Dawgs By Nature
The sports giant identifies one player at every position who is currently undervalued in some way
The Cleveland Browns have been getting a ton of press lately after QB Shedeur Sanders fell from the first round to Round 5. It seems every move he makes becomes a national story.
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The NFL schedulers didn’t think that aspect of the Browns was enough to give them additional air time as Cleveland doesn’t have a single Prime Time game this year.
But not everybody is focusing on Shedeur’s practice sessions or the shirts he wears or what sports drink flavor is his favorite. Some folks are talking about talent on the field, and who should be getting noticed instead.
ESPN writer Aaron Schatz put out the annual “Most Underrated NFL Players” list, which encompasses each player’s position for a total of just 12 athletes.
Each season, the league employs 1,696 players on their main rosters with an additional 512 stationed on the practice squads, 32 possible international practice squad spots, plus various injured lists.
And yet, ESPN only focused on 12 players for their list. Not 12 players from both the AFC and the NFC. A dozen, period. To be considered “underrated,” it simply means players who are perceived as more talented than the conventional wisdom suggests, and just maybe more folks should be talking about these guys.
Schatz went through all 32 rosters and identified one player for all 12 positions. A few of the players on the list include:
Quarterback: Brock Purdy – San Francisco 49ers
Wide receiver: Darius Slayton – New York Football Giants
Defensive tackle: Zach Allen – Denver Broncos
EDGE rusher: George Karlaftis – Kansas City Chiefs
Safety: Taylor Rapp – Buffalo Bills
Specialist: Corey Bojorquez – Cleveland Browns
The specialist category encompasses every kicker, punter, return specialist, and long snapper in the league. That is 160 guys. And Schatz made it a point to showcase Bojo.
Last year, after the Pro Bowl squads were released, we here at Dawgs by Nature were shocked that Bojorquez was snubbed for a roster spot. We discussed this with him at this link:
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Bojo was humble about not being named to the Pro Bowl, but at the same time realized that he had a tremendous year and yet was passed over for league recognition yet another year. With a stagnant offense again this past season, at times, he appeared to be that side of the ball’s MVP.
Schatz stated this about Bojo:
“The Browns’ punter led the NFL in my gross punting metric last season, which is based on punt distance assuming average returns (adjusted for weather and altitude). Yet, Bojorquez had a negative net value because the Browns’ punt coverage team was awful. This wasn’t an issue of Bojorquez outkicking his coverage. He was third in the league with 36 punts inside the 20-yard line, but the Browns also allowed three returns of over 50 yards. His talent can...
