If you had asked midway through the season whether Courtney Upshaw would return to Atlanta in 2017, I would’ve said no. At that point, Upshaw was a part-time player who hadn’t done a whole hell of a lot, and if not for injuries to Adrian Clayborn and Derrick Shelby, he might’ve stayed that way.
That all changed in the second half of the season, when Upshaw wound up drawing five starts thanks to injuries. He racked up a few tackles, played solid run defense both inside and outside on the defensive line, and legitimately flashed as a pass rusher a handful of times in the playoffs and even in the Super Bowl.