One of my oft repeated observations (and favorite sayings) is "you're never a hero in your own hometown". It's amazing how many players we've had that we didn't especially think of as being "that impressive", yet once the NFL scouts reacted differently, we nodded and said "wow, I guess he (insert name here--Knappe, Myers, etc) was better than we thought".
It's obviously a reflection of the system we employ and the impact and quality of the coaching they receive, but we've had far too many not to notice the trend.