Is Justin Tuck the NFL’s Most Overrated Player?

Might Justin Tuck be the most overrated player in the NFL? CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco certainly believes so.

In a recent article, Prisco gave his thoughts on the New York Giants’ defensive end:

“This year’s pick is Giants defensive end Justin Tuck. He spent more time doing Subway commercials than playing good football in 2012. He was a definite name-over-game player with just four sacks. There were times on tape where you wondered how he was ever a dominant pass rusher.”

The declaration has gained the ire of many Giants fans, but here’s some bad news: Prisco may not be wrong.

No defensive player — outside of new star Jason Pierre-Paul — is more beloved in New York than Justin Tuck. He is revered as a premier pass rusher, but the reality is that this is more often false than true.

For instance, 33 1/2 of his 49 1/2 career sacks have come in three of his eight NFL seasons. He’s bounced back and forth from being fiercely dominant to unbearably mediocre at best. He’s spent the past two seasons playing as the latter, with just nine sacks in 27 games. He’s failed to register more than six sacks in three of the last four seasons.

At 30 years of age, the odds are not in Tuck’s favor to return to his once All-Pro form. Add in the fact that his psyche hasn’t been in the game for a couple of years now — requiring the aid of life coach Tony Robbins to spark some motivation — and it’s quite possible that the popular Giants captain could be done sooner rather than later.

Certainly, one could argue that a guy like free-agent quarterback Tim Tebow would be the league’s most overrated player. Giants fans are rambling off the entire roster for the Philadelphia Eagles (and they may not be wrong either).

That doesn’t change the fact that Tuck has underwhelmed for quite some time despite being heralded as a great defensive playmaker and a key member of the team. He has spent eight years being considered a highly valuable player but has, more often than not, failed to live up to that assessment.

Most overrated player in the NFL? That may be a bit of a stretch. But he’s among a short list of candidates, for sure.

Potentially without Pierre-Paul for the start of the regular season, the Giants will need Tuck to recreate himself and prove the detractors wrong. Otherwise, it could be a long season in New York.

 

Louis Musto is a reporter and sports talk host for the Sports Journey Broadcast Network. You can follow him on Twitter @LouisMusto.