With the NFL draft fast approaching, were looking at every player selected with the tenth pick since 2000. Bottom line: The Greatest Show On Turf boasted so much star power you couldnt tell the other Rams without a program. Brown is now best known as a television personality. 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. Put him on the Tom Brady-led Patriots, and Mason might have invented a new branch of mathematics. He lacked the straight-line speed to be a game-breaker. And then there is plain old forgotten. Hes on the short list of running back leaders in yards per rush (4.6, 17th), touches (2,824, 25th) and yards from scrimmage (14,079, 35th) in NFL history. He only played his senior season of high school and earned a scholarship at the University of Virginia after joining the team as a walk-on. The Bills were among the first teams to frequently operate without a huddle. Maybe that victory gives them the psychological edge they need to beat the undefeated Patriots in their 2008 playoff rematch. That's nearly 83 percent of his field goals during the previous decade. The rumors themselves were not surprising. 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. What's keeping Martin on the underrated list is his lack of success with the only team he's ever played for. Web31 Likes, 5 Comments - NFL Draft Report (@the_nfldraftreport) on Instagram: "Next up in the prospect rankings, the WR position. 4. The Pro Football Reference Similar Players tool compares Ryan's five-year peak to that of Joe Theismann. ), Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Super Bowl championships: Two (1974, 1975). 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. No matter. Died: June 7, 2020 (age 72, Bartow, Florida), Career highlights: Three-time NFL All-Pro (1975, 1976, 1983), Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor. Through the 2018 season, Vinatieri checked in at 81 (56 of 69) and 99 (70 of 71), respectively. He also doesn't play in the shadow of a legend. The Jaguars, meanwhile, slowly descended to their current status as the NFL's punching bag. Running backs suffer none of the "didn't win the big game" biases that color our perception of quarterbacks. Anderson went on to duel with Walsh and Montana's 49ers in Super Bowl XVI.
That may be unfair to players like Robinson, Jerry Kramer and L.C.
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. David Akers was the most reliable kicker in the 2000s, where he made 259 field goals in 313 attempts. Nope, not Charles Haley. He had 44 career sacks and as many as eight in a season on two occasions. The whole story is kind of amazing considering he started his college career at the University of Cincinnati as a running back. One of the most feared pass rushers in NFL history, Swilling finished his career with 107.5 sacks but no playoff wins. Doug Christie 9. The trade went how you might expect a lopsided midseason deal for an aging quarterback to go. Scott became an instant star for the Miami Dolphins, where he played six seasons, made five NFL All-Pro teams, won two Super Bowls and, most famously, was named Super Bowl MVP in 1973 after recording two interceptions in a 14-7 win over the Washington Redskins. Player B passed for 31,548 yards and 214 touchdowns and ran for 22 touchdowns with below average-to-good teams. He covered receivers (38 career interceptions). The correct answer is Player A (Ken Stabler), and if youre Player B (Brodie), you have to wonder if one Super Bowl should make that much difference. Fletcher intercepted 23 passes and recorded 39 sacks as a do-it-all middle linebacker. 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. Jeff Saturday had to translate Peyton Manning's spur-of-the-moment audibles into protection schemes a split second before the snap. The Steelers rushed for a then-record 249 yards and did not allow a sack. Fewer yet realize that he made a crucial play in each victory. Robinson was one of those players. 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. Hall of Fame receiver Paul Warfield was on the receiving end of many of Ryan's touchdowns. He arrived in Buffalo at the same time Marv Levy was revolutionizing NFL offense with the help of Jim Kelly, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas. The players voted Chubb the 40th-best player overall and a top-five edge defender in the NFL. And then there is Kent Hull, the first center to achieve greatness in a no-huddle offense. With Warfield hurt nearly all of that season, Ryan helped make a Pro Bowler out of receiver/punter Gary Collins. But his stats hold up with some of the very best running backs who ever played the game. Bottom line: NFL statheads and maybe only NFL statheads appreciate Frank Gore's career. 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. When the Rams finally earned a Super Bowl berth, Robertson was in Buffalo, playing for another playoff also-ran. For this position, Im giving you my Top 20 " NFL Draft Report on Instagram: "Next up in the prospect rankings, the WR position. Born: (2007, 2009, 2012), NFL Special Teams Player of the Year (2009), NFL 2000s All-Decade Team . LeRoy Butler, S, Packers. He came back from an ACL tear to record six interceptions with three returned for touchdowns while playing for the Oakland Raiders in 2000. Kenn is one of the NFL's all-time great players and leaders, and his impact ranges far beyond his playing career. Rivers' outsized personality didn't win him many fans outside of the cities he played in during his 17 seasons in the NFL, but the final tally on his numbers tell a story of one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. Bottom Line: John Abraham played his last NFL game in 2014, but it feels like his dominant career as a pass rusher is being lost to history. He went on to star at Temple before becoming part of "The New York Sack Exchange" on the New York Jets with Mark Gastineau in the 1980s, when Klecko was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1981. But Hadl had to do something to make the Packers think he was worth two armfuls of draft picks. The 49ers drafted linebacker Reuben Foster at the bottom of the first round. 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. 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. 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. Whatever the reason, when a player ends their career with the "underrated" tag, it tends to also mean "forgotten." Not Fred Dean. But a double whammyplaying center and playing for the Broncoshas kept him miles from Hall of Fame consideration. Bottom Line: Pat Swilling was part of perhaps the finest assembly of linebackers in NFL history the New Orleans Saints' famous "Dome Patrol" of the late 1980s and early 1990s. "It pissed me off," Fletcher replied. He was a Pro Bowl regular, two-time All-Pro and Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1971. Let's face it: An entire All-Underrated Team can be assembled using only Broncos defenders. Bottom line: Warrick Dunn overcame the murder of his mother, bouts with depression and 5-foot-9 size to have a successful 12-year NFL career. Even so, Smith was pretty much a well-kept secret outside Pittsburgh despite meeting or approaching Pro Bowl standards for almost a decade. Know who created those wide-open spaces? He's actually in the Hall of Fame but this 1930s star remains one of the most unknown great players in the game's history. Anderson was not Payton, and the later-era Mike Ditka Bears could never approach the heights reached by the 1985 Bears. Bennett was convicted of rape in 1997 and sentenced to 60 days in jail, but still allowed to play in the NFL for four more seasons. 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. Bottom Line: Leslie O'Neal's career sack total (132.5) would have been much higher had he not missed almost all of two seasons after suffering a devastating knee injury at the end of his rookie season in 1986. His coaching career spanned five decades, starting as the head coach at St. Louis Country Day School in 1951 and ending with his final season as head coach of the Bills in 1997. The NFL's superstars While Boldin was routinely overshadowed by Fitzgerald, Boldin was a record setter in his own right starting from his very first game. There will never be another player like Marshall. These are the most underrated college football players of all time. Young was a devastating interior pass-rusher who recorded 30 sacks in the three-year span from 1998 through 2000. In Super Bowl IX, Edwards killed a drive and darn near Vikings intended receiver John Gilliam on a hellacious hit near the goal line. Once an arbitrary number of players from a historic team get enshrined, the committee moves on in search of underappreciated players from other franchises. He's also among the top 100 in games started (83rd), interception return yardage (89th) and interception return touchdowns (31st). Roschon Johnson: The Most Underrated Prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft. He blitzed (20.5 sacks). Guards don't make the Hall of Fame unless they win multiple Super Bowls or play forever. Player who will be underappreciated historically fletcher intercepted 23 passes and recorded 39 sacks as a do-it-all middle linebacker +105! 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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. Yet he still led his team to the playoffs three more times. Buffalo Bills Over 10.5 (-125) / Under 10.5 (+105) The Bills entered 2022 as the clear Super Bowl favorite. Ken Griffey Jr.? Mike Kenn began his career playing left tackle for a lumbering 1970s power-running offense. Success came early for Fletcher, recognition late. NFL career: Cleveland Browns (2005-12), New York Jets (2013), Indianapolis Colts (2014) Bottom Line: Josh Cribbs. Jim Marshall, DE, Vikings. It made the Bills of the early 1990s the greatest team to never win a Super Bowl. The admission probably slams the door of the Hall of Fame on Brown forever. The NFL is now full of receivers like Mason, but few of them are as productive as he was for over a decade. And none of them produce the numbers he generated in less hospitable systems. But here's the thing: Gradishar, Mecklenberg and Atwater are famous for being snubbed. Born: Sept. 1, 1960 (Seattle, Washington), Career highlights: Six-time Pro Bowl (1985-87, 1989, 1991, 1993), four-time All-Pro (1985-87, 1989). A mauler of a right guard, Timmerman also was agile enough to escort Marshall Faulk on screens and sweeps. As a 31-year-old, no less. From The Web. And to think, the guy never played in a Pro Bowl game. Lambeau Field was an icy outpost; the Packers still played a handful of home games in Milwaukee back then. His 0-6 record in the postseason is an NFL record for most playoff games without a win. In that stretch he was also the head coach at the University of New Mexico, Cal-Berkeley and William & Mary before making the move to the pros where he actually won a championship with the Montreal Alouettes, winning two Grey Cups in 1974 and 1977. Defensive Player of the Year awards? Smith wasnt a no-show on third-and-long, either. 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. Peja Stojakovi He helped the Packers win a Super Bowl. There are no official sack statistics before 1982, but the Minnesota Vikings credit Jim Marshall with 127 career sacks. Unless you live in Cleveland or are over 50, you probably have never heard of him. Lets hear some "un-der-ra-ted!" 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. And Jackson spent a generation as a pre- and postgame show staple, which puts him in a whole different category. 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. The system helped make Hall of Famers of Kelly, Reed and Thomas. Without Kenn, there might not be free agency in the NFL, to say nothing of limitations on practice conditions and other initiatives that make pro football less dangerous than it was decades ago. Time has been hard on both of them. Since joining the Dallas Cowboys in 2014, the franchise is 2-6 in the postseason, although Martin's been fairly compensated for his efforts. Jackson led the NFL in receiving yards twice, receptions once and receiving touchdowns once. In two Super Bowl trips, Bahr didnt miss a kick three field goals, six PATs. Sideways. Check out the top 12 below and be on the lookout for players 13 through 24 later this week. Yet somehow, some way, Kolb never received a Pro Bowl invitation. 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. WebTop 20 Most Underrated NFL Players of All Time Those who have knowledge of National Football League history are well aware of the more famous individuals who made their Bowman is coming off an Achilles tear in 2016. Mason also caught 49 postseason passes and was one of the game's best return men for a few years. Bottom line: At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, Sonny Randle was one of the bigger receivers in the NFL for his era and didn't start playing football until relatively late. NFL Draft: 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4; NFL Career: Cincinnati Bengals (2000-2004), Seattle Seahawks (2005) Ryan was Jim Brown's quarterback and then Leroy Kelly's quarterback. WebNFL Nostalgia: Ranking the Most Underrated Players in NFL History. Bottom line: Already considered one of the best guards to play in the NFL in the last 20 years, Zack Martin's career might already be considered Hall of Fame worthy. 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. He led the NFL in interceptions for three seasons, which is tied with Hall of Famer Ed Reed for the NFL record.
Eric Allen's job in Buddy Ryan's 46 defense was simple. Lomas Brown played left tackle for four Lions playoff teams. More than one scout considered Turner to be too light to play linebacker, too slow to play defensive back. Stafford is sub-500 in his 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. Efficient? Who knows what the NFL might have looked like then? Football. 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. Butler has never even been a Hall of Fame semifinalist, and it's not going to happen for him soon. Bottom line: Marv Levy is best known for his time as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, where he won four consecutive AFC championships and lost in the Super Bowl each time. Not every NFL star gets the love they deserve. After they confirm it on Google. He won 65 percent of his NFL starts. In Jahri Evans' four All-Pro seasons (2009-12), the Saints ranked first, sixth, first and second in the NFL in total yards. Bowman makes this list because he has the makings of a player who will be underappreciated historically. Now that's underrated. It doesn't matter: If you are a Broncos defender, you might as well forget about a bust in Canton. David Garrard played for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2002-2010, and he was drafted in the fourth 14 14. We hope so. Still don't understand why the writers don't respect it.". By the time Rivers is retired for five years, the "San Diego Chargers" will be as relevant as the Dayton Triangles, and Hall voters will be too busy rubber-stamping Tom Brady and Drew Brees to get to a guy from a lost city who couldn't win the big one. 1. Thats what Krieg did best win football games. A big reason for that could be the lack of success in the postseason. 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. By James Bassil April 5, 2023 8:59 am. Young started his career as the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year and ended it as a four-time winner of the Len Eshmont Award, the 49ers' team award for character and leadership. I still don't know that people gave me my due respect for my production. Bottom line: All Ken Norton could do was take down ballcarriers and collect Super Bowl rings. Rivers had neither, but he possessed just about everything else. "Hate to say it, but I do believe I should be there (in Canton)," Marshall once said. For years, the team couldn't even harken back to its glory days properly, as Smith's Pride of the Jaguars induction was delayed until he was sober and no longer under house arrest. Oh, and sub-packages were pretty rare in the 1960s and 1970s, so Marshall didn't leave the field much. The 5-foot-9 running back played 16 seasons and finished his career No. The difference between the great and the all-time great is often a matter of timing and luck.
He then led three fourth-quarter comebacks to bring them back to the playoffs in 1965. 2. Barry Sanders. That draft produced one of the league's best receiving duos during the 2000s in Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Web4) Ray Lewis: Widely considered the premier defensive player of his era, Lewis' run from 2000 to '09 began with dominance and ended with back-to-back All-Pro honors.