Former Pitt star named one of NFL's most 'underrated free agents'

There is still about a month left until NFL free agency opens and the start of the new league year on Mar. 13 at 4 p.m. ET. While there will be a ton of talent available, several players will be overlooked.

Pro Football Focus believes a former Pitt star will be among those as it highlighted "one underrated 2024 NFL free agent at every defensive position."

That player is safety Jordan Whitehead, who was the No. 117 overall pick by the Buccaneers in the 2018 NFL Draft.

"A fourth-round draft pick out of Pittsburgh in 2018, Whitehead has been on the field for at least 660 snaps in every season of his career," PFF's Gordon McGuinness writes. "He's coming off a season where his 26 defensive stops tied for 17th among safeties."

Whitehead has been nothing short of consistent throughout his six-year NFL career and he is coming off maybe his best season yet in 2023. The 26-year-old posted a career-high 97 tackles, four interceptions and nine passes defensed with the Jets this season.

However, it seems like he's being overlooked once again as he ranks as PFF's eighth-best safety and No. 86 overall free agent.

So why is Whitehead being excluded from some of the league's top available safeties?

PFF's Brad Spielberger believes "the primary knock on Whitehead is that he's prone to missing tackles in one-on-one situations, at times taking questionable angles or overshooting an opportunity."

That's interesting for a player who nearly totaled 100 tackles playing on the backend of the defense. But he should garner interest from some teams, nonetheless.

Whitehead signed a two-year, $14.5M deal with New York in 2022 and could sign a very similar contract this time around as he looks to continue proving his doubters wrong and those who value him right in 2024.