Phillip Lindsay, Denver Broncos

One of only a handful of players all-time to go undrafted and lead their team to back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Phillip Lindsay quickly became the lead dog in Denver. His 5.4 yard average per carry was top five in the league in 2018, but slipped significantly to 4.5 this past season. His breakout was even more unexpected considering the team also invested heavily in third-round running back Royce Freeman the same year as picking up Lindsay as a UDFA.

The Broncos’ QB carousel over the past two years has given more opportunities to Lindsay as the most stable part of their offense. Players like Joe Flacco, Brandon Allen, and Case Keenum were not consistent leaders for the team, but John Elway seems to have found his man in Missouri alumni Drew Lock.

In order to help solidify Lock’s spot as the franchise QB and accelerate his development, Denver loaded up on weapons in the draft with Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler in 2020, as well as Noah Fant in 2019. However, the most significant move related to the running back group was the somewhat confusing signing of Melvin Gordon away from Los Angeles.

Now absolutely overloaded with offensive talent, the Broncos’ offense should likely take a major step forward in Vic Fangio’s second year as coach. However, Lindsay is likely to see a lot less than the 259 touches he totaled last season and may be relegated to running back-by-committee status. Gordon took a substantial step backward last year as well but was still rewarded with a two-year, $16 million contract that would certainly put him at the top of the depth chart.