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.