MIAMI — One thing you learn when you cover enough Super Bowls is that no matter how unheralded a player may be coming into the week, there’s always a story to tell, and somebody who would like to hear it. But that’s for the 6,000 or so media members credentialed for the event.
When it comes to game time this Sunday, and Super Bowl LIV kicks off, there are players on both teams — the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers — who may not be known to the general public, but who are ready to make serious contributions to their teams efforts. So, let’s go under the hood of these two rosters and reveal three players for each team whose performances this season should not go unnoticed any longer.
Here are the secret superstars of Super Bowl LIV, with thoughts on all six players from teammates and opponents.
Chiefs: Daniel Sorensen | Sammy Watkins | Charvarius Ward
49ers: Deebo Samuel | Fred Warner | Mike Person
Kansas City Chiefs
LB/S Daniel Sorensen
The Chiefs’ defense is the undertold story leading up to Super Bowl LIV. Giving up considerable leads in the divisional round against the Texans and in the conference championship against the Titans didn’t help the respect level for that unit, but in the second half of the season, the defense led by Steve Spagnuolo has engineered a fairly remarkable turnaround.
From Weeks 10-17, the Chiefs were tied with the Ravens for the fewest passing touchdowns allowed with seven, and picked off 10 passes — tied with the Falcons, Browns, Colts, Saints, and Dolphins for the most in that span. They also had seven dropped picks in the second half of the season. Only the Steelers, Packers, and Ravens allowed a lower completion percentage than Kansas City’s 57.36%.
The Chiefs allowed 6.22 yards per attempt in that span — only the Ravens, 49ers, and Steelers were better, and only the Steelers allowed a lower QBR than Kansas City’s 68.72.
Moreover, the Chiefs have done this despite injuries to key players. Losing rookie safety Juan Thornhill in late December to a torn ACL was a major blow, but it allowed linebacker/safety hybrid Daniel Sorensen to sub in everywhere from the box to the deep third at a higher level. In the postseason, Sorensen has played 192 snaps in two games; credible snaps everywhere from the defensive line to single-high safety responsibilities. As he showed in this stop of Titans running back Derrick Henry, Sorensen has no problem attacking for a stop from a deep safety position — something he may be asked to do frequently against San Francisco’s running game.
“Dan is a veteran in this game, man,” linebacker Reggie Ragland said of his teammate. “The way he practices and works every day, you know he’s a vet in the game. so, he just stepped in and did what he’s always done. It’s what he’s done for years.”
Chiefs: Daniel Sorensen | Sammy Watkins | Charvarius Ward
49ers: Deebo Samuel | Fred Warner | Mike Person
WR Sammy Watkins
Patrick Mahomes is an incredible quarterback, but he’s also got an amazing cadre of weapons that leave defenses wondering just who to cover. Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Mecole Hardman are three primary names to remember, but don’t sleep on veteran receiver Sammy Watkins. After stints with the Bills and Rams, Watkins signed a three-year, $48 million Chiefs contract with $30 million guaranteed in 2018. The 2019 postseason is there Watkins has chosen to shine, especially as a deep receiver. Targeted three times on passes of 20 air yards or more in two playoff games, Watkins has two receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown. The 49ers are well aware of what he can do to a defense.
“He’s really dynamic,” Richard Sherman said of Watkins. “He’s a powerful route-runner, and he’s faster than a lot of people give him credit for. Great first step, great set of hands, and he attacks the football.”
Watkins also attacks opposing defensive backs who decide to get handsy with him, as he showed in this 60-yard touchdown catch against the Titans in the AFC Championship game against defensive back Tramaine Brock. Watkins is in the left slot, Brock is trying to muscle him out of his route, and Watkins just isn’t having any of it. This plays as an interesting precursor to what Watkins might have to do against San Francisco’s at times-aggressive coverage.
Chiefs: Daniel Sorensen | Sammy Watkins | Charvarius Ward
49ers: Deebo Samuel | Fred Warner | Mike Person
CB Charvarius Ward
If you include the postseason, no cornerback on either Super Bowl team has been targeted more than Ward, the second-year man from Middle Tennessee State who was not only undrafted, but didn’t receive an invitation to the 2018 scouting combine. Signed as a free agent by the Cowboys in 2018 and traded to the Chiefs in August of that year in a transaction that barely made a blip on the radar, Ward has become an integral part of Kansas City’s improving defense. This season, he’s faced 97 targets, allowing just 47 receptions for 770 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 73.8 that leads all Kansas City cornerbacks.
Not many defenders can go straight post-up on Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins and come away unscathed, but that’s exactly what Ward did in this Week 6 interceptions. Hopkins has an unreal ability to separate from the tightest coverage, but here, Ward stays in Hopkins’ hip pocket all the way.
“It’s the chip on his shoulder,” Ragland said when asked what makes Ward so effective. “Being passed over, that’d make anybody work. Then, he had his opportunity, and ever since that happened last year, he’s been a heck of a player. He’s got long arms, he can run, he’s good in coverage — all that. He’s making the best of his opportunities, and I’m happy for him.”
Chiefs: Daniel Sorensen | Sammy Watkins | Charvarius Ward
49ers: Deebo Samuel | Fred Warner | Mike Person
San Francisco 49ers
WR/RB Deebo Samuel
Kyle Shanahan’s offense is based on all kinds of things, but three primary tentpoles are pre-snap and post-snap motion, a varied running game, and route concepts that test secondaries at all levels of the field. Perhaps like no other player on the offensive roster, rookie receiver Deebo Samuel is able to be a part of all of it.
The Clemson alum, selected in the second round of the 2019 draft, has been good for 62 catches on 90 targets for 890 yards and three touchdowns, as well as 17 rushing attempts for 208 yards and three touchdowns. When Shanahan’s offense gets weird with the motion, it’s often Samuel who winds up with the ball in his hands, and another potentially explosive play is born.
“Deebo’s one of my favorite teammates,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said this week. “If I was just a fan of the 49ers, I’d be the biggest fan of Deebo. I love his style of play, I love how versatile he is, and all the different ways we use him. He can line up as a running back, he has taken enough reverses this year to have some really good rushing stats. He’s a rookie who’s very coachable. The night before the games, Kyle goes through the first 24 plays, and he hands out the sheets with the plays all written out there. Deebo sits next to me in all of these meetings, and I watch him take notes on every single play.”
If you want to see how much Juszczyk appreciates Samuel’s efforts, watch this 30-yard touchdown run against the Seahawks in Week 17. Samuel gets the misdirection pitch, and Juszczyk provides the downfield lane by blocking cornerback Shaquill Griffin and linebacker K.J. Wright out of the play — pretty much at the same time.
Chiefs: Daniel Sorensen | Sammy Watkins | Charvarius Ward
49ers: Deebo Samuel | Fred Warner | Mike Person
LB Fred Warner
At 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds, Fred Warner came to the NFL in 2018 as a third-round pick of the 49ers, and one of the new breed of coverage linebackers just as comfortable playing safety and slot roles as he is crashing down on a run fit. An athletic prospect from BYU, Warner fit well into defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s paradigm for linebackers who can splay out against any multiple receiver set, and help cornerbacks and safeties with intermediate to deep coverage.
What the 49ers really require from Warner is the kind of effort plays only the most prominent linebackers can provide. He certainly did this on a receiver screen from Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams in the conference championship, following Green Bay’s best receiver outside the numbers and back on a play that could have been huge, but lost three yards because Warner wouldn’t let it go.
“They just threw a little bubble screen out into the flat, and I was in pursuit, and he happened to cut it back, and our defense does a great job of pursuing to the football.”
Warner acted like it was no big thing. Richard Sherman, pressed to remember the play, was more enthusiastic.
“He’s confident! I mean, he was a DB before. That translates really well for him. He had never played MIKE linebacker before he got to the NFL, but Saleh thought he was really smart and he could get it done, and he was right. Everything he thought about Fred has come to fruition. He’s really smart, he gets the defense lined up, he recognizes formations and routes. He’s really cool in his diagnosis, and he can run.”
Chiefs: Daniel Sorensen | Sammy Watkins | Charvarius Ward
49ers: Deebo Samuel | Fred Warner | Mike Person
RG Mike Person
It was one of the most audacious play calls in recent memory, and it showed just how much faith 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan justifiably has in his highly multiple and effective running game. With 6:31 left in the first quarter of the NFC Championship game against the Packers, the score 0-0, and the ball at the Green Bay 36-yard line, San Francisco had a third-and-8 to deal with. Shanahan called a trap play, requiring right guard Mike Person to pull inside left tackle Joe Staley and take out linebacker Kyler Fackrell. Fackrell helped by falling down, but Person still sealed the edge, and running back Raheem Mostert was off on his first touchdown journey of the day — his first of four in San Francisco’s 37-20 win.
Mobile enough to pull on traps and other run plays that require lateral movement and precision, and strong enough to hit a wham or combo block inside, Person is one of the primary force multipliers in a running game so complex, it has taken the guys on that line a little while to get on the same page. Which is no problem at this point. And in pass protection, Person has allowed just one quarterback sack and 34 total pressures in 541 pass-blocking snaps this season.
“He’s huge,” Staley said of Person’s effect on the line. “Mike’s been unbelievable as far as the details. Getting the intricacies of the offense as far as where to go, where your leverage is, where your help is, when you have to single-block. We put a lot on our guards as far as that goes, and Mike’s knowledge of the game and understanding of the system has been huge for us.”
Chiefs: Daniel Sorensen | Sammy Watkins | Charvarius Ward
49ers: Deebo Samuel | Fred Warner | Mike Person
Touchdown Wire editor Doug Farrar previously covered football for Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, the Washington Post, and Football Outsiders. His first book, “The Genius of Desperation,” a schematic history of professional football, was published by Triumph Books in 2018 and won the Professional Football Researchers Association’s Nelson Ross Award for “Outstanding recent achievement in pro football research and historiography.”
