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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/NappyFlickz on 2025-05-20 02:11:25+00:00.
And I mean like guys not in the hall, nor typically discussed for it.
As a Saints fan, you know I gotta include two of our own right off the bat first.
- Pierre Thomas - Brees and Reggie stated experimenting with making the screen pass a regular staple on the offense, but Pierre and Sproles perfected it. Not to mention he was excellent at following lead blockers. The DB9/PT Cruiser connection is largely why the screen pass became so feared in the league.
- Marques Colston - Quiet Storm, only one Pro Bowl, but only 241 yards away from a 10k yard career. For quite some time, he held the NFL record for most receptions in a receiver’s first two seasons until Jarvis Landry broke it. Essentially a tight and in a WR’s body, he was a fantastic possession receiver who was just really f’ng good at casually making catches in places other receivers would prefer not to. Ie. Straight up strolled to the center/hospital pass zone off a slant just 5-15 yards out, or over the outside shoulder near the sideline. He was a first down machine. A shame we weren’t able to give him a second ring.
- Joseph Addai - If Trent Richardson was Yang, this guy was Yin. Trent would snatch a tackle for a loss from the jaws of a clear first down with how much he deliberately avoided open holes, but Joseph somehow had a way to materialize holes where they didn’t exist. He wasn’t a big bruiser like Adrien Peterson, Mike Tolbert, Tobey Gerhart, or Jerome Bettis, nor was he small like Darren Sproles, but bro just had a way of just straight up teleporting through the line of scrimmage. And he seldom needed more than two jukes/shifts to do it.
- Antoine Bethea - This dude was an absolute pitbull. Seeing him and Fred Taylor destroy eachother whenever the Jags played the Colts was mint. What was amazing about him is that he was never out of the play, no matter what happened and was guaranteed to get within striking distance of making a chase down tackle if he had to. Just look at this run from Fred Taylor when he jukes out the entire Colts D-Line + Half the secondary. Bethea GETS SHRUGGED OFF/ HIS ANKLES TOOK but still gets up to chase Fred down and snatch him out of bounds.
Those are some of mine. What are some of your lesser known players that were really good at one specific thing?
EDIT: Forgot another one. Seyi Ajirotutu was inexplicably inevitable at getting open on deep routes, but Rivers seldom threw him the ball.