20 most underrated football players of all time

Chiesa is a winger who plays for Juventus. 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. And let's not place the full burden of history on his shoulders, as Marty Schottenheimer, Norv Turner, the Chargers front office and Rivers himself had a hand in making the team a playoff also-ran during those peak years. 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. TGT Tips! They lost to the Vikings 30-14 in the 1974 Wildcard Round, and they were defeated by the Rams 35-23 in the opening round of the playoffs in 1975. Yet somehow, some way, Kolb never received a Pro Bowl invitation. 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. Unless you live in Cleveland or are over 50, you probably have never heard of him. The system helped make Hall of Famers of Kelly, Reed and Thomas. Edouard Mendy - Chelsea. But no highlight clip of that play can be found on the internet. Raphael Guerreiro of Borussia Dortmund Looks 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. While coverage is Bates' strength, he can still lay the big hit and be a factor in run support. Even without the same speed and athleticism as when he entered the league, David continues to find ways to make impact plays like a seasoned veteran. Edouard Mendy of Chelsea celebrates after his sides victory in the Premier League match 2. That may be unfair to players like Robinson, Jerry Kramer and L.C. Regardless of the Cardinals struggles, Dierdorf was a star. 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. Ron McDole falls into that final category. Mostly Schlereth and sidekick Tom Nalen, who were masters of zone-blocking schemes, a major reason why Davis is in the Hall of Fame today. Jordi Alba. So whaddya say, fans? 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. 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. He started for an offensive line that helped Barry Sanders win two of his four rushing titles. 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. Dave Meggett -- RB, 1989-1994. Butler has never even been a Hall of Fame semifinalist, and it's not going to happen for him soon. Super Bowl championships: Four (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989). Ryan needed surgery and was in constant pain for the rest of his career. 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). The Packers were a team with more history than identity when Butler arrived. Arizona Cardinals: Kelvin Beachum, OT. WebDeion Sanders: Deion Sanders is one of the most underrated players of all time. His career was cut short by injuries suffered in the first of those three Pro Bowls. Waller overcame addiction and his suspension to emerge in 2019, catching 90 passes for 1,145 yards and three touchdowns while starting all 16 games for the Raiders. 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. WebDon't hesitate to comment below with underrated players who you believe should have been on this list. Guards don't make the Hall of Fame unless they win multiple Super Bowls or play forever. The Hall of Fame has turned up its nose on all of them. White: 12 underrated players; White: 12 overrated players; Towers: Generic vs. Name Brand; Prospect hunting . This list begins with a quarterback who is preparing to play in the 2015 NFL regular season. Only a dozen players have more career interception return yards (961), and seven of them are in the Hall of Fame. 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. It would rank 16th all-time, except that if we allow Marshall's sacks into the record, we would have to make room for Deacon Jones, Mean Joe Greene and others. Bottom line: OK, kids, lets play Name That Hall of Famer. 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. 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. And then there is plain old forgotten. Frank Ryan led the NFL in passing touchdowns twice. Lambeau Field was an icy outpost; the Packers still played a handful of home games in Milwaukee back then. His 2,690 all-purpose yards with the Titans in the 2000 season are second in league history. It's better to be remembered for one of the most painful moments in your career than to not be remembered at all. Rote was the first quarterback who regularly beat defenses with his legs as well as his arm. Those who like to shout "first-ballot Hall of Famer" about Rivers do not know how the Hall of Fame works. WebDuring the next few weeks, we here at NFL.com will unveil our Most Underrated and Overrated Players of All Time for all 32 teams and allow users to determine their Yet he still led his team to the playoffs three more times. With that in mind, NFL Mason also caught 49 postseason passes and was one of the game's best return men for a few years. McDole played 251 professional games as a defensive lineman, a remarkable feat in any era that should not be forgotten. Kenn was one of the leaders of the NFL Players Association during the era of replacement players and court battles over free agency. Wide receiver Chase Claypool stole headlines as a rookie in 2020, while teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster always seems to attract headlines one way or another. Robertson was one of the NFL's fastest linebackers in the 1970s. Bottom line: For 16 seasons, Henry Ellard wreaked havoc as a pass receiver and punt returner. Actually, make that four careers. More than one scout considered Turner to be too light to play linebacker, too slow to play defensive back. He played 256 career regular-season games, never missing a start due to injury. WebThe Top 10 Most Underrated Football Players of All Time 1. Young played for the teams that slowly slid from George Seifert to Steve Mariucci to oblivion. Bottom line: In the Steelers' 3-4 scheme, defensive ends were akin to smaller, more agile tackles run-stoppers first, pass-rushers second. He announced his retirement from pro football in 2010, not long after signing with the Arizona Cardinals. He's rarely mentioned as an all-time great. Franklin-Myers has the ability to play anywhere on the defensive line and is off to a strong start in the Jets' new 4-3 defense under head coach Robert Saleh. Waller was a sixth-round draft pick at wide receiver by the Ravens in 2015 and struggled to find targets early in his career in spite of his 66 frame. Those accomplishments may soon finally land Kenn in the Hall of Fame. He recorded four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 1988 through 1991, a rare feat at the time. Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images. He intercepted 25 career regular-season passes and two more in the postseason. WebTop 20 Most Underrated Footballers in 2022 1. If ever a geezer was meant to play with George Allens Over The Hill Gang, he was the one. But his Hall of Fame candidacy has been stuck in semifinalist limbo. Bottom line: The Greatest Show On Turf boasted so much star power you couldnt tell the other Rams without a program. 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. But here's the thing: Gradishar, Mecklenberg and Atwater are famous for being snubbed. Hadl played quarterback, halfback, defensive back and punter for the University of Kansas. Teams: Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers, Experience: 13 years (1950-59, 1963-64, 1966), AFL All-Star Game appearances: One (1963). That made Hull one of the first centers to make line adjustments on the fly. While 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. 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. But the former NFL Man of the Year award winner and two-time All-Pro should not have had to wait so long. Let's face it: An entire All-Underrated Team can be assembled using only Broncos defenders. Perhaps it's time we look back on how much of an impact he and his Jaguars had on the NFL two decades ago. #5. How he slipped through the cracks for 13 years remains one of the unsolved mysteries in pro football. 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. 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. Bates is a ball-hawking safety in coverage with excellent range, intelligence, and athleticism. Beachum has lined up at both left and right tackle but displayed The AFL was an eight- to 10-team league, so All-Pro selections were easier to come by. Photo by JOHN CAPUTO/AFP via Getty Images, ST. LOUIS, MO CIRCA 1980: Ed Jones #72 of the Dallas Cowboys gets blocked by Dan Dierdorf #72 of the St. Louis Cardinals during an NFL football game circa 1980 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. They didnt do anything that Tobin Rote hadnt done a long time ago. An undrafted quarterback out of the late Milton College (Wisconsin), Krieg got them to the postseason four times and the AFC championship game once. He was arrested four times after his abrupt retirement. Also, the field was often a block of ice. Moton started all 16 games each of the last four years, gradually improving and joining the conversation of best right tackles in football. The 49ers are installing a new system and reshaping their roster. The Lions drafted him as a running back. Measurables. Maybe there is still an NFL team in San Diego. Maybe not, seeing as Nalen has not had much success. Far from it. Maybe Rivers takes his place among the all-time greats. McDole is not known for much of anything anymore, as his AFL stardom came before the Super Bowl era and his Redskins heroics predated the era of Joe Gibbs and the Hogs. 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. He began his career at the tail end of Jim Harbaugh's great defensive teams, but he has since battled both injuries and the incompetence of the Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly experiments. But there is no player; fans themselves get to "leap" into the statue for photo ops. Not one of the Jim Harbaugh-era guys. While most Giants fans remember Meggett, he is still one of the most underrated players of all time. Teams: New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Pro Bowl appearances: Four (1979, 1980, 1986, 1987). 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. What Mason did have was a keen attention to detail and fanatical drive to succeed. But three of his best seasons are not listed in the encyclopedias. WebDespite being just 20-years-old, Pedri has become a key player for Barcelona The midfielder names his former teammate Lionel Messi as the 'best' ever He hopes to Meet every NFL team's all-time most underrated player. Randy Gradishar. Angel Di Maria. WebWhile positional drills may be more indicative of a player's success in the NFL, other events like the 40-yard dash, three-cone drill and bench press are less obvious. David has amassed 12 interceptions, 16 fumble recoveries, 24 forced fumbles, and 53 pass deflections during his career. 1. Here are ten of the most underrated college football players of all time. Upon entering the league in 2019, Johnson recorded 59 catches as a rookie and then topped that mark in 2020 with 88 catches. Super Bowl championships: Two (2005, 2008). Or as astute NBC broadcaster Dick Enberg scored it, "KO for Ken Norton.". For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. If Anderson had failed, the 49ers may never have lured Walsh away from the Bengals staff. He was a Pro Bowler in 1974 and 75, and he was an All-Pro selection from 1976-78. FEDERICO CHIESA. That's a higher sack total than Dwight Freeney or Robert Mathis. Poor Louis Wright has a hard time even making the Broncos' overcrowded All-Snub Team. 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. Following a strong start to 2021, McLaurin is slowly beginning to earn the respect his game deserves. This commitment to team defense is perhaps one of the main reasons Buckner is not more recognized as one of the top interior defensive linemen in football. DeForest Buckner plays great team defense and has done so successfully for two franchises. 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. Ryan made three Pro Bowls, but All-Pro status was blocked by a couple of guys named Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr. It's not that Ellard, an Olympic-caliber triple-jumper with 4.4 speed, didn't know what he was doing. But McCree did fumble. They didnt allow a sack in 84 pass attempts. St. 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. 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. The guy should demand a recount, I tell ya. The most underrated player on all 32 NFL teams Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard (20) runs with the ball while being tackled by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters (24) in the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Maybe he wasn't the best defender on the field for any one play, but he stayed on that field for an entire generation. Jones topped the 100 career sack total in week one of 2021, a five-sack day that tied a Cardinals franchise record and set a personal career-best. No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. That's its own kind of recognition. 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. Is Jalen Hurts the Future of the Philadelphia Eagles? The linebacker ranks 17th in career solo tackles (1,130) and is the only player to be part of three consecutive Super Bowl champions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER. Hull never lived to see himself make a Hall of Fame semifinalist list, as he died of liver failure at age 50 in 2011. 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. 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. Some of the 19 The rumors themselves were not surprising. 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. Both Courtland Sutton and teammate Tim Patrick could easily make this list together as neither player is discussed nearly enough. And few were better at making opposing quarterbacks pay for mistakes. Teams: Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Tennessee Oilers, Pro Bowl appearances: Three (1984, 1988, 1989). Some might say it's a stretch to put Allen on this list after four straight Pro Bowl seasons and 95+ catch seasons. He covered receivers (38 career interceptions). Derrick Mason recorded four 1,000-yard seasons for Jeff Fisher teams and four more for the Baltimore Ravens. In their two Super Bowl seasons that followed, Young was a virtual nonfactor in the matchup. Ohhh-kaaaaay, one of the Hasselbecks then? Raphael Guerreiro - Borussia Dortmund. In addition to the most underrated and overrated Raiders of all time, Adam Rank goes on a mini-tirade about a criminally underrated coach. 'Nuff said, right? Buckner plays within the defense, often allowing others to make plays, but remains a nightmare trying to block one on one. 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. Drew Brees endured an average of just 24 sacks per season in Evans' All-Pro seasons, despite typically dropping back to pass over 650 times per year. Coughlin gave Smith a tryout, then kickoff return duties, and then teamed him with Mark Brunell and Keenan McCardell to create one of the most dangerous passing attacks of the late '90s and early 2000s. His 42-yarder in the 1990 NFC championship game rates as one of the greatest clutch kicks in league history. Players like McDole are what all-time underrated lists exist for. There are a ton of names in the conversation for best offensive linemen of all time, but Dierdorf 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. You mean future Hall of Fame tackle Orlando Pace didnt block four guys all by himself? Both of those seasons came, ironically enough, after Allen and Buddy were separated. Ground rules: A max of three Pro Bowl invitations. Passing wasn't really their thing. That's where the politics of Hall voting come in. Bottom line: All Ken Norton could do was take down ballcarriers and collect Super Bowl rings. Even unspectacular ones manage to rack up a few 1,000-yard seasons and get drafted early in fantasy leagues. He had 44 career sacks and as many as eight in a season on two occasions. There's underrated, underappreciated and overlooked. Web12. Norton made the key play of the game in the second period, when he stood up Buffalo Bills back Kenneth Davis mere inches from the goal line. He should be remembered as more than a throwback to the era when Lawrence Welk references were topical. Despite his incredibly high waist seriously, check out his build Kelvin Beachum has been one of the most underrated tackles in the NFL. Not bad for a guy who might as well have played in a straight jacket for 14 seasons. Through the 2018 season, Vinatieri checked in at 81 (56 of 69) and 99 (70 of 71), respectively.

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