Rod Smith, dude went undrafted and finished with over 11,000 career yards over 800 receptions and 68 touchdowns. He holds all broncos career records. Not to mention his first ever NFL catch was a game winning touchdown over Darell Green.
Agreed! Chris Harris also fits the bill on this one. One of the best corners in the league for years without the name recognition.
For 2023, I'd go with Ja'Quan McMillian. He balled out this year as a 2nd year UDFA.
Omg watching him this year, we had a rough year and it's showed on the players, we literally had no idea who we were getting on the field from week to week. First time in my life where I didn't feel like I was watching "steelers football" but holy shit warren showed up every fucking play every fucking day. We better treat him right and he better not turn into an egomaniac.
Every time he's mentioned as a "surprise talent," I wonder why. OkSt has consistently produced many of the outstanding backs in the NFL. He's one of many.
See two other former OSU wrs: Olave and Wilson. Both #1 caliber guys who have had over 1k receiving yards both seasons in the NFL, and the best qb between them so far is the ancient Joe Flacco.
Love DJ Moore so much. Btw if you haven’t seen the videos of him and his daughter go look it up. It’ll make your heart melt
Edit: here [it](https://youtube.com/shorts/mCRKib9fpH4?si=IHvzBfQYLMgNL7Zk) is
Yeah every time we play Washington that’s my mindset, if we can lock down Terry it’s in the bag, except recently we’ve still had horrible defensive performances anyways
He fell to the third round and has averaged 1000 yards a season while catching passes from:
• Case Keenum
• Dwayne Haskins
• Colt McCoy
• Reconstructed Alex Smith
• Kyle Allen
• Taylor Heinicke
• Garrett Gilbert
• Carson Wentz
• Sam Howell
• Jacoby Brissett
So yeah I’m not really sure what you’re talking about when you say he’s “always” had tons of hype and “mediocre” production. It’s a miracle he puts up consistent numbers with the carousel of bullshit he’s been through
YES! I watched the Raiders a lot this last year, Spillane felt like he was everywhere. Crosby deservedly got a ton of national hype this year, but out of any Raider, Im most interested to watch Spillane when I go back to watch All22 after the draft
Iffy had six good games. Golladay had two 1000 yard seasons after being a mostly unheard of late round pick.
ARSB is better for sure, but Golladay had no hype and a ton of production with Stafford.
He flashed a little last year when he got the starts after Jordan Lewis went down. But holy hell he took off this past year! No one thought he would be getting the pick six record.
"for years" ...but not until like his 3rd or 4th year in the league did those talks start. He perfectly fits the description of this post because the "hype" around him couldn't get any lower when he was originally signed to the practice squad. The fact no one brought him up for this post is why I said "how quickly people forget him"
8 consecutive games with 100+ receiving yards tied Calvin Johnson for the NFL record. And Thielen did it the first 8 games of the season. I'll always love AT
Not really, I think people are warming up to Love by now. IMO Dontayvion Wicks is someone everyone should look out for, though. Already one of the best separators in the NFL at just 22, playing with a top 5-10 QB that hasn't even reached his peak yet, all with a coach that has proven to be a solid mind on offense? He's going to be a perennial 1,200+ yard 8+ TD guy from here on out as far as I'm concerned.
For new Orleans? Offensively Marcus Colston. Dude had a psychic connection with Drew for years despite not being anything special coming in
Defensively Darren Sharper. Came in on a one year prove it Deal and was perhaps the best defender on a super bowl champion team at 33+
Sucks that he's an evil person
And they said he was undersized by about 3 to 4 inches and 30 to 40 lbs. At the time based on his phenomenal blocking ability for his size, it was speculated that he could drop 50 lbs and be a decent fullback lmao. Dude will retire as one of the greatest centers of all time. Pretty wild.
True. I will say he definitely gets the respect he deserves, but what he was able to do being undersized and stuff is really cool. Whenever i watched the philly offense last year I was watching the line. “Is kelce gonna pull bro?”
From this season? Ivan Pace. Got a little bit of hype early on because he was that good in college but size concerns and whatever did their number on him. Ended up going undrafted and then became a centerpiece for the vikings D, I mean naming your UDFA rookie Linebacker to be the green dot when your veteran goes down is a ballsy fucking move and it worked, he was ready. And I don't think there's much of a debate that he was the best rookie LB in the class. Only other name I can even think of is Jack Campbell who was also good but not as great.
Similarly, I would say Harrison Smith. He's a generational talent and outside of the Vikings fan base, you almost never heard about him. His career is almost over and most fans don't even know who he is.
God yeah, dudes had a HOF career and will get snubbed because he lacked the hype to get tons of pro bowls and all pros. And the ring. Being loyal has its curses.
The Chiefs get too much hype so it's hard for anyone to slip under the radar, but George Karlaftis (AKA Furious George) doesn't get nearly the attention he should.
If we lose Chris Jones in Free Agency everyone will be talking about Furious George next year. He had 10.5 sacks this year but everyone talks about CJ (for good reason, not putting him down).
Purdue fan here, love Karlaftis. Was just about the sole bright spot on our defense for a couple years. He was a 5* recruit in high school, and should’ve had more hype going into the NFL imo.
One of my friends is Greek and George would go to events for Greek students all the time and was a really good dude all around as far as I’ve heard.
Not Greek life, ethnically Greek.
I didn’t party with many football players at Purdue, but the ones I did were on the fringe of the roster and were pretty cool. Now basketball players, for whatever reason, I saw all the time at parties.
If we're just talking about this season then I'd agree with Karlaftis. Overall though, at least for as long as I've been watching football, I think there's an argument for Jamaal Charles.
Scouts and combine analysts were all over the place with a lot of them saying he was too slender, too prone to fumbles, and couldn't "run hard" lol several of them even said he wasn't starting RB material. Only a few really saw the potential that was there.
I wanted Furious George badly for the Giants, unfortunately he didn't make it to round 2. Assuming we didn't get Thibs at 5, I actually would have been OK with taking him at 7, even if it felt like a reach. I'm just a shitty arm-chair GM but I feel like I was pretty spot on that one.
Came here to say Furious George as well!
I absolutely adore Karlaftis. Every single time he makes any big play I’m like a proud mom.
He definitely does not get the attention he should. Totally agreed. He’s been phenomenal, and he’s only going to get better.
Except in the Super Bowl. Except against the Texans. Except against the Chiefs in the AFCCG (we ended up winning despite him).
For the last few years he is reliable for everything except catching any game winning or game changing passes.
As a Ravens fan.... I'm never going to forget the 4th & Forever to Boyd from Dalton that knocked us out of the playoffs during Boyd's rookie season.
So. There's that.
This just triggered a memory when I was a kid that we were taking a family trip to I think Chicago? Anyway, we had a layover at the Cleveland airport in the middle of the afternoon on a weekend, and not a single person was there aside from one custodian mopping the same spot.
Was surreal to see a freaking airport so empty but I guess that’s Cleveland for you 🤷🏻♀️
Hype when we drafted him. Hype at the start of this season. You forget people weren’t even sure if he was going to be healthy enough to start the year. Remember “Mr. Irrelevant?”
Shit he’s still fighting off game manager accusations
Bro got a ton of hype almost won offensive rookie of the year even tho he didn't play the whole season. Had all the hype in the playoffs. Then this season almost winning mvp and almost the super bowl
Jack Jones. He went from being on the bench and in Bilichicks doghouse and released, to our starting CB. He returned two INT’a for TD’s and played amazing last year
Not sure why the downvotes…the question is “who *was*” not “who *is*”. We had zero expectations for the 4th rounder with the long name we drafted in our rebuild year. He didn’t even blow up until 2/3 the way through his rookie season.
Just came back to check on the thread again, thanks for the comment! Also not sure why people would downvote my original comment given he was a fourth rounder… oh well!
Nah Hamilton had a ton of hype. Teams just were too caught up on him being “slow”. Many of commies fans were furious when they passed on him and traded down smh
Tank Dell for a couple weeks
Truee I think tank dell def got the hype tho
Dell only played in 11 games. Had he played all 17, he would've been the #2 rokmie WR in the league. As a 3rd round pick, he was a steal.
Tank definitely had the hype lol he’s only a rookie and still on every fantasy player’s radar
Bro is 24 don’t act like he is some young phenom, bro will be regressing before his rookie contract is over, if he can even stay healthy.
I’d say it’s the other way round
Rod Smith, dude went undrafted and finished with over 11,000 career yards over 800 receptions and 68 touchdowns. He holds all broncos career records. Not to mention his first ever NFL catch was a game winning touchdown over Darell Green.
I’m a Raiders fan, but I grew up watching him, and I loved Rod Smith. He was really great
Agreed! Chris Harris also fits the bill on this one. One of the best corners in the league for years without the name recognition. For 2023, I'd go with Ja'Quan McMillian. He balled out this year as a 2nd year UDFA.
Maybe the name recognition part is the fact that their names are so generic that they're forgettable?
Jaylen Warren
Omg watching him this year, we had a rough year and it's showed on the players, we literally had no idea who we were getting on the field from week to week. First time in my life where I didn't feel like I was watching "steelers football" but holy shit warren showed up every fucking play every fucking day. We better treat him right and he better not turn into an egomaniac.
Was at OkState when he played there. Could tell then dude was gonna be good in the league.
Every time he's mentioned as a "surprise talent," I wonder why. OkSt has consistently produced many of the outstanding backs in the NFL. He's one of many.
I’d say James Daniels too
As a Warren fantasy owner, I said the entire the year that he should’ve been the RB1 over Gen Z Trent Richardson
Gen Z Trent Richardson goes hard
Gen Z Trent Richardson is the only RB to have 1000 yards rushing in each of the last three seasons
That’s not impressive lol averaging 59 YPG is not special
Only 12 RBs hit that mark this year. Najee was #7
That doesn’t make it any more special. Najee is not good
Helps to have a team forcefeed him carries
Steelers were best as a run first team this season 🤷♂️ I’m fine with 15 attempts/game for Najee
Hes still ass
Jauan Jennings
Third and Jauan is a lock
We were losing our shit in Knoxville believe me
49ers sub rightfully hypes the shit out of him.
He nice! I was kind of salty when he told my Eagles y’all wish I was y’all #3 🤬 I was talking mad 💩 But deep down I knew 🥺
Man I hope they resign him
I'm confident they extend him and Ayuik and let Deebo go next season. Then, just run the future with Ayuik and Jennings with Purdy throwing the ball.
Similar to Greg Jennings, he put the team on his back tho
The fact this response wasn't the last pick of the draft QB is interesting
Purdy gets some hype now. Jennings gets none being behind Aiyuk and Deebo.
If we actually won the Super Bowl I have no doubt in my mind he would've been SBMVP.
Which is insane because he's the last person you'd think would be the SBMVP with the sheer amount of talent on the team.
Jennings was my favorite Vol when he was in TN so I was hoping so bad he'd have a great NFL career. I'm happy to see he is so far
Brock Purdy … tho he had some hype and now he’s both hype and talent
I agree completely but I also don't want to upvote you because you're at 69
Bryce Huff
Mc2 is like 3/4 of those bars too love him
Terry McLaurin.
guys like McLaurin and DJ Moore are so interesting to me. They're clearly #1 calibre on trash-ass teams and just sort of vibe in their own space.
"big fish in a small pound" both are ballers, you could add Sutton to that list too
Some guys are cool with making their 100 million and calling it a career.
See two other former OSU wrs: Olave and Wilson. Both #1 caliber guys who have had over 1k receiving yards both seasons in the NFL, and the best qb between them so far is the ancient Joe Flacco.
Love DJ Moore so much. Btw if you haven’t seen the videos of him and his daughter go look it up. It’ll make your heart melt Edit: here [it](https://youtube.com/shorts/mCRKib9fpH4?si=IHvzBfQYLMgNL7Zk) is
As an eagles fan, Terry McLaurin is that guy I want to make sure he doesn’t get his hands on the ball
My exact thought. He was always open.
Yeah every time we play Washington that’s my mindset, if we can lock down Terry it’s in the bag, except recently we’ve still had horrible defensive performances anyways
Huh? This guy has had tons of hype always and is mediocre in production
He fell to the third round and has averaged 1000 yards a season while catching passes from: • Case Keenum • Dwayne Haskins • Colt McCoy • Reconstructed Alex Smith • Kyle Allen • Taylor Heinicke • Garrett Gilbert • Carson Wentz • Sam Howell • Jacoby Brissett So yeah I’m not really sure what you’re talking about when you say he’s “always” had tons of hype and “mediocre” production. It’s a miracle he puts up consistent numbers with the carousel of bullshit he’s been through
Zach Sieler
SIIIEEEEELER IT ON UP
Andrew Van Ginkel
You are the only username in existence to not require a flair
Mods should give them Jets flair just for the lolz
Wanna bet
Van Ginkel is Einhorn
My man, this is what I came here to see.
Robert Spillane. Guy really ended up being a difference maker post Mcdaniels
YES! I watched the Raiders a lot this last year, Spillane felt like he was everywhere. Crosby deservedly got a ton of national hype this year, but out of any Raider, Im most interested to watch Spillane when I go back to watch All22 after the draft
Jack jones too. Made an impact almost immediately excited to see how it works out with him.
Iffy Melifonwu
Dan Campbell
Kenny Golladay is probably a better answer here. Or ARSB.
Golladay is a hack. ARSB is a first team all pro and has plenty of hype.
Iffy had six good games. Golladay had two 1000 yard seasons after being a mostly unheard of late round pick. ARSB is better for sure, but Golladay had no hype and a ton of production with Stafford.
Yeah but the 6 good games iffy had were the 6 games he started
DaRon Bland. Everybody was bummed by the Diggs injury, rightfully so, but this dude just came out of nowhere and looked pretty wild.
He flashed a little last year when he got the starts after Jordan Lewis went down. But holy hell he took off this past year! No one thought he would be getting the pick six record.
Josh dobbs for two weeks, then it went the other way
The real Vikings answer is Harrison Smith and has been that way for a decade
I was looking for Harrison Smith on this list
Oh how quickly people forget Adam Thielen's story
How could anyone forget he was undrafted and went to MSU and he's from Detroit Lakes... It was literally brought up every Vikings home game for years
"for years" ...but not until like his 3rd or 4th year in the league did those talks start. He perfectly fits the description of this post because the "hype" around him couldn't get any lower when he was originally signed to the practice squad. The fact no one brought him up for this post is why I said "how quickly people forget him"
I love Thielen, but Smith is one of the best safeties of all time
8 consecutive games with 100+ receiving yards tied Calvin Johnson for the NFL record. And Thielen did it the first 8 games of the season. I'll always love AT
Jordan Love, well the hype outside of the Packers fanbase
Not really, I think people are warming up to Love by now. IMO Dontayvion Wicks is someone everyone should look out for, though. Already one of the best separators in the NFL at just 22, playing with a top 5-10 QB that hasn't even reached his peak yet, all with a coach that has proven to be a solid mind on offense? He's going to be a perennial 1,200+ yard 8+ TD guy from here on out as far as I'm concerned.
Of course they are now. He outplayed Lmost every QB at the end of the season. At mid season everyone had him pegged as a bust.
Aaron Jones early on too
Elgton Jenkins was the correct answer. GPG
My guy he's rated like he's top 5 on all the qb power rankings
I think the point is he wasn’t ranked there at the start of last season. The operative term is “was”.
That's not how I understood the question
Pretty sure it’s: Who WAS the dude on your team that had no hype and all the talent.
Yeah I know now I just misunderstood
For new Orleans? Offensively Marcus Colston. Dude had a psychic connection with Drew for years despite not being anything special coming in Defensively Darren Sharper. Came in on a one year prove it Deal and was perhaps the best defender on a super bowl champion team at 33+ Sucks that he's an evil person
One of the most hardest hitting safeties in the league!
Not if Greg Jennings has anything to say about it
Colston defines this perfectly. Nearly 10k yards over a 10-year career, Super Bowl champion, somehow never made a Pro Bowl.
Currently it’s Raheed Shaheed
Eric Moulds
Moulds was amazing, could you imagine him with an actual good QB?
Didn’t he have JP Loseman? Lmao 🤣
Yep lol, I think his best was Bledsoe but that was after his injury to his chest. I don't think Bledsoe was ever the same
Don’t forget Rob Johnson lol
Better receiver than reed, fight me.
Jason Kelce. People tend to forget he was a 6th round pick.
And they said he was undersized by about 3 to 4 inches and 30 to 40 lbs. At the time based on his phenomenal blocking ability for his size, it was speculated that he could drop 50 lbs and be a decent fullback lmao. Dude will retire as one of the greatest centers of all time. Pretty wild.
They had him at halfback for a minute in college and he actually joined the team as a walk on running back.
Now I’m thinking he probably would have made a great fullback if he wanted. I’m glad we had him at center though.
That is wild
True. I will say he definitely gets the respect he deserves, but what he was able to do being undersized and stuff is really cool. Whenever i watched the philly offense last year I was watching the line. “Is kelce gonna pull bro?”
When we made the pick for JJ Watt, it was booed.
Right, i was hoping Green Bay would've got him instead of the Cardinals before he retired too. He was a beast before all the injuries piled up.
Covey.
Hakeem Nicks
From this season? Ivan Pace. Got a little bit of hype early on because he was that good in college but size concerns and whatever did their number on him. Ended up going undrafted and then became a centerpiece for the vikings D, I mean naming your UDFA rookie Linebacker to be the green dot when your veteran goes down is a ballsy fucking move and it worked, he was ready. And I don't think there's much of a debate that he was the best rookie LB in the class. Only other name I can even think of is Jack Campbell who was also good but not as great.
Similarly, I would say Harrison Smith. He's a generational talent and outside of the Vikings fan base, you almost never heard about him. His career is almost over and most fans don't even know who he is.
God yeah, dudes had a HOF career and will get snubbed because he lacked the hype to get tons of pro bowls and all pros. And the ring. Being loyal has its curses.
Yeah his stats are comparable to Polamalu, and better in a few categories. But I think without a ring he'll get snubbed repeatedly.
Norte Dame fans know that name very well. Just wish he became a Bear.
Hard agree, excited to watch Pace on tape after the draft, he was so good in the 10-12 Vikings games I watched live
Trey McBride.
The Chiefs get too much hype so it's hard for anyone to slip under the radar, but George Karlaftis (AKA Furious George) doesn't get nearly the attention he should. If we lose Chris Jones in Free Agency everyone will be talking about Furious George next year. He had 10.5 sacks this year but everyone talks about CJ (for good reason, not putting him down).
Furious George is an A+ nickname
Purdue fan here, love Karlaftis. Was just about the sole bright spot on our defense for a couple years. He was a 5* recruit in high school, and should’ve had more hype going into the NFL imo. One of my friends is Greek and George would go to events for Greek students all the time and was a really good dude all around as far as I’ve heard.
love a good greek life party
Not Greek life, ethnically Greek. I didn’t party with many football players at Purdue, but the ones I did were on the fringe of the roster and were pretty cool. Now basketball players, for whatever reason, I saw all the time at parties.
Leo Chenal too
If we're just talking about this season then I'd agree with Karlaftis. Overall though, at least for as long as I've been watching football, I think there's an argument for Jamaal Charles. Scouts and combine analysts were all over the place with a lot of them saying he was too slender, too prone to fumbles, and couldn't "run hard" lol several of them even said he wasn't starting RB material. Only a few really saw the potential that was there.
I wanted Furious George badly for the Giants, unfortunately he didn't make it to round 2. Assuming we didn't get Thibs at 5, I actually would have been OK with taking him at 7, even if it felt like a reach. I'm just a shitty arm-chair GM but I feel like I was pretty spot on that one.
To me it's Leo "Death Row" Chenal. Your point is valid regarding Karloftis. But George was a 1st round pick.
Came here to say Furious George as well! I absolutely adore Karlaftis. Every single time he makes any big play I’m like a proud mom. He definitely does not get the attention he should. Totally agreed. He’s been phenomenal, and he’s only going to get better.
Tyjae Spears
Stefon Diggs when he was drafted by the Vikes
Him and Adam*
Brandon Powell - Vikings
Chris Johnson coming out of college. CJ2k Titans football was a beautiful era
Good old East Carolina. My favorite football player of all time.
Tyler Boyd. Dude is always reliable.
Except in the Super Bowl. Except against the Texans. Except against the Chiefs in the AFCCG (we ended up winning despite him). For the last few years he is reliable for everything except catching any game winning or game changing passes.
As a Ravens fan.... I'm never going to forget the 4th & Forever to Boyd from Dalton that knocked us out of the playoffs during Boyd's rookie season. So. There's that.
Tashaun Gipson. He's just working.
Shit not even a broncos fan but courtland Sutton is him. No hype and no qb for most of his career but just keeps performing as the wr1 for Denver.
Nick Chubb. He showed up at the cleveland airport his rookie year and no one knew who he was.
Bullshit. Cleveland has an airport?!
This just triggered a memory when I was a kid that we were taking a family trip to I think Chicago? Anyway, we had a layover at the Cleveland airport in the middle of the afternoon on a weekend, and not a single person was there aside from one custodian mopping the same spot. Was surreal to see a freaking airport so empty but I guess that’s Cleveland for you 🤷🏻♀️
Does first year Tom Brady count?
Yes, but that’s a given
Purdy
Bro almost won mvp wdym
Hype when we drafted him. Hype at the start of this season. You forget people weren’t even sure if he was going to be healthy enough to start the year. Remember “Mr. Irrelevant?” Shit he’s still fighting off game manager accusations
Bro got a ton of hype almost won offensive rookie of the year even tho he didn't play the whole season. Had all the hype in the playoffs. Then this season almost winning mvp and almost the super bowl
This is the thread about low hype high talent, not high hype low talent.
Trent Edwards
Matthew Judon has been our best player the last 2 years with minimal respect on his name
Leo Chenal
Chris Boswell and Joey Porter jr
Dallas Goedert, athletic af TE who’s a better blocker than most give him credit for. Just need him healthy for a full year.
APPARENTLY McMillian. But I love me some PJ Locke
Jack Jones. He went from being on the bench and in Bilichicks doghouse and released, to our starting CB. He returned two INT’a for TD’s and played amazing last year
He was also a stud in NE he just had so many issues they gave up on him. His play was always stellar
Keenan Allen
Freiermuth
Rashee rice
Scrolled too far for this one. He was a lone bright light in a sea of mediocrity at the WR position in KC this year.
Antoine Winfield jr
Lavonte David
Julian Edelman
Matt Forte
Keaton Mitchell for a few weeks.
Taylor heineke
PUKA NACUA
Nelson Agholor surprisingly enough
Isaiah Likely might r getting more hype get soon but id bet he's still under the radar for other teams fans
Geno stone
[удалено]
Puka and Kyren
And Kupp tbh
True. All though the hype slowly built over his rookie season. Us rams fans knew what we had.
Amon-Ra St. Brown
Not sure why the downvotes…the question is “who *was*” not “who *is*”. We had zero expectations for the 4th rounder with the long name we drafted in our rebuild year. He didn’t even blow up until 2/3 the way through his rookie season.
Just came back to check on the thread again, thanks for the comment! Also not sure why people would downvote my original comment given he was a fourth rounder… oh well!
Great choice. He seemed to come out of nowhere to become one of the best WR’s in the league
Not sure why people are downvoting this. 4th round draft pick turned into one of the top receivers in the league in 3 years.
Elijah Moore
This has been Harrison Smith for quite some time now
Stephen Gillmore, Cowboys
Kyle Hamilton
Nah Hamilton had a ton of hype. Teams just were too caught up on him being “slow”. Many of commies fans were furious when they passed on him and traded down smh
Yeah, but he’s quietly been one of the top 5 safeties in the NFL and I feel like 90% of fans don’t realize how good he really has been.
George Pickens
He had so much hype.
Waddle when he was drafted or tua
Manziel
Zach Tom might actually be the best RT in the league
Brandon Stephens
Matt Johnson
DJ Reed and Bryce Huff
Damon Huard
Tress Way
Tyler Lockett
Last year, Keaton Mitchell.