His career was cut short by injuries suffered in the first of those three Pro Bowls. NFL Year after year, Chandler Jones is one of the best pure pass rushers in football. Tom Jackson. Jones is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro selection. Most Underrated NFL Players of All Time by Team | Stadium Talk Off to a fast start in 2021, Sutton is quickly reminding opposing defenses of his talent. Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, Super Bowl championships: Two (1979, 1990). Rote was the first quarterback who regularly beat defenses with his legs as well as his arm. most underrated player 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. Greenlaw is equally effective against the run and pass, a sure tackler, and brings plenty of energy to theNiners' defense. Even pesky third-down backs and gritty fullbacks may seem underrated until you realize how many of them become local heroes. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images). Web20 most underrated football players of all time 1. Super Bowl victories? Bowman is coming off an Achilles tear in 2016. Many of those catches occurred down the field, with Anderson serving as a de facto possession receiver. Ohhh-kaaaaay, one of the Hasselbecks then? All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. On the final play a year later, he picked off a Roger Staubach pass in the end zone that put the Cowboys to rest. The most similar current player to Anderson is Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell, but Bell plays in a modern offense that amplifies his production instead of suppressing it. That made Hull one of the first centers to make line adjustments on the fly. WebDon't hesitate to comment below with underrated players who you believe should have been on this list. When the Rams finally earned a Super Bowl berth, Robertson was in Buffalo, playing for another playoff also-ran. He had to blanket a wide receiver in man coverage with no safety help on every play. 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. He ran a Sonny Jurgensen pass back 59 yards in the fourth quarter to seal a Rams playoff win over the Redskins in 1974. He finally won a Super Bowl ring as a backup for the Buccaneers. 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. The best we can offer is a little bit of credit where a lot is due. He's rarely mentioned as an all-time great. Matthew Stafford is approaching 50,000 career passing yards, a number only topped by 11 quarterbacks in history. Not one of the Jim Harbaugh-era guys. 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. The trade went how you might expect a lopsided midseason deal for an aging quarterback to go. And consider this: The one-time college triple-jumper played with a Pro Bowl quarterback (Jim Everett) in only one season. He intercepted 25 career regular-season passes and two more in the postseason. Seven times, he surpassed 1,000 yards on pass receptions, most of them on slants and corner routes. 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. WebOnce called the toughest cornerback in the NFL by Jerry Rice, Lewis would have received much more acclaim in his career if hed played a position that wasnt just following other 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. Bates has still developed into a leader in the Bengals secondary and arguably their best player on defense. Both of those seasons came, ironically enough, after Allen and Buddy were separated. A Colts defender delivered some payback in the all-star game. Passing wasn't really their thing. The Over-the-Hill Gang fielded one of the most ferocious pass rushes of its era, notching 53 sacks in 1973. Following a strong start to 2021, McLaurin is slowly beginning to earn the respect his game deserves. 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. The Colts accused Ryan of running up the score in the 27-0 championship rout of 1964. The Bucs hired head coach Jon Gruden and won Super Bowl XXXVII the next season. But a double whammyplaying center and playing for the Broncoshas kept him miles from Hall of Fame consideration. He is now stuck in a rebuilding cycle that may take a few years. He was a Pro Bowler in 1974 and 75, and he was an All-Pro selection from 1976-78. Because he is one of the NFL's best defensive players, for one thing. Brandon Graham is an incredibly underrated defensive lineman and lifelong Philadelphia Eagle. He played the run with authority (721 career solo tackles). And to think, the guy never played in a Pro Bowl game. MOST UNDERRATED PLAYERS OF ALL TIME 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. 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. It's Bryant Young, whorecorded 89.5 sacks for the 49ers, 23 more than Haley. His franchises just kept ending up on the wrong side of history. Bates finished tied for 6th in 2020 with 15 passes defended. 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. Only a dozen players have more career interception return yards (961), and seven of them are in the Hall of Fame. While Graham's sack numbers have never hit double digits, he remains a complete player and Super Bowl champion. Web113 Likes, TikTok video from FootWorld (@lovingfootbal): "The most underrated player of all time #dimaria #football". Measurables. 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 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. Still, Allen rarely gets respect as a true number one wideout. Sad to say, Morgan was woefully miscast in a run-first offense in a less pass-friendly time. When the team inducted Smith into the Pride of the Jaguars ring of honor last year, it was the strange case of a moribund franchise honoring a former receiver still on parole for succumbing to the demons of addiction. 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? Dont know about you, but I want Mason on my retro fantasy league team. He was a participant in four Super Bowls and a member of two All-Pro teams. Mills followed Mora to New Orleans and led the Dome Patrol linebacking corps, which brought the Saints franchise its first playoff appearances. He played center, as well, before his career was over. That's not something to hold against a player. (Bonus point: Schlereth doesnt suck as a broadcaster on ESPN. Most underrated NFL players on all 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. He enjoyed one of the greatest receiving games in NFL history: 15 catches, 291 yards and three touchdowns against the historic 2000 Ravens defense. 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. It takes years of playing the wrong position for the wrong team in the wrong league at the wrong time. 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. 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. For a few years, he was not only the best guard in the NFL, but the most important. Modern centers don't get the credit they deserve. Ground rules: A max of three Pro Bowl invitations. No, what youll see are lots of gaping holes the size of Boulder. 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. On the field, it is Diontae Johnson that has emerged as a favorite target of Big Ben. But the former NFL Man of the Year award winner and two-time All-Pro should not have had to wait so long. most underrated footballers of all time The Steelers rushed for a then-record 249 yards and did not allow a sack. 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. More than anything, though, Rote was a leader and winner. Player A passed for 27,928 yards and 194 touchdowns and ran for four touchdowns with mostly very good teams and one great one. Hadl played quarterback, halfback, defensive back and punter for the University of Kansas. 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. 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. Butler's defensive accomplishments might have brought him to the cusp of immortality, but don't underestimate the power of that Lambeau Leap. Far from it. 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. Jones played for the Cowboys from 1974-78 and 1980-89. As for being so underrated he's overrated, wellthat's extremely underrated, which justifies Anderson's ranking here. most underrated player of all time But so were teammates like Len Dawson, Willie Lanier, Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell, Curley Culp and Jan Stenerud, all of whom are in the Hall of Fame. Turned out he was skilled and driven enough to be a champion. 10 Most Underrated Promising Football Players In The World 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Yet somehow, some way, Kolb never received a Pro Bowl invitation. David has amassed 12 interceptions, 16 fumble recoveries, 24 forced fumbles, and 53 pass deflections during his career. He played 256 career regular-season games, never missing a start due to injury. 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. He was a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro. That may tick him off. It takes bad timing and bad luck. He had one sack in four games, all Rams victories. "No one was going to catch no ball.". Teams: Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers, Experience: 13 years (1950-59, 1963-64, 1966), AFL All-Star Game appearances: One (1963). Wouldnt you know it? 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. 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. 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. Thats what Krieg did best win football games. Jones has also recorded at least 100 tackles every year since entering the league with the exception of 2018 when he played in only 6 games. Randy Gradishar. Ellard was an Antonio Brown-level talent in his prime, but his teams were in no hurry to get him the ball. 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. Anderson became a footnote to the Ditka era, but fans who saw him play know he was far more than that. The most underrated player on all Nope, not Charles Haley. 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 Quarterback ratings for Washington skyrocket when targeting McLaurin, who has become a nightmare to defend with the ball in his hands after the catch. Buckner is a smart player and one of the better-run defenders in football. He led his team to an NFL championship. He rose to Pro Bowl status playing left tackle for a single-back, Joe Gibbs-style 1980s offense. Also, the field was often a block of ice. Top 20 Most Underrated NFL Players