5 Overrated NFL Stars Doomed to Never Win a Ring (And 5 Underrated Studs Who Will Win a Super Bowl)

The NFL is a tricky beast… and while there’s tons of talent spread throughout the league, the reality is that not every NFL star can win a Super Bowl.

Some players are destined for greatness. Others are destined to be remembered as the greatest players to never win anything that matters.

Today we’re separating the pretenders from the contenders—five overrated NFL stars who, despite all their talent and accolades, will NEVER hoist the Lombardi Trophy… and five underrated players who absolutely will.

Which NFL stars will win a ring and which ones will not?

OVERRATED: Josh Allen (QB, Buffalo Bills)

I’m going to say what everyone’s been afraid to say: NFL star Josh Allen is destined to be the next Dan Marino… this generation’s most talented quarterback in NFL history who will never win a Super Bowl.

Allen is 7-6 in the playoffs. He’s 0-4 against the Chiefs in the postseason. He holds the unwanted record for most playoff starts by a quarterback without reaching a Super Bowl—fifteen and counting. When the moment gets biggest, when it matters most, he always finds a way to come up just short… even if the counting numbers are there.

The 2025 season was supposed to be different. No Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs for the first time in Allen’s career. No Chiefs standing in his way. The Bills had the second seed, a bye week, and home-field advantage. 

And what happened? They lost to the Denver freaking Broncos, 33-30, in the divisional round. Again. Sean McDermott got fired the next day.

Here’s the thing about Josh Allen: he plays hero ball because he HAS to play hero ball. The Bills have never built a complete team around him. They’ve cycled through receivers like a revolving door, and every year, that defense disappears in big moments. 

And Allen, trying to do too much, inevitably makes the one mistake that ends their season.

He’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’ll have all the individual records. But Josh Allen will retire without a ring, and twenty years from now, we’ll talk about him the same way we talk about Dan Marino—incredible talent, incredible stats, zero championships.

UNDERRATED: Puka Nacua (WR, Los Angeles Rams)

If Jaxon Smith-Njigba hadn’t gone nuclear this season, we’d be talking about Puka Nacua as the best young receiver in football. Instead, the Rams star finished second in receiving yards with 1,715—nearly 400 yards more than anyone not named JSN.

He fundamentally changes that offense in a way that very few guys are capable of doing, regardless of position.

Nacua was a fifth-round pick in 2023. A FIFTH-ROUND PICK. He immediately broke the rookie records for receptions and receiving yards, putting up numbers that made people question if they were even real. Then in 2024, despite missing significant time with a knee injury, he came back and proved it wasn’t a fluke. And in 2025, he was the second-best receiver in the entire NFL.

The Rams just traded for Trent McDuffie, adding an All-Pro cornerback to a defense that already showed out in the NFC Championship Game. Sean McVay is still one of the best offensive minds in football. Matthew Stafford has championship experience. This team went to the NFC title game this season, losing a tight 31-27 battle to the eventual champion Seahawks.

Puka Nacua has every tool you could want in a modern receiver. He’s 6’2″, runs crisp routes, has incredible hands, and creates separation at will. 

And Puka is still entering the prime of his career… the Rams’ window is wide open.

This isn’t a prediction—it’s a promise. Puka Nacua will have a Super Bowl ring before his next contract extension. Book it.

OVERRATED: Lamar Jackson (QB, Baltimore Ravens)

Two MVPs—yep—Lamar Jackson has won the NFL’s highest individual honor TWICE, and the star is still only 29 years old. He’s the most electric player with the ball in his hands that we’ve seen in decades. And he’s changed the way teams think about quarterback mobility.

He’s also 3-5 in the playoffs with a 3-6 home record in games that matter.

Jackson’s 2025 season was a disaster. The Ravens started 1-5, rallied to 6-5, then collapsed down the stretch to finish 8-9. They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2021. 

A Week 18 field goal that would have sent them to the postseason clanged off the upright. John Harbaugh—the only coach Jackson has ever known—was fired two days later.

Now Jackson has a new coach in Jesse Minter, a new offensive coordinator, and a new system to learn at 29 years old. History tells us that running quarterbacks’ legs go before their arms. Jackson’s rushing yards have declined in each of the last three seasons. The hits accumulate. The injuries pile up.

Lamar Jackson might win more MVPs; he’ll definitely make more Pro Bowls. He might even lead the Ravens back to the playoffs next year. But he will never win a Super Bowl because his style of play isn’t sustainable, his supporting cast keeps changing, and the moment he needs to be a pure pocket passer in January, his limitations get exposed.

UNDERRATED: CJ Stroud (QB, Houston Texans)

Let’s address the elephant in the room: CJ Stroud is a mess right now.

The guy who looked like the next great NFL quarterback as a star rookie has completely fallen off a cliff. Four interceptions in the first half against New England. Five fumbles against Pittsburgh. Trade rumors swirling.

And I’m telling you: CJ Stroud is going to win a Super Bowl.

Here’s what everyone’s forgetting in the rush to bury this kid. He’s 24 years old. TWENTY-FOUR. He’s had two different offensive coordinators in three years. He missed four games with a concussion this season. He’s been running for his life behind an offensive line that hasn’t materially improved in years.

But the smart money says that he eventually finds a way to get it done… because in addition to having some nice playmakers on the offensive side of the ball and a good bit of talent himself, Stroud has a DEFENSE.

Will Anderson Jr. is a game-wrecker, and DeMeco Ryans has built one of the best defensive units in football around him—a defense that can win games even when the offense is a complete disaster. Which, let’s be honest, it has been.

That defense isn’t going anywhere, and the Texans have made three consecutive divisional round appearances with a quarterback everyone now thinks is washed. Imagine what happens when Stroud actually plays well.

Here’s the reality: the NFL is a year-to-year league. Stroud’s teammates still believe in him—and the organization is going to go all in to make sure he is successful.

Everyone’s selling their CJ Stroud stock at the absolute lowest point. That’s exactly when you should be buying.

OVERRATED: Justin Jefferson (WR, Minnesota Vikings)

Justin Jefferson might be the best pure receiver in football… so it isn’t necessarily that he is overrated… per se…

But more so that he’s going to have a real uphill battle when it comes to winning the big one because Justin Jefferson plays for the Minnesota Vikings.

Look at the pattern. In 2024, Sam Darnold showed up, played the best football of his career, and led Minnesota to a 14-3 record. The Vikings let him walk. He went to Seattle and won a Super Bowl.

Jefferson’s 2025 numbers took a hit as a result—at least relative to his normally astronomical production… 84 catches, 1,048 yards, and just TWO touchdowns. TWO. The best receiver in football—arguably the best receiver of his generation—had a single-digit touchdown season because his quarterback couldn’t get him the ball.

This is the Vikings’ way. They find ways to waste generational talent. They did it with Randy Moss. And they did it with Adrian Peterson. Now they’re doing it with Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson will break every franchise record. He’ll be a Hall of Famer. He’ll be remembered as one of the greatest receivers to ever play. 

But he will never win a Super Bowl because the Minnesota Vikings organization is constitutionally incapable of building a championship team around its stars. 

UNDERRATED: Trevor Lawrence (QB, Jacksonville Jaguars)

I know what you’re thinking. Trevor Lawrence? UNDERRATED? The guy with the 29-39 career record? The guy who’s been through four head coaches in five years?

Yeah. That guy. And I’m telling you right now: everyone has given up on Trevor Lawrence way too early. He started to show signs in 2025 that the guy everyone thought he was going to be when he came out of the draft as the top overall pick is back, and if you ask us, he’s here to stay!

The Jaguars just hired their new coaching staff, and for the first time, Lawrence has weapons that can actually win games… and we saw the results play out last year!

And let’s face it… The AFC South is winnable—the Texans are good, but they’re not unbeatable. The Colts and Titans are stuck in mediocrity.

Everyone’s written Trevor Lawrence off. That’s exactly why he’s going to prove everyone wrong. He has the talent to become an NFL star. He finally has the weapons. And he has the chip on his shoulder that comes from five years of everyone saying he’s a bust.

Trevor Lawrence is going to win a Super Bowl, and when he does, all these “generational bust” takes are going to age like milk. Book it.

OVERRATED: Drake Maye (QB, New England Patriots)

I can already hear the angry comments. “Drake Maye just went to the Super Bowl! He’s 23 years old! The Patriots were 80-1 preseason odds!”

Yeah. I know. And I’m telling you right now: Drake Maye will never win a Super Bowl.

The Patriots’ run was incredible. It was also… in many ways… a mirage. 

They won with defense, special teams, and an easy schedule down the stretch. Maye was a game manager on a team that didn’t need him to be anything more. Now everyone’s acting like he’s the next Tom Brady because he happened to be the quarterback when everything else went right.

Here’s what’s going to happen: the Patriots are going to regress. That defense won’t be as dominant. The schedule won’t be as favorable. Teams have film on Maye now—they’ve seen his tendencies, his limitations, his struggles when facing elite pass rushes.

And then… that die-hard Patriots fan base that swears to be fierce Drake Maye defenders is going to turn on him in short order… just like they did to Mac Jones—remember—the last “the guy” that they had after Brady!

UNDERRATED: Jahmyr Gibbs (RB, Detroit Lions)

The Detroit Lions missed the playoffs in 2025… easily one of the most stunning turn of events that no one saw coming.

Sure… it sucks for the team and their fans that they blew a historically good roster with injuries and bad luck and bizarre losses. 

But for all the people that are already writing off their championship window—I would take a beat and reevaluate your stance.

Jahmyr Gibbs is the most dynamic running back in football, and I don’t want to hear about Bijan Robinson or Saquon Barkley. Gibbs does things out of the backfield that shouldn’t be physically possible. He catches passes like a receiver. He runs routes like a slot weapon. And he hits holes faster than anyone in the league. He’s an NFL star, no doubt.

And that breakaway speed is something else.

The Lions’ core is locked up. The NFC North is winnable. When Detroit gets healthy and gets back to the playoffs, Jahmyr Gibbs is going to be the engine that powers them to a championship.

But everyone’s going to act surprised. They shouldn’t be. The signs are all there.

OVERRATED: CeeDee Lamb (WR, Dallas Cowboys)

CeeDee Lamb has made five Pro Bowls in six seasons. He led the league in receptions in 2023, had five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons—something only Michael Irvin has done in Cowboys history and signed a massive contract extension…

Lamb was supposed to be the cornerstone of Dallas’s offense for the next decade.

But it feels like he is one of those guys that always seems to be padding his stats once the game is already in hand one way or another… or in the Cowboys’ case, once the season has already been put to bed.

So… yeah… Lamb can put up numbers. 

And he’ll certainly make more Pro Bowls and maybe even break some of Michael Irvin’s records…

But as long as he’s catching passes from Dak Prescott in Jerry World, watching the organization make the same mistakes year after year, he will never, ever win a Super Bowl.

UNDERRATED: Brock Bowers (TE, Las Vegas Raiders)

Brock Bowers plays for the Raiders, an organization that is, to put it charitably, a mess. They don’t have a quarterback. They don’t have a winning culture or any clear path to contention.

And none of that matters because Brock Bowers is the best tight end prospect since Travis Kelce, and he’s going to get PAID to go somewhere that can actually compete.

As a ROOKIE, Bowers set the NFL record for receiving yards by a first-year tight end. He caught 112 passes—the most by any tight end in league history not named Jason Witten. He did this with a carousel of quarterbacks, a coaching staff that got fired, and an offense that had no business being competent.

Bowers is 23 years old. But he runs like a receiver, blocks like a tight end, and creates mismatches that defensive coordinators literally cannot solve. He’s going to be a free agent before you know it, and every contender in football is going to be fighting to sign him.

Whether it’s through trade or free agency, Brock Bowers is going to end up on a team with a real quarterback and a real chance to compete.

And when he does? That team is going to win a Super Bowl. Not because Bowers is the best player on the roster, but because he’s the kind of weapon that puts an offense over the top. The kind of mismatch that wins games in January. The kind of player that championship teams are built around.