Kansas City Chiefs: Who is the most underrated player?

On Thursday, the AFC West ESPN bloggers got into a discussion about who the most underrated player in the AFC West is. For the Kansas City Chiefs, there was nobody getting a ton of love. Jeff Legwold of the Denver Broncos beat took the side of Denver corner Chris Harris Jr., while Eric D. Williams of the San Diego Chargers beat sided with Chargers defensive end Corey Liuget.

For Kansas City, beat writer Adam Teicher split his vote, going between Oakland Raiders left tackle Donald Penn and Chiefs corner Sean Smith. Here is what Teicher said about Smith:

"Smith stepped into the Chiefs’ No. 1 cornerback role after they released Brandon Flowers and Smith was excellent. He didn’t make many big plays, but was there for the Chiefs every down. After releasing Flowers, the Chiefs needed a big season from Smith, because none of their other cornerbacks established themselves during the season. Five different cornerbacks in addition to Smith started at least one game last season for Kansas City."

Smith is certainly a great choice. Despite being one of Pro Football Focus’ top five corners in 2014 and someone who shut down the league’s best receivers every week, Smith did not make the Pro Bowl. He is seldom talked about as one of the best in the game, but clearly is deserving of major money (and he will get it) when he hits free agency.

I have to agree with Teicher. I don’t think anybody else on Kansas City deserves this mantle. Smith is terrific and grossly forgotten about by outside media. Other candidates could include Dustin Colquitt, Allen Bailey and Anthony Sherman, although I’m not sure any of them make the impact of Smith.

What say you, Addicts? Who is the most underrated man wearing the red and yellow these days?