Russell Wilson: K.J. Wright and Duane Brown Among NFL's Most Underrated Players

So far this offseason, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has been in the spotlight on social media on more than just one occasion.

First, Wilson received a lot of attention for his uncharacteristic comments last week during the Pro Bowl on the Seahawks needing to add superstars this offseason. Then, the Second-Team All-Pro revealed through his social media channels on Thursday that he’s expecting his second child with R&B singer Ciara.

Now, if all that wasn’t enough, Wilson capped off a busy week by sharing some of his time to answer a handful of questions from fans through Bleacher Report on Friday.

Among other things, the eighth-year pro was asked about which player he feels is the most underrated in the entire league. In his usual humbling way, Wilson refused to mention just one player in his response.

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“It's a good question. I've never been asked this. I think the most underrated player in the NFL is K.J. Wright,” Wilson said on Bleacher Report’s open forum. “The other player I would say is Duane Brown.”

Since Wilson has spent his entire career with Wright in Seattle, it wasn't that surprising he mentioned him first. But it's clear the former Wisconsin standout has quickly developed a strong relationship with his blind side protector in just two and a half seasons playing together.

Midway through the 2017 season, the Seahawks acquired Brown and a 2018 fifth-round selection, which turned into Shaquem Griffin, from the Texans in exchange for cornerback Jeremy Lane (who was ultimately sent back after failing his physical), a 2018 third-round pick, and a 2019 second-round pick.

Over his last two and a half seasons in Seattle, Brown has started in all 39 games he's played in and missed only six games (including the playoffs). He was selected to the Pro Bowl, the fourth of his career, in his first year with the team.

In the six games that Brown missed, the Seahawks went 2-4 and Wilson was sacked a total of 12 times. So it's clear just how much the offense has missed him when he's been sidelined due to injury.

As for Wright, he's been a staple of consistency during nine seasons in Seattle. Aside from an injury-riddled 2018 season, he's been durable and productive playing weakside linebacker alongside Bobby Wagner.

In five of the past six seasons, Wright yielded at least 100 total tackles and missed just a single regular season game. In addition, Wright has also registered the ninth-most solo tackles (533) in franchise history and moved into third all-time for combined tackles this past season.

Wright, who turned 30 last July, enjoyed quite the comeback season with a career-high in tackles and recorded a career-high 11 pass deflections and three interceptions in 2019. Despite those impressive numbers, the longest-tenured player on the Seahawks wasn't selected to participate in this year's Pro Bowl and has only made the all star game once in his career.

If both Wright and Brown are able to stay healthy during the 2020 season and continue to play at a high level, they'll both be viable candidates to get back to the Pro Bowl next season. Hopefully Wilson's commentary will change the narrative a bit for two players who remain undervalued across the league.