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Who is the most underrated player of the decade?


Cheesehawk

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5 hours ago, RuskieTitan said:

I'd agree. He's one of the elite pass rushers, but ever since he got traded to the Cardinals no one really talks about him, probably cuz the Cardinals have sucked so much.

Still the leader in sacks this season and he had that nearly 20 sack season in 2017, crazy how under the radar he is.

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5 hours ago, Duluther said:

Danielle Hunter

 

Best DE in the league. Historic start to his career (start meaning before 25th birthday, he has better stats than almost any DE ever). Yet he is hardly talked about.

I know we hate talking about fantasy, but this applies. We do IDPs so I’ve known about him for a couple of years now. If we didn’t?  I’d have no idea. 

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5 hours ago, Duluther said:

Danielle Hunter

 

Best DE in the league. Historic start to his career (start meaning before 25th birthday, he has better stats than almost any DE ever). Yet he is hardly talked about.

Pretty convenient “before 25th birthday” cut-off since Hunter came out younger than most players...looking at their first 5 years, he’s impressive, but is outpaced by plenty of edge rushers. 

He’s also not the best edge (or even DE, if you mandate that that makes some sort of difference).

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For current players I listed, it isn't necessarily that I think they are underrated now so much as I see them being underrated as more and more years pass by.  Players who will probably be forgotten of by 2025-2030.  

QB Kirk Cousins:  Cousins has his flaws, but some of the criticism he receives is unnecessary.  Since going into 2015 as the full-time starter for the Redskins for the 1st time, Cousins average per-16 game stat-line reads 68.2%, 4316 yards, 28 TDs, and 10 INTs.  Cousins needs to prove he can get the job done in the playoffs and big moments, but he's been one of the most consistent QBs in the league since becoming a starter. 

Honorable Mentions: Matt Stafford 

RB Matt Forte: I think he was more underrated by casual fans than anyone who would be posting on this site or elsewhere, but Forte was really good.  It's a shame he didn't get to play in the current landscape or else I think he would excel in the same runner/receiver combo that McCaffrey and Kamara do.  He's second only to Sweetness in career receptions for the Bears and from 2010-2016, he averaged 1525 yards from scrimmage and 8 touchdowns.  In 2014, he set the record for receptions by a RB before C-Mac broke it last year.  Great player.

RB LeSean McCoy:  He's always been one of my favorite players, so I'm kind of biased but I don't think he gets enough talk as one of the best offensive players we have seen in the last decade.  He's one reception shy and a little under 1,000 yards short of becoming the 5th player with 12,000 rushing yards and 500 receptions - the other four players are Hall of Famers.  He averaged 1500 YFS and almost 10 touchdowns a season between '10-'17 and has led the league in touchdowns and rushing yards.  He deserves more HOF talk than he gets as one of the best, most consistent playmakers of the last 10 years.

Honorable Mentions: Fred Jackson

WR DeSean Jackson:  Jackson has led the league in yards per reception 4 times.  Since 2010, he's scored touchdowns of at least 50 or more yards 21 times.  You could expand that to 2000 to include greats such as Smith, Moss, Owens, Harrison, etc., and Jackson would still be #1 with 26 (Owens is #2 with 24).  And it didn't matter who his QB was.  Foles, Vick, McNabb, Cousins, Winston, Fitzpatrick, Jackson could adjust and make plays with 'em anyway.  He won't make it to the Hall of Fame, has never seriously been talked about as one of the best WRs in the league at any point, and will likely not be remembered much by the casual viewer after he retires as he lacks playoff or big game moments (other than that one mishap before crossing the plane vs Dallas), but he's one of the best deep threats of all-time.

WR Jordy Nelson:  Nelson was great.  Unfortunately injuries and a slow start to his career cut his prime short, but for awhile he was one of the best receivers in the league.  An underrated deep threat, he was actually #2 to Jackson this decade in touchdowns of 50 or more yards with 14.  To this day, I'd still consider Aaron Rodgers in 2011 to be the best QB play I've seen and Nelson is a big part of that.  The back-shoulder throw to Nelson seemed impossible to defend.  Those two had incredible chemistry.

Honorable Mentions: T.Y. Hilton, Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin, Marques Colston

TE Greg Olsen:  Olsen is closer to the mold of Witten than he is the more electric TEs of the decade (Gronk, Graham, Ertz, Kelce, Kittle, etc), so it makes sense why he tends to get overlooked but he's been one of the most consistent tight ends to ever play.  Among tight ends this decade, he's 4th in receiving yards, 5th in touchdowns, and 3rd in receptions.  The only tight end with 3 consecutive 1,000 yard seasons.  Despite that, he's only made 3 Pro Bowls and unfortunately spent his first four years in a Chicago offense that probably didn't utilize them as well as they could have.  Still, he will likely finish his career with the 6th most career receiving yards by a tight end ever.

Honorable Mentions:  Delanie Walker

Defenders were a lot more difficult, because I feel like it's a lot easier for defenders to go under the radar than offensive players.  Players off the top of my head:

Damon Harrison, Jurrell Casey, Brian Orakpo, Paul Pos, Lawrence Timmons, Brent Grimes, Darius Slay

Edited by iknowcool
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Thinking about him because he’s about to miss the first game of his career, but I’d have to submit Ryan Kerrigan’s name for consideration here. 

He was part of the now-legendary 2011 pass-rusher draft pool, a group that ranks as follows in terms of career sack totals:

1. Von Miller (104 sacks)*

2. JJ Watt (96 sacks)*

3. Ryan Kerrigan (89.5 sacks)*

4. Justin Houston (86.5 sacks)

5. Cameron Jordan (85 sacks)*

6. Robert Quinn (78.5 sacks)*

7. Cameron Heyward (51.5 sacks)*

8. Jabaal Sheard (49.5 sacks)

9. Jurrell Casey (48.0 sacks)

10. Aldon Smith (47.5 sacks)*

* = 1st round pick

That doesn’t include other pretty good players like Muhammad Wilkerson, Marcell Dareus, Adrian Clayborn, etc. who were also part of that incredible first round. 

Kerrigan was never as “unstoppable” a pass-rusher as a lot of those guys. He is considered to be not quite as explosive or athletic as many of those great pass-rushers — and to some extent that’s probably true — but the guy has been as relentless as any edge player of the last decade. He brings it play-in and play-out, week-in and week-out, year-in and year-out. And I think his sack production reflects that, as does the fact that he leads the last decade in fumbles forced with 26 as well. 

Despite all that production, he’s never been an All-Pro and he’s only made 4 Pro Bowls (two of which were as an alternate). I think he’s been highly underappreciated, particularly when we’re talking specifically about the entirety of the last decade. 

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