kyle Shanahan’s doghouse during last season’s divisional-round loss to the Seattle Seahawks in San Francisco.And hoping that Raheem Morris’ new defensive tactics will bring out the best in him.
I’ve had my eye on Greene since he was at Florida State, because I like a good press corner, the Seminoles played a crapton of press metrics when Greene was there, and Greene was really good.
But the transitions weren’t always about playing at the next level. The 49ers took Green in the second round of the 2024 draft and he has been up and down in his first two seasons, allowing 81 on 141 targets for 938 yards, five touchdowns, one interception and an 86.5 opponent passer rating.
Now, in Morris’s plans, Green is starting to hide everything. That was never more evident than in San Francisco’s 32-29 win over the Seahawks on Sunday. Green was as good as anyone could have hoped for against Seattle for the first time since redshirting last season. Green was Sam Darnold’s worst nightmare, with two catches for five yards on five targets, no touchdowns, two interceptions, a pass breakup and an 8.3 opponent passer rating.
Green was at Darnold’s reading from the jump, and it was impressive that he did it in so many ways — he’s not just a press guy anymore.
Moreover, Greene is taking his film studies to the field in a new way. His description of how he set up Darnold’s second interception of the day to end Darnold’s field goal with 14:18 left in the third quarter was particularly impressive.
From ESPN’s Nick Wagoner:
It was a two-tight end formation and one of them[Arroyo]was released…you could run past him. And I pretended to have one step on me as he ran down the street. Once the ball was in the air, I turned the ball on and undercut the ball.
Green also deflected Darnold’s throw to Jackson Smith-Njigba with 12:40 left on the fast track. Anytime you can get the NFL’s best receiver, you’re doing some things. Green was able to pull away from JSN with 1:13 left in the game – a play that helped decide things in the final stretch.
Despite all the hosts and seemingly inevitable injuries, the 49ers are 5-0 on the season; And they are absolutely crushing everyone in terms of DVOA winners.. It’s good that Green is a big part of the equation after a shaky start to his career.
