Eight NFL players who could shift the balance of power in 2021: Carson Wentz among one from each division

These eight players could play a vital role in the race for a division crown

Less than a week from now NFL games will be played again before packed audiences in surroundings as close to normal as we could hope in times like these. Football is truly back. The expanded season will make this a season unlike any other with the specter of numerous single-season records falling given the expanded sample size, and the fact that this is already the most pass-happy era in the game's history. No one knows precisely what to expect, but anticipation is growing and, with a vast majority of the league vaccinated, there are high hopes that this season can be played largely as scripted and on schedule. With 53-man rosters now set and the flurry of later-summer roster transactions settled, I couldn't help but think about a few individual players who could shift the balance of power in their division. Players who might not be at the top of your mind when you consider the start of the 2021 season on the whole, but who could end up being difference-makers in deciding a division crown, and the playoff rewards that come from that title.