The former top ten draft pick looks to be on the verge of breaking out. Mason had seven seasons of at least 70 pass receptions, 1,000 yards and five touchdowns. Ryan made three Pro Bowls, but All-Pro status was blocked by a couple of guys named Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr. Ogbah improved against the run while putting up a career-high in both sacks (9) and QB hits (21). Ryan needed surgery and was in constant pain for the rest of his career. 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. And then there is plain old forgotten. Unlike many of Marshall's teammates, however, he wasnt an obnoxious self-promoter, which partly explained his absence from the NFC Pro Bowl roster that season. 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. WebDon't hesitate to comment below with underrated players who you believe should have been on this list. Oakland Raiders. 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. It takes years of playing the wrong position for the wrong team in the wrong league at the wrong time. 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. WebA key ingredient of arguably the best back four to grace the game Mauro Tassoti, him, Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini the Milan central defender made more than 450 He's the Rams' all-time leading rusher with almost 3,000 more yards for the franchise than Marshall Faulk or Eric Dickerson. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports By Sam Monson May 13, Time has been hard on both of them. But no highlight clip of that play can be found on the internet. Player B passed for 31,548 yards and 214 touchdowns and ran for 22 touchdowns with below average-to-good teams. WebThe 10 most underrated football players of all time are: Gheorghe Hagi, Michael Laudrup, Gaetano Scirea, Hristo Stoichkov, Matthias Sammer, Davor Suker, Gunter Netzer, Interior defensive linemen: The average height and weight for defensive tackles entering the league is 6-foot-3, 306 pounds. Twenty years ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars were one of the marquee organizations in professional sports, and Jimmy Smith was one of their brightest stars. This past offseason, Juszczyk signed a five-year $27M contract to return to the 49ers, making him the highest-paid fullback in football by a wide margin. "Because when the ball was thrown, I knew I had better ball skills and would go up and get it.". 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. But what peak years they were: 14- and 13-win seasons, annual playoff appearances, routine 4,000-yard, 30-touchdown seasons. Pro Football Reference rates him at near a Pro Bowl level well into his 30s. 1 overall pick, NFL coverage map 2021: TV schedule Week 16, Seattle Seahawks: 3 players who wont be back in 2022. If Anderson had failed, the 49ers may never have lured Walsh away from the Bengals staff. It is absurd that Jones isnt talked about more with his ability to impact games. New England Patriots wide receiver Stanley Morgan, right, battles for He also had some of the clutch gene. Young played for the teams that slowly slid from George Seifert to Steve Mariucci to oblivion. 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. Roberston is the guy getting head-butted in the sternum and knocked backward by Campbell before the running back's jersey gets torn off. When London Fletcher retired after the 2014 season, Robert Klemko of The MMQBasked him if he was motivated by feeling underappreciated for most of his career. 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. His teams averaged 392.0 yards and 34.0 points in those games. A longtime semifinalist, his case is about to be handed over to the Veterans Committee, which has done a fine job recently of correcting oversights from Kenn's era. There have been many better quarterbacks than Ryan in NFL history. He also scored 35 touchdowns on the ground in that span. It didnt help that he had ordinary quarterbacks named Tony Eason and Steve Grogan to throw him the ball. Even pesky third-down backs and gritty fullbacks may seem underrated until you realize how many of them become local heroes. But Hadl had to do something to make the Packers think he was worth two armfuls of draft picks. Even so, Smith was pretty much a well-kept secret outside Pittsburgh despite meeting or approaching Pro Bowl standards for almost a decade. On the field, it is Diontae Johnson that has emerged as a favorite target of Big Ben. But run defense was king in the era when McDole played, and his 16-year career is littered with big plays: 12 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries, two touchdowns, three safeties and a pair of sacks in the 1966 AFL Championship Game. It was a motivating factor for a number of years in my career. Developing a rapport with new QB Trevor Lawrence should only help Shenault quickly reach his true potential. The Rams eventually acquired Jim Everett and opened up their offense, transforming Ellard into one of the NFL's most dangerous deep threats. 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. Both of those seasons came, ironically enough, after Allen and Buddy were separated. 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 no one remembers the Greatest Show on Turf for its defense, and Fletcher spent the prime of his career playing for mediocre Bills teams. As for being so underrated he's overrated, wellthat's extremely underrated, which justifies Anderson's ranking here. I still don't know that people gave me my due respect for my production. 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. Its hard to think of a player more dominant and less talked about over a long period of time than Chandler Jones. The linebacker ranks 17th in career solo tackles (1,130) and is the only player to be part of three consecutive Super Bowl champions. WebDeion Sanders: Deion Sanders is one of the most underrated players of all time. Sutton hauled in 72 catches for 1,112 yards during his second season in the league before a knee injury cut short his 2020campaign after 1 game. 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.". Meet every NFL team's all-time most underrated player. Poor Louis Wright has a hard time even making the Broncos' overcrowded All-Snub Team. 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. 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. NaVorro Bowman trade rumors surfaced in early spring, only to be quickly squelched by new 49ers general manager John Lynch. But McCree did fumble. The statue portrays jubilant Packers fans in tundra-weather gear appearing to cradle a player who just pounced into the stands. Robertson's Rams made a habit of reaching the playoffs every year and losing to the Vikings or Cowboys. Robertson was one of the NFL's fastest linebackers in the 1970s. Bottom line: If an inquiring mind had asked "Which team will win the Super Bowl?" 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. Fewer yet realize that he made a crucial play in each victory. He played left tackle in 1972 and moved to right tackle in 1974. 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. Maybe Rivers takes his place among the all-time greats. Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, Super Bowl championships: Two (1979, 1990). In Dierdorfs second to last season, the Cardinals were embarrassed by the Packers 41-16 in their playoff opener. Hes the only quarterback with AFL and NFL titles on his resume and he darn near pulled it off in the Canadian Football League as well. Bottom line: The Greatest Show On Turf boasted so much star power you couldnt tell the other Rams without a program. Those accomplishments may soon finally land Kenn in the Hall of Fame. His .588 win percentage ranks second to Wilson in team history. Jones played for the Cowboys from 1974-78 and 1980-89. Teams kept doing something special to get their hands on Hadl. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Web12. Still, Allen rarely gets respect as a true number one wideout. That feeling never really went away.". He has started every game he has played in since 2014 (with four different franchises). They would rank first in the NFL in yardage four other times while Evans was a starter. Arizona Cardinals: Dan Dierdorf. Randy Gradishar. 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. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996. Teams: Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Houston Texans. So LeRoy Butler, innovator of the Lambeau Leap, is excluded from his own statue. Bottom line: Never mind guys such as Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson. 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. And then there is Kent Hull, the first center to achieve greatness in a no-huddle offense. Craters so big that you could drive a semi through them. They never had any playoff success, even when they did make it into the postseason. 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. There are a ton of names in the conversation for best offensive linemen of all time, but Dierdorf His franchises just kept ending up on the wrong side of history. 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? 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Teams: Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers, Experience: 13 years (1950-59, 1963-64, 1966), AFL All-Star Game appearances: One (1963). Super Bowl championships: Four (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989). They were the Yale football of the NFL, their glory years moldering in history books. 1. 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. He rose to Pro Bowl status playing left tackle for a single-back, Joe Gibbs-style 1980s offense. Let's face it: An entire All-Underrated Team can be assembled using only Broncos defenders. Super Bowl championships: Four (1966, 1967, 1972, 1973). The USFL may not have been the NFL in terms of quality, but being the Luke Kuechly of a league that featured Herschel Walker, Jim Kelly and Steve Young should count for something. Super Bowl championships: Two (2005, 2008). Upon entering the league in 2019, Johnson recorded 59 catches as a rookie and then topped that mark in 2020 with 88 catches. There will never be another player like Marshall. Saleh has compared Franklin-Myers to Arik Armstead, whom he coached in SF while registering 10 sacks in 2019. ", Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Oilers, Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins, Pro Bowl appearances (AFL All-Star Game): Two (1965, 1967). Ohhh-kaaaaay, one of the Hasselbecks then? The Bucs hired head coach Jon Gruden and won Super Bowl XXXVII the next season. He was a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro. 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. That's not something to hold against a player. 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.
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