Overlooked players who could star in the NFL playoffs

Overlooked players who could star in the NFL playoffs

When Seattle Seahawks receiver Paul Richardson made a miraculous, one-handed touchdown catch in his team's playoff opener, then followed it up with another acrobatic grab , plenty of folks watching the game on TV had one simple question: "Who is that guy?"

Happens every season.

Because while even the most casual NFL fan is familiar with certain players on each team — Russell Wilson, the quarterback throwing to Richardson, for example — there are plenty of others on the roster who are relatively, or completely, unknown to even thorough fans.

AP writers who cover each remaining playoff team picked one player who you might not have heard of but could play a key role in the divisional round this weekend :

[...] he's a threat to go all the way any time he touches the ball, whether via a screen pass or an end-around run, and scored more TDs (7) than Jones (6).

Shead has been under the radar his whole career, an undrafted guy from Portland State who only this season became a regular starter on a talented defense famous for "Legion of Boom" members Sherman and Chancellor.

Cook's return from an ankle injury that sidelined him in October, when Green Bay lost to Dallas, added an option to the offense, helped open up the middle and gave opposing safeties something else to think about.

Thuney, a rookie, has been a key member of a Patriots offensive line that has allowed just 17 sacks one season after giving up 38.

Sorensen, a former undrafted free agent out of BYU, might be listed as a backup safety, but he rarely leaves the field.

Along with playing special teams, he helps give Berry, Peters and the rest of the defensive backfield a hard-hitting presence.

[...] he is always around the ball, recovering three fumbles and picking off three passes this season, with one returned for a touchdown.

[...] James became a productive part of Pittsburgh's versatile offens