Camryn Bynum and Aaron Jones are definitely valued by the Vikings.

But among the NFL's hierarchy of safeties and running backs, they're definitely underappreciated.

CBS Sports on Wednesday shared a list of 12 of the league’s most underrated players going into the 2024 season, and surprise, surprise, writer Cody Benjamin has Bynum and Jones representing the Vikings.

One other club received multiple entries: NFC North rival Chicago, with RB D'Andre Swift and TE Cole Kmet.

Benjamin credits Bynum, who is entering the last year of his rookie deal, with outdoing original expectations placed upon him as a fourth-round pick. Bynum, by the way, has produced the ninth-most solo tackles (163) in the 2021 draft class and is one of eight players with at least five interceptions.

Once considered a developing, if unspectacular, partner for longtime Vikings leader Harrison Smith, Bynum may be Minnesota's most rangy defensive back at this point. With four picks and 17 pass deflections the last two seasons, including in some critical spots, he's a high achiever on the back end.

Bynum's impact in various areas has been a critical component of his success. He checks many boxes. He's a good stopper in space, as evidenced by his 137 tackles one year ago. He's active around the ball, combining in 2023 for 11 passes defensed (nine breakups and two interceptions) and forcing three fumbles. Bynum also is an iron man. He was on the field for every single defensive snap in 2022 and played 99% of Minnesota's defensive snaps last year.

Smith and fellow safety Joshua Metellus, another underrated piece on the Vikings defense we might add, garner a lot of attention – deservedly. But there's no doubt Bynum is starring in a movie worth watching.

Now, let's switch sides and focus on Jones.

Benjamin is bullish on the new Vikings running back, even if Jones is disregarded as one of the game's finest backfield crusaders. He's a terrific multidimensional weapon.

Any running back going on 30 tends to get overlooked, and Jones has an injury history. Still, the ex-Green Bay Packers star retains top-flight speed. Even if he splits carries with Ty Chandler, he should have plenty of scoring opportunities thanks to the upside of Kevin O'Connell's well-stocked passing offense.

Jones is coming off a campaign where he carried the rock 142 times, his fewest rushes since 2018 (when he started just eight of 12 games) and earned 43 targets, also his fewest since that season. Of course, his usage was impacted by injuries. He's healthy now, though, and moving briskly in Vikings practices.

Keep in mind, Jones is responsible for the seventh-most rushing yards in the NFL since debuting in 2017. He's averaged more yards per carry (5.0) in that span than do-it-all king Christian McCaffrey (4.8). Also, Jones is one of 14 total players in that window to account for 60 or more touchdowns from scrimmage.

Oh, and if you missed it, Jones went scorched-earth on defenses late in 2023. He helped lead Green Bay to an appearance in the NFC Divisional Round by eclipsing 100 yards on the ground five games in a row.

It's encouraging to see Bynum and Jones get some August recognition.

On the topic of underrated NFC North stars, here's what Benjamin said of Chicago's Swift and Kmet.

About the 25-year-old running back, who recently notched 1,000 yards on the ground for the first instance in his career and is suiting up for his third team in five seasons. …

Caleb Williams' star-studded arrival has rightly commanded most of the attention surrounding the Chicago Bears, but Swift looks just as, if not more, explosive in camp as he did during a 2023 breakout with the Philadelphia Eagles, when he hit 1,000 yards as a turbo-boost starter despite streaky usage.

And of the sure-handed Kmet, who's started 54 straight games and caught 81.1% of his targets in 2023, Benjamin wrote the following:

Windy City has gotten lots of love for its makeover of the wide receiver spot, but the acclaim for D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze has partially robbed Kmet of his due. The former second-rounder is durable (zero missed games) and emerged as a true over-the-middle threat with 73 catches in 2023.

Dan Orlovsky believes in Darnold, Vikings

Amidst the disappointing news about quarterback J.J. McCarthy being sidelined for his rookie season, Dan Orlovsky, a former signal-caller who played seven years in the NFL, expressed optimism for the Vikings in a post on X.

"This video might catch me, and at the end people will keep it – I honestly, deep-down believe that Sam Darnold is capable of making this a playoff-caliber football team and quarterbacking this offense to a top-12 unit," said Orlovsky, expanding on his reasoning for the claim. "Play-caller is perfect. People around you [are] high-end. … I think this is the perfect place for Sam to have this one-year opportunity."

Orlovsky, who saw the majority of his game reps with the Lions, discussed the positives of McCarthy not being thrust into action before developing and why Darnold has great potential in Minnesota's offense.

Hear Orlovsky's full thoughts on the Vikings in the clip below.