No, what youll see are lots of gaping holes the size of Boulder. If Marlon McCree hadn't fumbled that interception in the playoffs after the 2006 season, everything might have been different. 100-91). The Jaguars upset John Elway's Broncos and reached the AFC Championship Game as a second-year expansion team and then went on to three more playoff berths, culminating in a 14-2 season. Teams: Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins. 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. As a pass blocker, Moton has developed into a steady presence capable of holding his own, and at times even dominating top pass rushers that include Joey Bosa and Cameron Jordan. McDole played 251 professional games as a defensive lineman, a remarkable feat in any era that should not be forgotten. Bottom line: The 1970s Steelers won four Super Bowls two with a power run game, two with a potent pass attack and who better than Jon Kolb to do the heavy lifting? #5. ", Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Oilers, Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins, Pro Bowl appearances (AFL All-Star Game): Two (1965, 1967). Anderson went on to duel with Walsh and Montana's 49ers in Super Bowl XVI. Young started his career as the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year and ended it as a four-time winner of the Len Eshmont Award, the 49ers' team award for character and leadership. He picked off a dozen passes in his career two of them at 38 years of age an absurd number for a 6-foot-4, 265-pound lineman. Beachum has lined up at both left and right tackle but displayed But he didn't play for the legendary 49ers teams. He then led three fourth-quarter comebacks to bring them back to the playoffs in 1965. Bahr converted 84 percent of his field-goal attempts (21 of 25), and 98 percent of his extra-point tries (40 of 41) when it counted most. Dave Meggett -- RB, 1989-1994. The best we can offer is a little bit of credit where a lot is due. Henry Ellard spent the first five seasons of his NFL career returning punts and putting up humdrum receiving stats. Rivers lacks several quarterback prerequisites for enshrinement: playoff glory, all-time records and, most importantly, momentum from a regional fanbase and media. McDole's Bills defenses held opponents to fewer than 3.1 yards per carry across three consecutive seasons. On this All-Underrated list, he is in very good company. ), Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Super Bowl championships: Two (1974, 1975). Player A passed for 27,928 yards and 194 touchdowns and ran for four touchdowns with mostly very good teams and one great one. But none accomplished more than Ryan while receiving less acclaim. Ken Griffey Jr.? With his career spread evenly across three teams and zero All-Pro selections (a consequence of playing in the same era as Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher), Fletcher is a Hall of Fame long shot. Passing wasn't really their thing. Other than Steve Largent and Kurt Warner, Pro Bowlers were harder to find in the Seahawks offense than a haystack in the Space Needle. Ryan made three Pro Bowls, but All-Pro status was blocked by a couple of guys named Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr. Arizona Cardinals: Dan Dierdorf. Even so, Smith was pretty much a well-kept secret outside Pittsburgh despite meeting or approaching Pro Bowl standards for almost a decade. The easiest way to be overlooked by history is to replace a legend just after a franchise has peaked. Meet every NFL team's all-time most underrated player. 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. The NFL is now full of receivers like Mason, but few of them are as productive as he was for over a decade. 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. TGT Tips! 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. But Hadl had to do something to make the Packers think he was worth two armfuls of draft picks. Pro Football Reference rates him at near a Pro Bowl level well into his 30s. Measurables. Where did Davis score the game-winner late in Super Bowl XXXII? There would not be another exchange of current Pro Bowlers in the NFL until the Broncos and Redskins exchanged Champ Bailey and Clinton Portis in 2004. Bates has still developed into a leader in the Bengals secondary and arguably their best player on defense. Membership on various All-1960s teams. But outside of Wisconsin, his accomplishments were mostly forgotten shortly after his career ended in 2001. He became an All-Pro playing blindside protector in an early 1990s run-'n'-shoot offense. He played center, as well, before his career was over. A bit more well-known after recently signing a four-year contract extension, John Franklin Myers is an easy player to root for and deserving of the success he has achieved. WebDeion Sanders: Deion Sanders is one of the most underrated players of all time. In Dierdorfs second to last season, the Cardinals were embarrassed by the Packers 41-16 in their playoff opener. No modern coach suppressed passing offenses quite like Fisher, and no team produces offensive stats that look like they come from the early 1930s quite like the Ravens. As good as Ellard was at the time, he almost was never mentioned in debates about the best at his position. WebWho are the most underrated players of all time? Why retain an expensive vestige of the last regime, or really the last three regimes? Two names that are familiar to even casual football fans sit atop the mountaintop of underrated NFL players for the 2015 regular season. Not enough credit is given to Waller who lacks the Shanahan offense or elite QB to help take his game to the next level. Who knows what the NFL might have looked like then? In 10 of the 12 seasons in which he started at least half their games, the Seahawks prevailed more times than not. Sad to say, Morgan was woefully miscast in a run-first offense in a less pass-friendly time. Super Bowl championships: Four (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989). Here are ten of the most underrated college football players of all time. He was one of the first true slot receivers of 21st-century NFL offenses. Hes also among a select few to be a four-time Super Bowl champion. Along with Devin White, David was all over the field making plays around the ball and was one of the more valuable players in shutting down the Chiefs offense in the Super Bowl. He finished his career by doing something almost impossible: signing with the Patriots as a veteran role player during one of the few years they didn't reach the Super Bowl. Fewer yet realize that he made a crucial play in each victory. Make no mistake about it, Eric Bieniemys exodus from Kansas City to Washington is only one move on the chess board In the 1950s and the days of 12-game regular seasons, he rushed for 3,078 yards, nearly 1,000 more than the runner-up. Jones played for the Cowboys from 1974-78 and 1980-89. WebLet's face it: An entire All-Underrated Team can be assembled using only Broncos defenders. Let's take a look at the the five most underrated footballers of all time. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. When Da Bears bean counters refused to pay up two years later, Marshall was the odd man out again. 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. Brandon Graham is an incredibly underrated defensive lineman and lifelong Philadelphia Eagle. Waller upped his game in 2020 and hauled in 107 passes and nine touchdowns to earn his first Pro Bowl nod. 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. Jackson probably helped you win a fantasy title or two, but he would be remembered for so much more if he wasn't always on the wrong team at the wrong time. In addition to the most underrated and overrated Raiders of all time, Adam Rank goes on a mini-tirade about a criminally underrated coach. "Even now I still get pissed off. The Hall of Fame eluded Ellard for several reasons: comparisons to Rice, the Rams' move to St. Louis (it takes hometown writers and buzz to mount a campaign) and those five early seasons in a ground-and-pound offense. Young was a devastating interior pass-rusher who recorded 30 sacks in the three-year span from 1998 through 2000. The career active leader in games started by a defensive lineman is Julius Peppers with 227. These men did so much but received so little credit in return. Slot specialists such as Julian Edelman and Victor Cruz are now considered valuable components to the modern passing game. Numbers better than majority of RBs in history. He also scored 35 touchdowns on the ground in that span. 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. But c'mon: 289 regular-season and postseason starts, 127 sacks and four Super Bowl appearances, yet the Hall of Fame turns up its nose at Marshall as just a pretty good defender with a long career? Maybe Rivers takes his place among the all-time greats. Perhaps it's time we look back on how much of an impact he and his Jaguars had on the NFL two decades ago. 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. Overall, the total still ranks ninth at the position. Bottom line: The 49ers of the 1980s are remembered most for Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, coach Bill Walsh and the West Coast offense. Bottom line: Adam Vinatieri was money in the postseason, but Matt Bahr was even better. He routinely beat defenders with quickness out of his breaks and clever change-of-pace moves, qualities that also served him well as a punt returner. A lifelong Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Davids 10-year career has been about consistency and productivity. How he slipped through the cracks for 13 years remains one of the unsolved mysteries in pro football. Fletcher intercepted 23 passes and recorded 39 sacks as a do-it-all middle linebacker. Web#shortsucl#bayernmunich #bayern #barcelona#football#footballedit#footballedits#footballshirts#soccer#socceredit#socceredits#soccershorts He was a Pro Bowler in 1974 and 75, and he was an All-Pro selection from 1976-78. Its hard to think of a player more dominant and less talked about over a long period of time than Chandler Jones. It didnt help that he had ordinary quarterbacks named Tony Eason and Steve Grogan to throw him the ball. More than one scout considered Turner to be too light to play linebacker, too slow to play defensive back. Not only was Fleming good enough to stick with great teams, but he also was the luckiest son of a gun on the face of the earth. His 2,690 all-purpose yards with the Titans in the 2000 season are second in league history. He started for the Rams in their Super Bowl seasons at the beginning of his career and then earned Pro Bowl berths for Washington from 2009 through 2012 when he was in his mid-30s. WebThe NFL is increasingly becoming a passing league. DeForest Buckner plays great team defense and has done so successfully for two franchises. 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. Many of those catches occurred down the field, with Anderson serving as a de facto possession receiver. Moton started all 16 games each of the last four years, gradually improving and joining the conversation of best right tackles in football. Bottom line: If an inquiring mind had asked "Which team will win the Super Bowl?" 1. Along with the legendary Johnny Unitas, Rote probably did more to change the quarterback position than anyone in the pre-merger era even if so few know it. 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. Both players were Pro Bowlers the previous year. Not Fred Dean. Teams: Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Tennessee Oilers, Pro Bowl appearances: Three (1984, 1988, 1989). During his nine seasons in Buffalo, Hughes has emerged as a leader while registering double-digits in QB hits every season but one. Efficient? Teams: Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, Houston Oilers, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, Pro Bowl appearances: Three (1986, 1987, 1992), Super Bowl championships: Two (1985, 1991). All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. Franklin-Myers went from fourth-round draft choice of the Rams in 2018, to a final roster cut in 2019. Both of those seasons came, ironically enough, after Allen and Buddy were separated. Guards don't make the Hall of Fame unless they win multiple Super Bowls or play forever. 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. "It was tough, but I was happy for those guys," Dunn told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The system helped make Hall of Famers of Kelly, Reed and Thomas. By the time Rivers is retired for five years, the "San Diego Chargers" will be as relevant as the Dayton Triangles, and Hall voters will be too busy rubber-stamping Tom Brady and Drew Brees to get to a guy from a lost city who couldn't win the big one. Naturally, it also guarantees that some of the best players in the country get overshadowed and forgotten in the sport's warp-speed news cycle. His franchises just kept ending up on the wrong side of history. During his time at Fiorentina, he was the best player, 2. WebThe Top 10 Most Underrated Football Players of All Time 1. Yet he still led his team to the playoffs three more times. Not one of the Jim Harbaugh-era guys. One of the greatest defenders of his era reduced to stuntman status in Campbell's action movieall it takes is a moment to make a player underrated forever. Buckner is a smart player and one of the better-run defenders in football. But the former NFL Man of the Year award winner and two-time All-Pro should not have had to wait so long. Bottom line: For 16 seasons, Henry Ellard wreaked havoc as a pass receiver and punt returner. Without Kenn, there might not be free agency in the NFL, to say nothing of limitations on practice conditions and other initiatives that make pro football less dangerous than it was decades ago. The Rams acquired him from the Chargers in 1973 in exchange for defensive end Coy Bacon. Anderson is no Hall of Famerthe middle of his career is a morass of ordinary-at-best seasonsbut he was a pioneer and an innovator. Kolb set the Super Bowl standard for left tackles in Super Bowl IV, when he smoked undersized Minnesota Vikings end Jim Marshall like a bad cigar. Anderson's 1,000-yard seasons came in a primitive offense with a rudimentary passing game. But few cornerbacks spent more of their careers in the crosshairs than Allen. It was the era of great defensive lines with catchy namesthe Rams had the Fearsome Foursome, the Cowboys the Doomsday Defense, the Steelers later added the Steel Curtain, and so forthand Marshall was the Ringo Starr of the Purple People Eaters, the guy who once ran the wrong way for a touchdown and was happy just to be in the band. A Super Bowl ring and two AFL championships. 1. He played in the run-'n'-shoot offense, which means he was on an island against the NFL's best pass-rushers on every snap for a half-decadeno tight end flanking him, no blocking back behind him. Following a strong start to 2021, McLaurin is slowly beginning to earn the respect his game deserves. Butler is all but guaranteed to get lost in the shuffle. That makes sense: Both started their careers late, played with workhorse running backs, won a championship and had their careers curtailed by vicious hits. If he started his career a decade earlier or a decade later, Young would have anchored the defense for one of history's great teams or helped push the Harbaugh 49ers over the top in the Super Bowl. Roberston is the guy getting head-butted in the sternum and knocked backward by Campbell before the running back's jersey gets torn off. It was rival 49ers tackle Bryant Young who the Rams were most concerned about before the 1999 season, when they signed Timmerman as a free agent. He had one sack in four games, all Rams victories. The Hall of Off to a fast start in 2021, Sutton is quickly reminding opposing defenses of his talent. Dont know about you, but I want Mason on my retro fantasy league team. Old-timers call it the Lawrence Welk trade after a television bandleader of the era who would begin songs by counting off "A one, and a two, and a three". Greenlaw is equally effective against the run and pass, a sure tackler, and brings plenty of energy to theNiners' defense. Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, Super Bowl championships: Two (1979, 1990). Juszczyk has made five Pro Bowl appearances, including each season since joining San Francisco in 2017. Craters so big that you could drive a semi through them. He arrived in Buffalo at the same time Marv Levy was revolutionizing NFL offense with the help of Jim Kelly, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas. TGT Play! Odds Deals Podcasts US USA Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Louisiana Maryland Michigan New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio He blitzed (20.5 sacks). In the nine seasons that Aaron Smith had double-digit starts, their D ranked among the top nine in yards allowed every time, but his consistent play went over the heads of many. I still don't know that people gave me my due respect for my production. He was arrested four times after his abrupt retirement. Teams: Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Houston Texans. Yet somehow, some way, Kolb never received a Pro Bowl invitation. No matter. Teams: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, Pro Bowl appearances: Three (1997, 2000, 2005). They didnt allow a sack in 84 pass attempts. McLaurins numbers through two-plus seasons are very similar to Stefon Diggs, who went through a similar quarterback situation early during his career in Minnesota. The Packers were a team with more history than identity when Butler arrived. Were talking about the most unsung, underappreciated players in NFL history here. There, he led a relentless Redskins pass rush in their Super Bowl XXVI ambush. Despite his incredibly high waist seriously, check out his build Kelvin Beachum has been one of the most underrated tackles in the NFL. Buckner is rarely discussed with the likes of Cameron Heyward, Fletcher Cox, or Grady Jarrett among the top interior defensive linemen (next tier behind Aaron Donald), but he is every bit as talented. Hull was not just a great lineman but a groundbreaking one. "Stanley Steamer" could run every route and was hell on wheels with the ball in his hands. Let's face it: An entire All-Underrated Team can be assembled using only Broncos defenders. Jerry Rice and John Taylor may have been the greatest receiving tandem of that era, but Ellard and Flipper Anderson were the most explosive pair of deep threats. There have been too many players in NFL history to count, so naturally, many of them werent going to get the attention they deserved for their play. in the mid-1960s to early '70s, chances are "Whichever one has Marv Fleming" would have been a correct answer. The Packers believed they were a veteran quarterback away from a playoff run in 1974, so head coach/GM Dan Devine acquired the 34-year-old Rams quarterback by surrendering a ransom of draft picks huge enough to cause even Ryan Pace to do a spit take: two first-rounders, two second-rounders and a third-rounder. Overshadowed on a bad team for much of his early career, Bates also came from a draft that featured top safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and Derwin James. Shanahan uses Juszczyk as a traditional lead blocking back, but he provides plenty of versatility out of the backfield and with the ball in his hands. His teams averaged 392.0 yards and 34.0 points in those games. He accounted for all his teams points in a 15-13 white-knuckler that wrecked the 49ers three-peat bid and sent the Giants to Super Bowl XXV. "When I was there, the thing we were missing was that explosive type of offense, and the new coach brought that in.". No one else is even close. Put him on the Tom Brady-led Patriots, and Mason might have invented a new branch of mathematics. Only a dozen players have more career interception return yards (961), and seven of them are in the Hall of Fame. Evans is a long shot to do either, which is a shame. Bottom line: Derrick Mason was among the shrewdest, most precise route runners of his time. Bates is a ball-hawking safety in coverage with excellent range, intelligence, and athleticism. The Rams eventually acquired Jim Everett and opened up their offense, transforming Ellard into one of the NFL's most dangerous deep threats. He rose to Pro Bowl status playing left tackle for a single-back, Joe Gibbs-style 1980s offense. Matthew Stafford is approaching 50,000 career passing yards, a number only topped by 11 quarterbacks in history. If John Hadl is remembered for anything these days, it's for one of the most disastrous trades in NFL history. Upon entering the league in 2019, Johnson recorded 59 catches as a rookie and then topped that mark in 2020 with 88 catches. Rivers had neither, but he possessed just about everything else. No matter what the two-time All-Pro accomplished, he could never be Jerry Rice, who cast a long, tall shadow in the same conference. Nothing screams underappreciated like rumors you're about to be traded to make room for a late first-round pick. Wright earned a second-team All-1970s nod from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, even though several of his signature years were in the 1980s. "Underrated" is in the eye of the beholder, so let's establish some ground rules for these rankings: After that, players are ranked based how underappreciated they are, not how great they are. "No one was going to catch no ball.". While Kreig didnt possess fleet feet or a bazooka arm, he could read defenses and throw an accurate ball. One look at the logjam forming outside the entrance to Canton tells you Wisniewski isn't moving up the ladder anytime soon. Teams: New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Pro Bowl appearances: Four (1979, 1980, 1986, 1987). Lets hear some "un-der-ra-ted!" It's not that Ellard, an Olympic-caliber triple-jumper with 4.4 speed, didn't know what he was doing. The 6'2" Wright was renowned as a run-stuffing cornerbackthat's him tackling Walter Payton in the photobut he also intercepted 26 career passes, even though opposing quarterbacks spent much of his career avoiding him. Nope, not Charles Haley. 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. Tom Nalen protected John Elway in a pair of Super Bowl victories and helped trigger a zone-blocking revolution as part of Alex Gibbs' influential offensive lines. All betting content is intended for an audience ages 21+. And no Hall of Famers allowed. In his prime, Wright was often mentioned in the same breath as Hall of Famers Mel Blount and Mike Haynes. As Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase earn praise for helping bring competitive football back to Cincinnati, safety Jessie Bates is a huge reason for the Bengals turnaround on defense. FanDuel NFL 2021: Best lineup for Week 16, Jets HC Robert Saleh tests positive for COVID, could miss Jaguars game, LeVeon Bell fires back on Twitter at fans trolling him for signing with Buccaneers. But don't write him off as some 1960s product of the system. Guys who played in Jacksonville repeatedly have been crapped on in Pro Bowl and Hall of Fame votes, none more so than Taylor during and after his 11 seasons there. According to Pro Football Reference, he was flagged for 14 accepted holding penalties in 187 career games, little more than one per season. 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. We look at the 10 most underrated players in football at the moment. "I dont get it. At 67 Buckner also has a wide arsenal of pass rush moves to pressure the quarterback. Oh, and sub-packages were pretty rare in the 1960s and 1970s, so Marshall didn't leave the field much. You will find some familiar Hall of Fame snubs on this list (like Jim Marshall, pictured above), but also plenty of players who were even snubbed from the Hall of Fame snubs, plus some current players who aren't getting their due. And almost nobody remembers that, when Edwards caught the ball, he knew what to do it. Quarterback ratings for Washington skyrocket when targeting McLaurin, who has become a nightmare to defend with the ball in his hands after the catch. Anderson was the first quarterback to successfully orchestrate the beta version of Bill Walsh's West Coast offense for multiple seasons. Ground rules: A max of three Pro Bowl invitations. Robinson is a staple of Hall of Fame Snubs lists, and he certainly has his case. Brown earned seven Pro Bowl berths and an All-Pro selection. He also doesn't play in the shadow of a legend. Taylor rushed for 1,000-plus yards in seven seasons. It was a motivating factor for a number of years in my career. A great story off the field and rare talent on it, Waller appears to still be getting better at age 29.