Which under-the-radar players could play x-factor for their playoff team?

The longest regular season in NFL history is in the books and we saw one of the craziest finishes to it that can be remembered as the Los Angeles Chargers lost a thrilling overtime game to the Las Vegas Raiders by a score of 32-35.

The postseason is now set and we already have some great matchups in the first round. For the first time in a long time, the playoffs look to be as wide-open as we’ve seen in a long time.

So as we enter this 14-team tournament, we will take a look at one X-factor for each playoff team. These are not marquee players (with a few exceptions) or even starters in some cases, but rather guys who could make an impact in a certain role or matchup.

Without further ado, here are the X-factors for each playoff team:

NFC:

Green Bay Packers – Josiah Deguara

There are lots of possibilities here, with David Bakhtiari back at left tackle last week and two defensive stalwarts in Jaire Alexander and Za’Darius Smith bound to return eventually.

I thought about which element this team may be missing to some degree. With leading NFL MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers killing teams in the passing game, the team will need more help in other areas.

The offense is built around one of the two best receivers in football and their defense has seen plenty of guys step up.

A player I believe could be more heavily integrated is their third-round pick from 2020 in Josiah Deguara.

At the University of Cincinnati, we saw him heavily utilized as an H-back, sliding across the formation off play-action or assisting in the running game, which is why I looked at the selection as more of a fullback.

He could be used as Packers head coach Matt LaFleur’s version of 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk. We have already seen him go from one to 25 catches this season, even though his snap share has only increased by 13 percent.

While Marcedes Lewis is still a valuable player at his advanced age, I believe with Robert Tonyan out for the season, we could see Deguara become more of a factor for them, whether it’s using his strengths as an on-the-move blocker, kicking out the end-man on split zone runs or slipping into the flats.

Also check out: Green Bay Packers Playoff History, Appearances, Wins and more

Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Tyler Johnson

This is a fairly obvious one. With the loss of Chris Godwin to a torn ACL and Antonio Brown’s well-documented departure from the team, the offense all of a sudden went from arguably the most lethal aerial attack to Mike Evans, Rob Gronkowski and a bunch of role players.

Obviously, we should see Scottie Miller make an impact as a deep threat and we just saw him take a reverse 43 yards to the house this past Sunday. But the guy who should be more heavily involved as an every-down receiver is second-year man Tyler Johnson.

Formerly a fifth-round pick out of Minnesota, where he racked up just under 2,500 yards and 25 touchdowns over his last two seasons (to become the school’s record-holder in both categories), Johnson may lack a certain speed element, but he understands how to set up defenders as a route-runner.

He can find open space against the zone, has strong hands, and can win in contested catch situations. Johnson had 12 catches as a rookie with none bigger than a critical third-and-long in New Orleans last season to extend their playoff run.

We’ve seen his involvement in the offense grow throughout this season, catching 13 of his 18 targets since Godwin got hurt. He may not be the kind of guy who can consistently beat man-coverage on the boundary, but putting him in the slot allows him a free release to create open space.

Dallas Cowboys – Kelvin Joseph

Trevon Diggs and his league-leading 11 interceptions have been well-documented. However, he has also allowed more yards than any other player.

Still, even if those two things are equal, you’ll take that any day. The issue is the guy lining up on the other side of the field, Anthony Brown, who has been a liability for the majority of the season by allowing the third-most yards league-wide.

With the Cowboys pass-rush, you don’t necessarily need a lockdown corner out there, but if there’s one spot at which they could use an upgrade, it would be there.

That’s why it will be interesting to see how much Dan Quinn and his defensive staff wants to put second-round rookie cornerback Kelvin Joseph out there, who I thought was a phenomenal talent, in terms of length, speed and ability to play the catch point at Kentucky.

Joesph has barely seen an NFL field, with just two games of 20+ snaps, but he’s shown some positive signs. In Week 16, he was targeted five times, but didn’t allow any of those passes to be completed.

While the Eagles went after him a bit early on with stop routes by DeVonta Smith, he ended up being the highest-graded defensive player of the game, surrendering just 42 yards on as many coverage snaps.

A big reason Quinn has had a resurgence in Dallas as the defensive coordinator has been his ability to adapt and use individual skill-sets to his advantage. It shouldn't be a surprise to see Joseph play more to crowd receivers off the line and he has the make-up speed to get back if he’s beaten initially.

Los Angeles Rams – Cam Akers

Whenever you have a player labeled as a “breakout candidate” heading into the season, that is something to pay attention to. It took running back Cam Akers a while to find his groove in the NFL during his rookie season, fighting through some nagging injuries early on.

But over the final five games, he established himself as the workhorse for this L.A. offense, touching the ball 152 times for 802 yards and four touchdowns over his final seven games (including the postseason).

With him being ruled out for the season, the stage was set for another day two draft pick in running back Darrell Henderson to have a big year – and he has certainly had his moments – but he’s been banged up for stretches of the year.

Surprisingly, the largely criticized trade for Sony Michel from New England during the preseason has been key down the stretch, as his 540 rushing yards (on 129 attempts) over the last six weeks rank second only to Jonathan Taylor in the entire NFL.

Michel is a hard-nosed runner who can churn out yards through contact and give the Rams that physical component. Yet, with his arthritic knees and some of the damage he has taken since entering the league, he doesn’t offer much of an explosive element – but Cam Akers does.

Coming off an ACL injury that would typically sideline someone for a full calendar year, we don’t know if we’ll see it right away and his debut against the 49ers was far from inspiring (six yards on eight touches), but exactly that makes him an X-factor.

Arizona Cardinals – Rondale Moore

Rookies are always unknowns to some degree if they haven’t yet established themselves in the league – especially heading into the postseason.

And I still don’t think Arizona really knows how they should use this the former Purdue Boilermaker, but I have seen what Rondale Moore is capable of in the Big Ten as well as flashes of it in the NFL.

He is explosive off the line, his start-and-stop quickness is video-game like, he has the contact balance of a 220-pound running back and he has the long speed to win over the top as well.

One of the major issues with his usage during his last year in college and his rookie season with the Cardinals has been the fact that he was never allowed to really work down the field. There's certainly work to be done, but at 5’7," he doesn’t offer a very large radius (even if his leaping numbers are absurd).

But constantly being limited to jet sweeps, bubble screens and the occasional streak route is doing Moore a disservice. Moore currently sits at -3 yards before the catch and his average depth of target is just 1.4 yards.

I’m not saying he can replace what DeAndre Hopkins would bring, because they’re just completely different players, but getting him out there for some slants, stop routes and vertical patterns could lead to some big plays.

San Francisco 49ers – Ambry Thomas

And since we’re talking about rookies, how about another one on the opposite side of the ball from this NFC West team.

I do understand that right guard and tackle are areas of concern as well, but their biggest weakness or at least unproven commodity is their play on the perimeter defensively.

I loved seeing Jason Verrett finally stay healthy for a full season last year.

Since then, the Niners have been vulnerable to teams with legitimate outside receiving threats.

Emmanuel Mosley has been a solid starter for them, but they still need somebody to step up as the left cornerback for them.

The guy who has commanded that role over the past month is Ambry Thomas, playing over 90 percent of snaps in each of their last five games. I was a big fan of his competitive spirit during Senior Bowl practices and liked what I saw on tape.

The lack of height and length made him a projection for the slot – where he rarely lined up in college – but his skill-set matches well with all the two-high safety shells from San Francisco.

Philadelphia Eagles – Nate Herbig

It's fascinating to have this Philadelphia Eagles team as part of the playoff field. The team has found an identity, which is built on winning up front and punishing teams in the run game (number one in rushing yards), while their defense has excelled at limiting plays through the air (tied for second-fewest passes of 20+ yards).

Early in the season, it was a heavy dose of RPOs, where teams would fly down and force Hurts to pull the ball, which is why from weeks two to seven, they were one of the teams with the fewest amounts of running back carries.

At some point, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen realized they needed to take advantage of the movement that the O-line creates. Since then, Hurts has always seen clearer running and passing lane and the offense has been much more effective overall.

However, when you look at those five guys up front, the one who is a bit of a question mark – and the only one to play less than 50% of snaps – is Nate Herbig.

With the third-best grade by PFF for a guard over the last four weeks, there’s reason for optimism, but I want to see what happens when he’s asked to down-block on Vita Vea or anchor against a bull-rush from Ndamokung Suh on Sunday.

AFC:

Tennessee Titans – Derrick Henry (‘s health)

I know calling a two-time NFL rushing leader an X-factor is kind of cheating, but how can he not be? The Titans somehow finished with the number one seed in the AFC, despite Derrick Henry missing the second half of the season.

Their duo of receivers have also only been together and healthy for a couple of games and the team has had ten different offensive linemen start at least one game.

The side of the ball that has played at a Super Bowl level since their Week One debacle against Arizona is the defense.

Sure, they’ve had a few down-spots, but they’ve literally won them some games single-handedly, finishing as the number-two defense against the run and top-ten in sacks and pressures.

Since Henry was hurt, the team has averaged just 17.6 offensive points over their next seven games before the offense finally started to wake up these last two weeks.

A big part of that unit hitting their groove again is the re-emergence of the running game led by D’Onta Foreman. He has provided a physical presence for them as a sort of Derrick Henry clone, but the King is back and what he can bring in terms of a bull-dozer could be huge.

If he’s back at 100 percent, opposing defenses will have to add a plus one in the box, while A.J. Brown works the middle and takes advantage of the resulting voids, making for a well-balanced squad.

With everybody having to come to Nashville to get to the Super Bowl in the AFC, they’re set up to make a major run.

Kansas City Chiefs – Byron Pringle

Whoever has watched the Chiefs this (and to some degree last) season knows that the passing offense comes down to Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and then probably Patrick Mahomes scrambling as the top three options.

And guess what? The rest of the AFC knows that as well. So we’ll see defenses bracket those guys at a high rate and it will be up to the other pass-catchers to win their one-on-one matchups.

Mecole Hardman has been more involved this season, but it’s either at the line of scrimmage or screaming downfield, and we have yet to see anything from Josh Gordon. So the one name here that we’ve seen beat guys on the outside and become a key contributor in a few games has been Byron Pringle.

Right now, Mahomes has a passer rating of 127.6 when targeting him and he has moved the chains on 32 of his 42 receptions. He does a great job on secondary routes and gets vertical immediately after the catch, while having the size to gain yards through contact.

Unfortunately, he’s also had butterfingers at times, as he has dropped four passes and fumbled twice.

That is what makes him a key figure in determining the AFC, because there be third downs where the pre-snap look already tells Kansas City they can’t go to either one of their top two options and it will come down to whether or not Pringle can beat his man.

Ironically, Pringle's biggest game came against the Steelers in Week 16, who they’ll face in the Wild Card Round (6 for 75 and two touchdowns).

Buffalo Bills – Dane Jackson

In a weird AFC field, a team that finished with the number one defense across almost all key categories combined with one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league could be highly dangerous and possibly go all the way.

Yet, ever since the injury to cornerback Tre’Davious White, we have seen this defensive unit regress to a certain point. It may not be reflected in the numbers, but they got run all over by the Patriots in the snowstorm game.

This was followed by Brady and the Bucs lighting them up for 33 points before feasting on easier matchups against the Panthers, Falcons and Jets.

While Levi Wallace has turned himself into a solid CB2, they rely a lot on their starting five defensive backs, who would all be at or around 90 percent of snaps if White was healthy.

Now they need another guy to step up on the left side and once again an unheralded second-year man is earning playing time for this group with Dane Jackson.

I was a big fan of his competitive spirit when I evaluated his tape at Pittsburgh. He had the chance to collect plenty of experience in press coverage and showed an impressive ability to read the quarterback’s body language in zone.

Unfortunately, running in the high 4.5’s really hurt his draft stock and it coincided with his collegiate numbers where he surrendered nine touchdowns compared to only one pick.

For a team that finished in the top-three in takeaways, Jackson hasn’t recorded one yet, but he’s held opponents to completing exactly half of the 40 targets thrown his way, for 6.4 yards per target and a passer rating of 70.2.

But if the Bills wants to win a title, Jackson will have to match up against the likes of Tyreek Hill, A.J. Brown and maybe Ja’Marr Chase at times.

Cincinnati Bengals – C.J. Uzomah

As we look at this Bengals squad, there are a lot of known commodities, in particular on offense. Joe Burrow has become one of the best young quarterbacks, with smarts beyond his years and incredible toughness.

The offensive line has the size to create vertical movement in the running game but there are still glaring issues in protection and the skill-position group is loaded with play-makers. Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby did a great job against Storm Norton, offensive tackle for the Los Angeles Chargers.

The guy who is often forgotten on the offensive side of the ball but has shown serious flashes in certain games is tight end C.J. Uzomah.

Coming into the year, we weren’t even sure who their starting tight end would be, having invested a second-round pick in Drew Sample a couple of years ago.

Uzomah, at just under 500 yards on the year, has about six times the production of Sample.

And what makes C.J. such an X-factor is apparent in his game log – 49 percent of his receiving yards have come in three games, while not having surpassed 20 yards in eight of their contests.

He’s been boom-or-bust all season long. And when we look at the Raiders defense, they’ve excelled at limiting big plays through the air (sixth-fewest completions of 20+ yards) and have been highly vulnerable to tight-ends (seventh-most yards allowed to the position).

So having Uzomah’s big frame and strong hands, especially as they get into the red-zone, could be huge.

Raiders defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson

Las Vegas Raiders – Quinton Jefferson

You could probably right a book about that Sunday Night game between the Chargers and Raiders to wrap up the 2021-2022 regular season.

Justin Herbert's heroics kept the Chargers in that game. However, one of the biggest stories in that contest was how phenomenal the defensive line of the Raiders was.

Maxx Crosby has been a game-wrecker all season long, while Yannick Ngakoue complements him well as a speed rusher coming off the opposite edge.

Despite Las Vegas getting rid of their top two interior pass-rushers this offseason, they were able to find some excellent replacements and one of those guys is Quinton Jefferson.

Originally drafted in 2016 by Seattle, it took until his third season to earn major time on the field, before playing 50+ percent of snaps and recording 3+ sacks in each of the last three years, even though his pressure numbers went way down in Buffalo before getting released. This season, he has reached a career-high 25 pressures and he’s only missed one tackle.

He can knife into the backfield and create some disruption against the run, but it’s his ability to get around the guards in the passing game with a good combination of speed, power and smarts that will help him to become an x-factor.

Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson

New England Patriots – Rhamondre Stevenson

Rookie quarterback Mac Jones has certainly made a difference for this team, stabilizing the play under center with excellent decision-making pre- and post-snap, an efficient passing game, but also more big plays through the air than most people would think (11th in 20+ yard completions).

However, his play has certainly fallen off lately, as defenses have put the game more on his shoulders. If there’s a path for New England to go all the way, it will be based on a great defense under Bill Belichick and pounding teams in the running game.

The Patriots finished the season with the eighth-most rushing yards and attempts, led by their physical duo of Damien Harris and another rookie in Rhamondre Stevenson.

The two combined for 1,790 scrimmage yards and 20 touchdowns, averaging 4.6 yards per carry, respectively. Harris touched the ball 73 times more often than Stevenson, missing only two contests altogether compared to the rookie’s five, but the veteran has been banged up on multiple occasions and we’ve seen Rhamondre explode when given the chance to star.

While fellow running back Brandon Bolden should remain the top option on passing downs, Stevenson can also be used more of a receiver than Harris and he is already a surprisingly good pass-protector as a college prospect.

With the nicks and bruises we have seen Harris get bothered by, he could play a major role for the Pats’ success.

Pittsburgh Steelers – Robert Spillane

I still can’t believe this team is here and I would be shocked if they were to advance against the Chiefs, who just absolutely blew their doors off three weeks ago, but if there’s one thing we can all admit to about the Steelers under Mike Tomlin, it’s the fact that they simply won’t refuse to quit.

So while drafting a running back (as much as I liked Najee Harris coming out) and making minimal investments in an offensive line after the departure of four starters, their run defense has been shockingly putrid, finishing the season dead-last in rushing yards (2483), per-carry average (5.0) and 20+ yard runs (24).

Missing defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt and lacking depth on the D-line have certainly been a factor, but linebackers not staying true to their run fits and filling accordingly has been even more apparent.

While the Chiefs in particular aren’t known for their punishing ground game, with their transformation into more of an efficient quick-passing attack against all the tie-high shells they tend to face, if they have success in both areas, I don’t see how the Steelers have a chance in this one.

Fourth-year undrafted player Robert Spillane filled in nicely for Pittsburgh last season and he’s been on the field for an average of 83 percent of snaps over their past three games, in large part due to the major struggles of Devin Bush in the middle.

While he hasn’t made any game-changing plays, I like the way he can strike blockers climbing up to him with his punch and how he’s held up when asked to sink underneath benders and deep crossers in Tampa-2, while having missed just four of his 60 tackling attempts.

Kansas City will look to put the Steelers' second-level defenders in conflict as their play-makers aim to work underneath routes.

Spillane will try to avenge the touchdown he allowed Clyde Edwards-Helaire to score during their last matchup.

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One X-factor for each team in the NFL playoffs: