Established superstars such as Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers grab all the attention when their teams do well.But a team's success or failure can often be determined by which players make the biggest jump from year to year.Key players such as Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes and Pittsburgh's James Conner have played major roles in their respective teams being in first place through Week 9.And it isn't always offensive players. Of the 32 teams Womens Tre'Quan Smith Jersey , nearly half (15) have featured a defensive player and one had a kicker among the most improved.At the halfway point of this NFL season, here's a look at the most improved players for each team:AFC EASTNew England: Linebacker Kyle Van Noy. The Patriots traded for Van Noy out of necessity two years ago. He's grown into one of the most versatile players on New England's defense. Used almost exclusively at outside linebacker last season, he's now asked to play on the line at times, is an option in multiple blitz packages as well as in zone and man coverages.Miami: Offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil. Tunsil is becoming a top-shelf left tackle in his third season. He was plagued by penalties and other lapses, but has benefited from the mentoring of left guard Josh Sitton, who signed with the Dolphins this year.Buffalo: Linebacker Matt Milano. Milano is starting alongside first-round pick Tremaine Edmunds in essentially a two-linebacker defensive formation. A fifth-round pick in 2017, Milano was eased into the starting lineup and finished with five starts. This year, he's has started all nine games, credited with 55 tackles.N.Y. Jets: Linebacker Darron Lee. Lee was their first-round pick out of Ohio State in 2016 and has been slow to live up to his lofty draft status. He finished second on the team in tackles each of his first two seasons, but big-time impact plays were missing for a middle linebacker. He's off to the best start of his career as a more consistent playmaker.AFC SOUTHHouston: Defensive back Kareem Jackson. Jackson had a bad 2017 at cornerback, but has played both cornerback and safety this season and has been strong in a secondary that has dealt with numerous injuries.Tennessee: Linebacker Jayon Brown. A fifth-round pick out of UCLA in 2017, the second-year linebacker is leading the Titans both in total tackles and with four sacks. The speedy Brown has started three of eight games this season and has been a key piece of a defense currently allowing the fewest points in the NFL.Jacksonville: Kicker Josh Lambo. Lambo has made a team-record 23 consecutive field goals in the regular season, including a career-best 57-yarder in London. He had made 27 in a row, including the playoffs, and all 12 of his extra points in 2018.Indianapolis: Quarterback Andrew Luck. Luck didn't just miss all 16 games last season but 26 of 45 overall because of various injuries (shoulder, lacerated kidney, concussion and then shoulder again). Luck has completed 65.8 percent of his passes, is second in TD passes (23) and is on pace to top 4,000 yards again.AFC NORTHPittsburgh: Running back James Conner. Conner has seamlessly replaced Le'Veon Bell with four games with at least 100 rushing yards, 50 receiving yards and at least one touchdown, the most such games by a player in a single season in NFL history. Conner has 1,085 scrimmage yards (706 rushing Marshon Lattimore Saint Jersey , 379 receiving) and 10 total touchdowns (nine rushing, one receiving).Cincinnati: Wide receiver Tyler Boyd. Boyd has been a solid complement to star A.J. Green. He has 49 catches for 620 yards and five TDs and will be counted on in the second half with Green dealing with a toe injury.Baltimore: Quarterback Joe Flacco. Despite his team's recent slump, Flacco has done well for the Ravens. He's got 12 TDs, six interceptions, 2,465 yards passing and an 84.15 QB rating. Last year, Flacco finished at 18 TDs, 13 INTs and 80.4. He had 3,141 yards.Cleveland: Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. Ogunjobi, a third-round pick in 2017, made one start as a rookie. The 6-foot-3, 305-pounder has developed into a stout run stopper. He also has quickness to get to the quarterback. His presence inside has forced teams to adjust their blocking schemes and given Myles Garrett some favorable one-on-one matchups.AFC WESTKansas City: Quarterback Pat Mahomes. Mahomes started Week 17 last year, but in his first full season as No. 1 QB he's breaking records all over the place. Mahomes, who appeared in his 10th career game last Sunday against Cleveland, has 29 touchdown passes and 3,185 passing yards, both the most by a player in his first 10 games.L.A. Chargers: Running back Austin Ekeler. The second-year player, an undrafted free agent, is averaging 5.8 yards per carry and 12 yards a reception. Ekeler has teamed with Melvin Gordon to form one of the league's top running back duos.Denver: Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. He was hurt most of 2017 and caught two TD passes, both in Week 2 vs Cowboys. Last year, he had 47 catches for 555 yards in 12 games. This year, he has 56 catches for 707 yards and three TDs and even threw for a TD Womens Michael Thomas Jersey , hitting fellow SMU alum Courtland Sutton vs. Arizona.Oakland: Running back Jalen Richard. Richard showed flashes his first two seasons as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Mississippi, but has emerged as a key part of coach Jon Gruden's offense.NFC EASTWashington: Safety D.J. Swearinger. Swearinger is tied for the NFL lead with four interceptions as a key part of a secondary that has Washington in first place.Philadelphia: Running back Wendell Smallwood. Smallwood has a career-best 400 scrimmage yards (257 rushing, 143 receiving) along with one rushing TD and two receiving TDs after only playing eight games last year when he was inactive often.Dallas: Linebacker Jaylon Smith. The former Notre Dame standout is finally showing his college form almost three years removed from a devastating left knee injury in his final game for the Irish.N.Y. Giants: Wide receiver Sterling Shepard. Shepard has 40 catches for 542 yards and two touchdowns. Despite a porous offensive line, he is on pace for career highs.NFC SOUTHNew Orleans: Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. Rankins was a 2016 first-rounder who missed the first half of his rookie season with a leg injury. Last season, he was solid, but highlights were few. Through the first eight games, Rankins has four sacks and 21 total tackles, on pace for considerable increases in those categories.Carolina: Defensive tackle Kyle Love. Love is a backup, but is making some outstanding plays in the middle of the line, including a forced fumble in Week 8 against Ravens RB Alex Collins that led to a TD and helped turn the game.Atlanta: Free safety Damontae Kazee. Kazee is tied for the NFL lead with four interceptions. He was forced into a starting role after Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen were placed on IR.Tampa Bay: Tight end O.J. Howard. The Bucs attribute Howard's growth to being in his second year, being more comfortable with the playbook and the offense in general. He has caught three touchdown passes in the past two games.NFC NORTHChicago: Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky has a 96.1 passer rating, 64.6 percent completion rate, 16 touchdown passes, seven interceptions and a 5-3 record. Last year, he had a 77.5 rating, 59.4 percent completion rate, seven TD passes, seven interceptions and a 4-8 record.Minnesota: Defensive end Stephen Weatherly. Weatherly was a seventh-round draft pick in 2016 who spent most of the season on the practice squad and mostly was on special teams in 2017. But when Everson Griffen was sidelined, Weatherly moved into the starting lineup and had seven tackles, two quarterback hits and one sack in his first career start against the Bills.Green Bay: Defensive lineman Kenny Clark. Clark, playing in his first-year of coordinator Mike Pettine's system, already has four sacks in seven games Womens Drew Brees Jersey , nearly equaling his output (4陆) last year.Detroit: Wide receiver Kenny Golladay. Golladay has surpassed his rookie season production and that allowed the Lions to trade Golden Tate to the Eagles at the deadline. He has 33 receptions for 523 yards and three touchdowns.NFC WESTL.A. Rams: Linebacker Cory Littleton. After two years as a backup linebacker and special teams guy, Littleton, an undrafted free agent, earned the starting job when Alec Ogletree was traded in the offseason.Seattle: Running back Chris Carson. Carson showed flashes last year before getting hurt, but the combo of a better offensive line and a new running scheme has fully displayed his skills.Arizona: Safety Budda Baker. Baker has made a big impact after having his role greatly expanded after being a first-team All-Pro on special teams as a rookie. Now he's a significant part of the regular defense, not just a special teams ace.San Francisco: Tight end George Kittle. Kittle was a pleasant surprise as a fifth-round pick last year with 43 catches for 515 yards after being mostly used as a blocker at Iowa. He now is one of the game's most well-rounded tight ends. He ranks third at the position with 41 catches and second with 692 yards and is a powerful blocker in the run game. Compensatory picks offer more compensation than the Saints realize, and organizations like the Patriots can serve as a model for the Saints’ front office to rethink their modus operandi."The year is 2019 and once again, the Saints have failed to earn any compensatory picks. As fellow CSC writer Chris Dunnells pointed out, the Saints sadly sit at the very bottom of the league having earned only 10 compensatory picks since 1994. The Ravens have earned the most with 50. The Cowboys and Packers tie for second with 42, while the consistently dominant Patriots sit third with 39.Every year, a couple weeks before the start of free agency, the NFL announces which teams will receive compensatory picks for that year’s draft. I knew they existed, but I really didn’t know what they were or how they were rewarded.This video helps make the system a little easier to understand.In fact, the actual methodology used for determining compensatory picks is a secret. We do know a few aspects of those determining factors, however. The NFL Management Council awards the picks, which have only been fully trade-able since 2017, to teams who lost more or better compensatory free agents than they acquired the previous season. Only Unrestricted Free Agents whose contracts either expired or were voided count in the equation. The secret formula used to derive each UFA’s compensatory draft pick value is based on salary, playing time, and postseason honors. The comp picks fall between rounds three and seven and no team can earn more than four comp picks in one season.If you don’t think comp picks are that valuable because they haven’t produced many stars, please give me a chance to show you how the Saints have been wasting a valuable opportunity to acquire draft capital that they could have been using to bolster their roster and better manage their salary cap.Draft picks, in general, can be just as valuable as veterans simply because their contracts can be controlled for around five years before they are mandated a sizeable raise. In my opinion Michael Thomas Jersey White , the Saints actually won the Brandin Cooks trade because they upgraded from a fourth to a third round pick and were able to draft Ryan Ramczyk, who is a top rated tackle still playing on a rookie pay scale through 2021.Third rounders, in particular, are extremely valuable because the quality of the player is still very high, but their rookie contract scale is much lower than a first or second rounder. Jimmy Graham, Brian Westbrook, Cliff Avril, T.Y. Hilton, Navarro Bowman, Frank Gore, Jason Witten, Russell Wilson, Steve Smith, and Alvin Kamara were all picked in the third round. Jared Allen was a fourth rounder. Richard Sherman was a fifth rounder. Antonio Brown was a sixth rounder. Shannon Sharpe was a seventh rounder. You get the idea. The draft is one big lottery and the more tickets you have, the more chances you have to strike gold with a quality player.That’s why successful organizations like the Patriots have been trading back in the draft for more picks, letting their unrestricted free agents leave, and choosing to spend their money on lower cost players that have been released by their previous organizations instead of splurging on their high priced free agents. If the comp pick formula is actually a secret, Bill Belichick knows exactly how to employ it to his advantage; and this is where the Saints have failed in their roster management year after year as they employ a go for broke, Drew Brees is gonna die next year so let’s trade up in the draft and overspend in free agency strategy.Last year, the Patriots said goodbye to four quality starters. If we just looked at their names, we may have thought Belichick was letting a lot of talent walk out of the building, but when we look at the draft picks the team acquired by letting these guys go https://www.thesaintslockerroom.com/authentic-tre_quan-smith-jersey , the move looks like a stroke of genius.Nate Solder has been a shell of himself on the Giants yet raked in a third round comp pick for the Patriots. Malcolm Butler struggled in his new role as number one cornerback on the Titans and also netted a third round pick. Letting Dion Lewis walk brought back a sixth rounder and Cameron Fleming’s exit earned the franchise a seventh rounder.Does Mickey Loomis understand that compensatory picks even exist? Doesn’t he realize there are multiple ways of acquiring talent outside of limiting draft picks by constantly trading up and overspending in free agency while letting their quality home grown draft picks leave the building only to get better outside of it?When the Broncos traded for Brock Osweiler and his bloated contract, they also received a second round pick. They had no intention of keeping Osweiler. In essence, they paid Osweiler’s huge salary out of their enormous cap space to acquire the second round pick. It’s a beautiful example of a front office using its’ cap space as a way to acquire draft capital instead of using draft capital to acquire veteran talent.But the Saints can’t do that because they never have cap space. In fact, they are routinely at the bottom of the league every year in available salary cap space. So every year they restructure contracts and kick the can down the road, or they cut players who were too expensive because the Saints overpaid them with no competitive incentive to do so. Some examples of such players off the top of my head are Jairus Byrd, Coby Fleener, and Kurt Coleman.On the other end of the spectrum, the Patriots traded two of their best players Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins in consecutive seasons for second and third round picks respectively. With no plans to extend either player, Belichick acquired quality draft capital a year earlier by trading the players instead of trying to earn comp picks by letting them leave in free agency.The Patriots also employ a smart tactic by including club-options as the final year in some players’ contracts. This allows the team to let the player leave in free agency, therefore netting them a comp pick instead of cutting them, which earns no pick at all.I’m sorry I just went on a Patriots love fest. I promise I hate them just like you, but damnit, I envy their shrewdness and undeniable ability to consistently acquire draft capital, maintain higher than average salary cap space, and know when to let players go; even the really good ones. Now that I know what the hell compensatory draft picks are, I can’t stop obsessing over how the Saints have consistently failed to operate within the system they share with 31 other franchises. Belichick can’t be the only general manager who’s figured this out. Don’t forget that before the comp picks became trade-able in 2017, they were still capable of making lasting impacts on a team’s roster. In 2000, Belichick used a compensatory sixth round pick on a quarterback out of Michigan named Tom Brady. In 2006, Loomis and the Saints selected a wide receiver out of Hofstra named Marques Colston with a compensatory seventh round pick. I think we all know how those two careers turned out.