One of the most underrated Guards in the game, Dave Szott, was never chosen for a Pro Bowl, though he was good enough to make several. 

Szott was not a behemoth like other Linemen but used skill and leverage to outmaneuver his opponent.  Rarely beaten, Szott had no discernable weakness, well except for the lack of accolades!

Despite playing for a college juggernaut like Penn State, Linebacker Cameron Wake was not drafted in 2005.  He signed with the New York Giants as a Free Agent but failed to make the team; he kept working out and hoping for an opportunity, but it took a detour to Canada to get him to the NFL.

Wake made the B.C. Lions in 2007, and in the next two seasons, he was named the CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player in both of them.  The NFL couldn’t ignore that, and he signed with the Miami Dolphins, one of several teams interested in the former Nittany Lion.

Wake was a backup as a 27-year-old NFL rookie, but he became a regular starter on the edge the year after and was one of the top pass-rushers over the next nine seasons.  He went to five Pro Bowls, was a First Team All-Pro in 2012, and had five 10-plus Sack years, peaking with 15 in 2012.  

Age caught up to Wake, and his final season in Tennessee (2019) was sub-standard compared to what he did before, but he accumulated 100.5 Sacks, an incredible accomplishment considering when he made it to the NFL.

While Rosey Grier was better known for being one of the inaugural members of the Los Angeles Rams' "Fearsome Foursome," the defensive stalwart was a better player in the first two-thirds of his professional career when he was with the New York Giants.  Grier helped the New York Giants win the 1956 NFL Championship, and he was named to two Pro Bowls (1956 and 1960) as a Giant.  He would also be selected as a First Team All-Pro in 1956 and was a two-time Second Team All-Pro.  

Grier started all 141 games he played in the NFL and recorded over 40 (unofficial) Sacks.

Grier would become a more prominent name after his professional career was over as he served as a bodyguard for Robert F. Kennedy and helped to disable his assassin, Sirhan Sirhan.  He would also make many television appearances and had his own talk show in Los Angeles.  This man was a giant, figuratively and literally, everywhere he went!

NaVorro Bowman would prove to be a tackling machine during his time with the San Francisco 49ers, and once he became a starter, he would help usher in a new wave of strong defense for the team.  Bowman would be a First Team All-Pro in 2011 (despite not making the Pro Bowl), and he finished second overall in Solo Tackles.  He repeated his First Team All-Pro performance in 2012 and 2013, making the Pro Bowl both years; in 2012, he helped the Niners reach the Super Bowl, though they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.  From 2011 to 2013, he had 140 Combined Tackles or more, which was good enough for the top ten each year.  A torn ACL and MCL cost Bowman the 2014 season, but his return in 2015 saw him again reach the Pro Bowl and the First Team All-Pro, and this time he would lead the NFL in Solo and Combined Tackles.

Bowman didn’t play much longer after that, as injuries piled up, and he played only two more years.

What points do you get for being one of the best players to come out of Vermont?  Okay, not that much, but regardless of what state Steve Wisniewski came from, there was no doubt that he was one of the finest Offensive Linemen of the 1990s.

Steve Wisniewski was the de facto leader of the Silver and Black’s O-Line for over a decade.  Many considered him a dirty player, and to many, he was the embodiment of the Silver and Black.  Regardless of whatever tactics the “Wiz” would use, there was no doubt that he was a talented Left Guard, and in addition to eight Pro Bowls, he was named to the prestigious NFL 1990s All-Decade team.

For reasons we have yet to figure out, Wisniewski has not received nearly the same support from the Raiders fan base as other former players with less of a resume.  Can anyone explain that to us?  Perhaps, because as good as he was, he was never part of a Raiders championship team.