NFC Jenga Pieces

This is another offseason exercise pilfered from Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah's Move The Sticks podcast. Jenga Pieces. The two football analysts picked a player from each team whose removal would topple that team. In order to make it interesting and more of a challenge quarterbacks were removed from the equation. Here are my Jenga Pieces for each of the 16 NFC teams.

Minnesota Vikings
Harrison Smith, S

Xavier Rhodes and Linval Joseph are tempting but so much of what the Vikings do on defense is dependent on the versatility of Harrison Smith.

Green Bay Packers 
Mike Daniels, DL

Jordy Nelson gets some consideration but as long as Aaron Rodgers is guiding the offense it often doesn't seem to matter who else is on the field with him. Mike Daniels has passed Clay Matthews as the most disruptive player on the Packers defense.

Detroit Lions
Darius Slay, CB

Ziggy Ansah was my first choice but injuries slowed him last season and others stepped up. I think the Lions would have a much more difficult time replacing Darius Slay. He's quietly emerged as one of the better corners in the league.

Chicago Bears
Jordan Howard, RB

If it wasn't for that rookie duo in Dallas, Jordan Howard would've gotten a lot more attention for his excellent first season. He took over several games.

New York Giants
Landon Collins, S

Landon Collins exploded on the scene last season. He made so many big, game-changing plays.

Philadelphia Eagles
Fletcher Cox, DL

Fletcher Cox takes apart offenses. That's tough to replace. Tackle Lane Johnson is a consideration. When a suspension sidelined him last season the offense struggled.

Washington Redskins
Trent Williams, T

Trent Williams controls his side of the field.

Dallas Cowboys
Ezekiel Elliott

While I think that Ezekiel Elliott's immediate NFL success had much to do with the outstanding offensive line in front of him he still turned the Cowboys offense into a versatile and explosive one. He also made things much easier for his rookie quarterback. Linebacker Sean Lee deserves some consideration. It was great to see what he could do with a relatively injury-free season.

Atlanta Falcons
Julio Jones, WR

The Falcons have a lot of offensive weapons but Julio Jones is a beast. The Falcons young defense is loaded with potential Jenga Pieces.

Carolina Panthers
Luke Kuechly, LB

Luke Kuechly is still the best all-around linebacker in the league.

New Orleans Saints
Cameron Jordan, DE

Cameron Jordan's one of the best defensive ends in the league but it feels like he's risen to that level quietly.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike Evans, WR

Mike Evans' size and ability to control contested catches often makes Jameis Winston's job an easy one.

Seattle Seahawks
Earl Thomas, S

Despite having a bunch of difference-making defensive players the Seahawks defense really missed Earl Thomas when his season ended early last year.

Arizona Cardinals
David Johnson, RB

The Cardinals offense now runs on David Johnson's versatility.

Los Angeles Rams
Aaron Donald, DT

Enough said.

San Francisco 49ers
NaVorro Bowman, LB

I'm not writing off NaVorro Bowman just yet. Until one of the young, talented defensive players steps up Bowman's leadership is important, if not critical.