Why Oakland Raiders' Tim Brown Is the Most Underrated Player in NFL History

Tim Brown proved to be one of the great wide receivers in NFL history over his 17-career with the Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There is no question about it.

Not only did he match up statistically with the all-time greats, but his personality off the field made him one of the more respected players during his playing days.

However, it is a travesty that Brown has never received recognition as one of the better players during his generation. He is struggling to receive support for his induction into the Hall of Fame.

Clearly, the voters must be looking beyond Brown's career statistics.

After 17 years of playing in the NFL, Brown's production matches up against arguably any receiver that has ever played the game.

He is tied for sixth all-time with 100 receiving touchdowns, which is the most observed statistic when looking at the game's greater receivers.

Brown is fifth all-time with 1,094 receptions. Not only does he rank above Andre Reed, but also potential future Hall of Famers Terrell Owens and Randy Moss.

He ranks fourth all-time in receiving yards (14,934), which trails only Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens and Issac Bruce.

But what makes Brown stand out as one of the all-time great receivers is his consistency over his career. Credit must be given where it's due.

In the prime of his career, Brown's production on the field stood out against all other receivers in football. For nine straight seasons, he recorded 1,000 or more receiving yards. This accounted for 73 percent of his receiving yards over his 17-year career.

He went 10 straight years with 75 or more receptions. During that time, he only produced under 80 receptions once. For 11 straight seasons, Brown had at least five touchdown receptions.

He also holds the record for most consecutive games with at least two or more receptions (147).

The argument made against Brown is that his statistics are blown out of proportion as a result of playing 17 years in the league. Yet, the majority of Brown's success came while he was in his prime.

His success stemmed from nine consecutive seasons (1993-2001), and even his 10th season was a season that any receiver would take.

Lack of respect for Brown also occurs because he never had much success in the playoffs. But, should he be penalized because he wasn't surrounded with many playoff-caliber teams over the course of his career?

The Raiders made six playoff appearances while Brown was on the roster, four of them when Brown was a crucial part of the offense. This included one appearance in the Super Bowl.

He cannot be held responsible.

Off the field, Brown was a class act for the two organizations for which he played. Despite his difficulties with Al Davis, Brown will always be remembered for his dedication to playing football the right way.

Whether Brown is inducted into the Hall of Fame is another story. Ultimately, Brown deserves to be recognized for the success he found on the football field and the professionalism he brought to the NFL.

Matt Miselis is an NFL Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com. Pro-Football Reference and Wikipedia were used in this article.