Butler was the NFL's most dangerous all-purpose safety for much of the 1990s. But his Rams had a running back named Eric Dickerson and quarterbacks named Dieter Brock and Jeff Kemp. Defensive Player of the Year awards? C'mon, who doesn't love Darren Sproles and Mike Tolbert? Turner was the ultimate plug-and-play guy, one of five 49ers to be part of all eight of their playoff teams in the decade. Then it was off to Carolina, where he earned an All-Pro selection for leading the Panthers to the NFC Championship Game as a second-year expansion team during his age-37 season. The converted all-purpose athlete became one of the fathers of modern quarterbacking. Put him on the Tom Brady-led Patriots, and Mason might have invented a new branch of mathematics. The correct answer is Player A (Ken Stabler), and if youre Player B (Brodie), you have to wonder if one Super Bowl should make that much difference. The least glamorous position on the field, a so-so team, a franchise moveWisniewski pulled three lemons on the recognition slot machine. Players like McDole are what all-time underrated lists exist for. One of the big Pro Bowl misses from 2015 is the player I think is the NFL 's Most Underrated. Ken Griffey Jr.? In Super Bowl IX, Edwards killed a drive and darn near Vikings intended receiver John Gilliam on a hellacious hit near the goal line. That feeling never really went away.". One of those receivers is At its core, PFF is a player evaluation system play-by-play grading of every player in the NFL and access to some of the same stats, grades and info that all 32 NFL Steve Atwater. He once sacked Dan Marino twice on the first two plays of a gamea remarkable achievement, as Marino was one of the least sacked quarterbacks in NFL history. Mills looks like just another local hero linebacker in the encyclopedias, albeit a good one. Bottom line: Wilber Marshall was the most athletic and versatile linebacker with the legendary 1985 Bears defense he often replaced the celebrated Mike Singletary in pass situations. Its easy to forget the Seahawks had some pretty good teams way back when, even a few playoff ones. Dunn left Tampa Bay as a free agent after the 2001 season and headed to Atlanta, largely because of his relationship with Arthur Blank, the Falcons owner. Krause is undeniably one of the best defensive players to ever play pro football, but his name nevertheless rarely pops up whenever such discussions arise among fans and even among analysts. "Because when the ball was thrown, I knew I had better ball skills and would go up and get it.". On a walk-through between center and left guard, naturally. Here, we give you every NFL teams most underrated player. Krieg was a career overachiever who survived 19 seasons on modest talent with defense-driven teams. He was drafted by the Falcons with the eighth overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, and he was an instant Evans is still playing at a high level; the Packers hope that he can do for Aaron Rodgers what he did for Brees. Hes also among a select few to be a four-time Super Bowl champion. The Over-the-Hill Gang fielded one of the most ferocious pass rushes of its era, notching 53 sacks in 1973. McDole played 251 professional games as a defensive lineman, a remarkable feat in any era that should not be forgotten. Ryan threw five touchdown passes and ran for a sixth to beat the Giants and lead the Browns to the NFL championship in 1964. He had to blanket a wide receiver in man coverage with no safety help on every play. But here's the thing: Gradishar, Mecklenberg and Atwater are famous for being snubbed. No one plays guard expecting fame and accolades, least of all Wisniewski, who is worthy of all the gritty cliches you can sling at him. A new generation of superstar left tackles entered the league as Brown was peaking, and he spent the latter half of his career bouncing from team to team as Tony Boselli, Willie Roaf, Orlando Pace, Jonathan Ogden and Walter Jones turned the blindside protector into an almost glamorous position. He led his team to an NFL championship. Greenwood, but there are dozens of other great old players clamoring for their chance who didn't enjoy the glory of playing for a "team of the decade.". Robertson is so poorly remembered that it was hard to find a decent photo of him in our archives. Ground rules: A max of three Pro Bowl invitations. He headed to Washington and moved from the weak to strong side. June 19, 2020 Koby83 Football, Michael Turner, NFL, Running Backs, Sports Underrated. WebWe're a media page that has been highlighting an underrated player from every team in the NFL. They're the working stiffs who bust their butts at so-called lesser positions, on teams that are seldom seen on highlights shows, let alone national television. Ohhh-kaaaaay, one of the Hasselbecks then? The Bucs hired head coach Jon Gruden and won Super Bowl XXXVII the next season. Super Bowl championships: Four (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989). List the men you believe to be the greatest running backs in NFL history. Victory propelled Montana to superstardom, while defeat left the 32-year old Anderson to play out the string as a high-percentage passer for a rapidly disintegrating franchise. To make our list, a player must contribute to a winning effort while putting up bad stats, misunderstood stats or no stats. Mason's 95-catch, 1,200-yard seasons translate to 115-catch monsters in more pass-oriented schemes. That's where the politics of Hall voting come in. If John Hadl is remembered for anything these days, it's for one of the most disastrous trades in NFL history. The only lineman to start all four of those games was a workout warrior and routinely bench-pressed 550 pounds in his prime. In 10 of the 12 seasons in which he started at least half their games, the Seahawks prevailed more times than not. So whaddya say, fans? He then led three fourth-quarter comebacks to bring them back to the playoffs in 1965. It doesn't matter: If you are a Broncos defender, you might as well forget about a bust in Canton. Bottom line: One of the premier long-ball threats of any era, Stanley Morgan ranks 10th in yards per reception (19.2) and 39th in touchdown catches (72) on the all-time list. Jeff Saturday had to translate Peyton Manning's spur-of-the-moment audibles into protection schemes a split second before the snap. Chandler Jones, Perhaps it's time we look back on how much of an impact he and his Jaguars had on the NFL two decades ago. Wisniewski reached eight Pro Bowls and was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade team for the 1990s, so he's not exactly obscure. He returned eight interceptions for touchdowns, including four in 1993 and three during his age-35 season with the Raiders in 2000. WebIts weird to say that a player as celebrated as Jonathan Taylor could be one of the most underrated college football players of all time. 3. Bottom line: In his 15th and final season, the 36-year-old Ken Riley had eight interceptions and returned two of them for touchdowns, one of the most incredible performances by an old man ever. Henry Ellard spent the first five seasons of his NFL career returning punts and putting up humdrum receiving stats. "It was tough, but I was happy for those guys," Dunn told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is also infamous for admitting on ESPN Radio that he once purposely let Packers defender Sean Jones sack Scott Mitchell so the struggling quarterback would get knocked out of a game. More than anything, though, Rote was a leader and winner. 11) He lacked the straight-line speed to be a game-breaker. Yet he still led his team to the playoffs three more times. Why retain an expensive vestige of the last regime, or really the last three regimes? Mark Schlereth. He is Baltimore Ravens nose tackle Brandon Williams. Now, underrated can mean a couple of things. Terry Porter. Slot specialists such as Julian Edelman and Victor Cruz are now considered valuable components to the modern passing game. Outside of the incredible stats that Monk posted during his Hall-of-Fame career, is has to be noted Monk also never had the pleasure of playing with quarterbacks such as Joe Montana, Dan Marino or John Elway. One of those receivers is Flowers, who totaled over 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games this season for Boston College. And then there is Kent Hull, the first center to achieve greatness in a no-huddle offense. Isiah Robertson, LB, Rams, Bills. Peppers will have to play three more seasons to catch Marshall, and Peppers' starts are non-consecutive. Poor Louis Wright has a hard time even making the Broncos' overcrowded All-Snub Team. Born: (2007, 2009, 2012), NFL Special Teams Player of the Year (2009), NFL 2000s All-Decade Team . Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, acquired the 34-year-old Rams quarterback by, Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/Getty Images, Pro Football Reference Similar Players tool, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. It is a shame that he will never truly have his day in Canton, one that he deserved before he passed away. 1. He was an All-Pro for the Orange Crush defenses of the 1970s, and then he stuck around to play for the 1986 Broncos Super Bowl team. Do people not recognize Rob Gronkowski as a great tight end just because he has had Tom Brady as his quarterback? That voter meant every fanbase has a beloved old defender, renowned for his toughness and leadership, that they swear belongs in the Hall of Fame. Yes, Marshall amassed that sack total by playing foreverhe started270 games (plus 19 playoff starts) from 1961 through 1979. Only a dozen players have more career interception return yards (961), and seven of them are in the Hall of Fame. James Lofton is one of many cases of players being in the Hall of Fame and nevertheless being vastly underrated when compared with others who played the position. Or as astute NBC broadcaster Dick Enberg scored it, "KO for Ken Norton.". Anderson does not get the credit he deserves for reasons that cannot be explained. There's a statue outside of Lambeau Field commemorating the Lambeau Leap, perhaps the most recognizable and beloved (except to Packers opponents) end-zone celebration in the NFL. WebKen Anderson is easily the most underrated quarterback of all time. Anderson is a member of the 10,000 rushing yards club. Andre Reed is an all-time great wide receiver who seemingly cannot escape lists of the most underrated football players in history. Any defensive player breaking into the NFL in 2015 would love to be mentioned alongside such names when his career came to an end. Ken Anderson, QB, Bengals. Ellard was an Antonio Brown-level talent in his prime, but his teams were in no hurry to get him the ball. Rote was the first quarterback who regularly beat defenses with his legs as well as his arm. The guy should demand a recount, I tell ya. Men such as Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor. There have been many better quarterbacks than Ryan in NFL history. He had one sack in four games, all Rams victories. MVP-caliber seasons (1,528 yards, 90 receptions, 16 total touchdowns in 2006) early in his career gave way to annual 1,100-1,200 yard, low-touchdown grinds as the Greatest Show Rams retired one by one and the team fell to 2-14 and 1-15. This list begins with a quarterback who is preparing to play in the 2015 NFL regular season. He ran a Sonny Jurgensen pass back 59 yards in the fourth quarter to seal a Rams playoff win over the Redskins in 1974. He was arrested four times after his abrupt retirement. 10. He was one of the first true slot receivers of 21st-century NFL offenses. Oh, and sub-packages were pretty rare in the 1960s and 1970s, so Marshall didn't leave the field much. He was a participant in four Super Bowls and a member of two All-Pro teams. And he played in one stinking Pro Bowl game. Bottom line: If an inquiring mind had asked "Which team will win the Super Bowl?" And consider this: The one-time college triple-jumper played with a Pro Bowl quarterback (Jim Everett) in only one season. At 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, he didnt wow anyone physically. For the second installment in underappreciated NFL players, we have the running backs. He has over 12,000 career receiving yards to date, and Fitzgerald could retire with over 100 total regular season receiving touchdowns before all is said and done. It's Bryant Young, whorecorded 89.5 sacks for the 49ers, 23 more than Haley. That's its own kind of recognition. A Super Bowl ring and two AFL championships. Those who like to shout "first-ballot Hall of Famer" about Rivers do not know how the Hall of Fame works. Try Dave Krieg. Bottom line: Few remember Glen Edwards as the fearless strong safety with the Steelers first two Super Bowl teams. It is easy to understand why he would come up when the topic is being addressed, but that he is not respected as one of the best to play the position is difficult to understand. Those accomplishments may soon finally land Kenn in the Hall of Fame. Were talking about the most unsung, underappreciated players in NFL history here. One of the best players in the league during the 1980s, Monk is too often unappreciated in lists of all-time great wide receivers. Massive sports fan and soccer nerd. Let's hope the fame doesn't go to his head. Maybe he wasn't the best defender on the field for any one play, but he stayed on that field for an entire generation. Lofton was the first player in NFL history to accumulate 14,000 receiving yards. He talked the talk and he walked the walk, and Reed should be recognized for being an all-time great receiver by all fans and journalists. Bottom line: Terrell Davis rushed for 2,008 yards in his momentous 1998 season, but look at the game films and you wont see him fake out many defenders or break many tackles. Maybe Rivers takes his place among the all-time greats. Hes on the short list of running back leaders in yards per rush (4.6, 17th), touches (2,824, 25th) and yards from scrimmage (14,079, 35th) in NFL history. Web#shorts #viral #dunk #edit #fyp #nfl #sports #sportsedits But the run-'n'-shoot took away more than it provided, and the early 1990s Lions kept getting obliterated by better defenses in the playoffs. Lets not forget they also dominated with cold-blooded efficiency at the other side of the ball, where Keena Turner was rarely out of position at right outside linebacker. Arizona Cardinals: Kelvin Beachum, OT. Yet somehow, some way, Kolb never received a Pro Bowl invitation. Oh, and Norton scored the final touchdown of the game on a 9-yard fumble return. He played for teams that were more interesting than outstanding, from the Ryan and Rich Kotite-era Eagles to the Jim Mora and Mike Ditka Saints to Jon Gruden's Raiders. If Isiah Robertson is famous at all, it's for being "posterized" by Earl Campbell in one of the most famous NFL Films highlights of all time. Hmmm. One of the greatest defenders in the history of a storied franchise, Young is just another victim of bad timing when it comes to getting the reputation he deserves. The time when Landeta will no longer make such lists will arrive when he is inducted into the Hall of Fame, a day that cannot come soon enough. "When I was there, the thing we were missing was that explosive type of offense, and the new coach brought that in.". Names such as Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders and Eric Dickerson probably immediately come to mind. The Jaguars, meanwhile, slowly descended to their current status as the NFL's punching bag. That makes sense: Both started their careers late, played with workhorse running backs, won a championship and had their careers curtailed by vicious hits. How he slipped through the cracks for 13 years remains one of the unsolved mysteries in pro football. Bowman is a four-time All-Pro and tremendous all-purpose linebacker who emerged as a stalwart leader for teams that otherwise might have packed it in before Labor Day. Player B passed for 31,548 yards and 214 touchdowns and ran for 22 touchdowns with below average-to-good teams. Mills was a USFL All-Star in all three seasons of the league's existence, and he led the Philadelphia and Baltimore Stars' Doghouse Defense (coached by Jim Mora) to a pair of league titles. Derrick Mason recorded four 1,000-yard seasons for Jeff Fisher teams and four more for the Baltimore Ravens. Karl Mecklenburg. Fitzgerald has been a mainstay in lists of Top 100 players in the NFL for years. Smith produced nine 1,000-yard seasons in 10 years, including two 100-plus-catch seasons in an era when they were still relatively uncommon. He played 256 career regular-season games, never missing a start due to injury. The weekend opened with the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. Hence, the Campbell video. Some of the hottest takes one will see as it pertains to Drew Brees involve criticisms of his numbers because of the fact that he has played the majority of his home games inside of a dome. His 23 fourth-quarter comebacks (20th overall) are more than Dan Fouts, Jim Kelly, Sonny Jurgensen and Bart Starr, to name a few Hall of Famers at the position. But this list is all about giving overlooked players their due respect. It is difficult to rank Ken Anderson in this list if only because he is constantly referenced as being an underrated player. 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