Most underrated NFL players at each position

#6 Interior offensive lineman – Brandon Linder

If there’s one thing that really bothers me about all those Pro Bowl ballots, it is the obvious lack of understanding for offensive line play. While you would think that unlike receivers and backs, where the majority of the votes go to the guys with the best stats, the big guys would be judged more on their play, with linemen it is mostly about public perception and the previous honors these guys have received.

Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey is now going to his fourth straight all-star game and he was one of the best young centers in the league not too long ago, but at this point he only gets to go to Orlando based off his name, since there are far more deserving candidates in the AFC. I recently read that Pro Football Focus actually didn’t even have Pouncey as one of the top 32-graded centers in the NFL this year, when there are only 32 teams.

Mitch Morse should have taken his spot both of the last two years and Brandon Linder has quietly been one of the best at the position for a while now. While the Jags offense has been a little stagnant this year, they are still averaging 4.5 yards per rush and Leonard Fournette has quietly had a pretty nice bounce-back season. While he missed ten games of the previous two years, Linder has missed just one snap for all of 2019 and he has surrendered only one sack over that three-year stretch now. He is excellent at creating movement on double-teams with his guars and stays square in protection.

Jacksonville has done a pretty nice job building the O-line around him via the draft and free agency, but injuries have led to a lack of consistency. They have already secured their “center”piece with a monster deal worth $52 million a couple of months ago.

Honorable mentions: Richie Incognito, Mitch Morse, and Joe Thuney