Chicago Bears: 5 Underrated Players You Should Get To Know

So often when the media covers the National Football League, the focus is placed mostly on offensive juggernauts and only a few select elite defensive bodies.

The reasoning? Fantasy football and America’s love for scoring points.

Professional football 53-man rosters run much deeper than just a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, shutdown corner and nasty defensive end.

There are a handful of Chicago Bears who fly under the radar. Quite a few “small” names contribute to the cause just as greatly as a Matt Forte or a Jay Cutler and simply don’t receive the public spotlight.

It is worthwhile to get to know some of these underrated role players and describe their effect on the franchise.

Here now are the top five underrated Chicago Bears:

Amobi Okoye

Amobi Okoye lit up the defensive box score in the preseason with sacks galore. Granted, they came against reserve offensive linemen, but they still count.

How much weight those exhibition sacks carry may have helped Okoye, 24, get a chance at landing some playing time. This certainly seems like the case.

The Bears have struggled to get defensive line pressure in the early portion of the season. One solution was bringing in a new starting pair of defensive tackles.

Sure enough in his first game starting, Okoye got a sack.

Funny how these things work.

Corey Graham

Corey Graham has been tagged as one of the best utility special teams players. This is why he’s such an importance on a Lovie Smith football team that prides itself on special teams play.

Graham, 26, can almost always be found near the ball carrier on punts and kickoffs. He’s usually flying around the field to throw a block or make a tackle.

As a defensive back, his value is not as high. For his role and what he brings to the Bears, Graham is a perfect fit for the organization.

Dane Sanzenbacher

Don’t call him Terrell Owens, Jerry Rice or Randy Moss.

The story behind Dane Sanzenbacher is rather unique. The rookie wide receiver and former Ohio State Buckeye made early noise with a team that struggles at the receiver position.

He developed some chemistry with Cutler early in the preseason, but it looked as if he was practice squad-bound or fourth on the depth chart at best.

Sanzenbacher is playing with Cutler much like Wes Welker does with Tom Brady. He’s no home run threat, but he makes almost all the catches thrown his direction and displays football smarts with time management and knowing where he is on the field.

It’s early in his career, but Sanzenbacher appears to be a very valuable tool in the Chicago passing game.

Adam Podlesh

Yes, you’re reading a slide on the punter.

Folks around Chicago were furious when the Bears parted ways with longtime punter Brad Maynard. The move was to make room for 28-year-old Adam Podlesh.

Podlesh spent four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars as the starting punter. He hasn’t skipped a beat with the Bears yet to date. His numbers and stats are solid, and he hasn’t blown field position or muffed a punt horribly.

Here’s another way to tell you have a solid punter: how often does he get brought up?

If you constantly talk about him, that’s not good. If he’s doing his job, he will go unnoticed.

Tyler Clutts

What position can possibly follow a slide on a punter quite like one on a fullback can?

Meet Tyler Clutts.

Clutts, 26, is a first-season fullback product from Fresno State. He came up via the Bears practice squad to serve as a viable blocker.

A traditional Mike Martz offense does not feature a true fullback. Martz elects to have more tight ends to block at the line of scrimmage. Clutts has however done a decent job creating some lanes for Forte.

His Achilles tendon however is ball control. Not that Clutts will get a large number of carries anyhow, but if they need a power back on a short-yard down, Clutts is not a candidate.

Brett Lyons is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand or from official interview materials.

Follow Brett Lyons on Twitter @BrettLyons670.