When you think of the top-three players at each offensive position on the football field, who comes to mind first?
Terrell Owens? Peyton Manning? Tom Brady?
Sure, those guys are great and deserve to be known by everyone, including your girlfriend, who doesn't even like football.
NFL superstars get the most attention and are usually recognizable to everyone, whether sports fans or not.
But what about the guys who don't get all of the ESPN attention?
The guys with consistent numbers that are critical to their respective teams?
There will always be polarizing figures that rule every sport, and that's okay. But we must not forget about the other guys who may not receive the critical acclaim but are still very good players.
Just because someone gets all of the attention, that doesn't mean that others don't deserve it, and they usually do.
Everyone talks about Stewie on Family Guy, and rightfully so, but what about Peter? We all laugh at Zach Braff on Scrubs, but what about his nemesis, the Janitor? Joey from Friends?
There are always going to be the Matthew Perry's, Zach Braff's, and Donald Faison's of the world, but we must show respect for the Peter's, Sarah Chalke's, and David Schwimmer's of the world that are great, too.
In respect to that, I've compiled a list of the NFL's top 10 offensive players that don't get the press time that LaDainian Tomlinson gets.
10. Atlanta Falcons WR Roddy White
Nobody talks about this guy, and I mean NOBODY. His team did finish 4-12 last season, and after the turmoil that was Michael Vick, everyone seemed to turn their heads on this team.
I didn't. Roddy White played very well for a team that saw Joey Harrington, Byron Leftwich, and Chris Redman at QB. He was basically a security blanket for the underachieving QB corps, hauling in 83 receptions for 1,202 yards and six touchdowns.
In his previous two seasons, he started only 13 out of 32 games. With the run-first offensive regime of Michael Vick, Warrick Dunn, and Jim Mora Jr., Vick seemed to only look for TE Alge Crumpler when he back-pedaled, and the Atlanta receiving team was blamed for his passing woes.
After his 2007 campaign, nobody will blame Roddy White.
9. Detroit Lions WR Roy Williams
In this era of, "what have you done for me lately" in the NFL, Roy Williams followed his huge 2006 season of 82 receptions for 1,310 yards and seven touchdowns with an injury-shortened year, missing four games.
He has now seemed to fall off of the top-WR pedestal and not for good reason. Even though he missed four games last season, his numbers were still good. Williams caught 64 balls for 838 yards and five touchdowns.
The underachieving Lions have a superstar in Roy Williams when healthy, and the combination of Williams and Calvin Johnson will be big for the Lions' passing game. If Kitna can minimize his turnovers, Williams will be back in the top WR talk in a big way.
8. Cincinnati Bengals WR T. J. Houshmandzadeh
When the Cincinnati Bengals are brought up in conversation, the first name to be mentioned is usually Carson Palmer. Next is Chad Johnson. Some will even mention Rudi Johnson's name next. Then comes T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
A man who catches 112 receptions for 1,143 yards and 12 touchdowns shouldn't go that far down the "mention" list. Chad Johnson is a really good receiver, but T.J. should be mentioned at least in the same sentence as Chad.
No, he isn't boisterous and he doesn't get on the radio, talking nonsense, but Housh is a quality receiver that doesn't get his due. He flew under the radar two seasons ago when he caught 90 passes for 1,081 yards and nine touchdowns. Some will even say he gets that because of the attention Chad gets.
If that's true, then look at Crayton's numbers in Dallas aside Owens, or Joe Jurevicius aside Braylon Edwards. T.J. is just good.
7. New Orleans Saints WR Marques Colston
Who are the NFL's top-five receivers? Does this answer look familiar?
Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Larry Fitzgerald.
That's a great list, and those guys are all deserving, but Marques Colston hardly gets brought up. His numbers of 98 receptions for 1,202 yards and 11 touchdowns are really good, and this is just his second season.
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