Superstars may lead the discussion when it comes to success in the NFL, but more often than not, it’s the guys you barely know who will make the plays needed when they’re needed. Such players can be underrated for all kinds of reasons. Perhaps they’re playing in a smaller market, and the media isn’t appropriately trumpeting their exploits. Maybe they’re hidden in a depth chart behind bigger names who may not be doing as much. Or, it’s always possible that a wayward coach hasn’t quite figured out that one guy needs elevation to bring better results to the team.

Whatever the reason, we at SB Nation always like to bring the underrated names to you with the offseason Hidden Gems and in-season Secret Superstars series.

And with that in mind, here are our AFC Secret Superstars for Week 1 of the 2026 regular season. And if you haven’t yet, download the new SB Nation app, so you can better read our stuff wherever you are!

If there’s one thing you would not expect from Sunday’s Week 1 action, it’s the Houston Texans’ defense giving up 409 yards, 20 first downs, and 36 points to any team, even Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills on a heater. But that’s what happened to the 2025 defense that ranked second in DVOA behind only the Seattle Seahawks in Buffalo’s 36-31 win.

What kept the Texans in the game as long as they were was something else we didn’t see a lot from the 2025 Texans — a bunch of touchdowns from a running back. But former Detroit Lions back David Montgomery, who signed a two-year, $16.5 million contract in March, changed that pretty immediately. Vaulting over a group of backs who scored a total of 10 rushing and receiving touchdowns in the 2025 season, Montgomery gained 60 yards on 20 carries with two rushing touchdowns, adding three catches on three targets for 19 yards and another score.

Not only did Montgomery become the first player in Texans history to score three touchdowns in his first game with the team, he also tied a record for the most touchdowns by any player in a first game with a new team in the Super Bowl era. The last player to do that was Saquon Barkley in his debut with the Philadelphia Eagles on September 6, 2024. Now, Barkley went on to blow the NFL way with 2,857 yards from scrimmage and one of the most dominant running back seasons ever. The Texans aren’t expecting that from Montgomery, but as head coach DeMeco Ryans said on Monday, Montgomery’s addition fills a lot of holes in a Texans run game that was more of an afterthought than a priority last year.

“I would have loved to give David a game ball; first Texan to start his debut with three touchdowns,” Ryans said. “I thought it was a very impressive game by him – finding a way to get in the end zone. The offensive line blocked it really well; just really encouraged with what he brings and what he provides our offense. You talk about a guy who can be an explosive runner, physical runner. When we needed yards, he was able to get positive yards even when the run may have been blocked for zero. He was able to get 4 and 5 yards on runs.

“That speaks to David and just how he plays the game. He’s added a lot to our offense. I know our guys ran the ball really well, starting with the offensive line, how they finished their blocks, our tight ends, how they blocked. Collectively, we did a really good job running the football. We threw the ball well, too. C.J. did a good job. We threw the ball well. We had our way offensively the way those guys moved the ball up and down the field.”

The big idea for the 2026 Texans is for the offense to be just good enough to let the defense cook as it did last season. Well, Montgomery’s addition allowed the offense to do more than that. Now, it’s up to that defense to recover from the unexpected.

Last season, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ receiver plan did not go as expected.

The idea was that Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter would be the stars up top, but between Hunter’s injuries and Thomas’ mysterious second-year ineffectiveness, head coach and offensive shot-caller Liam Coen had to improvise as things went along. The November 4 trade for former Las Vegas Raiders receiver Jakobi Myers helped a lot, but the ascent of 2023 Jaguars sixth-round pick Parker Washington was just as big a deal.

In his first two-and-a-half NFL seasons, the Penn State alum was never more than a bit player… and then, things turned around with extreme force. He first blew onto the radar in Week 16 of the 2025 season, when he caught 6 passes on 9 targets for 145 yards and a touchdown against the Denver Broncos’ generally constricting defense, and from there through the Jaguars’ Wild Card loss to the Buffalo Bills, Washington was one of the NFL’s most productive receivers… quite out of nowhere.

In that four-game stretch, Washington ranked fifth in the league in targets (28), fifth in receptions (19), second in receiving yards (347, behind only Puka Nacua’s 348), and tied for third with two receiving touchdowns.

Anybody who thought that was a fluke or a blip was taken to the woodshed by the results of Jacksonville’s 34-10 Sunday win over the Cleveland Browns. Washington led all receivers on both teams with 5 catches on 6 targets for 83 yards and a touchdown, and as was the case in the 2025 season, the 5’10”, 212-pound Washington was great from anywhere in the formation.

“Heck of a play,” Coen said of Washington’s 30-yard diving touchdown catch. “Had man coverage, [and] he had outside leverage. I think he dove down and ran a really good route. Got the nickel to dive down and undercut him [on the route]. He ended up being pretty open and made a great catch. [Quarterback Trevor Lawrence] had really good protection, really all day. Was pleased with how we stared fast, especially getting Parker going early.”

Now, Washington is in line for a new contract, but as Lawrence said postgame, he doesn’t let that affect what happens on the field.

“You would not even know that’s going on just the way he carries himself. He’s been the same guy. Just comes to work every day, does everything the right way. So, yeah, you wouldn’t even know that’s going on in the background. Really just impressed with how he’s handled that, but not surprised. He’s a worker and he’s a stud. Had a great day today.”

With more great days like this, Parker Washington is going to get seriously paid by someone — and sooner than later.

In the 2025 season, the Las Vegas Raiders tied for the NFL’s seventh-lowest sack total with 37, and their 174 quarterback pressures were the league’s third-lowest, ahead of only the Carolina Panthers (162) and the New York Jets (165). Imagine what would have happened if the Maxx Crosby trade had happened, as Crosby was responsible for 10 of those sacks, and 46 of those pressures.

Instead, with a happier and healthier Crosby on board, new defensive coordinator Rob Leonard also had the addition of former Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Kwity Paye on board, via the three-year, $48 million contract with $31.238 million guaranteed the six-year veteran signed this offseason.

The Raiders had a relatively easy gig in Week 1 of the 2026 season with the roster-barren Miami Dolphins as their opponent, but you still have to show up and play the games. And Paye did that to an extreme degree in his Raiders debut. He had a career-high (for a single game) three sacks and eight total pressures in Las Vegas’ 27-13 win, and when Paye and Crosby were on the field together, it caused the kind of disruption this defense hasn’t created in a while. Crosby had two sacks and eight pressures of his own — no surprise there — and overall, the Raiders were good for five sacks and 16 pressures.

Life was not great for Miami quarterback Malik Willis, and Paye was a primary reason. Moreover, the 6’2”, 265-pound Paye did his thing from all kinds of gaps.

”I think as a team, as a defense, we played well,” Paye said postgame. “I feel like the prep going into the week was amazing. Shout out to Robbie [Rob Leonard] first and foremost. Shout out to Trav [defensive line coach Travis Smith], shout out to [defensive assistant] Steve Ferentz, shout out to K-Jack [assistant defensive line coach Kenyon Jackson]. Those guys in the D-line room, they’ve got us right. We had five sacks tonight. I feel like that’s a testament to their hard work every single day. Those indy [individual] drills kill, but it all paid off today.

“I said once to some of the guys, ‘This is probably the hardest offseason I had with a team.’ but the good teams, they have hard offseasons, because that willingness to want to win is there. We hit the ground running first day of OTAs, and it just showed today.”

Needless to say, Paye is pretty happy to have Crosby as the epicenter of the pass rush.

“I got more one-on-ones today, for sure. The slide was away from me, but I feel like Robbie schemed it up pretty well. Shout out to Trav again, and K-Jack and Steve and all those guys for the prep going into the week, and I can’t thank those guys enough.”

The value of hard work, and having the right teammates around you? Sounds like the right recipe these Raiders have been struggling to find for quite a while now.