He finally won a Super Bowl ring as a backup for the Buccaneers. Maybe Rivers takes his place among the all-time greats. And to think, the guy never played in a Pro Bowl game. Incredibly, McDole started 97 of the next 98 games. No one else is even close. Build your customFanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis onAll NFL and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. Matthew Stafford is approaching 50,000 career passing yards, a number only topped by 11 quarterbacks in history. Related:Most Overrated NFL Players of All Time. But no highlight clip of that play can be found on the internet. With that in mind, NFL Ground rules: A max of three Pro Bowl invitations. On a walk-through between center and left guard, naturally. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images). The most underrated player on all Dont know about you, but I want Mason on my retro fantasy league team. Ryan was Jim Brown's quarterback and then Leroy Kelly's quarterback. Rivers had neither, but he possessed just about everything else. "Because when the ball was thrown, I knew I had better ball skills and would go up and get it.". He became an All-Pro playing blindside protector in an early 1990s run-'n'-shoot offense. 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. Wouldnt you know it? Thats what Krieg did best win football games. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996. The Steelers rushed for a then-record 249 yards and did not allow a sack. Ogbah has always been a steady presence rushing the quarterback but broke out in 2020 during his first season with the Dolphins. Super Bowl victories? 1. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Bottom line: For 16 seasons, Henry Ellard wreaked havoc as a pass receiver and punt returner. All betting content is intended for an audience ages 21+. WebTop 20 Most Underrated Footballers in 2022 1. He once threw three touchdowns in a shutout victory in a title game. As the Chargers faded, Rivers kept them in the wild-card picture and became the franchise's only recognizable public figure. Even unspectacular ones manage to rack up a few 1,000-yard seasons and get drafted early in fantasy leagues. Sideways. 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. Arizona Cardinals: Dan Dierdorf. There's underrated, underappreciated and overlooked. Robinson is a staple of Hall of Fame Snubs lists, and he certainly has his case. Most Underrated Coaches rave about his work off the field and his dedication to improving his craft. Web12. 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. He recorded four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 1988 through 1991, a rare feat at the time. 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. Who are the top 20 best left-footed football players as of 2023? Teammates Alan Page and Carl Ellar were held in higher regard. With Warfield hurt nearly all of that season, Ryan helped make a Pro Bowler out of receiver/punter Gary Collins. He played the run with authority (721 career solo tackles). Anderson's 1,000-yard seasons came in a primitive offense with a rudimentary passing game. They didnt allow a sack in 84 pass attempts. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. And few were better at making opposing quarterbacks pay for mistakes. 'Nuff said, right? During his nine seasons in Buffalo, Hughes has emerged as a leader while registering double-digits in QB hits every season but one. David was a crucial component of the Bucs defense during their playoff run in 2020 that culminated in a Super Bowl victory. Yet somehow, some way, Kolb never received a Pro Bowl invitation. Peppers will have to play three more seasons to catch Marshall, and Peppers' starts are non-consecutive. Its hard to think of a player more dominant and less talked about over a long period of time than Chandler Jones. 2022 NFL Mock Draft: Jacksonville Jaguars overtake Detroit for No. Hmmm. 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. He won 65 percent of his NFL starts. Nothing screams underappreciated like rumors you're about to be traded to make room for a late first-round pick. Young played for some great 49ers teams, including a Super Bowl-winning squad as a rookie in 1994. Brown is now best known as a television personality. Oh, and sub-packages were pretty rare in the 1960s and 1970s, so Marshall didn't leave the field much. Shanahan uses Juszczyk as a traditional lead blocking back, but he provides plenty of versatility out of the backfield and with the ball in his hands. He is also infamous for admitting on ESPN Radio that he once purposely let Packers defender Sean Jones sack Scott Mitchell so the struggling quarterback would get knocked out of a game. Krieg was a career overachiever who survived 19 seasons on modest talent with defense-driven teams. Here are ten of the most underrated college football players of all time. MVP-caliber seasons (1,528 yards, 90 receptions, 16 total touchdowns in 2006) early in his career gave way to annual 1,100-1,200 yard, low-touchdown grinds as the Greatest Show Rams retired one by one and the team fell to 2-14 and 1-15. Time has been hard on both of them. A beast in coverage, Jones continues to round out his game as one of the top overall linebackers in football. It didnt help that he had ordinary quarterbacks named Tony Eason and Steve Grogan to throw him the ball. Johnson can line up all over the field and consistently find space in the opposing defense. 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. Make no mistake about it, Eric Bieniemys exodus from Kansas City to Washington is only one move on the chess board Edouard Mendy of Chelsea celebrates after his sides victory in the Premier League match 2. Derrick Mason recorded four 1,000-yard seasons for Jeff Fisher teams and four more for the Baltimore Ravens. 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. Steve Atwater. The NFL is now full of receivers like Mason, but few of them are as productive as he was for over a decade. The 6'2" Wright was renowned as a run-stuffing cornerbackthat's him tackling Walter Payton in the photobut he also intercepted 26 career passes, even though opposing quarterbacks spent much of his career avoiding him. At age 25, Franklin-Myers seems to be just scratching the surface of his potential and should benefit from some additional pieces being added to a young rebuilding Jets defense. Then again, the fourth-round draft pick had no choice. If ever a geezer was meant to play with George Allens Over The Hill Gang, he was the one. So it takes a remarkable streak of hard luck for a running back to make this list. As a 31-year-old, no less. But he didn't play for the legendary 49ers teams. Success came early for Fletcher, recognition late. Bottom line: Never mind guys such as Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson. McDole was known as "The Dancing Bear" because of his nimble feet, one of the coolest nicknames ever. 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. 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. Greenlaw is equally effective against the run and pass, a sure tackler, and brings plenty of energy to theNiners' defense. That's not something to hold against a player. Maybe Wright wasn't a Blount-level legend, but he deserves better than to be the forgotten man among the Broncos' forgotten men. WebBUY OUR MERCH: https://www.thegivengo.com/merchTIK TOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@thegivengoSPOTIFY: Maybe not, seeing as Nalen has not had much success. Williams' career-high in receptions is only 49, but with increased targets, he has already recorded 31 catches over the first five games in 2021. Neal Anderson replaced Walter Payton. Brandon Graham is an incredibly underrated defensive lineman and lifelong Philadelphia Eagle. He also had some of the clutch gene. 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. 20 Most Underrated Footballers on the Planet - Bleacher Report Teams: Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos, Super Bowl championships: Three (1991, 1997, 1998). One of the most underrated players in AM Football, Brodie Croyle was drafted into the NFL by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2006 after being a college football standout with the University of Alabama. 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 played left tackle in 1972 and moved to right tackle in 1974. Because he is one of the NFL's best defensive players, for one thing. While most Giants fans remember Meggett, he is still one of the most underrated players of all time. 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. Developing a rapport with new QB Trevor Lawrence should only help Shenault quickly reach his true potential. Its a frigging joke that Taylor isnt in the Hall of Fame discussion. Interior defensive linemen: The average height and weight for defensive tackles entering the league is 6-foot-3, 306 pounds. 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. But three of his best seasons are not listed in the encyclopedias. 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. Bottom line: Derrick Mason was among the shrewdest, most precise route runners of his time. There are no official sack statistics before 1982, but the Minnesota Vikings credit Jim Marshall with 127 career sacks. They never had any playoff success, even when they did make it into the postseason. "That was my territory," Edwards recalled in The Palm Beach Post. The AFL was an eight- to 10-team league, so All-Pro selections were easier to come by. By being overshadowed by Brown, achieving his greatest success just before the dawn of the Super Bowl era and getting stuck behind the Tom Brady and Peyton Manning of your grandfather's generation, Ryan earned the title of the NFL's All-Time Most Underrated Player. They didnt do anything that Tobin Rote hadnt done a long time ago. 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. Only a dozen players have more career interception return yards (961), and seven of them are in the Hall of Fame. 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. Butler has never even been a Hall of Fame semifinalist, and it's not going to happen for him soon. Ryan needed surgery and was in constant pain for the rest of his career. Anderson was the first quarterback to successfully orchestrate the beta version of Bill Walsh's West Coast offense for multiple seasons. If Morgan had played in a pass-happy offense with a Pro Bowl quarterback and hands-off rules, you would find him in Canton right now. Many of those catches occurred down the field, with Anderson serving as a de facto possession receiver. 2023 Fantasy Baseball Draft Prep Guide: Rankings, tiers, sleepers His 65 interceptions are fifth most in NFL history. ), Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Super Bowl championships: Two (1974, 1975). most underrated players in football at Bottom line: In his 15th and final season, the 36-year-old Ken Riley had eight interceptions and returned two of them for touchdowns, one of the most incredible performances by an old man ever. 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. Brown earned seven Pro Bowl berths and an All-Pro selection. His stardom was spread among three teams, robbing him of local hero status (or Hall of Fame momentum) in any one city. WebDon't hesitate to comment below with underrated players who you believe should have been on this list. Brett Favre may be the player most responsible for bringing spectacle and success back to Titletown, but Butler brought back celebration. "It pissed me off," Fletcher replied. He was arrested four times after his abrupt retirement. MOST UNDERRATED PLAYERS OF ALL TIME No one plays guard expecting fame and accolades, least of all Wisniewski, who is worthy of all the gritty cliches you can sling at him. He led the Bengals to a pair of playoff appearances in 1973 and 1975, Joe Montana's high school senior and Notre Dame sophomore seasons. Frank Ryan led the NFL in passing touchdowns twice. In the nine seasons that Aaron Smith had double-digit starts, their D ranked among the top nine in yards allowed every time, but his consistent play went over the heads of many. 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. We look at the 10 most underrated players in football at the moment. "I wasnt the fastest guy, but I didnt mind having the defender at my hip," Ellard said per Yahoo Sports. Craters so big that you could drive a semi through them. He headed to Washington and moved from the weak to strong side. 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. Shenault is dynamic after the catch and plays like a running back with the ball in his hands. Maybe that victory gives them the psychological edge they need to beat the undefeated Patriots in their 2008 playoff rematch. But here's the thing: Gradishar, Mecklenberg and Atwater are famous for being snubbed. And then there is plain old forgotten. 25 Feb/23. Mike Kenn began his career playing left tackle for a lumbering 1970s power-running offense. 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. Put him on the Tom Brady-led Patriots, and Mason might have invented a new branch of mathematics. As a pass blocker, Moton has developed into a steady presence capable of holding his own, and at times even dominating top pass rushers that include Joey Bosa and Cameron Jordan. If John Hadl is remembered for anything these days, it's for one of the most disastrous trades in NFL history. On this All-Underrated list, he is in very good company. 10. Jordi Alba. He had one sack in four games, all Rams victories. 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. It's Bryant Young, whorecorded 89.5 sacks for the 49ers, 23 more than Haley. Mills followed Mora to New Orleans and led the Dome Patrol linebacking corps, which brought the Saints franchise its first playoff appearances. Know who created those wide-open spaces? McDole, nicknamed "The Dancing Bear" because of his boogie on the dance floor rather than his on-field footwork, was known as more of a run defender than a pass-rusher. Steven Jackson arrived in St. Louis just as the Greatest Show on Turf was deteriorating into the Most Miserable Slog in the Midwest. top 20 Taylor rushed for 1,000-plus yards in seven seasons. Entering 2021, Moton had allowed only 10 sacks in over 2,000 pass-blocking snaps. Most Underrated NFL Players Of All Time - The Onion 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. All picks and predictions are suggestions only. But his Rams had a running back named Eric Dickerson and quarterbacks named Dieter Brock and Jeff Kemp. Young was a devastating interior pass-rusher who recorded 30 sacks in the three-year span from 1998 through 2000. Nope, not Charles Haley. He is now stuck in a rebuilding cycle that may take a few years. While Stafford's game is Hall of Fame worthy, an 0-3 career record in the playoffs on some flawed Lions teams has done little to elevate his name into the conversation of top QBs. 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. Sam Mills rises above the rest of the gritty linebacker pack, at least when it comes to being underrated, because three of his greatest seasons have been erased from history. Terry McLaurin has played through one of the more unstable quarterback situations in football with Washington since entering the league but continues to emerge as one of the top wideouts in football. 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. Hull started his professional career with the USFL's New Jersey Generals, where he helped Herschel Walker rush for 2,411 yards in one 18-game season. Fletcher intercepted 23 passes and recorded 39 sacks as a do-it-all middle linebacker. original sound - ftbl vids 221. Super Bowl championships: Four (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989). 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. 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 has started every game he has played in since 2014 (with four different franchises). The Rams acquired him from the Chargers in 1973 in exchange for defensive end Coy Bacon. Web20 most underrated football players of all time 1. Where did Davis score the game-winner late in Super Bowl XXXII? Teams: Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Houston Texans. Meet every NFL team's all-time most underrated player. There are over 120 teams that compete in the FBS, which means that storylines and hidden superstars abound. He played 256 career regular-season games, never missing a start due to injury. He covered receivers (38 career interceptions). Perhaps it's time we look back on how much of an impact he and his Jaguars had on the NFL two decades ago. Man Utd's double winning In Dierdorfs second to last season, the Cardinals were embarrassed by the Packers 41-16 in their playoff opener. WebThe NFL is increasingly becoming a passing league. Ten of the most underrated footballers of all time Tom Jackson. 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. The difference between the great and the all-time great is often a matter of timing and luck. All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. If the quarterback got rid of the ball before getting crushed, it was up to Allen to make a play. Giants: All-time underrated, overrated players 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. The Niners' willingness to spend big money on a long-term deal at fullback demonstrates the value and unique skill set Juszczyk provides. Modern centers don't get the credit they deserve. There, he led a relentless Redskins pass rush in their Super Bowl XXVI ambush. Jones is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro selection. 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. 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. As for being so underrated he's overrated, wellthat's extremely underrated, which justifies Anderson's ranking here. 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. Playing in Detroit can stifle any career. The trade went how you might expect a lopsided midseason deal for an aging quarterback to go. He didnt just take up space, either. White: 12 underrated players; White: 12 overrated players; Towers: Generic vs. Name Brand; Prospect hunting . Jeff Saturday had to translate Peyton Manning's spur-of-the-moment audibles into protection schemes a split second before the snap. He must either play for teams so good that they overshadow his accomplishments, or teams so bad that he had to do it all by himself. McLaurin registered 87 catches in 2020 after 58 during his rookie season in 2019. 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. WebThis list is for those players the ones who were great football players and did not get the credit they deserve. There have been many better quarterbacks than Ryan in NFL history. Other than Steve Largent and Kurt Warner, Pro Bowlers were harder to find in the Seahawks offense than a haystack in the Space Needle. Most Underrated Hull never lived to see himself make a Hall of Fame semifinalist list, as he died of liver failure at age 50 in 2011. 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. Both of those seasons came, ironically enough, after Allen and Buddy were separated. 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. There are a ton of names in the conversation for best offensive linemen of all time, but Dierdorf never seems to have his name mentioned. Twenty years ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars were one of the marquee organizations in professional sports, and Jimmy Smith was one of their brightest stars. THE MOST UNDERRATED PLAYERS OF ALL TIME - YouTube The former top ten draft pick looks to be on the verge of breaking out. But the former NFL Man of the Year award winner and two-time All-Pro should not have had to wait so long. On the field, it is Diontae Johnson that has emerged as a favorite target of Big Ben. In an era when 50 percent completion rates and 20-interception seasons were common for Pro Bowl quarterbacks, Anderson's 64.9 percent completion rate and quarterback ratings above 90 look like temporal anomalies. 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. DeForest Buckner plays great team defense and has done so successfully for two franchises. 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. Super Bowl championships: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979. And then there is Kent Hull, the first center to achieve greatness in a no-huddle offense. Let's hope the fame doesn't go to his head. Bowman makes this list because he has the makings of a player who will be underappreciated historically. Graham has only missed one game since 2012 prior to 2021, and similar to Hughes is a winning culture type of player. During his time at Fiorentina, he was the best player, 2. 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. Juszczyk has made five Pro Bowl appearances, including each season since joining San Francisco in 2017. Yet he still led his team to the playoffs three more times. Dave Meggett -- RB, 1989-1994. The least glamorous position on the field, a so-so team, a franchise moveWisniewski pulled three lemons on the recognition slot machine. Pro Bowl? Buckner is a smart player and one of the better-run defenders in football. At 67 Buckner also has a wide arsenal of pass rush moves to pressure the quarterback. He's also among the top 100 in games started (83rd), interception return yardage (89th) and interception return touchdowns (31st). NFL Combine records: Complete list of top 40 times, bench press While coverage is Bates' strength, he can still lay the big hit and be a factor in run support. His 2,690 all-purpose yards with the Titans in the 2000 season are second in league history. 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. 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. And none of them produce the numbers he generated in less hospitable systems. He played center, as well, before his career was over. He was a eight-time Pro Bowler and one-time Super Bowl champion. Actually, theres a simple explanation. The Hall of Upon entering the league in 2019, Johnson recorded 59 catches as a rookie and then topped that mark in 2020 with 88 catches. Ronald Koeman. 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. The best teams in the AFL proved to be NFL-caliber, but the bottom of the league was populated with a nearly bankrupt franchise or two, so the best players clumped on the best teams and stood out from the crowd. Even so, Smith was pretty much a well-kept secret outside Pittsburgh despite meeting or approaching Pro Bowl standards for almost a decade. Web113 Likes, TikTok video from FootWorld (@lovingfootbal): "The most underrated player of all time #dimaria #football". How he slipped through the cracks for 13 years remains one of the unsolved mysteries in pro football. By the time the 49ers are great again, Bowman may be in his early 30s or on another team. Not one of the Jim Harbaugh-era guys. Super Bowl championships: Two (2005, 2008). Top 20 Most Underrated NFL Players Addiction soon began consuming Smith's career, and then his life. Still don't understand why the writers don't respect it.". Chiesa is a winger who plays for Juventus. The linebacker ranks 17th in career solo tackles (1,130) and is the only player to be part of three consecutive Super Bowl champions. He took over as the Bears' featured offensive weapon after the Super Bowl Shuffle years. Here on the All-Time Underrated List, it counts for a lot. Now that's underrated. 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. The converted all-purpose athlete became one of the fathers of modern quarterbacking. His teams averaged 392.0 yards and 34.0 points in those games. Following a strong start to 2021, McLaurin is slowly beginning to earn the respect his game deserves.