Frank Gore and the 4 Most Underrated RBs in the NFL

Frank Gore. The "Inconvenient Truth."

Can anyone tell me what's so inconvenient?

Why is Gore consistently ranked among the most underrated running backs in the league?

Everyone knows that the San Francisco 49ers' star runner has been battling injuries and has played banged-up all year long. Yet Gore remains one of the best in the NFL from a statistical perspective. 

Through 13 games, only three other running backs have accumulated more yards than Gore. The top two are on losing teams. Gore has been the catalyst for a 49ers offense that is at least partly responsible for the team's 10-3 record.

Gore also broke a franchise record this season for the 49ers when he passed Joe "The Jet" Perry's rushing record in the team's 26-0 shutout victory over the St. Louis Rams in Week 13. 

Did you hear much about it? I sure didn't, not outside the regional news.

What is behind this current trend to underrate such valuable players? Why aren't running backs getting their due respect?

It is a passing league. Running backs aren't valued the way they should be. Some of them are getting paid like it, but the truth is running backs are worth less than they used to be.

Just ask any 49ers fan whether or not they would rather have Gore's 1,000-plus yards with seven to ten touchdowns or Eli Manning's 4,500-plus yards with 30-plus touchdowns. I guarantee you most of them would trade Gore for Manning without losing any sleep.

The running game isn't dead, though. Not yet. Gore and the others on this list are keeping the tradition going, although they aren't getting enough respect for doing so.

Beanie Wells

Beanie Wells is on his way to having a Pro Bowl-caliber season. The Arizona Cardinals are playing good football right now. Why isn't anyone talking about it?

Wells has struggled to stay healthy during his young career, not unlike his college experience at Ohio State. This season, however, he has managed to stay on the field, and his numbers speak for themselves.

So far this season, Wells is the ninth-ranked rusher in the NFL. He is closing in on the 1,000-yard mark, and has rushed for nine touchdowns through 13 games.

Nobody is talking about him, though. He is one of the best players you never hear about.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis

The New England Patriots feature one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL. This ins't exactly breaking news.

The guy nobody ever talks about in relation to this well-known fact is BenJarvus Green-Ellis. He might be the most underrated player in the NFL.

All Green-Ellis ever does is score touchdowns. Seriously. 

In the last two years, only Arian Foster (24) and Adrian Peterson (23) have scored more rushing touchdowns than Green-Ellis (21).

Did you know that?

Rashard Mendenhall

I must admit that I've been guilty of underrating Rashard Mendenhall. Many Pittsburgh fans know that I haven't been high on him as an upper-echelon runner. 

I was wrong. 

Doing the research for this post has led me to believe that Mendenhall is one of the most underrated runners in the NFL. 

Mendenhall has scored as many touchdowns on the ground since the start of the 2010 season as BenJarvus Green-Ellis (21). 

Now that the Steelers are a legitimate throw-first team, perhaps they don't need Mendenhall to do anything more than what he already does. Maybe he really is a perfect fit.

After all, it stands to reason that if Ben Roethlisberger is getting hammered due to a porous offensive line, then Mendenhall might be suffering from the same plight.