Not every NFL player can be CJ Stroud or Puka Nacua.
Those two players were fantastic from the start as rookies and became instant stars. For other players, it takes longer. Sometimes injuries set them back. Others just need a chance to play before they shine.
We see huge strides from veterans every season in the NFL, and here are 10 players in great position to break out this NFL season.
This list should be dedicated to Williams. No one is in a more obvious position to excel. Williams was the 12th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, whose career got off to a slow start due to his recovery from a torn ACL at Alabama and a suspension for gambling. He took the field late last season, showing the speed that made him a high draft pick. The Lions are short on receivers after Amon-Ra St. Brown, and their offense will be very good again. If Williams doesn’t excel this season, it will be his fault, because the situation for it is ideal.
Has Achane already had a great deal of success? As a rookie, he racked up 997 yards from scrimmage and 11 total touchdowns. But what if he’s going to reach a much higher level in his second season? Achane has electric speed, which is why he averaged an astonishing 7.8 yards per carry. He won’t repeat that number, but he could top 5 with a much larger role. Let’s go back to the best moments of Chris Johnson and Jamaal Charles to compare him to Achane. In addition to Achane’s skill, the Dolphins, under head coach Mike McDaniel, have shown that this is a great situation for any running back. Achane had a very good rookie season and could top it in his second year.
Patrick Queen left as a free agent for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the Ravens always seem to have a Plan B. Simpson was a third-round draft pick last season out of Clemson and didn’t play much because he had Queen and Roquan Smith ahead of him. With Queen gone, Simpson is projected to be the starter. He had a team-high 11 tackles in the Ravens’ preseason opener and has received rave reviews for being a quick learner. Simpson could fill the void left by Queen without a major drop-off.
Anthony Richardson is another clear candidate for second-year quarterback, but that ground has already been covered quite a bit this offseason. So why not Levis? Levis had a couple of very good games as a rookie, and some bad ones, too. His situation is much better this season. He has a new head coach in Brian Callahan, who wants to throw more, a new receiver in the highly paid Calvin Ridley and another pass-catching running back in Tony Pollard. Levis has obvious talent. Let’s see what he can do in what should be a quarterback-friendly environment.
The biggest reason Wicks might not have a great season is that the Packers have a lot of talent at receiver and only one ball to go around. However, Wicks has the talent to excel. As a fifth-round rookie last season, he shined and finished with 581 yards and four touchdowns. To start this preseason, he caught a 65-yard touchdown from Jordan Love. Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Christian Watson were all drafted higher, but Wicks has intriguing skills. On a team that is loaded with young receivers, it should come as no surprise that Wicks ends up leading the Packers in receiving yards.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
Porter is the player the Steelers got with the draft pick acquired in the Chase Claypool trade, and that figures to be one of the biggest steals in team history. Porter had an excellent second half of his rookie season and has already developed into a top-tier cornerback in some ways. He shadowed opponents’ No. 1 receivers down the stretch and did well. This should be the season Porter takes his place among the NFL’s best cornerbacks.
Because Sam LaPorta set records, perhaps some will view Kincaid’s rookie season as a disappointment. There’s really nothing wrong with a 673-yard season as a rookie tight end. And the opportunity is there for the 2023 first-round pick to explode this season. Stefon Diggs is gone, and the Bills didn’t invest much in receivers except for second-round pick Keon Coleman. Receiver Khalil Shakir could have also been on this list because he was reportedly making a lot of plays in Bills training camp. But we’ll stick with Kincaid, who can line up everywhere and face many of the targets vacated by the Diggs trade. Catching passes from Josh Allen, he should have an excellent second season.
Melifonwu earned a starting job in Week 14 of last season. His play after that was eye-opening. In eight games, counting the playoffs, Melifonwu had 30 solo tackles, five sacks (including two games with more than one sack) and two interceptions. He moved from cornerback to safety during the 2022 season and finally saw its payoff late last season. Melifonwu isn’t even guaranteed to be a starter at the start of the season for a deep Lions team, but his playmaking last season was hard to ignore.
Smith-Njigba was considered the best receiver in the 2023 NFL Draft class, but he had to deal with some glitches last season. The Seahawks’ passing game wasn’t as good as it was in 2022, Smith-Njigba was behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and in a preseason game he suffered a broken wrist, which set him back. Still, he finished with 628 receiving yards and some nice highlights, including a game-winning touchdown in the final minute against the Browns. With a new offensive scheme in place, Smith-Njigba could end up being a bigger part of the offense than the two well-known star receivers who were ahead of him on the depth chart last season.
Dodson played well when he was forced into a starting role with the Buffalo Bills due to injuries last season. He played well enough to be the NFL’s No. 1 linebacker last season, according to ‘Focus on professional football’ Ratings. Dodson signed with the Seattle Seahawks during the offseason and Mike Macdonald’s defense has gotten big production from Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith over the past two seasons. Dodson is just 26 years old and could have a big season ahead of him.
