25 Most Underrated Players

[BD Sullivan]

Milt Morin is a guy who always seemed to come up with a huge catch when it was most needed, though most current Browns fans probably don't know much about him--much less the average NFL fan.

[Gary Najman]

Once underrated player I've always liked to watch was Detroit WR Leonard Thompson.

[74_75_78_79_]

Steelers' Aaron Smith!

[JeffreyMiller]

Joe Cribbs, Stanley Morgan, Bob Tucker, Ruben Brown, Tony Latone, Harlon Hill, Del Shofner ...

[JWL]

Steelers' Aaron Smith!

No Steelers player in the Super Bowl era could possibly be underrated.

[Rupert Patrick]

Steelers' Aaron Smith!

No Steelers player in the Super Bowl era could possibly be underrated.

I always thought Mike Wagner was underrated. He was an important part of the 70's Steelers defense and you rarely hear about him.

[L.C. Greenwood]

Inclined to put Roy Green in there. Very under the radar...nagging injury issues after his massive 1500 yard receiving campaign, but whenever he played he had to be accounted for. Was a terrific receiver that always had to be accounted for when he was on the field

And he transitioned from Safety to Wide Receiver in the pros. He apparently played offense and defense in college.

Green's receiving partner on the Cardinals, J.T. Smith, was under the radar as well. I would also have to add Stump Mitchell, as a terrific back, with a strong yards per carry average.

[Bryan]

#1 on the list is a good choice IMO. He isn't much remembered despite considerable success with the team he spent the most time with.

I think putting Ryan #1 is a bit much, and the write-up is very misleading. They guy Ryan replaced (Milt Plum) put up better numbers in 1960 & 1961 than Ryan did in subsequent years. The article tries to portray Ryan as the bad-luck 3rd best QB of his generation by saying his All-Pro status was blocked by Unitas and Starr, but I don't know if Ryan was ever really better than guys like Sonny Jurgensen, YA Tittle, Fran Tarkenton, even John Brodie and Roman Gabriel. I guess if the thought is that Ryan is underrated because he was a middle-of-the-pack QB who happened to win a title and is now forgotten, then I would agree. But to say that Ryan made Gary Collins a pro bowl WR and compare Ryan to Joe Theismann winning the NFL MVP in 1983 is overselling Ryan's accomplishments, IMO.

[SixtiesFan]

#1 on the list is a good choice IMO. He isn't much remembered despite considerable success with the team he spent the most time with.

I think putting Ryan #1 is a bit much, and the write-up is very misleading. They guy Ryan replaced (Milt Plum) put up better numbers in 1960 & 1961 than Ryan did in subsequent years. The article tries to portray Ryan as the bad-luck 3rd best QB of his generation by saying his All-Pro status was blocked by Unitas and Starr, but I don't know if Ryan was ever really better than guys like Sonny Jurgensen, YA Tittle, Fran Tarkenton, even John Brodie and Roman Gabriel. I guess if the thought is that Ryan is underrated because he was a middle-of-the-pack QB who happened to win a title and is now forgotten, then I would agree. But to say that Ryan made Gary Collins a pro bowl WR and compare Ryan to Joe Theismann winning the NFL MVP in 1983 is overselling Ryan's accomplishments, IMO.

A couple of anecdotes about Frank Ryan if I may. In Tom Dowling's book on Vince Lombardi's 1969 season as Redskin coach, Dowling wrote that during practice Ryan (who had been traded to Washington) could throw the ball farther than Sonny Jurgensen and "his passes were just as sharp as Sonny's." Of course, this doesn't mean Ryan was as good a passer as Jurgensen. Tom Dowling, per a Sport Magazine article a few years later, didn't think Jurgensen was a good team leader.

Years ago I saw an interview with Frank Ryan in which he discussed his time with the Redskins. Ryan said something like: "When I was traded to the Redskins, Lombardi told me he didn't want me to be competitive with Jurgensen and to just be the backup QB. He though if I tried to compete with Jurgensen it would divide the team."

[sheajets]

He's in the news for the wrong reasons of late but, always like Reggie Rucker and thought he was underrated. Also had a great football name and was was one of those rarities to play for 3 different teams in one season (and actually take the field for each one)