Actually Underrated Team, Defense: Who deserves more credit in the 21st century?

USA Today

a day ago

Which 21st century defenders deserved more respect?
What does it mean for an NFL player to be underrated? It's almost an oxymoron; these are athletes playing at the highest level of competition, and in many cases even guys at the bottom of the roster were the greatest talents to ever come out of their hometowns. Maybe it has to do with postseason awards like the All-Pro teams and Pro Bowl voting. Or maybe it just comes down to who gets to star in sponsorship commercials and who has their highlights run on ESPN during the offseason.
Whichever definition you use, you probably have some names in mind for the most underrated players of the 21st century. But here's our rubric. We set out to highlight the best players who weren't recognized with Pro Bowl popularity contests or coveted spots on the All-Pro teams from the Associated Press. And when possible, we tried to avoid players drafted high in the first round. Those guys are expected to start for eight or nine years and make a consistent impact. It's a different set of expectations for even a mid-round draft pick, much less a late-round lottery scratch-off or rookie free agent.
You can find our picks for the offense right here, but for now, let's focus on the defense.
Edge rushers
First team: Brandon Graham, Mario Addison
Second team: Cliff Avril, Charles Johnson
Defensive ends, outside linebackers; so long as these guys' job is to get after the quarterback, they count. And right off the bat, we're breaking our rule about first-round picks to shout out Graham. While he was drafted 13th overall back in 2010, his career didn't start the way anyone hoped; after bagging just three sacks in his rookie year, he missed all but three games in 2011, and he posted a modest 5.5 sacks the year after that. Since then he's been a model of consistency for Philadelphia, generating a ton of pressure off the edge and more than holding his own in run defense. It's a shame he's only been selected for one Pro Bowl (and it wasn't even his 11-sack 2022 season), but his two Super Bowl rings are a solid consolation prize.
Our second choice wasn't even drafted. Mario Addison appeared in games with five different teams during his first two years before settling in with the Carolina Panthers, where he racked up 55 sacks across eight years, notching at least nine sacks in four consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2019. He was a key piece of those Panthers teams that ran the NFC South in the mid-2010's, and he should've been recognized with a Pro Bowl nod at some point.
Rounding out the group are Charles Johnson and Cliff Avril, a pair of third-round picks who combined for 141.5 sacks, 47 forced fumbles, and a single Pro Bowl appearance. Johnson made for a formidable tag-team duo with Addison on those Panthers teams, while Avril produced at a high level for both the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks before bowing out of the NFL.
An honorable mention: Kyle Vanden Bosch, who bounced back from a torn ACL to achieve multiple 12-sack seasons and earn three Pro Bowls with the Tennessee Titans before closing out his career with three strong years on the Detroit Lions.
Defensive tackles
First team: Grady Jarrett, Domata Peko
Second team: Corey Peters, Jonathan Babineaux
If not for Aaron Donald, Jarrett would've been the league's best pass-rushing interior lineman for most of the last decade. The former fifth-round pick was doing it alone at times up front in Atlanta, and he left the Falcons with the sixth-most sacks in team history (36.5) while also being a force in run defense (with 77 tackles for loss to his credit). He just had the bad luck to play the same position as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Still, Jarrett was selected for two Pro Bowls in 2019 and 2020, so it's not like he was flying completely under the radar.
We've got to give some props to Peko, who went from a fourth-round pick to a 214-game veteran with 616 combined tackles on his resume. After spending 11 years with the Cincinnati Bengals, Peko continued his career with a two-year run on the Denver Broncos and cameo appearances with the Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals. He was one of the better run-stopping defensive linemen of his generation and was widely respected for his leadership.
Peters and Babineaux were teammates on the Atlanta Falcons for a few years, combining for 146 tackles for loss, 46 sacks, 34 passes defensed (and 5 interceptions), plus 11 forced fumbles, but not a single Pro Bowl. They both did a good job pressuring the pocket without giving much ground in run defense. Babineaux started 133 of his 185 games while Peters had 135 starts on 164 appearances.
Also considered: Brandon Mebane, who was a fine player for the Seattle Seahawks for nine years before a solid follow-up with the Chargers in his last four years. Mebane didn't blow up the box score, but he was a consistent presence in the middle of the line.
Linebackers
First team: Lavonte David, Demario Davis
Second team: Karlos Dansby, Wesley Woodyard
Let's start with the obvious question: why is a Saints blog giving a Buccaneers player top billing over Demario Davis? We wrestled with this one for a while, but in the end David just had a more compelling case. Davis being a five-time All-Pro is proof that he's been given the respect he deserves at the national level (even if, in the grand scheme of things, he's underrated as only a fringe Hall of Famer). That isn't the case for David. Just look at his numbers. While Davis has appeared in more games (210 to David's 198), the edge in defensive snaps played goes to David (by 599), and he's made more impact plays. While Davis has 5.5 more sacks and 29 more quarterback hits, David has 209 more solo tackles, 224 more combined tackles, 59 more tackles for loss, 9 more interceptions, 12 more pass deflections, 27 more forced fumbles, and 11 more fumble recoveries. Credit where it's due: David only getting one Pro Bowl and two All-Pro mentions out of his career so far is a crime.
The only linebacker with 1,400 or more tackles since 2002 who didn't get a single Pro Bowl nod? That's Dansby, a former second-round pick who went on to achieve a 14-year career in the pros. Outside of a spot on the All-Pro second team in 2013, Dansby was shut out of the postseason honors every year despite leading the league in pick-sixes three different times. He ended his career with 20 interceptions and 84 passes defensed, which are cornerback numbers. He also notched 43 sacks and 127 tackles for loss with 1,422 combined tackles. He was a special player who gave beleaguered fans in Arizona, Miami, Cleveland and Cincinnati someone to cheer for when they needed it.
Woodyard has an impressive resume. Despite having entered the league as an undrafted free agent, he went on to appear in 180 games (110 starts) and totaled 952 combined tackles, with 628 solo stops and 58 tackles for loss. He also did a great job getting to the quarterback with 28 career sacks and 55 QB hits, plus 8 forced fumbles (5 recoveries), 8 interceptions, and 31 pass deflections. He was someone both the Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans found they could lean on.
We also considered linebackers like Lawrence Timmons, K.J. Wright, D'Qwell Jackson, and London Fletcher, whose four Pro Bowls were a disqualification, even if he didn't get them until the end of his career. The point is that there have been a lot of talented linebackers in the NFL in the 21st century, even if they weren't household names. But some of them should have been.
Safeties
First team: Ryan Clark, Tashaun Gipson
Second team: Glover Quin, Patrick Chung
No position gave us more trouble than safety; there was a glut of deserving options, so we gave a stronger slant to late-round picks and undrafted players than other spots. And that meant leaning in Clark's favor. The Louisiana native was not selected in the 2002 NFL draft, but he didn't let that stop him. The 13-year pro went on to start 177 games in the NFL and win a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with whom he still ranks top-10 in solo tackles (448 in 111 games). Clark was a hard-hitting presence in the middle of the field, and he only got better with age. He racked up 100 or more combined tackles in each of his last four seasons.
Gipson was our choice for the next spot; like Clark, he entered the league as an undrafted free agent and played 13 years in the NFL, starting 165 of his 182 games. He's racked up quite the stat line: 497 solo tackles (690 combined), 33 interceptions and 69 passes defensed, though not as many fumbles or sacks as you'd expect. Still, he's been a key piece for multiple teams, most recently taking charge in the San Francisco 49ers secondary. Before that, he spent time with the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars, having earned a single Pro Bowl nod in 2014 with the Cleveland Browns. That's a career anyone would be proud of, much less someone who never heard their name called on draft day.
Quin and Chung were both candidates for the first team, too, having each played heavy snap counts in 150-plus career games. Quin had the edge in All-Pros, while Chung had the Super Bowls, and in the end we went with Gipson given his background as a rookie free agent. Expectations are different for those guys than even fourth-round picks. Quin had twice as many interceptions as Chung and faced a tougher start as a former fourth-round pick, so he gets top billing here.
We also considered Devin McCourty here, but as a former first-round pick who won Defensive Rookie of the Year votes it's easier to say he was respected well enough given his draft status. He and Chung were teammates. Ask your local Pats fan which of them was more underrated.
Cornerbacks
First team: Brandon Carr, Jason McCourty
Second team: Ike Taylor, Tramon Williams
How about Carr? The former fifth-round pick started 192 of his 195 games and picked off 21 interceptions, breaking up 138 passes along the way, but he was never recognized at the Pro Bowl or on the All-Pro list. That's a shame for someone who was drafted as an afterthought but went on to play valuable reps for several storied franchises. He was an important player on the Kansas City Chiefs but was best known for his starting role on the Dallas Cowboys; Carr returned to Dallas for a handful of games after spending his last three years on the Baltimore Ravens before calling it a career. His 703 combined tackles, 608 of them solo stops, is nothing to sneeze at.
Let's talk about the other McCourty, who had a great career in his own right. The 2009 sixth-round pick worked his way into the Tennessee Titans' starting lineup after a few years, and once he got there he didn't let his job go, starting his last 90 games as a Titan. He had a good year with the Cleveland Browns in 2017 before teaming up with his brother's New England Patriots, where he took over more of a leadership role in the secondary and won a Super Bowl in 2018. McCourty played his last football with the Miami Dolphins in 2021. Not many sixth rounders can hope to last 13 years in the NFL, but McCourty went the distance.
Taylor narrowly lost ground to McCourty after we took a longer look at their resumes. Taylor started 140 of his 174 games compared to McCourty's 141 starts on 173 games, and intercepted 14 passes with 134 deflections compared to McCourty's 18 picks and 108 PBU's. McCourty also had an edge in every tackling stat. That doesn't diminish Taylor's achievements, especially as a former rookie free agent, but McCourty made a stronger case here.
He was a bit of a journeyman, but Williams warranted a spot on the second team. Another former rookie free agent, he started 122 of his 159 games, mostly with the Green Bay Packers (where he won a Super Bowl and was selected for his lone Pro Bowl appearance). Between a decade with the Packers and brief stops on the Browns, Cardinals, and Ravens, Williams finished his career with 34 interceptions, a really impressive 153 passes defensed, and 719 combined tackles (593 solo).
Also considered: Terence Newman, Dunta Robinson and Quentin Jammer were ruled out as former top-10 picks, as was Johnathan Joseph, a first rounder in the 2006 draft.