2 Rams on espn/pff NFL All-Improved Team

The NFL All-Improved Team: Players who made biggest jumps

Sam Monson

http://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/22678169/the-nfl-all-improved-team-players-made-biggest-jumps-2017

After grading every player on every play over the course of the regular season, the Pro Football Focus analysis team has identified the most improved player at every position from 2016 to 2017. Pending free agents who had a notable (and timely) uptick in their performance also were spotlighted at every position.

Note that this is not a list of the players who saw the biggest jumps in overall grades from one season to the next. Other factors — such as playing time, change in role and overall level of performance — also were taken into account.

RB: Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams

2016 grade: 50.7
2017 grade: 91.9

Gurley looked like he was lost in the woods in 2016, often bailing on clean holes and anticipating the breakdown of the blocking before it ever happened. He was reborn under first-year Rams head coach Sean McVay, and he was a powerful weapon as a receiver. Gurley had 15 runs of 15 or more yards over the season, and he was second in the league in yards per route run at 2.14, trailing only the Saints’ Alvin Kamara. He ended the season as PFF’s top-ranked running back after having ranked 41st the season before.

WR: Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams; Nelson Agholor, Philadelphia Eagles

Woods’ 2016 grade: 73.9
Woods’ 2017 grade: 83.2

Agholor’s 2016 grade: 39.4
Agholor’s 2017 grade: 80.4

Woods was another receiver to benefit from the McVay boost, taking a notable step forward with Goff in the passing game. Meanwhile, Agholor was moved to the slot full time, seeing 86.0 percent of his snaps there and more than doubling his average yards per route run. He scored eight touchdowns from the slot, two more than any other receiver, and managed to raise his overall PFF grade by 41 points.