In a sport typically characterized as the ultimate team game, it is amazing how often the addition of a single contributor can, seemingly over night, launch an organization’s success. Whether through free agency, the draft, or simply a player’s return to health after an absence in 2016, an abundance of such additions over the course of this season have changed the landscape of divisions, and shaped the current playoff picture in both conferences.
A pair of day-two rookie running backs burst onto the scene in Kansas City and New Orleans, becoming critical, game-changing components in their respective offenses.