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Define underrated.
Go ahead. We’ll wait.
For our purposes, it means an absence of recognition when it comes to personal accolades.
That could be due to the lack of playing extensive time behind a seasoned star or pushed into the background due to the lack of overall success by the team he’s performing for.
Here we present nine NFL players that are getting ready to hit the unrestricted free-agent market on March 10, along with one veteran who was cut loose by his team and is available to be signed immediately. These 10 performers were chosen to their somewhat-unrecognized play not only during 2014 but in recent seasons as well.
No doubt any team signing these players, including their own clubs, would be happy to have them on their roster.
It will be interesting to see how many of these performers wind up changing teams in the next few weeks.
All free-agent information and team transactions courtesy of Spotrac.
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Prior to running back Alfred Morris’ arrival in 2012, then-rookie Roy Helu led the Washington Redskins in rushing yards.
Relegated to a reserve role these past three seasons, the fourth-round pick from the University of Nebraska in 2011 has done what has been asked of him. This past season, he finished second on the team with 216 yards rushing and a score and ranked fourth on the team with 42 receptions, totaling two touchdowns and averaging a healthy 11.4 yards per catch in the process.
With the exception of his second season when he played only three games and was placed on injured reserve that year in September, Helu has totaled at least 30 receptions in his other three seasons. And there’s not a great deal of wear and tear on the four-year pro as he’s totaled only 106 rushing attempts the past three seasons combined.
How he fits into the Redskins’ future plans is anyone’s guess. But should be not return to Washington he could make a team looking for a receiving option out of the backfield a nice addition.
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In a day and age in the NFL where we see the ball in the air more than often, pass blocking is not something you want one of your tackles struggling with.
While this skill was something Houston Texans right tackle Derek Newton struggled with this past season, he more than made up for it in other ways. According to Pro Football Focus, only Philadelphia’s Jason Peters, San Francisco’s Joe Staley and Cleveland’s Joe Thomas graded out better when it came to run blocking.
The 214th overall selection (seventh round) in the 2011 draft, Newton has been the Texans’ primary starter at right tackle the last three seasons. The four-year pro had a solid 2014 for a Houston squad that ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing this past season.
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He is easily the player with the most NFL experience on our list.
An undrafted free agent signed by the New Orleans Saints in 2007, running back Pierre Thomas has eight seasons under his belt. While he’s played in a system that has basically been backfield-by-committee under head coach Sean Payton, he has certainly made his presence felt.
Thomas totaled 3,745 yards rushing with 28 scores and added 327 receptions for 2,608 yards and 12 touchdowns during his tenure with the Saints. Injury limited him to just 11 games in 2014 but he still ranked third on the team with 222 yards on the ground and fifth on the club with 45 receptions.
It’s the latter part of those numbers that makes him underrated. Thomas finds yards on screen passes that just aren’t there. Due to salary-cap concerns and off a shortened season, the Saints released Thomas this offseason. But there’s little doubt he could help a team in a big way looking for savvy veteran for some backfield depth.
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We have seen our share of quality defensive linemen play for the Minnesota Vikings throughout the years. From the old “Purple People Eaters” that featured the likes of Hall of Famers Alan Page and Carl Eller and workhorse Jim Marshall to the more modern stars such as Chris Doleman and John Randle, who are also enshrined in Canton.
In recent years, it’s been the likes of Jared Allen and Kevin Williams that have harassed opposing offenses. During the 2014 offseason, the Vikings did not re-sign those former Pro Bowlers and they moved on to play for the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks, respectively.
Under new head coach Mike Zimmer, the Minnesota defense had its share of new looks up front. Young performers such as Everson Griffen and Shariff Floyd were thrust into new roles while the team added defensive tackle Linval Joseph via free agency.
The Vikings also added Tom Johnson for depth in the middle of the line. The 6’3”, 288-pound defender spent his first three seasons in the league with the New Orleans Saints where he totaled a mere five sacks. This past season, the former undrafted free agent played in all 16 games for Minnesota, totaled 22 tackles and finished second on the team with 6.5 sacks.
If the Vikings opt not to re-sign Johnson, another team could be getting a player just coming into his own.
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Can a former first-round pick actually be considered underrated?
In a 2010 NFL draft that included the Day One selections of star defensive linemen such as Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy and Jason Pierre-Paul, defensive end Jerry Hughes of TCU was the 31st overall pick by the Indianapolis Colts. In three seasons with the club, he failed to make much of an impact at outside linebacker, totaling only five sacks in 44 games.
The team opted to deal Hughes to the Buffalo Bills, where his NFL career suddenly blossomed. Be it at linebacker in 2013 or defensive end in 2014, he totaled exactly 10 sacks in each of the last two seasons.
But before you make a rush to judgment, understand that Hughes is more than just a pass rusher. According to Pro Football Focus, only seven defensive ends performed better against the run this past season. This is the underrated part of Hughes’ game and with experience in both the 3-4 and 4-3 the last few years he may be a much better defensive player than many think.
Of course, the five-year pro has been surrounded by the like of Pro Bowlers Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams in Buffalo. That could add up to a “buyer beware” for some suitors but Hughes overall play the last two years has earned him the benefit of the doubt.
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Cornerback became a four-letter word in the City of Brotherly Love in 2014. And you can expect changes in the Philadelphia Eagles secondary in 2015.
Potential free agent Bradley Fletcher comes off a shaky year and the team has already cut ties with Cary Williams.
Could strong safety Nate Allen become part of a housecleaning in Philadelphia that has also included outside linebacker Trent Cole and a deal (not official until March 10) that will send three-time Pro Bowl running back and 2013 NFL rushing champion LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills?
In 2014, the fifth-year pro totaled a career-high four interceptions and added three fumble recoveries, meaning he had amassed exactly one-fourth of the Eagles’ 28 takeaways this past season. Allen also finished fourth on the team with 62 tackles and also added one sack, one forced fumble and five passes defensed.
Pro Football Focus shows that Allen was well-versed in all aspects of his game this past season and was definitely a bright spot for a unit that ranked 28th in the league in total yards allowed and next-to-last in the NFL in pass defense.
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When a team boasts a linebacking corps that includes Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil, Daryl Smith and rookie standout C.J. Mosley, it’s hard to get a little attention.
The Baltimore Ravens ranked eighth in the NFL in total defense this past season and only three teams in the league allowed fewer yards on the ground.
You won’t find outside linebacker Pernell McPhee among the team leaders in tackles. In fact, in each of his four years with the Ravens, he’s totaled less than 30 stops despite playing in at least 12 games each year.
However, the fifth-round pick in 2011 from Mississippi State has totaled 17 sacks during his four years with the club. This past season, McPhee totaled 27 tackles, 7.5 sacks (third on the team) and four passes defensed. Although he was on the field for only 540 plays, Pro Football Focus graded him the second-best outside linebacker in the 3-4 scheme behind only Kansas City’s Justin Houston.
It will be interesting to see what McPhee could do with more playing time. And he may just get that chance sooner than later.
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It was not a great year for the San Francisco 49ers but cornerback Chris Culliver was among those on the team that played very well. And that was impressive considering the young defensive back missed all of 2013 with a torn ACL.
In his three seasons on the field, Culliver has totaled seven interceptions and knocked down 36 passes. In 2014, he finished fifth on the team with 45 stops, 15 passes defensed and four interceptions. He also returned a fumble for a touchdown.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk does a nice job of recapping some of the off-the-field issues that have surrounded Culliver and could have an impact on his ability to come up with a big payday if he indeed hits the free-agent market. And unfortunately, that focus away from the game is what makes Culliver far from underpublicized but perhaps unsung as a football player.
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For the second time in this piece, we travel to Orchard Park to find a player that warrants the label of underrated.
A fourth-round pick from the University of North Carolina in 2011, Da’Norris Searcy would have to fill the shoes of free safety Jairus Byrd this past season as the three-time Pro Bowler signed with the New Orleans Saints. The young defender responded by finishing fifth on the team with 65 tackles while his three interceptions tied for second on the club. Searcy also added five passes defensed, a pair of forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Only four teams in the league allowed fewer yards in 2014 than the Buffalo Bills, who also finished third in the NFL against the pass. For the second straight year, the club totaled 30 takeaways and Searcy had four of those thefts.
One year earlier, the four-year pro totaled a career-high 71 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two more takeaways and seven passes defensed.
That’s just in case you thought Searcy was a one-year wonder.
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He certainly hasn’t been the center of attention but Rodney Hudson could be a center that gets a lot of attention next week?
That is unless the Kansas City Chiefs get their unsung pivot re-signed in the next few days.
In 2014 and once again via Pro Football Focus, only the New York Jets’ Nick Mangold and the Dallas Cowboys Travis Frederick enjoyed better seasons at center than Hudson. Of course, those two players earned trips to the Pro Bowl and the Chiefs’ fourth-year pro did not.
Kansas City has featured running back Jamaal Charles and the league’s 10th-ranked running attack each of the last two seasons. A second-round pick in 2011 out of Florida State University, Hudson has started 31 of the team’s last 32 games. After an up-and-down year in 2013, Hudson was a much more consistent player this past season.
In terms of pass blocking, he allowed only two sacks in 16 games and both came in what proved to be a win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 10.
Could a team like the San Diego Chargers, who went through more centers than a basketball team this past season, turn to a familiar foe?
We’re just sayin’…
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