4 Defensive Players You Don’t Hear Enough About
Photo Credit: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
Ken Boehlke
NFL Central
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NFL media tends to glom on to certain defensive players and completely forget many others. For instance, last season all the rage in the NFL was about Luke Kuechly, J.J. Watt, and Richard Sherman, while players like Robert Quinn, Earl Thomas, and Robert Mathis had phenomenal seasons and flew largely under the radar. The same is happening again this year, and it’s time it comes to an end. Here are the four NFL players that get no love, yet dominate week in and week out.
DeAndre Levy, LB, Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions defense is not one that’s often overlooked. Ndamukong Suh captures most of the headlines based on his ferocious and often dirty play, yet the best player on the Lions defensive unit plays right behind him. DeAndre Levy is having a monster season in which he’s dominating opposing teams run game, shutting down short and intermediate passes, and getting after the quarterback consistently. Levy isn’t necessarily a stat collector with his one interception and half a sack, but the constant pressure he puts on an offense would not be understated by a single offensive coordinator in the league. Next time you come across a Lions game, pick out number 54 and marvel in the impact he has on the game.
Thomas Davis, LB, Carolina Panthers
Last year Luke Kuechly garnered the highly acclaimed Defensive Player of the Year award, yet he may not have even been the best player at his position on his own team. Thomas Davis is one of the best outside linebackers in the NFL and consistently gets overshadowed by a good player on his own unit. Davis’ ability to get side to side while never retreating makes him a nightmare for opposing running backs. The Panthers defense is set up for Davis to force ball carriers back into the field of play where the sure handed tackling Kuechly cleans up the play. Therefore, most of the stats go to Kuechly while Davis stays under the radar.
Jimmy Smith, CB, Baltimore Ravens
A lot of times the best way to tell how important a player is to a team is to see how the team reacts when that player is missing. Well, in the case of Jimmy Smith, he must be really important as his absence allowed the Steelers to throw for six touchdowns and 340 yards against a previously stout Ravens defense. Smith has turned himself into one of the league’s premier cover corners but he does one thing differently than many of the others in his class. He keeps his mouth shut (or at least as far as the cameras can see). Unlike the Patterson’s, Sherman’s, and Haden’s of the world Smith goes about his business quietly and because of it he’s unknown by most football fans. The moment he gets back on the field in Baltimore will be the moment the Raven’s defense returns to being great.
Lavonte David, LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Possibly the number one reason why players are not noticed by the general public is when they play on a terrible team. Such is the case for outside linebacker Lavonte David. The third year player out of Nebraska racks up tackles for loss at a rate that most players tally regular tackles, and he is responsible for covering running backs when they turn into receivers. Davis is as instinctive a player as you’ll ever find and he rarely misses tackles. The Buccaneers have been brutal since the day David arrived in Tampa which is why the quiet natured linebacker has still remained largely unknown, but when contract time comes up for David, and he signs a mega deal, the rest of the world will realize just how valuable he really is.
