Monday night, the world witnessed Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck commit four turnovers against the Jets.
For the first time in recent memory, the national sports media took Luck off of his way-too-high pedestal and for once blamed the quarterback, if only for a single game.
The fourth-year quarterback from Stanford has often been celebrated as one of the top players in the NFL though his play is not consistent with that claim. In fact, I believe that Luck is the most overrated player in sports.
Because of this claim, I’ve decided to pick the player from each of the four major U.S. sports that I believe is the most overrated. This is based on popular opinion, so the players on this list all get higher ratings from fans and sports media than they really deserve.
NFL — Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts
I’ll start off with Luck. First off, his 28 turnovers since the beginning of 2014 lead all players in the league.
Luck was third-worst in the league with 16 interceptions last season, but according to FootballOutsiders, that number should have been much higher. By factoring in the eight dropped interceptions against Luck and then subtracting a pick that bounced off of his own receiver’s hands, it was determined that Luck should have thrown about 23 interceptions, or most in the league when all quarterbacks had their numbers adjusted.
Statistically, Luck is the luckiest quarterback in the league.
Luck’s redeeming quality is that he plays in the worst division of any major sport. Since the beginning of 2013, the Colts are 12-0 against division foes Jacksonville, Tennessee and Houston, but just 10-12 against non-divisional opponents. His touchdown-to-interception ratio is 32:11 against the AFC South compared to just 57:37 against the rest of the league. To top it off, Luck is just 3-3 with a 9:12 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the playoffs.
Sure, Luck is a good quarterback, but he is vastly overrated by media and fans alike.
MLB — Kris Bryant, 3B, Chicago Cubs
This one is probably a bit unfair. Bryant is a rookie who is having a pretty good season. The snag is that when he came on the scene, people expected the third baseman to be the greatest five-tool player since Willie Mays. He’s just not that good.
I could’ve gone with Dodgers’ outfielder Yasiel Puig, but he’s been injured and it wouldn’t be fair to call him out just yet. Bryant, on the other hand, has been streaky this season. I believe he will be one of the top five players in baseball in a few years, but until we see how he performs in the playoffs, he can’t be put at that level of baseball excellence just yet.
The future is bright for Bryant, though his 185 strikeouts in just 140 games are MUCH too high to be elite. Once he can improve his contact, Bryant will be one of the best in baseball. Until then, his reputation will be better than his on-field play.
NHL — Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Penguins
One of the only reasons Crosby makes this list is that he’s just not quite as good as the perfect player fans believe he is. Crosby has struggled with injuries, but has been one of the best players in the league when healthy.
He’s just not THE best. While most hockey analysts realize this, many fans do not. There are quite a few fans that believe Crosby can do no wrong. He held a +/- of just five last season despite playing significant minutes and recording 84 points.
Crosby’s 11.8 shot percentage in 2014-2015 was the lowest of any single season in his career other than his injury-shortened 2011-2012 campaign. Crosby may have a few more seasons in him, but he is past his prime. Analysts have noticed, but most fans have not.
NBA — Dwight Howard, C, Houston Rockets
Easily the most overrated player in basketball, Howard has battled injuries most of his career.
Howard played in just 41 of 82 games last season and averaged 15.8 points and 10.5 rebounds while playing just under 30 minutes a game. While those numbers aren’t terrible, they are less than expected from a guy that will be paid $22 million this season.
Howard has looked lazy at times and has often struggled to stay out of foul trouble. This past season, Howard began to run out of steam toward the end of the year.
Howard’s 2.7 offensive rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game were career lows for the big man. A 52.8 percent free-throw shooter, media members and fans alike greatly overvalue the 12th-year big man.