Kevin Shaffer Madden Career 2004-2011 - Peak 89 OVR

Kevin Shaffer went in the seventh round of the 2002 draft out of Tulsa, the last kind of pick expected to protect a franchise quarterback. Instead he won the Atlanta left tackle job and guarded Michael Vick's blind side, starting through the run that reached the 2004 NFC Championship Game.

That play earned him a large free-agent contract from Cleveland in 2006. When the Browns drafted Joe Thomas third overall in 2007, Shaffer slid over to right tackle without complaint and kept starting, later adding a season in Chicago. He was a steady, unglamorous professional who outperformed his draft slot for the better part of a decade.

His Madden trajectory tells the underdog version of the story cleanly. He opens as a 60 in the 2003 edition, barely on the radar, then climbs year over the next few editions to 87 in both 2006 and 2007 as the Cleveland investment paid off. He reaches his ceiling at 89 in the 2008 edition before tapering to 79 in 2009 and 75 in 2010 as the career wound down.