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 7 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).
Blake Cashman, LB, Minnesota Vikings
In this Secret Superstars, we meet two of the best defensive men in the NFL – Nick Emanwori of the Seattle Seahawks; Ranked first in defensive DVOAAnd the Vikings’ Blake Cashman takes the second spot. These two defenses couldn’t be more different, which is interesting. Mike McDonald’s Seahawks defense is built on simple boxes, heavy nickel and dime personnel and subtle knife twists. Brian Flores’ Vikings defense was built with blitz rates straight out of science fiction, pressures that had opposing players nodding their heads in disbelief, and blanket coverages.
When you run a defense like Flores, you better find ridiculously smart and athletic players to take all the craziness out of the enemy offense. The Vikings have a lot of guys, and in last Sunday’s 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts, none was bigger than linebacker Blake Cashman.
Cashman’s NFL journey is far from automatic, though. In the year A 2019 fifth-round pick of the New York Jets, the Minnesota alum (and Eden Prairie, Minnesota native) was traded to the Houston Texans for a 2023 sixth-round pick before the start of the 2022 season. Cashman released himself in two seasons with DeMeco Ryan, who earned AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in Week 6 of the 2023 season, but the Vikings, not the Texans, signed him to a three-year, $22.5 million contract on March 13, 2024.
Cashman has been a vital player in Flores’ defense, but what he did against the Colts was pure superstar stuff. With eight solo tackles, two sacks, four run stops and four pass breakups, Cashman put together the best game we’ve seen from any NFL linebacker in a while.
“They flashed[the numbers]on the Jumbotron and I was like, ‘Two sacks, four PBUs… what kind of position is he playing?’ He’s everywhere.” Safety Harrison Smith spoke about Cashman after the game.. “I don’t think he always gets the credit he deserves, you know, more in this area, but he’s one of the best doing it right now, for sure.”
Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers was even more impressed — and jokingly worried about his own production opportunities.
“When they talk about his stats, ‘He’s caught more passing yards than our DBs!’ I said.” Rogers laughed. “For him to be a hometown boy – it’s good to do it in front of his family and friends.”
“I think he was exceptional for this defense,” safety Joshua Metellus added. “Shout the hell out of him for his play today.” All over the field, I couldn’t even play because he was on the field. And when you get an average linebacker like that, the defense plays well.”
The defense is playing well, and Blake Cashman is as accountable as anyone.
Kyler Gordon, CB, Chicago Bears
In his first four NFL seasons, Chicago Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon has collected four sacks in 135 rushing yards. He wasn’t part of the plan to get out of Washington for the 2022 second round.
Then, suddenly, that all changed.
In the year In the 1982 SAC statistical history,Unofficial sack numbers now go back to 1960) only two players put up four sacks in one half of football. The great Derek Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs against the San Diego Chargers in 1992And Chris Clemens of the Seattle Seahawks did it in 2012 against the Green Bay Packers.. It’s one of those rare and impressive feats in football, even for dynamic edge rushers, so what do you say if a cornerback pulls it off in 30 minutes of playing time?
Well, Chicago Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon did just that despite a two-game stretch. With 12:03 left in the third quarter of Chicago’s 31-23 Week 6 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Gordon picked off quarterback Michael Penix Jr. on a snap and again with 5:41 left in the third quarter and 3:01 left in the fourth quarter.
And then, with 11:35 left in Chicago’s 30-24 win over the New England Patriots in Week 7, Gordon Drake sacked Maye. It was a Tiger Slam to tie the record for not all of this in one game, but when a cornerback has four sacks in less than 30 hours of football… well, he notices. He did all of that more impressively with 17 rushing yards over those two games, and added two forced fumbles along with those sacks.
Not bad for someone who has been sidelined since Week 14 of the 2025 season with an injury.
“It was fun to watch,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said the week after the Falcons game. I think he did some things that we always thought he could do for us. I thought there was a way to use him and a way to help us win games. There was a big man in the game this week. We’ll see how things go going forward. In the next three days.
“He’s got incredible quickness and he’s very elusive. His ability to stutter and then accelerate or dip his hips and turn the corner, it’s just his ability and he has a natural ability to find the quarterback. Some guys really have that, some don’t and I think. I think he has a natural instinct for it.
Obviously Gordon does. Shawn Springs, the team’s captain, set an NFL record with six sacks in the 2004 season. At this rate, Gordon could have that in the bag by mid-November.
Nick Emmanwori, everything, Seattle Seahawks
The NFL is full of versatile defensive backs these days, and few are more versatile than the Baltimore Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton. Since he was selected with the 14th pick out of Notre Dame in the 2022 draft, Hamilton has seen his role(s) change over time based on the Ravens’ defensive needs and his own development. Hamilton has become the rare type of player who can split from the box to the slot to the deep third with instant speed, and is suddenly better wherever he lands on defense. Early in his career, Hamilton was more of a box/slot defender before becoming truly versatile in the NFL sense.
When the Seattle Seahawks selected South Carolina safety Nick Emanwori with the 35th overall pick in the second round of the 2025 draft, everyone immediately identified Emanwori as Mike McDonald’s new Kyle Hamilton. Seahawks head coach Hamilton was drafted in his first year as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator, and it was McDonald who helped Hamilton through the 2023 season, after which the Seahawks hired him to replace Pete Carroll. An oversize (Emmanwori is 6’3″, 224; Hamilton is 6’4″, 220) advantage is that the can-do-anything enforcer can access the modern NFL defense.
The Seahawks won 20-3 against the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday nightImanwori did his best to make sure everything was downloaded. Like Hamilton, Emanwori was primarily a box/slot guy in his rookie season, and added the ability to pressure quarterbacks from the line of scrimmage. Emanwori had 16 snaps at the line, 16 in the box and 20 in the slot against the Chiefs, who have struggled offensively like never before in the Patrick Mahomes era.
Wherever he went and whatever he did, there was chaos among his superiors. Emanwori was running like an edge rusher, playing the route speed you would expect from such a short, lightweight player and working the box like a linebacker.
“I think it shows what I can do,” Emanwori said of his big night. “Defensively, covering in the gap, running and being aggressive.” The coaches let me be me. Building a game plan that fits the entire defense is how everyone works.”
As Xavier Worthy was a small slot cornerback and his 4.2 speed, Emmanwori was always in his mind.
“I grew up playing defensive back. I’m not afraid to cover guys in space. Defensive coaches know what I can do, they know what I have. Other teams maybe not, but it’s good to put that on film. I love these plays. I love running. I wanted to, and it was great.”
So how do you build a multitasking player?
“It’s a bit of a process, really,” Emanwori said. During the week, it’s just that I get all my viewers on the field. Even defensively, nickel, I have no package for me. Making sure I’m getting more reps, but limiting myself to areas where I don’t burn out mentally or physically. And changing things during the week is a different process that you don’t really know how it goes until you see it in action and in meetings.
Emmanuel has become that guy – the NFL’s toughest defensive center. No better than Kyle Hamilton.
