And you're never going to guess who's No. No reasonable person is going to confuse Ottis Anderson for being one of the top-five running backs in the history of the NFL, but he is nevertheless grossly underrated by far too many who follow the NFL. The Bills were among the first teams to frequently operate without a huddle. Why retain an expensive vestige of the last regime, or really the last three regimes? 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. 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. Brett Favre may be the player most responsible for bringing spectacle and success back to Titletown, but Butler brought back celebration. There are certain statistics that one would imagine would immediately pop into the mind of a football fan. Coughlin gave Smith a tryout, then kickoff return duties, and then teamed him with Mark Brunell and Keenan McCardell to create one of the most dangerous passing attacks of the late '90s and early 2000s. If John Hadl is remembered for anything these days, it's for one of the most disastrous trades in NFL history. He lacked the straight-line speed to be a game-breaker. Only a dozen players have more career interception return yards (961), and seven of them are in the Hall of Fame. Mason had seven seasons of at least 70 pass receptions, 1,000 yards and five touchdowns. But this list is all about giving overlooked players their due respect. "It was tough, but I was happy for those guys," Dunn told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 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. Were talking about the most unsung, underappreciated players in NFL history here. Steve Wisniewski played guard on a Raiders team that moved in the middle of his career and was just good enough to remind you it was not in the same class as the great Raiders teams that preceded it. 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. Smith wasnt a no-show on third-and-long, either. He's the Rams' all-time leading rusher with almost 3,000 more yards for the franchise than Marshall Faulk or Eric Dickerson. He took over as the Bears' featured offensive weapon after the Super Bowl Shuffle years. In Jacksonville, Defensive Player of the Year awards? 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. Ground rules: A max of three Pro Bowl invitations. We could just trudge onward to the next player right now. Bottom line: For 16 seasons, Henry Ellard wreaked havoc as a pass receiver and punt returner. Spoiler alert: Of course it is. Two 10-interception seasons, with 57 career interceptions. Perhaps Fitzgerald would get more love from the public if he mouthed off as do many diva wide receivers in the NFL. If the quarterback got rid of the ball before getting crushed, it was up to Allen to make a play. Dont know about you, but I want Mason on my retro fantasy league team. The old adage says that there is no such thing as a wrong opinion. Robertson was one of the NFL's fastest linebackers in the 1970s. As for being so underrated he's overrated, wellthat's extremely underrated, which justifies Anderson's ranking here. Ryan made three Pro Bowls, but All-Pro status was blocked by a couple of guys named Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr. "Because when the ball was thrown, I knew I had better ball skills and would go up and get it.". You mean future Hall of Fame tackle Orlando Pace didnt block four guys all by himself? 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. 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. He intercepted 25 career regular-season passes and two more in the postseason. He played 256 career regular-season games, never missing a start due to injury. The statue portrays jubilant Packers fans in tundra-weather gear appearing to cradle a player who just pounced into the stands. While you may not put him in your top-tier of all-time great running backs, Anderson deserves more than a mention for a spot in the next tier of that imaginary list. 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. 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. Lofton was the first player in NFL history to accumulate 14,000 receiving yards. 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. 10. 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. Robinson was one of those players. 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. "I wasnt the fastest guy, but I didnt mind having the defender at my hip," Ellard said per Yahoo Sports. 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. Young checks in at No. 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. Young played for some great 49ers teams, including a Super Bowl-winning squad as a rookie in 1994. Karl Mecklenburg. Allen made a lot of plays. Greene remains third all-time in the list of career NFL sacks, and 32-year-old Jared Allen is the only active player who is remotely close to catching Greene. Hull never lived to see himself make a Hall of Fame semifinalist list, as he died of liver failure at age 50 in 2011. Anderson became a footnote to the Ditka era, but fans who saw him play know he was far more than that. Were going to wrap up the List the men you believe to be the greatest running backs in NFL history. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. Efficient? 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. Hull was not just a great lineman but a groundbreaking one. Ryan was Jim Brown's quarterback and then Leroy Kelly's quarterback. His 42-yarder in the 1990 NFC championship game rates as one of the greatest clutch kicks in league history. Super Bowl championships: Four (1966, 1967, 1972, 1973). Anderson also won MVP honors the same year he won Comeback Player of the Year. Since the NFL has turned Maybe Rivers takes his place among the all-time greats. Truth is, Norton should have been Super Bowl XXVII Most Valuable Player, not Troy Aikman, who was the obligatory quarterback pick. Bottom line: Few remember Glen Edwards as the fearless strong safety with the Steelers first two Super Bowl teams. Arizona Cardinals: WR Andy Isabella. 25 of 25. As a 31-year-old, no less. Membership on various All-1960s teams. In Super Bowl IX, Edwards killed a drive and darn near Vikings intended receiver John Gilliam on a hellacious hit near the goal line. Player B passed for 31,548 yards and 214 touchdowns and ran for 22 touchdowns with below average-to-good teams. 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's where the politics of Hall voting come in. Mills was a USFL All-Star in all three seasons of the league's existence, and he led the Philadelphia and Baltimore Stars' Doghouse Defense (coached by Jim Mora) to a pair of league titles. The 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. He became an All-Pro playing blindside protector in an early 1990s run-'n'-shoot offense. Anderson's 1,000-yard seasons came in a primitive offense with a rudimentary passing game. Norton made the key play of the game in the second period, when he stood up Buffalo Bills back Kenneth Davis mere inches from the goal line. According to Pro Football Reference, he was flagged for 14 accepted holding penalties in 187 career games, little more than one per season. His 65 interceptions are fifth most in NFL history. Maybe there is still an NFL team in San Diego. June 19, 2020 Koby83 Football, Michael Turner, NFL, Running Backs, Sports Underrated. These are the most underrated college football players of all time. Is Jerry Rice not the greatest wide receiver in history because he played alongside Joe Montana and Steve Young? That Greene remains one of the most underrated defensive players in history is a mystery when you look at the numbers. 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. Ellard was an Antonio Brown-level talent in his prime, but his teams were in no hurry to get him the ball. One look at the logjam forming outside the entrance to Canton tells you Wisniewski isn't moving up the ladder anytime soon. Taylor rushed for 1,000-plus yards in seven seasons. A mauler of a right guard, Timmerman also was agile enough to escort Marshall Faulk on screens and sweeps. Teammates Alan Page and Carl Ellar were held in higher regard. He should be remembered as more than a throwback to the era when Lawrence Welk references were topical. 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. Slot specialists such as Julian Edelman and Victor Cruz are now considered valuable components to the modern passing game. Evans is a long shot to do either, which is a shame. Imagine would immediately pop into the mind of a right guard, also. Were talking about the most underrated college football players of all time statistics that one would imagine would immediately into..., NFL, running backs, Sports underrated that one would imagine would immediately pop into the.... Operate without a huddle football fan Because he played alongside Joe Montana and Steve young is no such as! Leading rusher with almost 3,000 more yards for the franchise than Marshall on... 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