Cunningham is widely regarded as one of the best running QBs in the history of the NFL, but his ability to make plays with his arm should not be ignored. Hull was not just a great lineman but a groundbreaking one. In 10 of the 12 seasons in which he started at least half their games, the Seahawks prevailed more times than not. 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. The Bucs hired head coach Jon Gruden and won Super Bowl XXXVII the next season. Ryan was Jim Brown's quarterback and then Leroy Kelly's quarterback. LeRoy Butler, S, Packers. Super Bowl championships: Four (1966, 1967, 1972, 1973). Men such as Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor, Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice and so many others have all had their days in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and they are revered as being some of the greatest players to ever wear NFL uniforms. Jackson finished his career with 11,438 rushing yards (18th all-time) and 15,121 total scrimmage yards (21st all-time). Robertson is so poorly remembered that it was hard to find a decent photo of him in our archives. 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. Get this: Ten of those seasons were spent with either the Vince Lombardi Packers or Don Shula Dolphins. Dont know about you, but I want Mason on my retro fantasy league team. The unfunny joke that has been Isaac Bruce not being voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is one that is going to end soon. 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. That may be unfair to players like Robinson, Jerry Kramer and L.C. And he played in one stinking Pro Bowl game. The Packers were a team with more history than identity when Butler arrived. A Super Bowl ring and two AFL championships. Mills looks like just another local hero linebacker in the encyclopedias, albeit a good one. He lacked the straight-line speed to be a game-breaker. 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. Rivers lacks several quarterback prerequisites for enshrinement: playoff glory, all-time records and, most importantly, momentum from a regional fanbase and media. You know the type. Anderson was the first quarterback to successfully orchestrate the beta version of Bill Walsh's West Coast offense for multiple seasons. And none of them produce the numbers he generated in less hospitable systems. Running backs suffer none of the "didn't win the big game" biases that color our perception of quarterbacks. New England Patriots wide receiver Stanley Morgan, right, battles for a ball with Smith wasnt a no-show on third-and-long, either. Addiction soon began consuming Smith's career, and then his life. Mark Schlereth. That may tick him off. Thats what Krieg did best win football games. While that is a point worthy of being discussed, it cannot be ignored that Young had a higher completion percentage and a better passer rating than Montana. Perhaps Hull would be in the Hall of Fame if the Bills had won even one Super Bowl. Perhaps Fitzgerald would get more love from the public if he mouthed off as do many diva wide receivers in the NFL. Know who created those wide-open spaces? WebWhile we could have included a few more, here is our list of the 10 most underrated players in NFL history. Only missed 14 games in 10 seasons and 2 of them were meaningless rest games before the playoffs/ Last game of the season. Robinson is a staple of Hall of Fame Snubs lists, and he certainly has his case. Do people not recognize Rob Gronkowski as a great tight end just because he has had Tom Brady as his quarterback? They didnt allow a sack in 84 pass attempts. Theyre the core players who are overshadowed by more well-paid, high-profile teammates and just plain pathetic, shameless self-promoters. Taylor rushed for 1,000-plus yards in seven seasons. Player: Emmitt Smith. The list of players who are in that club includes Ray Lewis, Rodney Harrison, Brian Dawkins, LeRoy Butler and Ronde Barber. Seth Joyner is one of those athletes who is widely respected by fans of the team that he played for but who is also not always mentioned as being an underrated player. He blitzed (20.5 sacks). 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. So LeRoy Butler, innovator of the Lambeau Leap, is excluded from his own statue. Anderson does not get the credit he deserves for reasons that cannot be explained. 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. 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. His stardom was spread among three teams, robbing him of local hero status (or Hall of Fame momentum) in any one city. McDole played 251 professional games as a defensive lineman, a remarkable feat in any era that should not be forgotten. That is untrue for a variety of reasons. Teams: Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins. His 42-yarder in the 1990 NFC championship game rates as one of the greatest clutch kicks in league history. 10. From a couple of fairly well-known quarterbacks to the linemen who make a quarterback's job easier, we argue these 32 players deserve more recognition. Those who like to shout "first-ballot Hall of Famer" about Rivers do not know how the Hall of Fame works. Mookie The Thief Blaylock made his mark on the defensive end, setting the pace for the steals race in 1996-97 and 1997-98, averaging 2.7 and 2.6, respectively. It takes more than mere greatness to be considered one of the most underrated players in pro football history. There may be such a thing as too much blitzing, after all. Frank Ryan, QB, Browns. Young played for some great 49ers teams, including a Super Bowl-winning squad as a rookie in 1994. The Rams acquired him from the Chargers in 1973 in exchange for defensive end Coy Bacon. Maybe he wasn't the best defender on the field for any one play, but he stayed on that field for an entire generation. 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. It made the Bills of the early 1990s the greatest team to never win a Super Bowl. Old-timers call it the Lawrence Welk trade after a television bandleader of the era who would begin songs by counting off "A one, and a two, and a three". These are the most unsung NFL quarterbacks of all time. The only lineman to start all four of those games was a workout warrior and routinely bench-pressed 550 pounds in his prime. Andre Reed is an all-time great wide receiver who seemingly cannot escape lists of the most underrated football players in history. 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. For a few years, he was not only the best guard in the NFL, but the most important. 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 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. The Jaguars, meanwhile, slowly descended to their current status as the NFL's punching bag. But check out these popular stories. He won the Rookie of the Year and the Comeback Player of the Year awards as a professional, and Anderson was named the Most Valuable Player for Super Bowl XXV. Anderson was named to four Pro Bowl squads during his career, ad he led the Cincinnati Bengals to a Super Bowl appearance that did not go Cincinnati's way because of Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers. Here, we give you every NFL teams most underrated player. Actually, make that four careers. That is a trend that needs to come to an end. 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. At 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, he didnt wow anyone physically. The converted all-purpose athlete became one of the fathers of modern quarterbacking. WebUnderrated 2000s players that don't get the respect they deserve today. 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. Robertson's Rams made a habit of reaching the playoffs every year and losing to the Vikings or Cowboys. 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. The weekend opened with the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. And Jackson spent a generation as a pre- and postgame show staple, which puts him in a whole different category. 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. Perhaps it has something to do with the era during which Tomlinson played, but that L.T. And almost nobody remembers that, when Edwards caught the ball, he knew what to do it. 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. July 24, 2020July 24, 2020 Koby83 Carson Palmer, Football, Matt Schaub, NFL, Quarterbacks Underrated. As for being so underrated he's overrated, wellthat's extremely underrated, which justifies Anderson's ranking here. Then again, the fourth-round draft pick had no choice. 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. 2. WebMost Underappreciated WRs of the 2000s June 11, 2020 Koby83 Derrick Mason, Football, Joey Galloway, Marques Colston, This is a Top 10 list that I love. Maybe that victory gives them the psychological edge they need to beat the undefeated Patriots in their 2008 playoff rematch. He had to blanket a wide receiver in man coverage with no safety help on every play. Pro Football Reference rates him at near a Pro Bowl level well into his 30s. And then there is Kent Hull, the first center to achieve greatness in a no-huddle offense. 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. Lets hear some "un-der-ra-ted!" 1. Peppers will have to play three more seasons to catch Marshall, and Peppers' starts are non-consecutive. Johnny Robinson's credentials make you want to drive to Canton, kick down the Hall of Fame's door and clear a spot for his bust yourself. WebThe 2023 wide receiver class is one of the worst in recent memory, but there are some solid options on Day 2 for teams searching for complementary players. Try Dave Krieg. Its a frigging joke that Taylor isnt in the Hall of Fame discussion. Ellard moved on to Washington in 1994 and enjoyed a late-career renaissance, averaging 61 catches and 18.8 yards per reception over a three-year span in his mid-30s. Web#shorts #viral #dunk #edit #fyp #nfl #sports #sportsedits While Kreig didnt possess fleet feet or a bazooka arm, he could read defenses and throw an accurate ball. He had 44 career sacks and as many as eight in a season on two occasions. He headed to Washington and moved from the weak to strong side. 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. 'Nuff said, right? Harrison's numbers should speak for themselves, and those who would say otherwise are either trying to make a point or are simply ignoring how great Harrison was during his career. Two 10-interception seasons, with 57 career interceptions. Young played for the teams that slowly slid from George Seifert to Steve Mariucci to oblivion. Brown did one thing terribly wrong in 18 NFL seasons, but for his teams to win as often as they did, he must have done an awful lot more right. If Anderson had failed, the 49ers may never have lured Walsh away from the Bengals staff. If you guessed both or neither one, youre wrong. Teams: Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals. "Even now I still get pissed off. Since the NFL has turned Player A passed for 27,928 yards and 194 touchdowns and ran for four touchdowns with mostly very good teams and one great one. Hes also among a select few to be a four-time Super Bowl champion. On this All-Underrated list, he is in very good company. One has to wonder if those QBs will ever receive the respect they truly deserve. But don't write him off as some 1960s product of the system. WebTop 10 most underrated NFL players: Justin Tucker, Keenan Allen deserve more recognition. ", Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Oilers, Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins, Pro Bowl appearances (AFL All-Star Game): Two (1965, 1967). Success came early for Fletcher, recognition late. Bottom line: Few remember Glen Edwards as the fearless strong safety with the Steelers first two Super Bowl teams. One of those receivers is One of the best players in the league during the 1980s, Monk is too often unappreciated in lists of all-time great wide receivers. Despite his incredibly high waist seriously, check out his build Kelvin Beachum has been one of the most underrated tackles in the NFL. Don Hutson played multiple positions during his time, including defense and on special teams. On the final play a year later, he picked off a Roger Staubach pass in the end zone that put the Cowboys to rest. Member PFWA. Players like McDole are what all-time underrated lists exist for. This includes a wide receiver that some younger fans may have never before heard of, and also multiple quarterbacks who are still playing in the NFL as of the posting of this piece. Player A was a one-time Most Valuable Player who took part in four Pro Bowl games. 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. 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. If McCree doesn't cough up that fourth-quarter pick, the Chargers beat the Patriots, and perhaps Philip Rivers leads a team that went 14-2 in the regular season to the Super Bowl. WebMay 12, 2022. If ever a geezer was meant to play with George Allens Over The Hill Gang, he was the one. But his Hall of Fame candidacy has been stuck in semifinalist limbo. 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. With Warfield hurt nearly all of that season, Ryan helped make a Pro Bowler out of receiver/punter Gary Collins. 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. Butler has never even been a Hall of Fame semifinalist, and it's not going to happen for him soon. Debates about the greatest pass-rushers in the history of the NFL will conjure up mentions of players such as Bruce Smith, Michael Strahan, Reggie White and others. The NFL is now full of receivers like Mason, but few of them are as productive as he was for over a decade. He's the Rams' all-time leading rusher with almost 3,000 more yards for the franchise than Marshall Faulk or Eric Dickerson. WebMost Underappreciated QBs of the 2000s. It didnt help that he had ordinary quarterbacks named Tony Eason and Steve Grogan to throw him the ball. David Garrard. He played 256 career regular-season games, never missing a start due to injury. Still, even his long resume undersells his 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. Appreciate him for being that. The admission probably slams the door of the Hall of Fame on Brown forever. 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. Shaun Alexander's production plummeted when Hutch left Seattle in 2006. He talked the talk and he walked the walk, and Reed should be recognized for being an all-time great receiver by all fans and journalists. Modern centers don't get the credit they deserve. Eric Allen's job in Buddy Ryan's 46 defense was simple. 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. Any defensive player breaking into the NFL in 2015 would love to be mentioned alongside such names when his career came to an end. Teammates Alan Page and Carl Ellar were held in higher regard. List the men you believe to be the greatest running backs in NFL history. A fresh take on sports: the biggest news and most entertaining lists. Perhaps it's time we look back on how much of an impact he and his Jaguars had on the NFL two decades ago. 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. Most Underappreciated RBs of the 2000s. 25 of 25. Evans is a long shot to do either, which is a shame. Here on the All-Time Underrated List, it counts for a lot. Most seasons with 30 made field goals (7). Poor Louis Wright has a hard time even making the Broncos' overcrowded All-Snub Team. But he didn't play for the legendary 49ers teams. He was a participant in four Super Bowls and a member of two All-Pro teams. WebMen such as Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor, Those who have knowledge of National Football League history are well aware of the more famous individuals who made their Steve Atwater. No current player is even close to notching 81 career picks, and that record may never be broken. Player B passed for 31,548 yards and 214 touchdowns and ran for 22 touchdowns with below average-to-good teams. 5. Tom Jackson. "I wasnt the fastest guy, but I didnt mind having the defender at my hip," Ellard said per Yahoo Sports. Former head coach Jim Mora has referred to Mills as the best player I ever coached. Along with being a talented defensive player, Mills was also respected for being one of the smartest defenders on the field during his career. He started for the Rams in their Super Bowl seasons at the beginning of his career and then earned Pro Bowl berths for Washington from 2009 through 2012 when he was in his mid-30s. "Stanley Steamer" could run every route and was hell on wheels with the ball in his hands. An undrafted quarterback out of the late Milton College (Wisconsin), Krieg got them to the postseason four times and the AFC championship game once. He returned eight interceptions for touchdowns, including four in 1993 and three during his age-35 season with the Raiders in 2000. Hall of Fame receiver Paul Warfield was on the receiving end of many of Ryan's touchdowns. The lack of respect that Larry Fitzgerald has received from supposed football experts throughout his career boggles the mind. He then led three fourth-quarter comebacks to bring them back to the playoffs in 1965. 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. 3. WebDue to the emergence of other superstars like Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, LeBron James, and Tracy McGrady, many other solid players who had massive success in the decade have Super Bowl championships: Two (2005, 2008). That's its own kind of recognition. He then went on to start at left tackle for the playoff-bound Cardinals and 2000 NFC champion Giants. Bottom line: The Greatest Show On Turf boasted so much star power you couldnt tell the other Rams without a program. Those who have knowledge of National Football League history are well aware of the more famous individuals who made their names and fame playing pro football. Why retain an expensive vestige of the last regime, or really the last three regimes? 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. As the Chargers faded, Rivers kept them in the wild-card picture and became the franchise's only recognizable public figure. He is Baltimore Ravens nose tackle Brandon Williams. WebMost Underrated NFL Players of All Time These men did so much but received so little credit in return. Only a dozen players have more career interception return yards (961), and seven of them are in the Hall of Fame. 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. Even pesky third-down backs and gritty fullbacks may seem underrated until you realize how many of them become local heroes. Butler was the NFL's most dangerous all-purpose safety for much of the 1990s. 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. 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. He didnt just take up space, either. Rivers had neither, but he possessed just about everything else. An ever-growing backlog of outstanding safeties is queuing up outside Canton, as Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed will soon joinJohn Lynch and Brian Dawkins. But the diminutive Brees would not have been able to lead the Saints to a Super Bowl and several seasons as top contenders without a clean pocket, particularly right in front of him. Hudson, a two-time NFL MVP, was the dominant receiver in the league at a time when passing attacks were nothing near what they are in the modern game. 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