Two Current Buccaneers Named on List of NFL's Most Underrated Players

Two players who are underrated across the NFL have turned into franchise legends in Tampa.

Lavonte David is criminally underrated. 

This isn't new. In fact, it's common knowledge to anyone who has followed his professional career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since he joined the league over a decade ago.

So when someone local to Tampa vocalizes David's status as one of the NFL's most underrated players to one of their peers, it usually elicits nothing more than a subtle head nod to confirm what is already well known. 

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But when it happens on a national scale? That raises some eyebrows of approval from the 'Lavonte Loyalists'. 

The same could be said for Mike Evans. 

Already the greatest receiver in Buccaneers' history, Evans will be going for a full decade of 1,000-yard receiving seasons this year. He's also in hot pursuit of Jerry Rice for the most consecutive 1K receiving seasons in a career. Still, it feels like Mike Evans' astonishing consistency gets forgotten when debates ensue about the best receivers in the game.

I'm not sure what there is to say about Tampa Bay players historically not receiving the recognition they deserve. But I guess we can just chalk it up as another layer within the ideology of, 'It's a Buc's life'. 

Am I right? 

But as much as Bucs fans like to clamor about how underrated their favorite players are, once in a while, when the stars align just right, those same fans manage to catch a bone from the national media. It happens when someone credible takes a moment to acknowledge the treasure that lies buried along the Gulf Coast of Tampa, FL. 

In this case, that treasure comes in the form of Lavonte David and Mike Evans. Both of whom were recently identified on the NFL Network's hit TV show, Good Morning Football, as two of the most underrated players in the NFL. 

Now we have an All-Underrated Defense to pair with yesterday's offense...

How does the team look??? pic.twitter.com/bpHrSpqFMf

— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) July 14, 2023

On the list of most underrated defensive players, Lavonte David was the second player named. David was listed behind Carolina's talented edge rusher, Brian Burns, and ahead of San Francisco's big free agent acquisition, DT, Javon Hargrave.  

On the offensive side of the ball, Mike Evans came in at number five. The most underrated offensive player, according to the panel of hosts for GMFB, is Detroit's quarterback, Jared Goff. He was followed by running backs, Najee Harris and Rahmondre Stevenson. Fellow receiver, and another Detroit Lion, Armon-Ra St. Brown, was the only other player ranked ahead of Evans. 

So although both Mike Evans and Lavonte David are regularly overlooked for All-Pro and Pro-Bowl honors, it's nice to see them receive some national recognition. According to the popular hosts of Good Morning Football, Lavonte David is the most underrated linebacker in the NFL, and Mike Evans is the second most underrated receiver. 

Although these sorts of rankings don't really mean anything, they do represent, at the very least, some acknowledgment of what fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have known for a long time. There was, and remains treasure buried in Tampa, FL... You just have to take a closer look if you want to find it. 

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