Tennessee football: Ranking all former Vols in 2019 NFL Playoffs

John Kelly barely saw any action until December. However, with Todd Gurley banged up and the Los Angeles Rams still needing to secure a first-round bye, he became a key contributor. Kelly had 70 yards rushing in his final two weeks of the season along with two receptions.

Now he hasn’t had quite the impact Vols fans thought he would, which is why he’s dead last among former Tennessee football players expected to contribute in this year’s postseason. That’s especially true with Gurley expected to return to form. Considering he should be fully healthy after a bye, Kelly will fall back to third string.

But don’t fully count Kelly out. All of us in the media did that back in 2015 when he was third string on the UT depth chart as well. Two years later, he was the best offensive weapon the Vols had, and Butch Jones got fired because he didn’t know how to get Kelly the ball.

The Rams could be making the same mistake. Kelly has great vision and is quick enough to be an impact player, so although he’ll be behind Gurley and C.J. Anderson, Sean McVay could find a way to get him some touches.