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Over the weekend, we discussed the most overrated player in the NFL. Jimmy Garoppolo was easily the most popular answer—and for good reason. The man hasn’t even started eight career games and he’s already been anointed a top 10 quarterback by some. Others answered the often-injured Andrew Luck or the unemployed Dez Bryant.
But now it’s time to look at the other side of the coin. Too often talented guys go unheralded. Either their team isn’t accomplishing much, so their contributions go unnoticed, or maybe they just come from a team that doesn’t draw much national interest.
So today’s Question of the Day is:
Who is the most underrated player in the NFL?
My answer: Since this is a Detroit Lions blog, I’ll start there and say I cannot believe that Glover Quin hasn’t established himself among media as one of the best free safeties in the league. You’d think he’d have national recognition by now, considering he led the league in interceptions back in 2014, and continues to grade out well according to Pro Football Focus. But for whatever reason, Quin is consistently overlooked by both his peers and his critics outside of Detroit.
Nationally speaking, I’m going to stick with safeties and say Landon Collins of the Giants. I know the guy has made two straight Pro Bowls, was a first-team All-Pro in 2016 and was named the 28th-best player on NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2017 list (he dropped to 92 this year), but it still seems like this guy is underappreciated.
He is an absolute game-changer for the Giants defense, as his run defense is as good as his coverage skills. He can do it all, and he forces opposing quarterbacks to completely alter their gameplan when targeting his side of the field.
The dude has over 100 tackles in all three of his NFL seasons, and already has eight interceptions in his young career. 2017 was considered a down year for him, and he still managed 104 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble. At this point in his career, the 24-year-old should be a household name, but for whatever reason, he isn’t.
Your turn.