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Breakout Player of the Year

Wildcats HB Kenyan Drake

Drake was taken by the Broncos with the #8 overall pick in S14 draft when they were awarded it from the Bears when they signed SS Derek Linde in RFA. Drake backed up future Hall of Famer LaMarcus Coker for a season where he put up pedestrian numbers in 16 games as a backup (3.5 YPC, 1 total TD, 1 fumble). What ensued over the following three seasons could only be called disastrous. He played 9 games with four starts in S15 with the Broncos eventually signing Knowshon Moreno to start. He played in only 5 games with 5 starts in S16 with the Broncos signing Giovanni Bernard to start. In S17, he had 10 games and 5 starts with the Broncos eventually signing Melvin Gordon to start. Thanks to injuries and ineffectiveness, he played in 24 (14 starts) of a possible 48 games from S15-17 with 1068 total yards, a 3.6 rushing YPC, and 3 fumbles vs 2 TDs. He got a change of scenery to the Wildcats who had undergone a major offensive makeover, which ultimately led to one of the least talented OL in the league. In the final season of his rookie contract, Drake delivered in production with 1709 total yards, 17 total TDs, and 2 fumbles as he helped lead the Wildcats to their first division title and their best record ever while also being a nominee in several categories.

Bears LT Isaiah Wynn

The Bears traded up for Wynn, giving up their S18 1st round pick to select him. He started 5 games before suffering a season-ending injury, but it was a disaster. 19 blocks vs 6 sacks allowed. Year 2 went so much better as his ratio improved to 78 blocks vs 9 sacks allowed, with the block total tying for third-most in the league as the Bears offense was balanced to roughly league average on the ground and through the air.

Orcas MLB Drew Sheth

Sheth admirably filled in for an injured Telvin Smith last season where in 16 games and 7 starts as a rookie, the 125th overall pick just cleared 100 tackles and provided 1 each of sacks, INTs, FFs, and FRs. When Smith signed with the Bengals, Sheth competed with veteran free agent signing Rey Maualuga for the starting job. Sheth won and became the one of the stars of the defense that finished 2nd in the league as he exploded to 153 tackles, 4 sacks, a league-leading 5 FFs, and 4 FRs.

Falcons DT Kris Jones

The Falcons had lost second-year DT D.J. Reader to a season-ending injury in the preseason giving a team a huge punch to the gut as they hoped their ascending, young front seven could help turn around the defense to get them back into the playoffs. The Falcons ended up not signing a replacement, so the fifth-year, former fifth round pick Jones had to step in to start. His 30 tackles may not jump out, but he was second on the team with 9 sacks (third had 4) with 2 FFs and 2 FRs as he helped the defense settle to above league average in most categories and even fourth against the run as the Falcons made a late-season run after a 1-4 start to win the NFC South.

Packers K Daniel Carlson

Carlson was one of many Ks taken in days 1 and 2 of the S16 draft. He was the only one who didn't get a chance to start as a rookie as P Andy Groom won the kicking job and was sensational at it. He wrestled the job away last season, but was one of the worst kickers in the league converting just 68% of his FGAs and was 5-10 from 50+. This season, he made huge strides hitting 84% of his FGAs (33-39) and went 7-9 from 50+ as he became a K of the Year candidate.