Who Is Detroit Lions' Most Underrated Playmaker?

The NFL is scrutinized, studied and sorted through with a higher intensity than a bill on the floor of Congress. It's rare that any player can truly fly under the radar, but Detroit Lions safety James Ihedigbo has done so.

His last two games hurt his standing with the Lions faithful. They can't shake the image of Jason Witten turning him inside out before converting a game-changing fourth down in a playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys. And his late-season benching would lend credibility to arguments that oppose his inclusion here.

However, those two games excepted, Ihedigbo was an extremely good strong safety. Those were the only two games in which he received a negative Pro Football Focus grade, and you'd be hard-pressed to find another Lion who played as well as Ihedigbo without receiving his due credit.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Ihedigbo's Impact

Wide receiver Golden Tate gets all the press as last season's key acquisition, and rightfully so. But Ihedigbo's arrival and Detroit's defensive ascendancy isn't a coincidence. His back-line brother, Pro Bowl free safety Glover Quin, will be among the first to tell you, via Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News:

"

Quin said Ihedigbo helped free him up in 2014. "He brought a lot to the table for us. I’m not going to downplay it."

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) April 22, 2015"

Quin was absolutely right. Ihedigbo was the bone-crushing enforcer the Lions needed to execute their transition to defensive coordinator Teryl Austin's scheme, which uses a free and strong safety.

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Ihedigbo also helped spur Detroit's spectacular run defense with 25 defensive stops (plays that constitute an offensive failure) and had the league's fourth-highest run-stop percentage among all safeties.

The spectacular designation isn't an exaggeration, either. The Denver Broncos were the second-best team in the league at stopping the run. They gave up over 10 more yards per game.

Not only did Ihedigbo contribute with his play, but he also brought a championship level of experience that he passed on to his teammates. And no one should question his commitment to those teammates, regardless of his financial desires:

"

Lions SS James Ihedigbo, who wants a new contract, is indeed in Allen Park today for the start of OTAs, as @davebirkett reported.

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) May 26, 2015"

He discussed that commitment with Justin Rogers of MLive Media Group: "My mindset is to really get better at my craft, help my teammates, definitely be hands-on helping these young guys along with Rashean [Mathis] and Glover, and make sure our defense is special this year."

Head coach Jim Caldwell wanted to create an environment of professionalism and accountability. Ihedigbo's example is the pudding that proves those values have been established.

The Internal Competition

There were few other players who could qualify for the honor bestowed here. So many of Detroit's playmakers, as discussed above, have already been publicly lauded.

Darius Slay was recently named a PFF "Secret Superstar." Ziggy Ansah has been universally praised, and Detroit's two biggest offensive playmakers (Calvin Johnson and Tate) were either featured on a video game at one point or joined Matthew Stafford and Quin at the Pro Bowl.

Rashean Mathis, however, did throw his hat in the ring. Yet Ihedigbo's tremendous run defense coupled with his edge in sacks (two to zero) knocks out the ageless cornerback.

That leaves Ihedigbo in a race against Tahir Whitehead. It wasn't close. Whitehead did a fine job filling in for Stephen Tulloch but finished with only four more defensive stops despite playing a position that brings about more opportunities for them.

Player	Cov. Grade	Passes Defensed	INTs	TDs Allowed	Opp. Passer Rating
James Ihedgibo	5.8	5	4	2	71.2
Rashean Mathis	9.3	4	1	3	85.3
Darius Slay	10.8	9	2	3	79.6
Glover Quin	4.2	1	7	3	76.5

Plus, Ihedigbo's PFF coverage grade (5.8) separated the two considerably. It boosted the strong safety's full grade to 9.3, which ranked 14th among the league's safeties, while Whitehead was just slightly above average (1.8).

Again, those last two games hurt Ihedigbo's image. Perhaps they should throw a slight tint on his bright season, but they shouldn't overshadow it. Ihedigbo was an incredible player for Detroit in 2014. And it's about time that we acknowledge it.

All advanced stats, grades and positional rankings are courtesy of Pro Football Focus. Contract information courtesy of Spotrac.

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.