To be clear this is my list of the players who I believe are the most overrated in the game today. The criteria for being overrated to me is not reliant on the player being poor, simply to not live up to the billing given to them. There are a lot of players in the league who are underrated and I may do a list of my favorites from that list, but the list of overrated players is a long one. This list isn’t about rings and team accomplishments; what it is about is does the player live up to the hype and have they done it consistently. It is entirely possible for a hall of famer to be overrated; if you say someone is a ten and they are actually an 8 or a 9… that makes you overrated. By that definition a few of the players on this list are GREAT players who are victims of their own hype. With that said let’s get to the list.
10. Richard Sherman
Let’s be honest here; Richard Sherman belongs on this list and it is entirely his fault. Sherman is probably the third best player on his own team, and yet nobody thinks of anyone but him when you mention the defending champs. Sherman is an excellent cover corner and an exceptionally passionate and intelligent player. The reason we hate him is because he isn’t on our team (see Kenny Vaccaro here folks). However, what makes Sherman overrated is that he has billed himself as the second coming of Primetime, and that is a legacy to which he can never measure. Sherman is very good, and his skills complement his system; but he is not the unquestioned best in the league at his position even if the hype puts him at that category. I love his energy and as someone who grew up playing street ball in the San Francisco Bay Area I LOVE that the guy brings an element of trash talk and wit to the game. (it’s just more fun) Sherman is a great example of what the term ‘overrated’ is supposed to mean… he just isn’t as good as his mouth would have you believe.
9. Jimmy Graham
Before anyone goes crazy on me here remember I am a literalist and this list is only about who is the most overrated. I love Jimmy. He is one of my favorite players and a phenomenal player . However, Jimmy isn’t the best player in the league at his position. He is the most dynamic, his coaches take the most advantage of his skills, and he is the most consistently productive. However if you look at the position itself both Gronkowski and Davis are better players and could match his production in NO (I actually think if you put Vernon Davis in a Saints uniform the offense becomes literally uncoverable because he is just as explosive and also an elite blocker). Jimmy has gotten a ton of hype this offseason and a lot of it is warranted, but because of the battle over his position designation he has been overhyped as a receiver in the media. That is the only reason he is on here. He is not yet as good as he is being made out to be and in my opinion is not the best player in the league at his position.
8. Percy Harvin
If I was looking at just talent Harvin would probably be in the top ten for the league at any position… he is that physically gifted. Harvin is buff Brandin Cooks and that is terrifying for defensive coordinators. Why is he on this list? Because he only scares DC’s the five games a year he actually plays. The guy has been cursed with injuries throughout his career and that isn’t even counting his periodic bouts with migraines (no blame on those they are horrible and there is nothing he can do about it). Harvin is a very talented player, but the Seahawks gave up wayyyyyyy too much to get him and he is being hyped even more now because of one play he made in the Super Bowl. A heck of a play mind you. But that has been Harvin’s thing since he came into the league. He makes huge plays, but he can’t stay on the field and it’s not that he isn’t a good player…you just can’t trust him to be there when you need him.
7. Mario Williams
Williams is best known as the guy the Houston Texans picked instead of Reggie Bush and the guy the Bills overpaid for. Williams at times is a dominant force in the league, but he is mostly a pure pass rusher who is sporadic at best. Williams is a very nice complementary player, but he isn’t a franchise piece. Williams signed a 6-year $100 million deal with the Bills… that’s Reggie White money folks. Williams is no Reggie White… he isn’t even a Michael Strahan and that contract is why he is on this list.
6. DeMarcus Ware
A few years ago Ware being on a list like this would be blasphemy. That was a few years ago. Ware is old, injured, lost a step, and simply not what he once was. He signed a major deal with the Broncos and is expected to be the other half to Von Miller in their new defense…I just don’t see it. Ware is still being billed by players and the media as the player he once was, but the guy hasn’t been that guy in at least two years. Could he have a bounce back year? Sure. But is he an elite player in the league at this point? No. number 6 on this list.
5. Matt Ryan
We are now entering the quarterback portion of this list with only one non-QB left. Like a lot of the guys on this list Ryan belongs if for no other reason than they have no shot of living up to their ridiculous contract. What further damns Ryan is that he has been surrounded by an enormous amount of talent throughout his career he has never produced to the level the surrounding pieces would demand. If anyone has an issue with him being on this list let me clear that up for you. Matt Ryan was on a team that went 13-3 and was the most explosive offense in the league…THEY SCORED 2 POINTS IN A PLAYOFF GAME!!!! Their only offense against a 9-7 team was a questionable grounding call in the end zone that gave them a safety. Top players don’t fold that badly under pressure and they don’t give up 17 point leads in the NFC Championship games either. He is the best QB from his class and a good player… but Ryan at this point in his career can’t even sniff the elite category no matter how much Jaws likes him.
4. DeSean Jackson
He is fast. That’s it, DeSean is very very fast. He doesn’t have elite hands, runs questionable routes, folds under pressure, and gets annihilated by corners not named Corey White (even he did well on him). For some reason a few big plays a year make a guy a big name elite player… except when they don’t. I’m not going to bring up the guys character because I don’t know him and he hasn’t broken the law. However, on the field DeSean is not an elite player he is just a good one. Too much hype and too much talk about him and RGME breaking every record known to man this offseason got him the highest non-QB spot on the list. Congrats DeSean, 4th is better than you usually finish (for the record I don’t hate him, but the dude doesn’t deserve the hype).
3. Cam Newton
Overrated. Newton might just be the poster boy for that phrase. He threw for 400 plus in his first couple of games and has done nothing since. Cam isn’t productive, he isn’t consistent, and he is notorious for having very poor intangibles. Do you know what Cam’s best year was? it was last year; and do you know who he became to have his best year? Alex Smith. That’s right, Cam Newton the savior of the universe and Superman himself is at his best when he turns into the mirror image of Alex Smith. Enough with the hype the guy is talented, but he doesn’t live up to it.
2. Joe Flacco
To be honest Matt Ryan is probably the better quarterback of the two, but since Anquan Boldin and Jacoby Jones won him a ring Flacco has been lifted into the realm of the elite. If you ask Trent Dilfer and his plethora of pseudo-intelligible terminology Flacco has all the tools to be an all-time great. Except of course accuracy, consistency, the ability to read defenses well, consistency… oh and consistency! Flacco had a great 4 game stretch that involved a ton of luck (see Broncos game) and relied on a lot of prayers that were answered by possibly the strongest hands in the league. Flacco is a decent player and a decent starter, but we clearly saw last year that when you take Boldin away and make him be the guy he can’t. Maybe someday he will, but for what he is paid and how he is treated the guy is monumentally overrated.
1. Tom Brady
I have never been shy about my dislike for miss Marsha Brady. I can’t stand his attitude, the way he throws Harbaugh-esque tantrums to get calls, and the way he abuses young players on his team and throws teammates under the bus. Tom is the favorite player of Skip Bayless and that alone lets you know he is deserving of the ‘overrated’ moniker. Tom is a Hall of Fame player and an all time great at his position, however all of his many flaws are constantly overlooked because he won 3 rings in his first few years. Fans and the media love to forget that he consistently underperforms in the playoffs, and has never led a team to a ring since becoming the main guy in 2007. Brady is constantly surrounded by excellent talent since 2007 that fits their system perfectly. The legend of ‘Tom terrific’ is centered around three rings and the way he wins with ‘nothing’ around him. So Gronk, and Hernandez, and Welker, and Moss, and Edelman, (yes he is very very good) and Woodyard (check what he did in SD last year) and Amendola and Dobson and other very talented players. Brady consistently has a great line and plays in a quick strike system that protects him from his weaknesses. The sheer volume of media love for Tom is why he is at the top of this list. Yes his team won three rings, but he was entirely a game manager in those seasons and simply didn’t make mistakes. He wasn’t the reason they won and they would have won with Bledsoe most likely because of their defense and special teams play. Again, Tom is a great player, but he is not the football demigod that he is made out to be and has consistently failed to meet the expectations put up before him…. overrated.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
