Chris Long

After sacrificing playing time for a chance at the Super Bowl with New England last year, Long signed a two-year deal with the Eagles in an attempt to secure his legacy. With an expanded role and continued health, he could see a bounce back to his St. Louis heyday.

The Patriots brought Long in this offseason on a one-year contract following the trade of fellow defensive end Chandler Jones to Arizona. Long, now 31-years-old, will need to stay healthy in order to provide much IDP value throughout the season, as he's recorded just four sacks in 18 games over his past two campaigns with the Rams. In any case, he'll provide the team with an added edge rushing, complementing holdovers Jabaal Sheard and Rob Ninkovich.

Long wasn't able to join the Rams until December due to ankle surgery and never really looked comfortable when he did return, leaving 2014 largely as a lost season. However, 2015 should be a bounce-back season for the seven-year veteran, as a ferocious Rams' front line became even better with the addition of Nick Fairley. Fellow defensive end Robert Quinn will get the lion's share of the attention, but Long has the potential for about 10 sacks and could rack up 30-40 tackles of his own.

Long came into last season with 24.5 sacks in his previous two years, but he only managed 8.5 last season, while adding 40 tackles. The latter stat marked his highest total since 2009, but the drop in sacks was a bit disappointing. He is understandably overlooked due to teammate Robert Quinn, who set a franchise-record with 19 sacks last season, but if teams decide to throw a double-team at Quinn in 2014, Long could have the opportunity for double-digit sacks again.

Long and fellow defensive end Robert Quinn combined for 22 sacks, as the Rams tied with the Broncos for the league lead in sacks. Quinn figures to surpass Long as the team's best defensive end in the near future, but this could open up more one-on-one opportunities for Long.

As the second overall pick in the 2008 draft, it appeared prior to last year that Long would never live up to his draft status, even after finishing the 2010 season with 8.5 sacks. He managed finally to turn the corner in 2011, though, and posted 13 sacks despite playing through a problematic ankle injury for all of December. He might see a fair amount of double teams to start the season, but with Robert Quinn, Kendall Langford and Michael Brockers playing on the same line, it is not likely offenses will get away with that for long. It would be a disappointment if Long can't breeze past double-digit sacks in 2012.

It seems unlikely that Long will ever justify his selection as the second overall pick in 2008, but he at least showed some ability as a pass rusher for the first time last year. After totaling just nine sacks in his first two seasons, he reached 8.5 in 2010. His career-low 29 tackles were underwhelming, though. Furthermore, the addition of Robert Quinn in St. Louis is a threat to his snap count, making Long a mediocre IDP option again in 2011.

Long will move to the right defensive end spot in 2010 with Leonard Little out of the picture and should continue to be one of the club's better bets as far as IDP players go.

Perhaps more was expected as the No. 2 overall pick in 2008 draft, but Long was one of the most impressive defensive rookies last year, totaling four sacks and 40 tackles, which led all first-year ends. This year, he’ll ply his trade for new St. Louis head coach Steve Spagnuolo. Howie’s kid couldn’t ask for a better tutor. Spagnuolo’s system has been very kind to defensive ends – just ask Justin Tuck. Long has both the size and speed to thrive in Spagnuolo’s system, which requires the D-linemen to get up field in a hurry, as opposed to the read-and-react attack St. Louis employed last year. Long might have worn down in the second half of his rookie season as he recorded only nine tackles in the last seven games. That shouldn’t be a problem this year, and Long’s IDP stats should improve significantly in his sophomore campaign.

Long racked up 14 sacks at Virgina in 2007 and should have an immediate impact for the Rams. He will see plenty time in a rotation with James Hall and Leonard Little. Long's talent should keep him on the field and he could lead all rookies in sacks.