The NFL's irreplaceable players

8. Ed Reed, S, Ravens
We often define a player's value by how much a team suffers when the player is missing; Reed represents the opposite. During a season when the other three projected starters in the Ravens' secondary combined for only 18 appearances because of injury, Reed played like a man possessed. Despite suffering through injuries of his own, the Ravens had the second-best pass defense DVOA (-23.3 percent) in the league thanks to Reed's raising the play of journeymen like Fabian Washington, Frank Walker and Jim Leonhard.

7. Andre Johnson, WR, Texans
We could just list the wide receivers whom Johnson has spent his career playing across from, but that doesn't quantify just how important Johnson's presence is to making the Texans' offense work. Instead, we'll look back to 2007, when Johnson was on the shelf for seven games. Their passing DVOA was 11th in the league with Johnson in the lineup and 19th without, but he had an even bigger impact on the running game; the Texans actually had the fifth-best rushing DVOA in football when Johnson was around, falling to 28th when he was injured. Think he keeps a safety or two occupied?



(espn.com)