10 NFL Players that were Sneaky Good During the 2025 Season
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
Every season, there are NFL players who absolutely ball out… and nobody talks about them.
Maybe they were written off before the season started. Maybe they play a position that doesn’t get headlines. And maybe they’re on a team nobody’s watching. Or maybe—they exceeded every expectation anyone ever had for them.
These are the sneaky good players of 2025.
Some of them you’ve barely heard of, but if you’ve been paying attention, you know these guys have been cooking.
Today, we’re counting down the 10 NFL players who have been sneaky good in 2025.
Let’s get into it.
Which NFL players are low-key playing well in 2025?
Zach Frazier (C, Pittsburgh Steelers)
Look, I understand… Nobody talks about centers. It’s one of the most underappreciated positions in football.
But Zach Frazier? The second-round pick out of West Virginia has been absolutely dominant in the middle of that Steelers offensive line.
There was a hope he would come in and stabilize the middle of that Steelers offensive line… But let’s be honest, nobody expected him to be this good, this fast.
As a rookie, he was voted the Steelers’ offensive rookie of the year—only the second center in franchise history to do that. The other one? Maurkice Pouncey was back in 2010. That’s the company he’s keeping.
And now in year two, he’s been even better. Frazier is keeping his quarterback clean at an elite level and grading out as one of the best pass-blocking centers in the entire league. The man simply does not give up pressure.
But here’s the thing… Nobody’s really talking about him. He’s a center in Pittsburgh. The skill players get the love. The defense gets the headlines. Frazier just… quietly dominates.
If we’re being honest, he could end up being the best center in football. And most fans still don’t even know his name.
YaYa Diaby (EDGE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Here’s the thing about YaYa Diaby… the numbers don’t always tell the full story. But watch the tape, and you’ll see a guy who is getting to the quarterback at an elite rate.
He’s winning his rushes, he’s creating pressure, and he’s become one of the most disruptive pass rushers in the entire league—even if the box score doesn’t always reflect it.
Diaby was a third-round pick out of Louisville in 2023, a raw, athletic edge rusher who was expected to develop into a rotational piece for Tampa Bay. But he is starting to look foundational.
His efficiency has jumped significantly from year one to year two… and the scary part? He’s still getting better in Todd Bowles’ system.
But nobody’s really talking about him. Tampa Bay isn’t a glamour market. The Bucs defense doesn’t get national headlines. Diaby just quietly terrorizes offensive tackles and punishes their quarterbacks.
Chimere Dike (WR/KR, Tennessee Titans)
This one is wild.
Despite Titans fans taking out their frustration that the team didn’t take a wide receiver earlier on Dike during the draft, Chimere has turned into quite the piece for this lowly Tennessee squad.
Dike is quietly one of the more dynamic players in the entire NFL this season. He’s returning kicks at a historic pace, he’s contributing as a receiver, and he’s racking up all-purpose yards like nobody’s business. The man has set the Titans franchise record for kick return yards… as a rookie.
And he’s only the fourth rookie in NFL history with multiple receiving touchdowns AND multiple punt return touchdowns in the same season.
But here’s the thing… how many people outside of Tennessee even know his name? The Titans aren’t on national TV. They’re not in the playoff conversation. Dike is putting up historic numbers in total silence.
Either way… Dike is here to stay—and I bet you the Titans fans aren’t complaining anymore—at least not about that aspect of their team!
Alec Pierce (WR, Indianapolis Colts)
Alec Pierce is the silent killer in Indianapolis this year—and was a huge part of the unlock for Daniel Jones and the success he had early on in the season.
Pierce is a serious threat with elite speed and size who was supposed to stretch the field for the Colts when they took him in the second round out of Cincinnati in 2022…
But for the first couple of years, it just never fully clicked. The big plays were there, but the consistency wasn’t. He was a role player. A complementary piece.
Granted, there wasn’t a ton of offensive stability… and the quarterback position was a rotating cast of characters. But now he’s having the best season of his career and establishing himself as one of the better wide receivers in the game.
He’s set career highs across the board—receptions, yards, and first downs. The man is a legitimate deep ball weapon, and he’s finally putting it all together.
But here’s the thing… no Pro Bowl buzz. No national headlines. Nothing.
Alec Pierce is having a monster year in Indianapolis… and the football world is sleeping on him.
Stefon Diggs (WR, New England Patriots)
Here’s an NFL player who could’ve easily faded into obscurity… after an unceremonious departure from Buffalo two years ago, Diggs landed in Houston, where, well, he was underwhelming.
Then, it went from bad to worse when he tore his ACL in Week 8 of 2024.
At 30 years old, coming off a major knee injury, teams weren’t exactly lining up to sign him… Especially with all of the attention being paid to him and his, shall we say, “extracurricular interests” off of the field…
But the Patriots took a shot as Buffalo did back when. They are hoping he could be the stabilizing force for their young quarterback.
And for the low price of $63.5 million over three years, there is no question that Diggs has delivered.
He’s been the best receiver in New England by a wide margin this season—leading the team in receptions and yards and looking every bit like the four-time Pro Bowler he’s always been.
Of course, all anybody wants to talk about in New England is Drake Maye. And to be fair… it is with good reason.
The second-year quarterback gets the headlines because a quarterback of the future always gets the buzz, but make no mistake about it, Diggs is balling out and has been a huge difference maker for this team.
Nik Bonitto (EDGE, Denver Broncos)
Nik Bonitto was a second-round pick out of Oklahoma back in 2022… a smaller, finesse edge rusher player who some thought might not translate to the NFL… but Nik Bonitto has quietly turned into a problem for opposing quarterbacks.
In 2024, he broke out in a big way—posting the first double-digit sack season by a Bronco since Von Miller and Bradley Chubb back in 2018. He had at least one sack in 11 different games… the most in the entire NFL that year.
And has now become one of the most consistent pass rushers in the league. Denver rewarded him with a massive extension—making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in franchise history.
But here’s the thing… when you talk about elite edge rushers, his name still doesn’t come up the way it should. He’s not Myles Garrett. He’s not Micah Parsons. And he’s not even the first guy mentioned in Denver sometimes.
Nik Bonitto just… quietly racks up sacks. First Pro Bowl. Second-Team All-Pro. And still sneaky, flying under the radar.
Watch out… because this guy is legit, and the rest of the league is starting to figure that out.
K’Lavon Chaisson (EDGE, New England Patriots)
K’Lavon Chaisson was the 20th overall pick in the 2020 draft… a former LSU Tiger with first-round pedigree and all the hype in the world…
But for whatever reason, it never came close to working out in Duval.
He bounced from Jacksonville to Carolina in 2024, where he was promptly dropped before the season even started!
Chaisson, like many men who were down bad before him, landed in Las Vegas, and he had a turn of good luck and started to pull it back together.
He parlayed his five-sack season for an opportunity to play for Mike Vrabel in New England… and now he is really coming into his own.
Chaisson has been a key piece of the Patriots’ stunning turnaround this season. He’s leading the team’s pass rush, posting career-high sack numbers, and playing with a confidence we hadn’t seen from him before. The 26-year-old who couldn’t find a home is now thriving in one of the best stories in the NFL this year.
But here’s the thing… nobody saw this coming. Not the analysts. Not the fans. Probably not even Chaisson himself.
Talk about a glow-up… this NFL player went from forgotten first-rounder to legitimate contributor on a team that’s gone from 4-13 to legitimate contender.
Watch out… because this redemption story is just getting started.
Tyler Shough (QB, New Orleans Saints)
The 26-year-old rookie player out of Texas Tech had a rough start entering the NFL… it started with the Brandon Weedon allegations, then he lost the starting quarterback job to Spencer Rattler in the preseason and was relegated to backup… an afterthought. The guy no one was thinking about.
And then New Orleans went 1 and 7 to start the year. Rattler was okay, but it was clear that he was not the future…
On October 28, Shough got his shot. And he’s been cooking ever since.
Since taking over, the Saints have been a different team and are playing winning football.
Shough has been slinging it—moving the ball, completing passes at a high rate, and putting up numbers that no Saints rookie quarterback has ever put up before. He’s been rewriting the record books in New Orleans… and doing it as a guy who wasn’t even supposed to start.
In fact, he now owns each of the top three passing yard games by a Saints rookie ever. People seem hesitant to give him credit, but to these eyes, he looks like the franchise quarterback of the future in New Orleans… and no one saw it coming.
Is he winning Offensive Rookie of the Year? Probably not—Tetairoa McMillan likely has that locked up. But watch out… Shough might just be the answer at quarterback for the Saints moving forward.
Not bad for a second-round pick that everyone forgot about.
Jack Campbell (LB, Detroit Lions)
Jack Campbell was a first-round pick in 2023… a Butkus Award winner out of Iowa—the first in school history—and someone who was supposed to be a key piece of this Lions defense…
But let’s be honest, no one expected this.
Campbell has quietly become arguably the best linebacker in football this season. He is racking up tackles like nobody’s business, getting after the quarterback, and making plays on the football regularly.
And what makes it all the more impressive is that the man simply does not come off the field.
The toughness is what’s really going to make him a legend in this league too… The guy took a cleat to the face from his own teammate, Brian Branch, needed plastic surgery… and STILL didn’t miss a snap.
But here’s the thing… nobody’s really talking about him. He’s not even the most discussed defender on his own team… Albeit with good reason! Aidan Hutchinson gets the headlines, but Campbell just… quietly produces.
And now he’s a first-time Pro Bowler—marking the first Lions linebacker to make the Pro Bowl since Stephen Boyd back in 2000, despite most fans not being able to pick him out of a lineup!
Bryce Young (QB, Carolina Panthers)
Bryce Young was the first overall pick in 2023, despite coming in massively undersized for a starting quarterback in the NFL…
But let’s not act like the pedigree wasn’t there… Young was the Heisman Trophy winner and a monster at Alabama.
There is a reason that he was handpicked—seemingly by Panthers owner David Tepper, in spite of his size – to be the next great NFL quarterback.
And then it all went wrong. He was pushed into the starting role for a terrible team as a rookie, and Carolina went 2- 14.
The next year looked like it was more of the same; in fact, he got BENCHED after Week 2 of 2024. Left for dead.
Andy Dalton took his job, which, no offense to the red rifle, but at this point in his career is a damning indictment.
The narrative was written: Bryce Young was a bust.
But then Dalton hurt his thumb in a car accident, and Young got another shot in Week 8. And this time? He didn’t waste it. Young slowly started to build his confidence and earned the job coming into this season—and he’s looked like a new man. He’s the kind of player that we were hoping he’d be when he entered the NFL.
And now, the Carolina Panthers — the same team that was a laughingstock a year ago are actually relevant in the NFC South, and Young has been at the center of that success.
Including some very impressive come-from-behind victories… but no one is really talking about him. It is still kind of an “oh that’s nice” sort of deal… but watch out! Young and the Panthers are legit, and we could see them take a huge leap again in 2026 under Dave Canales’s leadership.
