LA Rams ageless one Andrew Whitworth makes PFF Underrated team

As he approaches his 40th birthday, the LA Rams ageless one, offensive left tackle Andrew Whitworth, has lived enough NFL football to be expected to have seen it all.  But even the man who has seen 15 NFL seasons come and go is prepared for his 16th, and what may be his final, NFL season. Over the course of his long and storied NFL career, he has played and started in a Super Bowl. He’s played in four Pro Bowls and has earned the distinction of First-Team All-Pro twice in his career.

But I don’t believe that Big Whit has ever earned the honor of Pro Football Focus (PFF’s) annual Underrated team. Until now, that is.

Pro Football Focus names the most undervalued and underrated players each year in an annual feature that names the most underrated players around the NFL at each position. The theme of this annual feature is the premise that each player named is the most underrated player at that position. For LA Rams offensive left tackle, Andrew Whitworth is the guy.

Whitworth wows in his 15th season

In their write-up, PFF’s writer Anthony Treash was very complimentary about Whitworth:

"“Whitworth … has still performed at an extraordinarily high level relative to his counterparts: He was one of the five highest-graded tackles in the NFL through the first 10 weeks of the 2020 season, allowing just six total hurries and no sacks or hits in nine games.That year was interrupted by a torn MCL, but he rallied and made the return for the postseason a few months later. Last year ended up being his 12th straight season in which he produced a top-10 pass-blocking grade among tackles…”"

That write-up pretty much captures the contribution of Whitworth’s play on the field. But it doesn’t touch how much his leadership means to the Rams offensive line.

Whitworth is one of the most generous mentors in the NFL. He is often spied before, during, and after practice working with younger members of the team. Not only does he field countless questions from offensive linemen, but he also gives invaluable tips to young defensive linemen and pass rushers hoping to make the team and contribute.

Whitworth is joined on PFF’s 2021 NFL All-Underrated Team by defense back Darious Williams. The funny part of this distinction is that many (myself included) expect that Andrew Whitworth will hang up his cleats at the end of this season. Wouldn’t it be something if this turns out to be his best season ever?