Detroit Lions: The Most Underrated Players In Team History

The Detroit Lions have had many outstanding players in their 80-plus year history, but due to overshadowing from other stars or years of losing, some great players are relatively ignored by history.

Detroit Lions history is full of great players: Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, Bobby Layne, Joe Schmidt, Night Train Lane and others. However, there are many players who were excellent in their own right who, either because the spotlight was on someone else or because the franchise’s struggles prevented them from being noticed, do not get the attention they deserve.

When compiling a list like this, it can be difficult to make decisions about who is truly “underrated” and who is the “most underrated.” Ultimately, the field was narrowed to Detroit Lions who are not members of the Hall of Fame or who are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame because they retired recently (such as Jason Hanson and Calvin Johnson).

Because there has to be an end to the list somewhere, great players like Paul Naumoff, Jim David, Gail Cogdill, Terry Barr, Bennie Blades and many others are not listed here.

The Detroit Lions have an excellent page on their website with profiles of these and many other franchise stars. Also, a big shoutout to pro-football-reference.com, an amazing database of professional football history and a huge resource for this list.

So, here we are. The most underrated players in Detroit Lions history.

Next: Honorable Mention: Dutch Clark