The Ten Most Underrated Men in the NFL

Friday, September 2, 2005 | Jeff

10. Scott Pioli (Director of Personnel, New England Patriots) Pioli doesn't get the credit Billy B does for making the talent decisions but everyone in the NFL knows his impact. He's even rumored to be the front-runner to be Ernier Accorsi's successor as GM of the Giants. Pioli convinced Bellichick to sit with Corey Dillon and was instrumental in the acquisition of Rodney Harrison (see below). He'll be a great GM in this league for a long, long time.

9. Jerry Gray (Defensive Coordinator, Buffalo Bills) He arrived in 2001 and the defense has just gotten better and better since that time. Now, they are one of the handful of elite defensive units in the league. Gray is going to start finding himself in head coaching conversations very soon, especially after his Bills make a playoff run on the shoulders of his defense this season.

8. Kevin Mawae (Center, New York Jets) You ask how Curtis Martin keeps going? My answer is Mawae, the Hawaiian-born center and anchor of one of the better offensive lines around the past five years. When Mawae isn't in the lineup, it crumbles like a week-old Entenmans cookie. If I was starting an offensive line from scratch right now, I'd start with this big pineapple.

7. Joe Horn (Wide Receiver, New Orleans Saints) Over the last five years, Horn has averaged 86 catches, 1257.8 yards and 9 touchdowns. Over that same span, Randy Moss - in a much pass-heavier offense - averaged 85 catches, 1283 yards and and 12.4 touchdowns. Horn is an elite NFL star who just never seems to be in the conversation.

6. Rodney Harrison (Safety, New England Patriots) His carrer was over. Dead. Buried. 94 tackles and a Super Bowl later, Harrison was the most feared defender in the game last year. He crushed people and held together a patchwork secondary down the strecth. He doesn't get the picks or the touchdowns that Ed Reed gets but Harrison was my Defensive Player of the Year in 2004.

5. Hunter Smith (Punter, Indianapolis Colts) No, he's not exactly an integral part of the Colts gameplan but with a somewhat shaky defense, it helps to have someone as good as Smith punting the ball. Hunter was third in the league, averaging 45.2 yards per punt with 21 inside the 20 yard-line and 0 blocks. When you're offense is as good as Peyton's Colts, a punter like this can be the nail in many a team's coffin.

4. Jamal Williams (Nose Tackle, San Diego Chargers). He has four sackles on one of the best run-stuffing defenses in football last year. More than that, he cleared space for Donnie Edwards to make a million tackles on route to becoming one of the best linebackers in the game. Jamal is just as good as Pat Williams and only a step down from Kris Jenkins, the best defensive tackle in the game.

3. Matt Hasselbeck (Quarterback, Seattle Seahawks) He's very. very good. Unfortunately none of his receivers liked to catch the ball the last few seasons. If half the balls dropped were caught, Hasselbeck would have absolutely mind-blowing numbers.

2. Warrick Dunn (Running Back, Atlanta Falcons) Here's an amazing stat about Dunn. In his seven-ear career, he has NEVER has less than a thousand yards from scrimmage. Never. He has the best year of his career in 2004, running for 1106 and receiving 294, while tacking on 9 touchdowns. The running backs keep the Falcons winning while Vick keeps the fans in the seats. Dunn was one of the best players in football last year.

1. Brad Childress (Offensive Coordinator, Philadelphia Eagles) He doesn't call the plays so Andy Reid gets most of the credit. I've never really been impressed with Reid screen pass-as-running play style. But Childress' schemes allowed for Detmer and Feeley to step in two seasons back and looks like fully-functional professional quarterbacks. Like Bellichick before him, Childress is a coordinator who is going to need to escape a dominant personality head coach to establish for the NFL just how good he is at what he does.

Go Bears.