:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/5120420/136319987.jpg)
Every year, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports puts out a list of the players on all 32 NFL teams that he feels are overrated and underrated. This year's list came out today, and there are some interesting names on it for all of the teams, particularly on the "overrated" side.
But I'm going to focus on the two players that he has listed for our favorite football team. When it comes to the overrated side of things, Prisco went with a member of the Minnesota Vikings that, at first blush, appeared to decline a bit last year, and one that shouldn't be all that surprising.
Overrated: DT Kevin Williams. His best football hasn't come in years, yet he still gets considered among the best inside players. That's reputation working.
Yes, Williams did not have his best season in 2011, and it's hard to believe that 2012 will be his tenth NFL season. But I will point out that, of his six sacks last season, five of them came in the final six games of the year, and he did get off to a bit of a slow start due to a two-game suspension for the StarCaps bulls*** incident, as well as battling a foot injury for the entire year. Hopefully in 2012 he'll be back to being the Kevin Williams we're more accustomed to seeing.
His pick for the Vikings' most underrated player shouldn't come as much of a surprise, either.
Underrated: C John Sullivan. On a bad line, he was one of the few bright spots. He emerged as a leader on the line, a player they can build around for a long time.
The Vikings see Sullivan's value, as they gave him a pretty decent contract extension last season. With Steve Hutchinson gone, Sullivan is a good bet to emerge as the true leader of the offensive line in Minnesota this season, and his influence on Matt Kalil will, likely, be nothing but positive. Sullivan's experience and smarts will be a big part of what should be a pretty decent improvement on the offensive line for the Minnesota Vikings in 2012.
Do you agree or disagree with Prisco's most underrated and overrated Minnesota Vikings?