As NFL fans, we tend to get carried away about the players on our favorite teams. If enough fans and pundits get too carried away about a particular player, well, that's when the overrated label comes in.
Being overrated doesn't make an NFL player bad. There are plenty of Pro Bowl-caliber players in the NFL who are viewed as if they are All-Pros. These are all great players, but they are not as good as the media conversation makes them out to be.
Using the immense expertise in our FanSided NFL Division, we sought to answer the burning question: who is the most overrated player in the NFL? Every NFL Division Site Expert ranked their top three most overrated players in the league, and from there, we ordered them on a points system. Some of the names may shock you.
9. Indianapolis Colts CB Sauce Gardner
- Total points: 7
- First-place votes: 0
Heralded as one of the best young cornerbacks in the entire NFL, Sauce Gardner is not passing the same sniff test with FanSided experts. The now-Indianapolis Colts cornerback appeared on five separate ballots with two second-place votes and three third-place votes.
Gardner's reputation as an overrated player likely stems from the asinine trade the Colts made for the cornerback last season. Indianapolis bought into the idea of being a Super Bowl contender and traded not one, but two first-round picks for Gardner.
Indianapolis' efforts were for naught as the team cratered down the stretch and only saw Gardner appear in four total games. While he is still young enough where the Colts don't have to worry about age-related regression, Gardner alone can't elevate the Colts into a Super Bowl favorite with strong cornerback play.
If you're going to trade two first-round picks, you want someone who can put you over the edge. Gardner isn't doing that for the Colts.
8. Dallas Cowboys WR George Pickens
- Total points: 7
- First-place votes: 1
George Pickens only showed up on three ballots, but his ranking was high enough on each ballot to catapult him into the top eight (breaking a tie with Gardner in the process). Pickens received one vote as the most overrated player in the league with two additional second-place votes. Not great for the Dallas Cowboys wideout.
Pickens has been a polarizing player dating back to his days with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has always teetered on the edge of being one of the elite wideouts in the league despite his belief that he is the best wideout in the league. Throw him on America's Team, whose fanbase naturally inflates players' values, and it's not hard to see why he made this list.
Pickens is a great player. There is no doubt about that. But maybe there is a reason why Jerry Jones hasn't shelled out an expensive extension for the wide receiver. Perhaps he knows that Pickens is a tad overrated, too.
7. Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow
- Total points: 8
- First-place votes: 2
Joe Burrow appeared on just three ballots, but with two first-place votes and a second-place vote, he cracks into the top seven. As surprising as Burrow's inclusion is on this list, the Bengals are going on four years since their miracle Super Bowl run and three years since making the playoffs.
Here is The Landry Hat Editor Jerry Trotta to explain why Burrow belongs on this list. Trotta was one of two FanSided experts who ranked Burrow as the most overrated player in the league.
"At a position that demands year-over-year consistency more than any other in sports, Burrow hasn't delivered at the level of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, or Lamar Jackson. Yet, he remains sharpied into the elite tier of NFL quarterbacks, and frequently ranked ahead of Jackson, who has a legitimate claim to three MVPs.
Slaying Mahomes in January bought him immense credit, and rightfully so, but he hasn't played a single postseason snap in three years. That drought and his lack of availability can’t just be swept under the rug because he’s — checks notes — 1-1 vs. Mahomes in the playoffs. What are we doing?"
T-5. New England Patriots QB Drake Maye
- Total points: 9
- First-place votes: 2
It appears not everyone is buying into the Drake Maye hype. There's no denying that Maye is a talented quarterback and he definitely has earned his place in the top 10. Those in New England put him closer to No. 1 than No. 10, though, and our FanSided experts have a problem with that.
This stems from Maye's performance in the NFL Playoffs despite the Patriots' success. Maye was pretty dreadful in the Super Bowl and wasn't lighting the world on fire prior to that. Outside of one really good half against the Chargers in the AFC Wild Card Round, Maye did not play like an elite quarterback despite his playoff success.
Maye's third season in the league will ultimately decide where he falls in the NFL hierarchy. If our FanSided experts are correct, Maye could slip down the ranks as a great, but not elite, quarterback. If Patriots fans are correct, Maye will prove he deserves to be on the league's Mount Rushmore of great signal-callers.
T-5. Pittsburgh Steelers WR DK Metcalf
- Total points: 9
- First-place votes: 2
It's a stone-cold tie between Maye and Pittsburgh Steelers wideout DK Metcalf. Both players had two first-place votes, one second-place vote, and one third-place vote. Metcalf does have the distinction, though, of being the most overrated non-quarterback on this list.
Metcalf trade rumors populated the 2025 NFL offseason, which made his first season in Pittsburgh underwhelming. The former Seahawks wideout still had a good season, but he certainly wasn't the game-changing wide receiver that he was touted as being.
The situations around Metcalf also didn't help. Seattle got better with Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the WR1, while Metcalf couldn't outproduce what George Pickens was doing for the Steelers. Metcalf, who was once viewed as a legitimate franchise-altering WR1, might instead be an overqualified WR2.
4. Los Angeles Chargers QB Justin Herbert
- Total points: 11
- First-place votes: 2
There is no denying how much raw talent Justin Herbert has. In fact, it's the exact reason why many consider him to be overrated. Herbert arguably has the most arm talent in the sport, is an underrated scrambler, and has put up numbers while chaos has ensued around him.
The argument against Herbert is rather simple. Those who think he is overrated, as well as some frustrated Chargers fans, want Herbert to simply not look terrible in the playoffs. Wins aren't a QB stat, but it does matter that Herbert is 0-3 in the playoffs with three bad performances.
There have been plenty of defenses in favor of Herbert. One year it was bad coaching, one year it was bad weapons, one year it was a bad offensive line. While all of those reasons hold some merit, the best quarterbacks in the league overcome obstacles to succeed. That's what makes them the best.
Herbert is a great quarterback, but he hasn't fully earned the elite title until he can overcome the hurdles put in front of him in the biggest spots. With many still calling him an elite quarterback, he naturally finds his place in this ranking.
3. Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts
- Total points: 13
- First-place votes: 3
Winning a Super Bowl in dominant fashion and ending a dynasty in the process apparently isn't good enough to avoid an overrated tag. In fact, all the team success around Jalen Hurts is exactly why he landed on this list in the first place.
Hurts' biggest naysayers would argue that the Eagles would be just as successful, if not more, with a number of quarterbacks under center. After all, Hurts has played behind an elite offensive line with great weapons and a stout defense for pretty much his entire career.
What would happen if Hurts had to play in the same conditions as Herbert? Would Herbert be a multiple-time Super Bowl winner and avoid this list altogether if he was on the Eagles? Either way, our FanSided experts think both quarterbacks are overrated for distinct reasons.
With no more A.J. Brown and a supporting cast that is getting worse by the year, Hurts can prove his naysayers wrong with a strong season in 2026. But unless he carries the entire franchise on his back himself, he likely will still have many calling him overrated.
2. Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams
- Total points: 16
- First-place votes: 4
The expectations surrounding Williams as he entered the NFL are definitely playing into his overrated moniker. A bona fide first-overall pick in 2024, Williams was touted as a franchise-altering quarterback who would change the culture of whatever team landed him right away.
And so his credit, Williams led a starved Bears team to the NFC Divisional Round in his second season alongside head coach Ben Johnson. But because Johnson is considered one of the best offensive minds in football, Williams' efforts aren't fully attributed to his talent level.
Williams had some truly heroic moments akin to a true franchise quarterback last season. He also had some pretty mediocre overall numbers. A lot of the Bears' success last season seemed flukey as well, which doesn't help the narrative.
Ironically enough, Williams is a victim of his own success both in college and in the pros. Unless he turns in an MVP-caliber season and a deep playoff run, he will almost certainly still be considered overrated.
1. Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix
- Total points: 22
- First-place votes: 3
Bo Nix had fewer first-place votes than Caleb Williams but he showed up on far more ballots. Eleven different FanSided experts named Nix as one of the most overrated players in the league, officially giving him the No. 1 spot on this list.
Like Williams, Nix is a victim of his own success. He and Sean Payton have reinvented the Denver Broncos, who despite their success in the regular season and playoffs, have not been taken seriously as a true Super Bowl-caliber team. Heck, the Broncos were arguably a Nix injury away from making (and potentially winning) the Super Bowl last year.
But that doesn't matter. Whether it be due to his defense, the weapons around him, or his offensive-minded head coach, Nix's success as a pro is not reflective of how FanSided experts view him. Is a Super Bowl the only way to break that narrative? Perhaps.
In defense of Bo Nix...
It's only fair that we give those who root for Nix a chance to defend him. Predominantly Orange Site Expert Lou Scataglia thinks the overrated tab for Nix is absurd and actually argues that the Broncos' signal-caller is underrated.
"If anything, Bo Nix is underrated. While wins aren't directly a QB stat, it's pretty clear that winning does follow the league's best at the position, and in 2025, we saw that numerous times with Nix leading the Denver Broncos to victory. He led the NFL with seven game-winning drives, and while the Broncos were trailing frequently, Nix was also dealing with poor play from his pass-catchers and a depleted run game after Week 10.
Pro Football Reference credited the Broncos with a whopping 43 drops in 2025, which ranked second in the NFL and 14 more than the next closest QB, and had he not broken his ankle, it's very likely the Broncos are playing in the Super Bowl.
His off-schedule ability, rushing skill set, obvious clutch gene in late-game and playoff situations, and being able to make up for below-average playmakers make him a lot closer to being an underrated QB than an overrated one."
Other NFL players who received first-place votes
- Aaron Rodgers
- Baker Mayfield
- Brandon Aiyuk
- Brock Purdy
- Dak Prescott
- DJ Moore
- Jayden Daniels
- Josh Allen
- Kyler Murray
- Micah Parsons
- Patrick Queen
- Trevor Lawrence
- Ty Simpson
Believe it or not, the only player on the list above who received two first-place votes is Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. The two-time MVP received no other votes, missing the cut as the No. 11-ranked player in our survey.
Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy also nearly made the cut with six total points. Micah Parsons was the only defensive player to receive a first-place vote.
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