20 most underrated football players of all time

Jordi Alba. Allen made a lot of plays. Jackson then moved on to Atlanta just after the collapse of the Mike Smith playoff teams but before the rise of the current Dan Quinn contenders. Butler's defensive accomplishments might have brought him to the cusp of immortality, but don't underestimate the power of that Lambeau Leap. Bates is a ball-hawking safety in coverage with excellent range, intelligence, and athleticism. Jackson finished his career with 11,438 rushing yards (18th all-time) and 15,121 total scrimmage yards (21st all-time). The Cardinals were 0-3 in the playoffs in Dierdorfs time with the team, and none of the games were particularly close. Regardless of the Cardinals struggles, Dierdorf was a star. The fullback has become a non-factor in many of todays NFL offenses, but Juszczyk remains an integral part of how the San Francisco 49ers run their offense. Mills and Reggie White were the USFL's two greatest defenders ever. Addiction soon began consuming Smith's career, and then his life. Let's take a look at the the five most underrated footballers of all time. The Jaguars, meanwhile, slowly descended to their current status as the NFL's punching bag. 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. As for being so underrated he's overrated, wellthat's extremely underrated, which justifies Anderson's ranking here. 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. Two names that are familiar to even casual football fans sit atop the mountaintop of underrated NFL players for the 2015 regular season. Six All-Pro selections. Not enough credit is given to Waller who lacks the Shanahan offense or elite QB to help take his game to the next level. He was usually the Bears' best rusher and receiver in his prime years, catching 40-50 passes per season from Mike Tomczak or the young Jim Harbaugh. And you're never going to guess who's No. His 4.53 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine was far from elite level speed either, but none of that has not stopped Johnson from playing fast and producing at a high level for the Steelers. Or as astute NBC broadcaster Dick Enberg scored it, "KO for Ken Norton.". Let's hope the fame doesn't go to his head. We look at the 10 most underrated players in football at the moment. He had the speed to get to the edge and beat defenders down the sideline, the power to plow through tackles, the elusiveness to make things happen in the open field and receiving chops to rival contemporaries Roger Craig or Thurman Thomas. 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. Fewer yet realize that he made a crucial play in each victory. By the time the 49ers are great again, Bowman may be in his early 30s or on another team. Hall of Fame receiver Paul Warfield was on the receiving end of many of Ryan's touchdowns. At 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, he didnt wow anyone physically. in the mid-1960s to early '70s, chances are "Whichever one has Marv Fleming" would have been a correct answer. And then there is plain old forgotten. Put Ellard in another era or even the AFC with an accomplished quarterback, and his legacy as The Best Wideout Not Named Jerry Rice would be that much greater. Those accomplishments may soon finally land Kenn in the Hall of Fame. Pro Bowl? Today we look back at the most underrated Quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, and a few of these should be in Canton. 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. Ohhh-kaaaaay, one of the Hasselbecks then? Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images. Players like McDole are what all-time underrated lists exist for. If Mel Blount, Mike Haynes and teammate Lemar Parrish hadnt been in the same conference, Riley would have made more a few more Pro Bowl trips. Dierdorf started his career with the Cardinals in 1971 as a guard. These men did so much but received so little credit in return. But there is no player; fans themselves get to "leap" into the statue for photo ops. David entered the league as a terrific coverage linebacker and has continued to grow into an all-around complete linebacker and playmaker. He took over as the Bears' featured offensive weapon after the Super Bowl Shuffle years. Teams: Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins. That's a higher sack total than Dwight Freeney or Robert Mathis. That may tick him off. Teams: Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Houston Texans. Defensive Player of the Year awards? 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. Time has been hard on both of them. Teams: Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Pro Bowl appearances: Three (1993, 1995, 1997), Super Bowl championships: Three (1992, 1993, 1994). The guy should demand a recount, I tell ya. It was a motivating factor for a number of years in my career. We could just trudge onward to the next player right now. And none of them produce the numbers he generated in less hospitable systems. Super Bowl championships: Four (1966, 1967, 1972, 1973). But three of his best seasons are not listed in the encyclopedias. During his first four seasons, three with the Ravens and one in Oakland, Waller caught just 18 passes on 29 targets while also being suspended all of 2017. Ground rules: A max of three Pro Bowl invitations. Poor Louis Wright has a hard time even making the Broncos' overcrowded All-Snub Team. They would rank first in the NFL in yardage four other times while Evans was a starter. 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. Cooke is the most underrated player in the sport, performing mostly in the wonderful but considerable shadows of Boston, Staleys grand personality and all the noise at Colonial Life Arena. Super Bowl championships: Two (1996, 1999). Turned out he was skilled and driven enough to be a champion. Anderson's 1,000-yard seasons came in a primitive offense with a rudimentary passing game. How he slipped through the cracks for 13 years remains one of the unsolved mysteries in pro football. Chiesa is a winger who plays for Juventus. The best we can offer is a little bit of credit where a lot is due. 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. After the Bills failed to score, he knocked quarterback Jim Kelly out of the game in the next series. McLaurins route running continues to improve while routinely making contested catches look easy. Although it is tough to put a second-year player on this list as underrated when he is still relatively unproven, Laviska Shenault has such a unique skill set at wide receiver that will quickly start to garner more attention. One look at the logjam forming outside the entrance to Canton tells you Wisniewski isn't moving up the ladder anytime soon. WebThe 10 most underrated football players of all time are: Gheorghe Hagi, Michael Laudrup, Gaetano Scirea, Hristo Stoichkov, Matthias Sammer, Davor Suker, Gunter Netzer, A Super Bowl ring and two AFL championships. 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. With Warfield hurt nearly all of that season, Ryan helped make a Pro Bowler out of receiver/punter Gary Collins. WebThe Top 10 Most Underrated Football Players of All Time 1. WebTop 20 Most Underrated NFL Players of All Time 20 Drew Brees. He's also among the top 100 in games started (83rd), interception return yardage (89th) and interception return touchdowns (31st). Hull was not just a great lineman but a groundbreaking one. Angel Di Maria. Waller upped his game in 2020 and hauled in 107 passes and nine touchdowns to earn his first Pro Bowl nod. Brown earned seven Pro Bowl berths and an All-Pro selection. Neal Anderson replaced Walter Payton. Maybe Wright wasn't a Blount-level legend, but he deserves better than to be the forgotten man among the Broncos' forgotten men. 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. During his nine seasons in Buffalo, Hughes has emerged as a leader while registering double-digits in QB hits every season but one. While coverage is Bates' strength, he can still lay the big hit and be a factor in run support. He started for an offensive line that helped Barry Sanders win two of his four rushing titles. White: 12 underrated players; White: 12 overrated players; Towers: Generic vs. Name Brand; Prospect hunting . "It pissed me off," Fletcher replied. McDole was a starting defensive end for two of history's legendary defenses: the AFL champion Buffalo Bills of 1964 and '65 and Washington's "Over-the-Hill Gang" of the early 1970s. He announced his retirement from pro football in 2010, not long after signing with the Arizona Cardinals. He's the Rams' all-time leading rusher with almost 3,000 more yards for the franchise than Marshall Faulk or Eric Dickerson. Only a dozen players have more career interception return yards (961), and seven of them are in the Hall of Fame. A beast in coverage, Jones continues to round out his game as one of the top overall linebackers in football. Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices. His career was cut short by injuries suffered in the first of those three Pro Bowls. Brown is now best known as a television personality. The rumors themselves were not surprising. Allen has much in common with many others on this underrated list. Efficient? Hmmm. Pro Football Reference rates him at near a Pro Bowl level well into his 30s. Hadl signed with the Chargers instead, and Sid Gilman built him into the trigger man for an offense from which all modern offenses descended. He was a Pro Bowl regular, two-time All-Pro and Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1971. He isn't the dynamic threat thatTyreek Hill orDavante Adams are, but Allen is an elite route runner that consistently puts up elite production. Anderson was the first quarterback to successfully orchestrate the beta version of Bill Walsh's West Coast offense for multiple seasons. There is one football player who could score from literally anywhere, and his name is 2. 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. Fred Warner gets a lot of attention at linebacker for the 49ers, but Dre Greenlaw flies under theradar as a young playmaker quickly on the rise. According to Next Gen Stats, Johnson averaged 3.6 yards of separation for each target during his rookie season, the most of any receiver in football. Teams kept doing something special to get their hands on Hadl. That may be unfair to players like Robinson, Jerry Kramer and L.C. "Stanley Steamer" could run every route and was hell on wheels with the ball in his hands. Ogbah has always been a steady presence rushing the quarterback but broke out in 2020 during his first season with the Dolphins. For years, the team couldn't even harken back to its glory days properly, as Smith's Pride of the Jaguars induction was delayed until he was sober and no longer under house arrest. 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? That "something" was throwing for more than 29,000 yards and going to four AFL All-Star Games and a Pro Bowl with the Chargers and then leading the Rams to a 12-2 record in 1973. Quick: Name the 49ers' all-time sack leader. WebTop 20 Most Underrated Footballers in 2022 1. But what peak years they were: 14- and 13-win seasons, annual playoff appearances, routine 4,000-yard, 30-touchdown seasons. Bowman doesn't get the recognition he's due, and he may have to get used to it. Incredibly, McDole started 97 of the next 98 games. Try Dave Krieg. The Bills were among the first teams to frequently operate without a huddle. He also had some of the clutch gene. 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. WebWhile every fan base is sure to have two or three names they feel are undervalued and worthy of this list, here are my current top ten underrated players in the NFL. He has started every game he has played in since 2014 (with four different franchises). Since 2013, Jones has registered six double-digit sack seasons including a 17 sack season in 2017 that led the NFL, and a career-high of 19 in 2019. Kenny Anderson may be the most "so underrated that he's overrated" player in NFL historya darling of the stat-head community and common first-guy-mentioned when Hall of Fame snubs come up. Quarterback ratings for Washington skyrocket when targeting McLaurin, who has become a nightmare to defend with the ball in his hands after the catch. While Kreig didnt possess fleet feet or a bazooka arm, he could read defenses and throw an accurate ball. One of the most well-traveled quarterbacks in NFL history, Vinny Testaverde hung around long enough to register the seventh-most passing yards ever in his 20-year career. 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. Graham has only missed one game since 2012 prior to 2021, and similar to Hughes is a winning culture type of player. 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. 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. Greenlaw is equally effective against the run and pass, a sure tackler, and brings plenty of energy to theNiners' defense. A great story off the field and rare talent on it, Waller appears to still be getting better at age 29. 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. Evans, the best pass-protecting guard of his era, was charged with making sure pass-rushers didn't get close enough to Brees to bat his passes down, let alone sack him. If you guessed both or neither one, youre wrong. Maybe he wasn't the best defender on the field for any one play, but he stayed on that field for an entire generation. 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.". Following a strong start to 2021, McLaurin is slowly beginning to earn the respect his game deserves. WebBUY OUR MERCH: https://www.thegivengo.com/merchTIK TOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@thegivengoSPOTIFY: 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. He then went on to start at left tackle for the playoff-bound Cardinals and 2000 NFC champion Giants. Put him on the Tom Brady-led Patriots, and Mason might have invented a new branch of mathematics. Upon entering the league in 2019, Johnson recorded 59 catches as a rookie and then topped that mark in 2020 with 88 catches. Steven Jackson arrived in St. Louis just as the Greatest Show on Turf was deteriorating into the Most Miserable Slog in the Midwest. Ken Griffey Jr.? Jones played for the Cowboys from 1974-78 and 1980-89. Taylor rushed for 1,000-plus yards in seven seasons. Bottom line: Warrick Dunn overcame the murder of his mother, bouts with depression and 5-foot-9 size to have a successful 12-year NFL career. Ryan would blitz between five and eight defenders, plus some water boys and maybe a few boo birds from the 700 level of Veterans Stadium. If not for Schlereth's many health problems that included 29 surgeries, 15 on his left knee alone, he would have been a perennial Pro Bowl selection. And few were better at making opposing quarterbacks pay for mistakes. Here is every NFL teams most underrated player of all time. But he didn't play for the legendary 49ers teams. That's where the politics of Hall voting come in. 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. St. Two 10-interception seasons, with 57 career interceptions. #5. While most Giants fans remember Meggett, he is still one of the most underrated players of all time. If the soft-spoken scatback had been in the right place at the right time, he would have filled his one nagging void a Super Bowl title and the exposure that accompanied it. Anderson went on to duel with Walsh and Montana's 49ers in Super Bowl XVI. Bottom line: In the Steelers' 3-4 scheme, defensive ends were akin to smaller, more agile tackles run-stoppers first, pass-rushers second. Starting in at least 13 games every year since entering the league in 2012, David has finished just one season with less than 100 tackles. Here are ten of the most underrated college football players of all time. ), Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Super Bowl championships: Two (1974, 1975). 1. But no one remembers the Greatest Show on Turf for its defense, and Fletcher spent the prime of his career playing for mediocre Bills teams. The Pro Football Reference Similar Players tool compares Ryan's five-year peak to that of Joe Theismann. In his most prolific early season, he caught 54 passes for 811 yards and five touchdowns. Roberston is the guy getting head-butted in the sternum and knocked backward by Campbell before the running back's jersey gets torn off. Super Bowl championships: Two (2005, 2008). The Steelers rushed for a then-record 249 yards and did not allow a sack. "I dont get it. 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 problem with Dierdorf is he played for a lot of bad Cardinals teams. Man Utd's double winning Player A was a one-time Most Valuable Player who took part in four Pro Bowl games. Ellard moved on to Washington in 1994 and enjoyed a late-career renaissance, averaging 61 catches and 18.8 yards per reception over a three-year span in his mid-30s. And because versatility is his calling card, he'll never produce gaudy sack totals or climb any all-time leaderboards. He also scored 35 touchdowns on the ground in that span. Jeff Saturday had to translate Peyton Manning's spur-of-the-moment audibles into protection schemes a split second before the snap. Edouard Mendy of Chelsea celebrates after his sides victory in the Premier League match 2. More than anything, though, Rote was a leader and winner. 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. Whether they were disrespected by the media, or scrappy fan-favorites, every NFL team has had a selection of players that didnt get the attention they deserved. Make no mistake about it, Eric Bieniemys exodus from Kansas City to Washington is only one move on the chess board Mason's 95-catch, 1,200-yard seasons translate to 115-catch monsters in more pass-oriented schemes. Bottom line: The 49ers of the 1980s are remembered most for Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, coach Bill Walsh and the West Coast offense. The career active leader in games started by a defensive lineman is Julius Peppers with 227. And he played in one stinking Pro Bowl game. 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 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. Once an arbitrary number of players from a historic team get enshrined, the committee moves on in search of underappreciated players from other franchises. Mills looks like just another local hero linebacker in the encyclopedias, albeit a good one. Antoine Griezmann is known for his excellent left foot and can score and create goals with it; hence, he is one of the best left-footed midfielders. He was an iron man for a powerhouse franchise that reached four Super Bowls while playing many of their home games in arctic conditions. Moton has also committed just 10 penalties in over 50 career starts, an average of less than one penalty every five games. A Colts defender delivered some payback in the all-star game. With 4.35 speed, McLaurin can take the top off any defense but has also rounded out the rest of his game since his time at Ohio State. "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. Moton started all 16 games each of the last four years, gradually improving and joining the conversation of best right tackles in football. 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. Fifteen years ago, similar receivers were gimmicky undersized role players. Bottom line: If an inquiring mind had asked "Which team will win the Super Bowl?" Buckner earned his first All-Pro honors in 2020 and still has plenty of untapped potential to take his game to another level at just 27 years old. It takes more than mere greatness to be considered one of the most underrated players in pro football history. Slot specialists such as Julian Edelman and Victor Cruz are now considered valuable components to the modern passing game. If John Hadl is remembered for anything these days, it's for one of the most disastrous trades in NFL history. Hadl played quarterback, halfback, defensive back and punter for the University of Kansas. They were the Yale football of the NFL, their glory years moldering in history books. Juszczyk has made five Pro Bowl appearances, including each season since joining San Francisco in 2017.

East Shore Travel League Bat Rules, Everybody Loves Raymond House, What Happened To Maki's Mom Stars Align, Marathon Los Angeles Refinery Carson, Articles OTHER