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 6 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).
JJ McCarthy, Relief QB, New York Giants
When the Minnesota Vikings traded former 10th-overall pick JJ McCarthy to the Giants on Sept. 28 for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick, there couldn’t be a more obvious way to describe McCarthy’s NFL career hitting rock bottom. The Michigan star, whom the Vikings traded up to take in the 2024 draft, can’t get out of the building fast enough right now, and the Giants have had their own quarterback issues with Jackson Dart’s season-ending knee injury.
The Giants already had Jameis Winston, and if they want to ride that ride, they know the risks involved. James shows you the good and bad sides of quarterback Rogue Gene, and when James threw an interception with 12:28 left in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints, head coach John Harbaugh had had enough. McCarthy entered.
Of course, McCarthy’s day didn’t start well. McCarthy threw his own pick with 10:27 left in the game.
So no one can blame McCarthy for thinking he’s about to disappoint again.
Other than that, he did anything but hope. Overall, McCarthy completed 11 of 23 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown, that interception, and four explosive plays that very few people could have predicted.
The Giants went on a 10-0 run in the second quarter to blow away St. George’s lead and score 34 unanswered points, but with 12 seconds left in the game, McCarthy made a layup to tie the game at 34-34.
McCarthy’s outing was far from perfect — he missed a wide-open Malik Nabers in the end zone on that last play to begin with — but offensive coordinator Matt Nagy got McCarthy to do the two things he does best — get the ball up the field and run when things got tough. McCarthy was the Giants’ leading rusher on the day with 26 yards on two carries.
So, it wasn’t one of those overnight changes, but the fact that McCarthy was able to come in cold and do what he did was impressive in its own right. In Next Gen Stats, he wound up tied for the sixth-most quarterback passing yards this century, and his 14.9 yards per attempt and 17.2 yards per completion are the only quarterback with at least 20 drops per game this season. McCarthy led the NFL last year with 9.3 air yards per attempt and a 42.4% downfield throw rate, not much of a surprise there.
“It’s too early to talk or talk,” Harbaugh said after the game if Winston or McCarthy would take the lead from here on out. “We’ve got to get back to work. I don’t have any problems with James. I like the way he competes, I like the way he fights, I like those types of things. He was up and down today, but those things aren’t decided after 10 minutes of a game.”
Of McCarthy, Harbaugh said: “I did a really good job under the circumstances. It’s different from regular football, but (he) made some tackles, gave us a chance to win the game, and we’re throwing the ball in the end zone. That was good, you’ve got to give him credit.”
It’s unknown what that means for McCarthy’s NFL future, but that was a bright spot in what has been a disappointing run thus far.
Chuba Hubbard, RB, Carolina Panthers
(Note: Hubbard was the winner of this week’s NFC Secret Superstars poll.(where you can vote for both the AFC and the NFC each week for the third Secret Superstar).
Bryce Young completed 20 of 39 passes for just 289 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 92.8, and an EPA of +0.06 per pass, with the Carolina Panthers’ current rebuild beating the Philadelphia Eagles 25-14 on Sunday. Not bad at all, but with Young’s overall development this offseason (he’s now the engine of the offense as a whole), head coach Dave Canales and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik had to find other ways to get things done.
And it’s not as if the Eagles’ defense is a natural way to deliver inside runs — not when you can put Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and the underrated Moro Ojomo between your four- and five-man fronts. Coming into Sunday’s game, per Sports Data Solutions, the Eagles have allowed just 187 rushing yards and 3.3 yards per carry on 57 carries listed under center or right and left. So, if the Panthers are going to get back running back Chuba Hubbard, they’re going to need to push things to the outside. The Eagles allowed 403 yards and 4.4 yards per carry and 91 rushing yards in Week 5.
Exactly what the Panthers did. Through the first four weeks of the season (the Panthers had Week 5), Hubbard ran inside on 26 percent of his carries. Against the Eagles, Hubbard hit the A-gaps on five of his 28 carries. Overall, that allowed him to gain 120 yards rushing on those 28 carries.
Getting out like Hubbard did was a real game changer.
“We started the game with a really nice run,” Canales said of his postgame plan, and Hubbard’s 11-yard run on the Panthers’ first offensive play of the game. “I was like, ‘Here we go.’ The first half went by, and I didn’t get much after that. But the guys came together, trying to figure out some different fronts, and (Eagles defensive coordinator Vic) Fangio did a great job just giving different looks and challenging the run game, but we were able to stick with it. We were able to have some success, and Chuba ended up getting 120 (yards) or something like that. And now He is running the ball well and that should complement the rest of the offense.
Hubbard is running the ball well now. The 2021 fourth-round pick from Oklahoma State has 426 yards and four touchdowns on 89 carries in five games, and he proved in this game (as he has in the past) that he has the stuff to make him a positive reality when you need a bell cow to back him up.
Evan Williams, safety, Green Bay Packers
When the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys kick off Sunday Night Football, one thing you can expect is a lot of points, right? The Packers have been teasing opponents with a lethal deep passing game of late, and we all know the Cowboys haven’t mastered that (or any other) offensive concept. The least predictable aspect of the game will be how Jonathan Gannon’s Packers defense will handle the Cowboys offense, which has been the franchise’s balm for years with amazing defensive coaching and execution.
As it turns out, Gannon and his staff put on a masterclass in how to nail down a great passing game. Against Dak Prescott, one of the smartest pre- and post-snaps in the NFL, the Packers gave him all sorts of unexpected looks. In a 23-13 loss to Dallas, Prescott completed 34 of 54 passes for 258 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and a passer rating of 65.2. Judge Craig Volstad and members of the team were there. It’s not called a series. Accurately knowing the penalties of passengers on various Packers defendersPrescott’s game could have been much worse.
One of the key figures in the Packers’ demolition of Dallas was Evan Williams for his usual high-flying offense. The 2024 fourth-round pick from Oregon actually found a spot in Gannon’s defense. Against the Cowboys, he had seven solo tackles, two quarterback hits, and allowed seven yards on one catch on one target. Williams was off target on an interception with 14:23 left in the first half; Because Williams started at the line of scrimmage and pulled deep on third down, Prescott’s skinny post throw could have been a touchdown the other way.
Overall, Williams didn’t seem to finish the game where he started, and that’s one reason why Prescott hung around in the pocket so often, trying to find open spaces, where there weren’t any gaps.
“First of all, great call by JG (Gannon) – it put me in a great position to go get that.” Williams spoke about the entanglement.. “I saw CED on the 3 (inside slot). It’s a hot route that normally ducks, especially in that high red (zone). So, (I) went out, and really, instinct took over. After the ball was snapped, I put myself between the guy and the ball. And the ball appeared.”
The most amazing preparation and the right person in the right place will work for the defense.
