Calais Campbell had 16 points of AV while playing with the Arizona Cardinals in 2016. He signed a monster four year, $60 million contract with $30 million guaranteed with the Jaguars in the first week of free agency. But this didn’t prove to be a massive overpay of an aging veteran. On the contrary, Campbell has been a revelation and Defensive Player of the Year candidate; for the second year in a row, he produced 16 points of AV in 2017.
Andrew Whitworth had a similar pedigree but was in a slightly different situation. he signed a contract with the Rams after a decade of strong play with the Bengals. Whitworth received Pro Bowl or some All-Pro recognition in 2014, 2015, and 2016, but at 36, he wasn’t the sought after free agent that Campbell was. But Whitworth, who signed a 3-year, $33.75M contract, managed to exceed expectations in his first year in Los Angeles. Whitworth was the left tackle for the highest scoring offense in the league and was the plurality choice at first-team All-Pro left tackle by the AP.
And then there is Case Keenum. He signed a one year, $2 million contract with the Vikings on April 4 to almost no fanfare. Now? Keenum is starting in this year’s NFC Championship Game.
The table below shows the leaders in AV in 2017 among players who were on different teams in 2016.
| Player | Old Team | New Team | Pos | AV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calais Campbell | ARI | JAX | DE | 16 |
| Andrew Whitworth | CIN | LAR | LT | 15 |
| Case Keenum | LAR | MIN | QB | 14 |
| Brandin Cooks | NOR | NWE | WR | 13 |
| A.J. Bouye | HOU | JAX | RCB | 12 |
| Johnathan Hankins | NYG | IND | DT | 11 |
| Bennie Logan | PHI | KAN | NT | 10 |
| Jacoby Brissett | NWE | IND | QB | 10 |
| Larry Warford | DET | NOR | RG | 9 |
| Riley Reiff | DET | MIN | LT | 9 |
| Josh McCown | CLE | NYJ | QB | 9 |
| Matt Kalil | MIN | CAR | LT | 9 |
| Ted Ginn | CAR | NOR | WR | 9 |
| Demario Davis | CLE | NYJ | LB | 9 |
| Alex Collins | SEA | BAL | RB | 9 |
Three teams stand out for their impressive 2017 offseasons by bringing in at least four new players who produced 8+ points of AV. The Saints added Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, and Ryan Ramczyk in the draft, and then Larry Warford and Ted Ginn in free agency. The Jaguars added not just Campbell, but A.J. Bouye, while also a starting RB (Leonard Fournette) and LT (Cam Robinson) from the SEC. Minnesota added Keenum and Riley Reiff, and drafted a starting center (Pat Elflein) and linebacker (Ben Gedeon) despite not having a first round pick (Sam Bradford trade) and losing second round pick Dalvin Cook to injury.
No other teams added three players who produced 8+ points of AV in 2017.