Fansided

Every NFL team’s most underrated player of all time

By Jarrett Bailey

Photo by JOHN CAPUTO/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by JOHN CAPUTO/AFP via Getty Images /
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MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 22: Andy Dalton #14 of the Cincinnati Bengals reacts against the Miami Dolphins during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 22: Andy Dalton #14 of the Cincinnati Bengals reacts against the Miami Dolphins during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Cincinnati Bengals: Andy Dalton

Andy Dalton deserves his flowers. Was he ever elite? No. But he gave Bengals fans multiple seasons of good football, and he helped drag Cincinnati out of mediocrity.

The Red Rifle was drafted in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Together with fellow draft class member, A.J. Green, Dalton led the Bengals to a 9-7 record and a playoff berth. Dalton was named a Pro Bowler after throwing 20 touchdowns and for nearly 3,400 yards as a rookie.

The Bengals were a playoff team every year from 2011-2015 under Dalton.

He threw for over 4,200 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2013 and was somehow snubbed from the Pro Bowl. From 2012-15, the Bengals won at least 10 games each season- that was in large part because of Dalton. While the final years in Cincinnati were forgettable for the former TCU quarterback, he helped the Bengals make a seamless transition out of the Carson Palmer era and into the new era of the 2010s.

Dalton went to Dallas in 2020 and was thrust into the starting lineup after Dak Prescott’s injury. He is now in Chicago, and will likely continue to be an NFL journeyman.

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