Most valuable non-QB for each team

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San Diego Chargers safety

Eric Weddle

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Denver Broncos LB Von Miller

After the season Robert Quinn put together for the St. Louis Rams in his third year, I’m not sure if Quinn or Von Miller is the second-best defensive player in the game behind Watt (and then there’s the Seattle Seahawks duo of Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman to contend with), but Miller has been an elite player since his first season in the league. I can’t find a weakness in his game, because he can play almost any position that a player of his build could conceivably play, he can torture running games, shred offensive tackles en route to the quarterback, and he can even cover. T.J. Ward, Aqib Talib, and DeMarcus Ware are big additions after the breakout years for Terrance Knighton and Danny Trevathan, but Miller is still the king of a great Broncos defense.

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Kansas City Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles

The Chiefs certainly don’t lack for talent with their OLB duo, Derrick Johnson, and Eric Berry, but let’s just say that there’s a reason why Jamaal Charles garnered MVP votes last season. Without him, the Chiefs offense would have been a disaster due to the lack of pass-catching options for Alex Smith, and Charles quite honestly looked like the team’s most potent threat in the passing game. He was obviously a massive threat on the ground as well, and he was more vital than anyone in the Chiefs turnaround by giving them a ground-and-pound identity. The latest great Chiefs RB, Charles was a massive workhorse last season, racking up 1,287 yards on 259 carries. He actually received less carries last year than he did in his 1,500-yard 2012 campaign, but I’m still glad Andy Reid is looking to scale back Charles’s workload. Not only will rest make him more efficient, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Knile Davis on the field as Charles’s complement.

San Diego Chargers FS Eric Weddle

I was flip-flopping between Keenan Allen and Eric Weddle, but I decided to go with a player who was regarded by some as the best safety in the game coming into the 2013 season. Weddle didn’t look like himself at the beginning of the year, but he hit his stride and resumed to being a huge weapon in the Chargers secondary. The Chargers, of course, lacked much in the defensive backfield outside of their star safety, who is a borderline-elite defensive player. One of the team’s leaders, Weddle will be even better next year, because defensive coordinator John Pagano will know how to use him better and the team has much better corners in front of Weddle with Brandon Flowers and Jason Verrett in the fold. When it comes to doing everything asked for at the safety position, nobody is better than Weddle, who is simply a “safety”; he’ll cover downfield, cover over the middle, blitz, play man, play zone, play the run…you name it, he’ll do it.

Oakland Raiders LB Sio Moore

This wasn’t an easy pick at all, and I could conceivably see rookie Khalil Mack emerging as a big, Von Miller-like star on the Raiders defense as a rookie. But for now, I’m going to go with a different 4-3 outside linebacker who had a strong rookie season, because Sio Moore looks poised for a huge 2014, especially with the likes of Lamarr Woodley, Justin Tuck, Antonio Smith, and Mack now on the roster around him. Moore showed some Miller-lite qualities last season, because he put together a strong all-around performance as a run-stuffer (mainly), pass rusher (when called upon), and in coverage. I think he could burst out in a big way next season, and the Raiders front seven could be scary (don’t sleep too much on solid, underrated DTs Pat Sims and Stacy McGee).

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