Who are the most underrated players on this Patriots roster?

The New England Patriots have plenty of worthy stars across their roster, but they also have several key contributors who deserve more recognition.

Let’s face it – the New England Patriots aren’t exactly poster-children for words like “underrated,” “undervalued,” or “underappreciated.” This is a franchise that has enjoyed a run of unprecedented greatness and success over the past two decades. Even if you’re not a fan of this team, you have to at least begrudgingly give them their due, and admit that their winning ways are both impressive and worthy of respect and admiration.

So it may surprise you to learn that there are actually several players on this current Patriots roster that we believe are vastly underrated. It’s not that these players don’t receive plenty of commendation from their appreciative teammates, coaches, and fans. It’s that they’re probably not very well-known outside of the New England area… and they really should be.

You won’t find names like Julian Edelman, Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, or Matthew Slater on this list. Those guys are actually very underrated when compared with some of their flashier contemporaries on other teams , but they’re still at least regularly making their way into the national news and nightly sports highlights through their exemplary play and overall consistency.

These next five guys rarely get mentioned during live TV broadcasts by the commentators (except for maybe our No. 1 selection), and they certainly don’t draw huge media crowds even in the home locker room. But make no mistake – these are the men who are helping the team grind out some tough wins this year, and they deserve more recognition for their work in posting the Patriots to a perfect 6-0 record so far.