Super Bowl victories? 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. Poor Louis Wright has a hard time even making the Broncos' overcrowded All-Snub Team. In 10 of the 12 seasons in which he started at least half their games, the Seahawks prevailed more times than not. What Mason did have was a keen attention to detail and fanatical drive to succeed. But Wright never posted massive interception totals, and his teams ended up on the receiving end of a pair of Super Bowl beatings. Try Dave Krieg. does not get the love that is handed to other running backs is something that could make you scratch your head. Quick: Name the 49ers' all-time sack leader. Neal Anderson replaced Walter Payton. So it takes a remarkable streak of hard luck for a running back to make this list. Krieg was a career overachiever who survived 19 seasons on modest talent with defense-driven teams. Ellard was an Antonio Brown-level talent in his prime, but his teams were in no hurry to get him the ball. He lacked the straight-line speed to be a game-breaker. If the quarterback got rid of the ball before getting crushed, it was up to Allen to make a play. But his Rams had a running back named Eric Dickerson and quarterbacks named Dieter Brock and Jeff Kemp. 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. Lambeau Field was an icy outpost; the Packers still played a handful of home games in Milwaukee back then. Evans, the best pass-protecting guard of his era, was charged with making sure pass-rushers didn't get close enough to Brees to bat his passes down, let alone sack him. They didnt do anything that Tobin Rote hadnt done a long time ago. The easiest way to be overlooked by history is to replace a legend just after a franchise has peaked. Bottom line: OK, kids, lets play Name That Hall of Famer. Joyner, who was beloved by supporters of the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of the NFL 20/20 club for interceptions and sacks. 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. It takes more than mere greatness to be considered one of the most underrated players in pro football history. It takes bad timing and bad luck. That may be unfair to players like Robinson, Jerry Kramer and L.C. During his final collegiate season at UMass in 2018, second-round rookie Andy Isabella was PFFs highest-graded wide receiver in the entire FBS. 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. Today, most people know Mark Schlereth mostly as an 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. Robertson is so poorly remembered that it was hard to find a decent photo of him in our archives. The rumors themselves were not surprising. 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. Incredibly, McDole started 97 of the next 98 games. Bottom line: The 1970s Steelers won four Super Bowls two with a power run game, two with a potent pass attack and who better than Jon Kolb to do the heavy lifting? He picked off a dozen passes in his career two of them at 38 years of age an absurd number for a 6-foot-4, 265-pound lineman. Young was also a much better rusher who could find the end zone via his arm or by using his legs. 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". Robinson was one of those players. 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. That feeling never really went away.". He is one of the best receivers in history, and he has the stats to back up such claims. Brown is now best known as a television personality. Teams: New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Pro Bowl appearances: Four (1979, 1980, 1986, 1987). No, what youll see are lots of gaping holes the size of Boulder. Super Bowl championships: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979. 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. Tom Nalen protected John Elway in a pair of Super Bowl victories and helped trigger a zone-blocking revolution as part of Alex Gibbs' influential offensive lines. That is untrue for a variety of reasons. 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. Some of the hottest takes one will see as it pertains to Drew Brees involve criticisms of his numbers because of the fact that he has played the majority of his home games inside of a dome. After the Bills failed to score, he knocked quarterback Jim Kelly out of the game in the next series. Years: 1990-2004. At its core, PFF is a player evaluation system play-by-play grading of every player in the NFL and access to some of the same stats, grades and info that all 32 NFL He is now stuck in a rebuilding cycle that may take a few years. 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. Nope, not Charles Haley. "That was my territory," Edwards recalled in The Palm Beach Post. The Over-the-Hill Gang fielded one of the most ferocious pass rushes of its era, notching 53 sacks in 1973. Spoiler alert: Of course it is. But outside of Wisconsin, his accomplishments were mostly forgotten shortly after his career ended in 2001. He is Baltimore Ravens nose tackle Brandon Williams. Mason had seven seasons of at least 70 pass receptions, 1,000 yards and five touchdowns. Any defensive player breaking into the NFL in 2015 would love to be mentioned alongside such names when his career came to an end. Fifteen years ago, similar receivers were gimmicky undersized role players. 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. In Jacksonville, More than anything, though, Rote was a leader and winner. Bottom line: Never mind guys such as Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson. 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. And he played in one stinking Pro Bowl game. Mason's 95-catch, 1,200-yard seasons translate to 115-catch monsters in more pass-oriented schemes. 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. 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. Rivers' excellence, longevity and ability to barely dodge immortality make him the John Hadl of his era. Bottom line: In the Steelers' 3-4 scheme, defensive ends were akin to smaller, more agile tackles run-stoppers first, pass-rushers second. The trade went how you might expect a lopsided midseason deal for an aging quarterback to go. Since the NFL has turned Hull never lived to see himself make a Hall of Fame semifinalist list, as he died of liver failure at age 50 in 2011. Thats been the real surprise. Player: Emmitt Smith. 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. These ideas that Marvin Harrison cannot be considered to be one of the greatest wide receivers in the history of the NFL all because he played with Peyton Manning need to be put to bed forever. Slot specialists such as Julian Edelman and Victor Cruz are now considered valuable components to the modern passing game. His career was cut short by injuries suffered in the first of those three Pro Bowls. Terry Porter. A mauler of a right guard, Timmerman also was agile enough to escort Marshall Faulk on screens and sweeps. For some reason, however, the community has somewhat forgotten that Paul Krause had held the record for most interceptions in NFL history for decades. 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. On the final play a year later, he picked off a Roger Staubach pass in the end zone that put the Cowboys to rest. Its easy to forget the Seahawks had some pretty good teams way back when, even a few playoff ones. 11) One has to wonder if those QBs will ever receive the respect they truly deserve. Then again, the fourth-round draft pick had no choice. Not bad for a guy who might as well have played in a straight jacket for 14 seasons. Super Bowl championships: Four (1966, 1967, 1972, 1973). There are certain statistics that one would imagine would immediately pop into the mind of a football fan. 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. "Stanley Steamer" could run every route and was hell on wheels with the ball in his hands. 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. Marshall cant get his name even on the preliminary Hall of Fame ballot. One of the best players in the league during the 1980s, Monk is too often unappreciated in lists of all-time great wide receivers. 30. 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. The lack of respect that Larry Fitzgerald has received from supposed football experts throughout his career boggles the mind. Tom Jackson. Far from it. Ground rules: A max of three Pro Bowl invitations. Football experts know of the Hutson's accomplishments, but too many casual fans are unaware of all that the man credited with birthing pass routes that are used today achieved during his legendary career. He intercepted 25 career regular-season passes and two more in the postseason. That may tick him off. Some of the most-talented individuals to ever play particular positions have, at some point or another, gone unappreciated by fans and even by supposed NFL experts. 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. Bottom line: The Greatest Show On Turf boasted so much star power you couldnt tell the other Rams without a program. As good as Ellard was at the time, he almost was never mentioned in debates about the best at his position. "Underrated" is in the eye of the beholder, so let's establish some ground rules for these rankings: After that, players are ranked based how underappreciated they are, not how great they are. Teams: Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Pro Bowl appearances: Three (1993, 1995, 1997), Super Bowl championships: Three (1992, 1993, 1994). McDole played 251 professional games as a defensive lineman, a remarkable feat in any era that should not be forgotten. Sometimes it's because they played next to even bigger stars and sometimes it's He ran a Sonny Jurgensen pass back 59 yards in the fourth quarter to seal a Rams playoff win over the Redskins in 1974. WebDeAngelo Hall was quietly one of the best defensive backs of the 2000s. 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. 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? He became an All-Pro playing blindside protector in an early 1990s run-'n'-shoot offense. WebMay 12, 2022. Roberston is the guy getting head-butted in the sternum and knocked backward by Campbell before the running back's jersey gets torn off. 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. Teams: Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Tennessee Oilers, Pro Bowl appearances: Three (1984, 1988, 1989). And you're never going to guess who's No. "It pissed me off," Fletcher replied. Other than Steve Largent and Kurt Warner, Pro Bowlers were harder to find in the Seahawks offense than a haystack in the Space Needle. I still don't know that people gave me my due respect for my production. So Kenn basically had three careers. The Lions drafted him as a running back. Maybe that victory gives them the psychological edge they need to beat the undefeated Patriots in their 2008 playoff rematch. If Isiah Robertson is famous at all, it's for being "posterized" by Earl Campbell in one of the most famous NFL Films highlights of all time. Time even making the Broncos ' overcrowded All-Snub Team and sacks for an aging quarterback to go )... Andy Isabella was PFFs highest-graded wide receiver in the 1950s and the days of regular... Career came to an end, Timmerman also was agile enough to escort Faulk... That could make you scratch your head rid of the ball in his hands he the! 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