Tag: James Houston IV

The NFL’s All-Underrated Team: One Secret Superstar for all 32 teams

From Matt Milano to Denico Autry to Tyler Lockett to Tony Pollard, here are the NFL’s most underrated players by team.

Why are great players underrated in any sport?

There are all kinds of reasons. In football, it could be that the guy playing your position is even better than you are, and he’s been doing it longer. Maybe we only have the attention span for one great player at your position Maybe you’re on a team that doesn’t get much national praise, or you’re part of a unit that… well, stinks… and you’re one of the few bright spots. Or, you’re just getting started on the ascent, and the world hasn’t quite caught up yet.

No matter the reason, there are many NFL players who ply their trade at an exceedingly high level, and they’re not given their proper due. Here, we look to rectify this in 32 individual instances with the most underrated player for every NFL team. Some of these guys have been doing it the right way in the shade for a long time for their teams; a few are new in their uniforms.

No matter why, all 32 of these NFL players deserve more love than they get, and here’s why. Here is every NFL team’s most underrated player.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated). 

Former Gator LB James Houston drafted by Lions in 6th round

Old friend alert! James Houston IV, who transferred to Jackson State before the 2021 season, has been drafted by the Detroit Lions.

Florida only had three players from the 2021 team selected in the 2022 NFL draft, but many in Gator Nation are celebrating the Detroit Lions‘ sixth-round pick, former Gator and Jackson State linebacker [autotag]James Houston IV[/autotag].

Houston signed with Florida as a three-star recruit out of American Heritage in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,  in 2017 and promptly sat out his first year with the team due to charges of credit card fraud. He served as a reserve linebacker in all 13 games in 2018 and 2019 before playing just nine during his junior year.

He joined Deion Sanders at Jackson State University for his redshirt senior season and finished tied for second across all FCS teams with 16.5 sacks. Gambling on himself paid for Houston and he became coach Prime Time’s first NFL product as the No. 217 overall pick in the draft.

Interestingly, Houston said that he had no contact with the Lions during his pre-draft preparations. Detroit also took edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan) and John Paschal (Kentucky) in the first two rounds, so it’s clear that the front office wanted to load up at the position through the draft.

It’s not technically a Florida player gone pro, but it’ll do in a down year for the Gators to put it kindly. He joins cornerback [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag] (Bills), defensive tackle [autotag]Zachary Carter[/autotag] (Bengals) and [autotag]Dameon Pierce[/autotag] (Texans) as members of the 2020 Gators that went in this year’s draft.

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Chiefs to host Jackson State DE/LB James Houston IV on top-30 visit

The #Chiefs are hosting Jackson State hybrid DE/LB James Houston IV on a top-30 visit.

The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting one of the most dominant defenders in HBCU football last season on a top-30 visit.

As first reported by Scott Kennedy, Jackson State DE/LB James Houston IV is taking his visit with the Chiefs on Wednesday. The report has since been confirmed by Heavy.com’s Devon Clements and Houston himself, who retweeted Kennedy’s initial report.

Houston began his career at the University of Florida, where he played 35 games as an off-ball linebacker. In 2018 and 2019, he was mostly a reservist and special teamer, but he saw some action in 2020 with 37 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble.

Houston transferred to Jackson State to play under Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders in 2021. In his lone season at Jackson State in 2021, Houston played with his hand in the dirt as a pass-rusher. He appeared in 13 games with the Tigers, notching 52 total tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, 10 quarterback hits and seven forced fumbles.

The Chiefs were among the teams who were in attendance for Houston’s phenomenal pro day at Jackson State, during which he impressed scouts with a 4.6s 40-yard dash, 22 repetitions on the bench press and a 39-inch vertical jump. He weighed in at 6-1 and 244 pounds, which is quite undersized for Steve Spagnuolo’s system if he’s putting his hand in the dirt and playing edge rusher.

If you’re unfamiliar with top-30 visits, they’re back in 2022 after being held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These visits serve as an opportunity for prospects to tour team facilities, meet with position coaches, front office executives, scouts and members of the training staff. On occasion, they’ll get a chance to meet with a few players who are working at the team facility, but they won’t do any football activities or workouts themselves. It’s essentially a way for NFL teams to fill in some blank spaces in their scouting reports and get to know how a player will fit within their culture.

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This former Florida linebacker transfers to Jackson State

Former Gator James Houston IV entered the NCAA transfer portal in January and announced Friday that he will be transferring to Jackson State.

Former Florida linebacker James Houston IV announced Friday that he will transfer to Jackson State to play for head coach Deion Sander s. He entered the NCAA transfer portal in January following the Gators’ loss to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.

He played nine games in 2020 and posted 37 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss, a sack and a forced fumble. Houston tallied 100 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in four seasons with the orange and blue.

But his playing time was set to fade in 2021 with linebackers Ventrell Miller, Amari Burney and Mohamoud Diabate likely to take most of the snaps at his position. The duo seemed to get more run in the Gators defense in the latter half of the season. Houston started three games while Diabate made six and Burney recorded four.

His transfer is also good news for some younger players in Florida’s linebacker room like Ty’Ron Hopper, Chief Borders, Jeremiah Williams and Diwun Black.

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BREAKING: Florida football sees this linebacker leave through the transfer portal

His production will be missed by a defensive unit that struggled this past season but someone will step up to fill the void left behind.

The news from the football front has not been kind to the Florida Gators these past few weeks, and the bad news continued on Wednesday morning when the program lost a member of its defensive corps to the NCAA transfer portal.

Redshirt junior linebacker James Houston IV declared his intent to transfer according to Rivals.com’s NCAA Transfer Portal Twitter account. He played behind Amari Burney and Ventrell Miller at his position, sharing space with Mahamoud Diabate in the middle of the defense. Houston totaled 100 tackles in 2020, including 10.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in nine games played.

His production will be missed by a defensive unit that struggled mightily at times this past season, but the opening will provide an opportunity for one of the younger members of the program to step up and contribute. We wish him nothing but the best of luck at his next destination and look forward to seeing who can come forward and fill his void.

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