Green Bay Packers: 10 Nationally underrated players of the 2000s

4. Charlie Peprah

The Green Bay Packers have been best known for their offense for quite some time. Due to superstar quarterbacks like Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers is clear as to why that was the case. However, this caused a lot of smaller-role players on the defense to go completely unnoticed by the media.

One of those players was Charlie Peprah. The safety spent his first three seasons in the NFL with the Packers. After that, he went to the Atlanta Falcons for a season, before returning to Green Bay for another two years.

During his first three-year stint with the Packers, Peprah 41 games but started just one. When he returned for two more years, he appeared in 30 games, this time starting 25 of them.

In his first 41 games, Peprah recorded only 25 tackles (although he did force two fumbles). Over the last 30 games however, the safety recorded 157 tackles (one forced fumble), six for a loss.. He added seven interceptions and 15 pass deflections as well.

A lot of that production came from his 2011 campaign, which saw his only touchdown in the NFL. Of course, this should make him even more loved by fans of Green Bay, as his breakout season helped them get a Super Bowl ring.

Even looking past his dominant 2011 though, Peprah was a vital part of the Packers operation. There’s a reason they brought him back after a year away from the team despite his stats with the team in his first stint being easy to overlook.

Peprah’s the classic type of player that’s extremely important to a team, but is more of a role player. This leads to the media not putting much focus on them. However, even in that 2011 season, Peprah was overlooked when it came time for league honors. He didn’t get a Pro Bowl nod or anything, not even a player of the week award.

Charlie Peprah wasn’t a superstar his entire career. He knew his role and played it well though. His contributions led to a five-year career with the Packers that yielded a Super Bowl ring. However, he won’t ever be the topic of discussion when remembering that 2011 team. That’s why the safety is an undervalued part of the Green Bay Packers’ history books.