Steve Atwater. He enjoyed one of the greatest receiving games in NFL history: 15 catches, 291 yards and three touchdowns against the historic 2000 Ravens defense. "I wasnt the fastest guy, but I didnt mind having the defender at my hip," Ellard said per Yahoo Sports. 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 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. Know who created those wide-open spaces? Not enough credit is given to Waller who lacks the Shanahan offense or elite QB to help take his game to the next level. Much of the Saints' offensive success in Evans' prime years is rightfully credited to Brees. 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. Fleming was a reliable backup tight end/wide receiver who played with four Super Bowl-winners (and one NFL champion) in a dozen seasons. This list begins with a quarterback who is preparing to play in the 2015 NFL regular season. Jones is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro selection. Try Dave Krieg. Twenty years ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars were one of the marquee organizations in professional sports, and Jimmy Smith was one of their brightest stars. Some might say it's a stretch to put Allen on this list after four straight Pro Bowl seasons and 95+ catch seasons. Sideways. Membership on various All-1960s teams. So LeRoy Butler, innovator of the Lambeau Leap, is excluded from his own statue. Also, the field was often a block of ice. 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. Jeff Saturday had to translate Peyton Manning's spur-of-the-moment audibles into protection schemes a split second before the snap. There have been many better quarterbacks than Ryan in NFL history. Fletcher followed Gregg Williams from coaching stop to coaching stop, serving as the sometimes controversial, always effective defensive mastermind's field marshal. 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. Players like McDole are what all-time underrated lists exist for. Two names that are familiar to even casual football fans sit atop the mountaintop of underrated NFL players for the 2015 regular season. Buckner plays within the defense, often allowing others to make plays, but remains a nightmare trying to block one on one. He had 44 career sacks and as many as eight in a season on two occasions. Developing a rapport with new QB Trevor Lawrence should only help Shenault quickly reach his true potential. He rose to Pro Bowl status playing left tackle for a single-back, Joe Gibbs-style 1980s offense. 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. An all-underrated team like this one can get flooded with Zach Thomas, Hardy Nickerson, Tommy Nobis and Tedy Bruschi types if we don't get a little choosy. WebThe 10 most underrated football players of all time are: Gheorghe Hagi, Michael Laudrup, Gaetano Scirea, Hristo Stoichkov, Matthias Sammer, Davor Suker, Gunter Netzer, He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996. He returned eight interceptions for touchdowns, including four in 1993 and three during his age-35 season with the Raiders in 2000. 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. Steve Atwater. The Lions drafted him as a running back. He reached the playoffs as a rookie backup in 2004 and a 32-year-old backup in 2015, but zero times in the decade in between. His 65 interceptions are fifth most in NFL history. 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. 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. Maybe there is still an NFL team in San Diego. Both Courtland Sutton and teammate Tim Patrick could easily make this list together as neither player is discussed nearly enough. Fletcher intercepted 23 passes and recorded 39 sacks as a do-it-all middle linebacker. He should be remembered as more than a throwback to the era when Lawrence Welk references were topical. But don't write him off as some 1960s product of the system. 1 overall pick, NFL coverage map 2021: TV schedule Week 16, Seattle Seahawks: 3 players who wont be back in 2022. The Hall of 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. Numbers better than majority of RBs in history. Teams: Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos, Super Bowl championships: Three (1991, 1997, 1998). 2022 NFL Mock Draft: Jacksonville Jaguars overtake Detroit for No. Lets hear some "un-der-ra-ted!" Pro Football Reference rates him at near a Pro Bowl level well into his 30s. Seven times, he surpassed 1,000 yards on pass receptions, most of them on slants and corner routes. Marshall reached just two Pro Bowls. 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. No, what youll see are lots of gaping holes the size of Boulder. Bottom line: Derrick Mason was among the shrewdest, most precise route runners of his time. Ground rules: A max of three Pro Bowl invitations. Ronald Koeman. WebThe NFL is increasingly becoming a passing league. Bottom line: In the Steelers' 3-4 scheme, defensive ends were akin to smaller, more agile tackles run-stoppers first, pass-rushers second. Chiesa is a winger who plays for Juventus. Unless you live in Cleveland or are over 50, you probably have never heard of him. Taylor Moton has quietly emerged as a dominant presence at right tackle for the Panthers. 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. There are over 120 teams that compete in the FBS, which means that storylines and hidden superstars abound. 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. 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. You know the type. Steven Jackson arrived in St. Louis just as the Greatest Show on Turf was deteriorating into the Most Miserable Slog in the Midwest. Still don't understand why the writers don't respect it.". 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. But three of his best seasons are not listed in the encyclopedias. He intercepted 34 passes for the Eagles and 54 in his career. Super Bowl championships: Four (1966, 1967, 1972, 1973). The start to his career is Hall of Fame worthy and includes a Super Bowl championship while with the New England Patriots. 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. They never had any playoff success, even when they did make it into the postseason. Kenn was one of the leaders of the NFL Players Association during the era of replacement players and court battles over free agency. 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. 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. The Rams acquired him from the Chargers in 1973 in exchange for defensive end Coy Bacon. Measurables. In addition to the most underrated and overrated Raiders of all time, Adam Rank goes on a mini-tirade about a criminally underrated coach. Mills and Reggie White were the USFL's two greatest defenders ever. Those who like to shout "first-ballot Hall of Famer" about Rivers do not know how the Hall of Fame works. The Packers were a team with more history than identity when Butler arrived. It's not that Ellard, an Olympic-caliber triple-jumper with 4.4 speed, didn't know what he was doing. Dunn finished his career with 15,655 all-purpose yards, 25th in league history, one of the best players never to be a champion. Yet he still led his team to the playoffs three more times. Ellard was an Antonio Brown-level talent in his prime, but his teams were in no hurry to get him the ball. "Stanley Steamer" could run every route and was hell on wheels with the ball in his hands. Man Utd's double winning Johnson can line up all over the field and consistently find space in the opposing defense. He was a eight-time Pro Bowler and one-time Super Bowl champion. Gheorghe Hagi, Romania. 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. Teams: Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Pro Bowl appearances: Three (1993, 1995, 1997), Super Bowl championships: Three (1992, 1993, 1994). He's also among the top 100 in games started (83rd), interception return yardage (89th) and interception return touchdowns (31st). 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. McLaurins route running continues to improve while routinely making contested catches look easy. Make no mistake about it, Eric Bieniemys exodus from Kansas City to Washington is only one move on the chess board But his Hall of Fame candidacy has been stuck in semifinalist limbo. Its easy to forget the Seahawks had some pretty good teams way back when, even a few playoff ones. Oh, and sub-packages were pretty rare in the 1960s and 1970s, so Marshall didn't leave the field much. Or as astute NBC broadcaster Dick Enberg scored it, "KO for Ken Norton.". And because versatility is his calling card, he'll never produce gaudy sack totals or climb any all-time leaderboards. All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. Oakland Raiders. Jacksonville's all-time leading receiver is now beginning what he calls the "second chapter in his life." Here is every NFL teams most underrated player of all time. Butler's defensive accomplishments might have brought him to the cusp of immortality, but don't underestimate the power of that Lambeau Leap. He had one sack in four games, all Rams victories. In his prime, Wright was often mentioned in the same breath as Hall of Famers Mel Blount and Mike Haynes. 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. WebBUY OUR MERCH: https://www.thegivengo.com/merchTIK TOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@thegivengoSPOTIFY: New England Patriots wide receiver Stanley Morgan, right, battles for WebTop ten under-capped England players is a list Foden and Maddison want to avoid Matt Le Tissier won 10 fewer England caps than Carlton Palmer. 1. 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. There are no official sack statistics before 1982, but the Minnesota Vikings credit Jim Marshall with 127 career sacks. WebDon't hesitate to comment below with underrated players who you believe should have been on this list. 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. Teams: New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Pro Bowl appearances: Four (1979, 1980, 1986, 1987). Jerry Hughes has been a consistent pass rusher and important piece to the Buffalo Bills defense. Evans is a long shot to do either, which is a shame. After the Bills failed to score, he knocked quarterback Jim Kelly out of the game in the next series. 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 Bottom line: After eight seasons in Buffalo, where he had been a mainstay with the best defense in AFL history, Ron McDole took his two-bar helmet to Washington. Jordi Alba. Theyre the flat-liners whose drop-dead consistency gets lost with average-to-bad teams, in smaller markets, with brain-challenged organizations that have little, if any, history of success. With that in mind, NFL The Bucs hired head coach Jon Gruden and won Super Bowl XXXVII the next season. Yet somehow, some way, Kolb never received a Pro Bowl invitation. That feeling never really went away.". If the quarterback got rid of the ball before getting crushed, it was up to Allen to make a play. 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. Karl Mecklenburg. 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. 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. Greenlaw is equally effective against the run and pass, a sure tackler, and brings plenty of energy to theNiners' defense. Year after year, Chandler Jones is one of the best pure pass rushers in football. By the time the 49ers are great again, Bowman may be in his early 30s or on another team. Mike Williams is an elite deep threat at wide receiver and has maintained an average YPC of over 15 every year since 2018. Deion Jones is one interception away from tying the all-time record for pick 6's by a linebacker, and he's done it in a fraction of the games. 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. Rote was the first quarterback who regularly beat defenses with his legs as well as his arm. Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices. Neal Anderson replaced Walter Payton. 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. He was a Pro Bowler in 1974 and 75, and he was an All-Pro selection from 1976-78. Hull was not just a great lineman but a groundbreaking one. On the final play a year later, he picked off a Roger Staubach pass in the end zone that put the Cowboys to rest. Fifteen years ago, similar receivers were gimmicky undersized role players. In Jahri Evans' four All-Pro seasons (2009-12), the Saints ranked first, sixth, first and second in the NFL in total yards. Maybe not, seeing as Nalen has not had much success. He covered receivers (38 career interceptions). If Anderson had failed, the 49ers may never have lured Walsh away from the Bengals staff.
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