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 4 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!
Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears
One thing you have to love about Chicago Bears head coach and offensive lineman Ben Johnson is that the guy wins no matter what. Johnson’s passing game concepts are justifiably highly regarded, but going back to his tenure as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator from 2022-2024, Johnson put some great running concepts on the field.
That approach was on display in Chicago’s 23-12 win over the New York Jets on Sunday. With Tyson Bagent as his quarterback, Johnson wanted to keep the ball as much as possible, leading to a decidedly old-school approach. The Bears ran the ball 54 times for 232 yards and two touchdowns. Those 54 attempts ranked fifth most by a team in a single game in the new millennium.. The Bears had more first downs (32) than the Jets’ offensive plays (32) and the time of possession — 42:45 to 17:15 in the Bears’ favor — tells you all you need to know about Johnson’s strategy.
“It’s one of those things, as a play caller, you get in the flow of what you think is going to help us move the ball,” Johnson said after the game. Sometimes they are there, sometimes they are not. But I didn’t feel a lot of negative plays today, which suggests that he’s holding the ball. I don’t know if we had as many ‘excellent mines’ as we wanted, but I do know that overall, they were less than a third to a long time. Call there. It was interesting how that all worked out.
Key among Johnson’s prime movers was Kyle Monangay, a second-year seventh-round pick out of Rutgers and previously a secret superstar — In week 1, in fact – But I had to come back here after the game against the Jets. The 5’9″, 209-pound Monangay ran the ball 30 times for 146 yards and two touchdowns. He had a +0.12 EPA per rush, a rushing success rate of 46.7%, and just one negative run on those 30 attempts.
“He ran hard, yeah, he ran really hard. He got some bumps and turned on the gas. I thought I saw a really good strong arm there. When you see a guy run like that, you want to feed him as a play caller. And I think it gives all those guys a lift and a spark for them — the guys blocking him. And that’s good to see. We need that,” Johnson said of his starting back.
Whatever Monangai did, he did it well. He had 11 attempts for 53 yards and one touchdown, and 19 attempts in zone coverage for 93 yards and another score. Monangai has already proven the ability to be a rotating star, but in this game, he was a bell cow, and he handled that responsibility like a champ.
Alim McNeil, DL, Detroit Lions
If you’ve watched the Detroit Lions defense this season, you don’t need me to tell you that it’s a huge problem. These Lions struggle to finish second on the field every week, and that’s the main reason. Only the Dallas Cowboys have a worse defensive DVOA.. All head coach Dan Campbell and defensive coordinator Kelvin Shepard can do is moan their way through where these Lions are. They don’t have the linebackers to play zone the right way, and they don’t have the defensive backs to play man the right way..
Unfortunately, there is no third type of defense that helps. In the Lions’ 32-26 Sunday night loss to the Carolina Panthers, Bryce Young puzzled that defense with basic RPO stuff, and nobody seemed to know how to stop him.
Who is someone has been All the Lions needed was defenseman Alim McNeil. The 6’2”, 315-pound McNeil had a sack, seven total pressures, a loss in the run game, and generally speaking, anywhere on the line, the offensive lineman (or linemen) on the other side of the ball didn’t get a good rep.
All this after two sacks and a seven-push performance against the New York Jets a week later. In that game, Shepard forced McNeil to take the shot as a standup rusher, which resulted in a positive result.
“Finding different ways to be creative (and) quick is just what we’re doing right now,” Sheppard said of that strategy last week. “Finding guys, making sure we’re putting them in good positions.” You start moving towards 54 (McNeill), 97 (Aidan Hutchinson) warns the couple. You look at the first two weeks, especially in the Buffalo game, Josh Allen was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, man.’ And he’s checking the maximum security when he’s there (which he doesn’t deserve) and stuff like that. Trying to force (and) believe the crimes that we do certain things and sell different things. It’s kind of a mix of that, and getting our premium players in one-on-one rush situations.
Well, when so few things work, it’s a good time to empty the whole damn playbook. Especially with someone in Alim McNeil, he takes the stage when few others can.
Bananas, Corgi Race Champion, Seattle Seahawks
There are times when an unexpected athletic performance, especially one paired with an outrageous style, goes viral for all the right reasons.
It happened at the half of the Seattle Seahawks’ 30-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. That’s because the Seahawks had a corgi contest at halftime (these should happen more often everywhere). As my esteemed colleague James Dator pointed out), and a five-year-old Corgi named Banana, out-competed all other Corgis. Meanwhile, after discounting the dog’s slight start in the middle lane, Moose looked back at her unsuccessful rivals in Usain Bolt fashion, telling those other corgis that it wasn’t going to be their day.
From a tools/technique standpoint, the way they wanted to run the post pattern was how Moose was able to rush the seam and then take a post route on the fake defender. Even Jackson Smith-Njigba could learn a thing or two about separation. Then, one last look, and an overjoyed dive into the end zone.
As you might expect, this wasn’t Moose’s first rodeo. Like Sofia Schwarzwalder The Seattle Times ReportsMoose has won these contests in the past, and has represented her favorite team in the Pro Bowl, NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl week.
Ann Pham, the Banana Man, says she’s starting the Banana Race in 2023 at Emerald Downs, a racetrack outside Seattle. Banana unexpectedly beat the heat, and a star was born. Moose threw out the first pitch at the Seattle Mariners game, and she was a big factor in both. Tiktok And Instagram.
“I grew up always wanting a dog,” Pham said.
As Moose’s performance coach, Pham doesn’t have to do much vetting with such a natural athlete. The primary strategy in Sunday’s race was to get Moose’s favorite banana to the finish line.
Apparently, it worked like a charm. Pham and Moose, who recently moved from Seattle to New York City and returned for this game, inspired each other’s greatness.
