Who do you consider to be the most overrated player(s) at their position in NFL history?

[Big Turk]

For me, the one I always come back to is Eddie George at RB.

 

Everyone remembers him as some great back, but the truth is he was mostly garbage, averaging 3.6 YPC over his career and only averaging over 4 YPC twice, which were both barely over at 4.1.

 

His last 4 years in the NFL were 3.0, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.3 YPC. And it's not like he has his carries lowered. He was well over 300 each of those first 3 seasons, with 132 his last year in the league. He just didn't have it anymore at that point, and went from slightly below average player to should not be in the NFL player.

 

Those are replacement level numbers.

 

Yeah he put up yards most seasons but only because he was given huge numbers of carries every year. I mean if you get 315 carries and end up at under 1000 yards, that's really tough to do.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Big Turk

[Brand J]

Emmitt Smith. He had the luxury of running behind the most physical and athletic OL the NFL had to offer for years.

[Big Turk]

4 minutes ago, JayBaller10 said:

Emmitt Smith. He had the luxury of running behind the most physical and athletic OL the NFL had to offer for years.

 

I can't get on board with that with Eddie George there...Smith is the all time leader in rushing, led the league in rushing yards 4 times, YPC once, yards from scrimmage twice and TDs 3 times. He also won an MVP and finished 3rd two other times. It's a pretty big stretch to be overrated with those numbers, I don't care who he was running behind.

 

George got almost 3000 carries and barely got over 10000 yards.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Big Turk

[Brand J]

2 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

I can't get on board with that with Eddie George there...Smith is the all time leader in rushing, led the league in rushing yards 4 times, YPC once and TDs 3 times. 

 

George got almost 3000 carries and barely got over 10000 yards.

If Eddie George was a Cowboy during those years and Emmitt Smith ran for the Oilers/Titans, how do you think the production would’ve fared for each player in their new environment? Would Emmitt still be as highly regarded as Eddie George was while running behind an inferior line? I think Eddie George behind that Cowboys OL would’ve been scarier than Emmitt Smith. Just my opinion.

[maddenboy]

how could it not be Curtis Martin at running back?  His 'rating' is official.

[Buffalo Junction]

2 hours ago, Big Turk said:

For me, the one I always come back to is Eddie George at RB.

 

Everyone remembers him as some great back, but the truth is he was mostly garbage, averaging 3.6 YPC over his career and only averaging over 4 YPC twice, which were both barely over at 4.1.

 

His last 4 years in the NFL were 3.0, 3.4, 3.3 and 3.3 YPC. And it's not like he has his carries lowered. He was well over 300 each of those first 3 seasons, with 132 his last year in the league. He just didn't have it anymore at that point, and went from slightly below average player to should not be in the NFL player.

 

Those are replacement level numbers.

 

Yeah he put up yards most seasons but only because he was given huge numbers of carries every year. I mean if you get 315 carries and end up at under 1000 yards, that's really tough to do.

I don’t think anyone other than Titans or Ohio State fans consider George a generational talent. He was a very good back, but not the best of his time…. Kind of like Ricky Williams or Jamal Anderson. There were a lot of “hall of very good” running backs during that stretch. 
 

That said, keep in mind that the rules and defenses were built differently twenty plus years ago. Run and stop the run we’re much more prolific philosophies. Thurman Thomas only averaged 4.2 y/a. A lot of the guys we remember as actual freaks often only had 3 or maybe 5 dominant years ( a la Earl Campbell)…. Which is why Barry Sanders averaging 5 y/a over his career is insanely impressive. It’s also why I do give Curtis Martin and Frank Gore some props…. They just maintained that yardage and Y/A every single year no matter what for an extended period on several teams. That’s impressive…. HoF impressive? IDK, but it’s impressive none the less. 

[Doc Brown]

William "The Fridge" Perry.  Cool nickname.  Iconic Super Bowl run on an iconic team.  Never made a pro bowl.  Only 27.5 sacks in 10 seasons.  Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, and Troy Aikman if we're going QB's.

[SoMAn]

19 minutes ago, Doc Brown said:

William "The Fridge" Perry.  Cool nickname.  Iconic Super Bowl run on an iconic team.  Never made a pro bowl.  Only 27.5 sacks in 10 seasons.  Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, and Troy Aikman if we're going QB's.

The Fridge - excellent choice.

Leading into the draft, Tasker addressed the value of a memorable (or cool) nickname that has the potential to raise a prospects' draft position.  It's marketing. 

 

In the same era as the Fridge was Bengals RB Icky Woods - another guy whose achievements on the field weren't necessarily commensurate with the attention he received nationally.  But...he was on a decent team, had a nickname, and had a dance.

 

Aikman and Bradshaw led teams to multiple NFL championships.  Enough said.

 

If you're measuring Namath against current athletic QBs and sheer physical ability, he's average.

But, he was a pioneer in a still fledgling AFL.  He was brash, fashionable, and colorful. Just what the AFL needed in the changing 60's to compete against the old school NFL.  He was a charismatic QB who probably had the sort of leadership qualities that can elevate the level of play of the rest of the squad.

 

Overrated? For me there's someone on the Bills team, but rather than beating that dead horse, I'll leave it alone.

[TBBills]

DeShawn Watson  230million fully Guaranteed...

[BIGFOOTspaceman]

NFL History - Bo Jackson....This guy did next to nothing in his short four year career.

 

Buffalo Bills History - Duke Williams and Christian Wade

 

Edited July 21, 2022 by BIGFOOTspaceman

[GunnerBill]

This is not going to be a popular one because he has a strange "god like" status among a lot of Bills fans due to his UB links and I am not necessarily saying he is the "most overrated" at his position.... but Khalil Mack. Very good player, no doubt, but I regularly see him talked of as a future HoFer and I just don't see it. He averages 9.5 sacks a year, which is a good average but his career high is 15 sacks in 2015, he has never got more than 12.5 in any other year. He won a defensive player of the year title in 2016 when he had fewer sacks than Lorenzo Alexander (among others... he was no better than 8th in sacks that year). And while team success should not be the be all and end all for HoF consideration he has played 3 playoff games in his career and has lost them all. 

 

There was an article recently "the 5 active defensive players who are sure fire HoFers" and the list was:

 

Aaron Donald

JJ Watt

Bobby Wagner

Von Miller 

Khalil Mack

 

I just don't believe he belongs in that company. Khalil Mack is a really good football player who has the potential to be a game wrecker but he is in the Chandler Jones class for me. He has always been a player you have to prepare for but unlike the other four on that list he has never been a truly dominant player at any point in his career to my mind. 

[Stank_Nasty]

Joe Namath. 

[eball]

4 minutes ago, Stank_Nasty said:

Joe Namath. 

 

For sure.  But hey, that’s what a SB guarantee, playing in NYC, and wearing panty hose will get you.

 

[Mr. WEO]

13 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

This is not going to be a popular one because he has a strange "god like" status among a lot of Bills fans due to his UB links and I am not necessarily saying he is the "most overrated" at his position.... but Khalil Mack. Very good player, no doubt, but I regularly see him talked of as a future HoFer and I just don't see it. He averages 9.5 sacks a year, which is a good average but his career high is 15 sacks in 2015, he has never got more than 12.5 in any other year. He won a defensive player of the year title in 2016 when he had fewer sacks than Lorenzo Alexander (among others... he was no better than 8th in sacks that year). And while team success should not be the be all and end all for HoF consideration he has played 3 playoff games in his career and has lost them all. 

 

There was an article recently "the 5 active defensive players who are sure fire HoFers" and the list was:

 

Aaron Donald

JJ Watt

Bobby Wagner

Von Miller 

Khalil Mack

 

I just don't believe he belongs in that company. Khalil Mack is a really good football player who has the potential to be a game wrecker but he is in the Chandler Jones class for me. He has always been a player you have to prepare for but unlike the other four on that list he has never been a truly dominant player at any point in his career to my mind. 

 

100% agree.

 

Khalil always overrated--especially by the teams that acquire him.

[Ya Digg?]

2 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

William "The Fridge" Perry.  Cool nickname.  Iconic Super Bowl run on an iconic team.  Never made a pro bowl.  Only 27.5 sacks in 10 seasons.  Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, and Troy Aikman if we're going QB's.

I definitely agree with Aikman-very good, but benefitted greatly from his circumstances. He never put up huge numbers, but he never had to. Dominant o line, great defense, good offense, just hand the ball to Emmitt, don’t turn over the ball, and he did those things extremely well. He won 3 Super Bowls so can’t take that away from him, but I never thought they won because of him.

 

[Whkfc]

22 minutes ago, BIGFOOTspaceman said:

NFL History - Bo Jackson....This guy did next to nothing in his short four year career.

 

Buffalo Bills History - Duke Williams and Christian Wade

 

 

 

I feel like the issue with Bo was he was more committed to baseball. My memory had him as a pretty dominant back.

[BuffaloRebound]

For the Bills… McGahee and Watkins.  These guys were supposed to be transcendent talents,  Even before the knee injury, I think McGahee’s speed was mostly hype.  And Watkins wasn’t particularly big and couldn’t go up and get the ball in the air.  

[Dr. Who]

25 minutes ago, Stank_Nasty said:

Joe Namath. 

Completely different era. You don't have the merger without Namath. My answer is pretty much always the same: Gugny. 

[Not at the table Karlos]

Emmitt Smith and it's not even close. 

[aristocrat]

Tom Brady.  Always had incredible defenses and coaching. Also the other teams in the division were trash. 

[4merper4mer]

Who was the greatest prospect in the history of the world, had a traditionally solid team go on a one year tank to take him, had that same team trade away their greatest ever player to pave way for him, got inserted into a division who had a five year run of unmatched ineptitude and still managed to produce average results, playing in just one AFCCG and getting smoked in it, winning his terrible division a few times and choking it away at other times?  Oh, and then he retired early.

 

Andrew Luck

[BIGFOOTspaceman]

24 minutes ago, Whkfc said:

 

 

I feel like the issue with Bo was he was more committed to baseball. My memory had him as a pretty dominant back.

Averaged 700 rushing yards per season and never scored more than 5 rushing touchdowns in any given year.  Never Rushed for 1000 yards. Played in one playoff game and had 77 yards.  

[Spiderweb]

3 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

William "The Fridge" Perry.  Cool nickname.  Iconic Super Bowl run on an iconic team.  Never made a pro bowl.  Only 27.5 sacks in 10 seasons.  Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, and Troy Aikman if we're going QB's.

When Namath played, QB play was quite different. Much more verticle against defenses that could beat the heck out of them and the WR's. I always hated the Jets but in his prime, Namath was a lot of fun to watch.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

7 hours ago, JayBaller10 said:

Emmitt Smith. He had the luxury of running behind the most physical and athletic OL the NFL had to offer for years.

Spot on. You just watched Smith, and he literally did nothing special. His vision was okay, speed okay, burst and strength okay. The guy just played a lot of years behind an elite line. 
 

 

[Sargent Hulka]

Tom Ruud, LB Nebraska, Bills 1st Round pick-1975

[Buffalo Boy]

17 minutes ago, aristocrat said:

Tom Brady.  Always had incredible defenses and coaching. Also the other teams in the division were trash. 

Beat me to it

[4merper4mer]

Since the title asks for “at their position” I’ll add a few to the GOAT Luck.

 

DB Troy Polamalu or however it is spelled.  Obviously not a terrible player but his self promotional hair gets him far higher rankings than he deserves.

 

At RB I think decent cases are being made for both George and Smith.  I’d disagree with Jackson because he is a weird case and generally remembered more as a great athlete….which is correct…..than a great NFL RB.

 

At WR I never though KeShawn panned out anywhere near where he was seen.  Maybe I’m forgetting someone though.

 

DL Mark Ganstineau

 

At the other positions nobody really jumps to mind.

 

 

[Charles Romes]

Post-2015 JJ Watt

[Primesinister]

21 minutes ago, BIGFOOTspaceman said:

Averaged 700 rushing yards per season and never scored more than 5 rushing touchdowns in any given year.  Never Rushed for 1000 yards. Played in one playoff game and had 77 yards.  

You must be young. He played baseball full time and football part time! Didn’t show up till October and played roughly 7 or 8 games and still averaged 700 to 900 without being at the top of the depth chart. He was a bigger, faster, stronger Adrian Peterson. 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Marvin Harrison.

 

Drafted right before Eric Moulds. Eric Moulds probably thinks about it all the time. If he goes to Indy and plays with Peyton Manning for a decade or whatever he’s probably one of the greatest WRs ever.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Bill from NYC]

3 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

 Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, and Troy Aikman if we're going QB's.

How about Jim McMahon?

Edited July 21, 2022 by Bill from NYC

[Charles Romes]

19 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Spot on. You just watched Smith, and he literally did nothing special. His vision was okay, speed okay, burst and strength okay. The guy just played a lot of years behind an elite line. 
 

 

You also never saw him unnecessarily lose an inch of yardage by taking ill-advised chances. That’s what made him special. 

[Whkfc]

33 minutes ago, BIGFOOTspaceman said:

Averaged 700 rushing yards per season and never scored more than 5 rushing touchdowns in any given year.  Never Rushed for 1000 yards. Played in one playoff game and had 77 yards.  

 

But he never played a full season because baseball came first. He would always show up week 7 or 8 when the Royals season ended unlike Deon who put football first.

[HereComesTheReignAgain]

Teddy Bruschi.  Loudmouth idiot from the golden years of the Patriots.  I never understood the adoration that was heaped on him.  Maybe it was because he fit in so well with the other massholes.  He also sucks as a commentator.

[Maynard]

1 hour ago, Whkfc said:

 

 

I feel like the issue with Bo was he was more committed to baseball. My memory had him as a pretty dominant back.

If I remember correctly, I think he was a dominant back until the hip injury. Guy was definitely a physical freak of nature though. 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

7 hours ago, JayBaller10 said:

Emmitt Smith. He had the luxury of running behind the most physical and athletic OL the NFL had to offer for years.

 

I always thought he was relatively "unspectacular" - not the fastest, the biggest, most elusive etc.  But he was fast enough, big enough, tough enough, and broke a ton of tackles.  I'd say he had elite contact balance, and just elite balance in general.  His cuts never looked insane or anything, but he knew his angles, and arm tackles seemed to slip right off of him.  

[Big Turk]

26 minutes ago, 4merper4mer said:

Since the title asks for “at their position” I’ll add a few to the GOAT Luck.

 

DB Troy Polamalu or however it is spelled.  Obviously not a terrible player but his self promotional hair gets him far higher rankings than he deserves.

 

At RB I think decent cases are being made for both George and Smith.  I’d disagree with Jackson because he is a weird case and generally remembered more as a great athlete….which is correct…..than a great NFL RB.

 

At WR I never though KeShawn panned out anywhere near where he was seen.  Maybe I’m forgetting someone though.

 

DL Mark Ganstineau

 

At the other positions nobody really jumps to mind.

 

 

 

Jackson never really played a full season because he also played baseball for the KC Royals and was very good there, making an all-star game and was MVP of it. He had 950 yards in 11 games one year but only started 7 and averaged a ridiculous 5.4 YPC for his career.  He averaged 73.2 YPG which would equate to almost 1200 yards if he played full seasons.  Overrated, I don't think so...underused and not available full time due to playing 2 sports, sure. But he was also splitting time with HOF back Marcus Allen as well, so it's not like there were just going to stop using him.

 

[Greg S]

48 minutes ago, aristocrat said:

Tom Brady.  Always had incredible defenses and coaching. Also the other teams in the division were trash. 

 

If anything I think Brady is making Belichick look overrated. He did win a 7th Super Bowl with Tampa. Meanwhile Billy boy hasn't done much since #12 left. 

[aristocrat]

Just now, Greg S said:

 

If anything I think Brady is making Belichick look overrated. He did win a 7th Super Bowl with Tampa. Meanwhile Billy boy hasn't done much since #12 left. 

tom Brady willed his defense to hold the chiefs to 9 points. Which has to be the lowest amount of points mahomes has ever scored. 
 

[Big Turk]

52 minutes ago, BIGFOOTspaceman said:

Averaged 700 rushing yards per season and never scored more than 5 rushing touchdowns in any given year.  Never Rushed for 1000 yards. Played in one playoff game and had 77 yards.  

 

You are missing the context of why tho which is important.  He also played baseball full time for the Royals so that meant he wasn't available to play football for the first 5 or 6 weeks most years...

 

He split time with HOF RB Marcus Allen also, so it's not like they were just going to abandon him.  Bo averaged 5.4 YPC for his career and 73.2 YPg, which would equate to almost 1200 yards per season if extrapolated to a full 16 games.

 

Overrated?  Hardly.  Underused and only available 3/4 of the season?  Sure.  

 

One of the greatest runs I have ever seen came against Seattle on Monday night where he went 90+ for a TD and the Seahawk safety had the angle cut off on him like 30 yards up the field and he just blew by him like he was standing still and he never even got close to making the tackle. Dude might have been the fastest player on a football field of all time.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Big Turk