Underrated. What exactly does this word mean?
Catch Me If You Can was an underrated movie. John Mayer certainly is not underrated. Merriam-Webster defines "underrate" as "to rate too low; undervalue."
OK, cool. But how does that apply to the NFL? Well, there are those players who don't seem to receive the attention they deserve, some to varying degrees. We endeavored to compile a list of those guys who seem to be batting well below .300 when it comes to getting the proper accolades, be it in terms of Pro Bowl voting or on their own team. On that note, here are some considerations:
» "Underrated" is obviously a subjective style term. With some of these guys, you might stop and say, "People know that guy is good!" True that, but one Pro Bowler on our list receives the sixth-most attention on his own team.
» These players are all major contributors, not glorified backups. We tried not to confuse underrated with "never heard of." While you know most players, these are guys who deserve some more props.
Oh, and one last thing: All you Vikings fans who were raging mad about Blair Walsh's exclusion from the All-Under-25 Team ... He didn't make this list, either. But two of his teammates slid in easily.
As always, send your thoughts -- especially additional suggestions for this team -- to @Harrison_NFL. Looking forward to your choices.
Enough with the accounting (what an awful class in college). Let's get to it!
(Click on player name to see complete 2012 statistics.)
Follow Elliot Harrison on Twitter @Harrison_NFL.