Analysis

1/25/22

5 min read

Most Important In-Season Additions

In season additions

In the NFL, it is essential to always keep adding to your team in whatever ways possible, and this year’s playoffs have proven exactly that. These players that we will be focusing on were able to quickly adjust to new surroundings and make immediate impacts to help their team win and reach the Conference Championship Round. Read below for a look at the five most consequential in-season additions and a breakdown of their impacts.

Von Miller, EDGE, Los Angeles Rams

We won’t spend too much time focusing on Von Miller here, as we have already shined a light on his immediate and huge impact. For a brief breakdown, Miller joined the Rams for Week 10 and compiled 4 sacks and 30 pressures across 434 snaps through the end of the regular season. In the playoffs, he’s stepped up his game to the tune of 2 sacks and 13 pressures, including a whopping 10 this past weekend against Tampa Bay. He has proven himself well worth the picks Los Angeles gave up.

Odell Beckham Jr., WR, Los Angeles Rams

Yet another Ram and not the last one, as they excelled in adding talent through the season. Beckham Jr. was a hot commodity after his release from the Browns, but there were concerns about his production in Cleveland and what he was still capable of. Like Von, he too arrived for Week 10 and notched 27 catches for 305 yards and 5 touchdowns in the rest of the season. In the playoffs, he has 10 receptions for 123 yards with 1 touchdown to go along with his 40 yards pass from the trick play in the Wild Card Round.

Beckham Jr. hasn’t reached the heights of his Giants tenure, but he has proven to be a reliable weapon that defenses struggle to contain and been a big reason for the Rams’ playoff success. Odell’s contract was made to be heavily incentive-based, and with those being tied to playoff success, the Rams will be hoping to pay out the full $4.25 million that would result from winning the Super Bowl. If they are able to do that, it would be hard to argue against him being well worth it, as he’s been key to their playoff success and was also important down the stretch of the regular season.

Melvin Ingram, EDGE, Kansas City Chiefs

The Melvin Ingram trade was a valuable one for the Chiefs for reasons beyond just his value as a player. In 344 regular season snaps after joining Kansas City for Week 9 (8th most on the defense in that span), Ingram logged 24 pressures and a sack, not incredible production but still valuable nonetheless.

In the playoffs, he has logged 4 pressures and a sack, all coming against Buffalo. His biggest value to the Chiefs may have come in how he freed up Chris Jones to move back from the edge to the interior. Jones had been decent on the edge but returned to his dominant self after this trade with 44 pressures and 6 sacks over the remaining 8 games that he played. He hasn’t had quite the same impact in the playoffs, but this trade has still been immense for them in turning around their defense.

Brandon Powell, KR/PR, Los Angeles Rams

We now go from three names that most football fans would know to one that even the most avid of fans may not be familiar with. Brandon Powell was released by both the Bills and Dolphins in 2021 before being signed to the Rams practice squad and then being promoted to the active roster in December. He has returned 6 punts and 8 kickoffs and still made a sizable impact, with 133 punt return yards (22.2 average) including a 61-yard TD and 208 kickoff return yards (26 average) with a long of 65.

In the playoffs, he has still made an impact with 3 kick returns for 47 yards and 5 punt returns for 79 yards. Powell won an NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award and has made valuable contributions to the team since finding his niche role and has been a truly significant addition for the Rams.

Eric Weddle, SAF, Los Angeles Rams

The last player on this list and yet another Ram, Eric Weddle was actually not technically an in-season addition given that he signed after the conclusion of the regular season and just for the playoffs. With starting safeties Jordan Fuller and Taylor Rapp being out for the Wild Card game with injuries, Weddle was signed to provide depth and has actually been more than that, playing 80 snaps which ties for the 10th most on defense as a fringe starter.

His productions hasn’t been special, as his fellow safety, Nick Scott, has definitely outplayed him, but he’s provided quality snaps and hasn’t been a liability, which is exactly what Los Angeles had to hope for when they decided to pull him out of retirement to help them cope with their injury crisis.

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