NFL Players Primed for Breakout Seasons After Disappointing Rookie Campaigns
NFL players tend to experience their greatest rate of growth between their first and second seasons.
They no longer need to worry about classes, the awards circuit or draft preparation. They now know the lay of the land for their respective cities and facilities. They just spent their first full season in an NFL program and training regimen. More often than not, they're entering their second year in the same offensive or defensive systems. The game itself begins to slow down as their roles become more defined.
As a result, they often make a significant leap. The extent of that leap depends on their setup, though.
Expectations often define a player's rookie season. Some first-round picks struggle with their transition to the NFL. Later-round picks might not play a ton of snaps right away. Others may be forced into the lineup before they were ready, and their play reflects where they were on the developmental curve.
The following eight players from the 2022 NFL draft class each endured their own ups and downs during their respective rookie campaigns, but they're poised to thrive in Year 2 based on improved situations, more opportunities and/or better health.
CB Derek Stingley Jr., Houston Texans
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The Houston Texans selected Derek Stingley Jr. at No. 3 overall last year, making him the first cornerback to be drafted. Unfortunately for Stingley, the New York Jets chose Sauce Gardner one pick later.
Gardner went on to become the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and earned a first-team All-Pro nod. Meanwhile, Stingley started the Texans' first nine games of the season before a hamstring injury derailed his rookie campaign.
Injuries have now cost the 21-year-old multiple games in three straight seasons dating back to college. His health remains a legitimate concern, though new teammate Jimmie Ward has seen him at the Texans' voluntary workouts and has been impressed.
"It's going to keep clicking for him," Ward told reporters last week. "The game is going to slow down and slow down, and sooner or later, I'm not looking at his side. I'm going to go steal some on the other side. You aren't going to catch the ball on Stingley."
Getting to play for new head coach Demeco Ryans won't hurt, either. The San Francisco 49ers ranked first overall in total defense last season with Ryans as their defensive coordinator.
The addition of 2023 No. 3 overall pick Will Anderson Jr. alongside veterans Maliek Collins, Sheldon Rankins and Jonathan Greenard will make life easier for a Texans secondary with Stingley as its centerpiece.
OT Evan Neal, New York Giants
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Evan Neal looked like a lock to be a dominant blocker in the NFL. He had the physical traits, athleticism and tape for the New York Giants to select him seventh overall in last year's draft.
However, Neal didn't transition well to right tackle and dealt with a sprained MCL throughout his rookie campaign.
The 6'7", 350-pound lineman played right guard, right tackle and left tackle during his Alabama career. Neal's inability to settle into one position over a four-year span factored into his rookie-year struggles.
"Well, I did it in college," Neal said, per SNY's Colin Martin, "but making the jump from left tackle on the college level and right tackle on the NFL level, it made it a little bit more challenging being the fact that I played a different position basically since my senior year in high school, never got a chance to settle into one spot. So it kinda presented its own challenges, but I dealt with it the best way I could ... Definitely looking forward to it, just being able to get locked in to one position and just refine that position for sure."
With Andrew Thomas set as Daniel Jones' blindside protector, the Giants have no intention of moving Neal. Two consecutive years on the right side should help him clean up his technique and become more consistent
The Giants' offensive line should also be more settled overall. The entire offense will be in its second season under head coach/play-caller Brian Daboll. Mark Glowinski returns to play alongside Neal at right guard for a second straight season, while second-round rookie John Michael Schmitz should be an upgrade at center.
Neal's increased comfort level should help him develop into an elite right tackle.
WR Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans
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The specter of the trade that landed Treylon Burks in Tennessee will continue to hang over him until he cements himself as the Titans' bona fide WR1.
The Titans acquired the first-round pick that they used on Burks from the Philadelphia Eagles for former leading receiver A.J. Brown. The veteran proceeded to post a career-high 1,496 receiving yards and became a second-team All-Pro during his first season in the City of Brotherly Love.
Meanwhile, Burks finished 10th among rookies last season with 444 receiving yards, just behind New Orleans Saints undrafted free-agent wideout Rashid Shaheed and Titans tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo.
"It is just to understand that it is not a six-month deal, it is a year-round deal," Titans head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters when asked about his offseason advice to Burks. "I think he realizes what he can do if he is in shape, ready to go, big and healthy. He worked his tail off. He had some unfortunate injuries. He hurt the toe, had the concussion, but I'm excited to work with him. I'm excited for him and his future. It probably got off to a slow start and that is how you learn sometimes, is by going through it."
Robert Woods, the Titans' leading receiver last year, is no longer in Tennessee. Burks has a wide-open path to cement himself as the favorite target of Ryan Tannehill (or Will Levis).
Tennessee didn't add another receiver of note this offseason. Burks is now the guy. It's up to him to show he's capable of posting numbers similar to what Brown previously provided.
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RB Breece Hall, New York Jets
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New York Jets running back Breece Hall played in seven games as a rookie before suffering a torn ACL and meniscus. He still led the team with 463 rushing yards.
Hall will be just beyond the 10-month mark from his surgery at the start of the 2023 season. His sophomore-year performance may depend on whenever he's cleared to practice and get back into football shape.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh provided a promising prognosis last month, telling reporters, "Breece looks fantastic."
Hall may not be fully up to speed when the 2023 season starts, but the Jets have a deep backfield with Michael Carter, Zonovan Knight and Israel Abanikanda to lighten the load until he's ready to roll.
When healthy, Hall is a dynamic runner. As a rookie, he finished second in yards per carry (5.8) among running backs with 50 or more carries, per CBS Sports' Jeff Kerr. The Jets' ground game ranked 11th in rushing yards over expected with Hall in the lineup but fell to 27th without him, according to NFL Next Gen Stats (h/t ESPN's Rich Cimini).
New starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers will also help decompress the box since he can threaten the entire field, unlike New York's previous starting quarterbacks. The additions of second-round center Joe Tippmann and wide receiver Allen Lazard will help upgrade the Jets' run blocking along the interior and outside the tackle box.
As long as Hall's recovery stays on track, he remains New York's projected lead back with the potential to explode for big numbers as part of a much-improved offense.
DL Logan Hall, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers changed their approach to team-building this offseason. With Tom Brady finally retired for good (we think), they went from loading up on veterans to developing young talent.
The Bucs had Akiem Hicks, William Gholston and Rakeem Nunez-Roches along their defensive front last year. None of them are currently on Tampa Bay's roster.
The Buccaneers' coaching staff is looking to build around Vita Vea, 2022 No. 33 overall pick Logan Hall and rookie first-round pick Calijah Kancey. Vea is a difference-maker, and expectations are high for Kancey. Hall must show more, though.
"(Hall) stepped in and really, when I look at it, he did some good things," defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers told reporters. "Probably no kudos to me for not putting him out there more. But the people we had, we had more experienced guys, this and that, and I just kept him out. And hindsight (being) 20/20, I should've put him there more."
Hall didn't start a game as a rookie. He's now expected to take over as the primary 5-technique alongside Vea and Kancey as the 1- and 3-techniques, respectively.
"Very similar measurables," Rodgers said of Hall and Gholston, per Pewter Report's Scott Reynolds. "If those group of guys were in there at that time, we would see Logan playing this role and Kancey playing that role and Vita playing his role. With his skill set very similar to what Will brought to us."
Aside from an expanding role, Hall will benefit by bulking up this offseason.
"I just talked to him, he's like 296 (pounds) right now," Rodgers said. "He's getting bigger and stronger. We like where he's going."
QB Desmond Ridder, Atlanta Falcons
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The Atlanta Falcons made the bold decision to name Desmond Ridder their starting quarterback this offseason.
"They've told me that, that they trust me and that they see what I do out on the field, they see my leadership," Ridder said, per ESPN's Michael Rothstein. "And you know, that that's what they want. And so, I'm just gonna keep continuing to be myself, be who I am, be the leader I can be and go out there and just keep proving myself."
The B/R Scouting Department did grade Ridder as the top quarterback in his draft class and gave him a late-first-round grade prior to last year's draft. However, the Falcons have passed on actual first-round possibilities such as Justin Fields, Kenny Pickett and Will Levis in three consecutive draft classes.
Atlanta's brass apparently saw something in Ridder's four starts despite his minimal production.
"At that position, there's a lot of different skill sets; there's a lot of physical attributes you have to have to play that position," Falcons vice president of player personnel Kyle Smith said, per The Athletic's Jeff Schultz. "But what separates the players is from the neck up, not just from an intelligence perspective (but also) how you face adversity, how you're wired, your toughness, your mindset, all those things, and he has all those."
Ridder's skill-position corps has him set up for success as a sophomore. He has three recent top-10 picks—tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson—along with a stout offensive line in front of him.
OT Bernhard Raimann, Indianapolis Colts
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Bernhard Raimann's "welcome to the NFL" moment couldn't have gone any worse.
The rookie left tackle replaced a struggling Matt Pryor at left tackle for the Indianapolis Colts during a Thursday prime-time affair against the Denver Broncos. Officials called him for four penalties during that game, and he allowed multiple pressures.
"The Denver game was (that) moment," Raimann told reporters Wednesday. "Not exactly on the snap count or taking the wrong first step and you get beat, so that was the moment of 'This is a totally different level.'"
The Colts allowed the rookie to start the following game before pulling him from the lineup. Eventually, he started the team's final nine contests and quietly got better every week.
Even though Raimann entered the NFL as an older prospect—he turned 25 before making his first start—he was raw. The native Austrian picked up the game in high school, where he played wide receiver. He entered the foreign exchange program, converted to tight end and served a mandatory military commitment before joining the Central Michigan Chippewas, where he became a left tackle.
Despite an outstanding athletic profile and first-round traits, Raimann slid to the 77th overall pick. The Colts clearly saw his potential, though. His biggest issue last season revolved around playing strength even though he added nearly 60 pounds between 2020 and 2022.
A year in the Colts' strength-training program helped the sophomore tremendously. Raimann revealed he's packed on 15 more pounds this offseason and currently weighs between 315 and 320, per James Boyd of The Athletic. He should be able to anchor better now. The Colts also didn't bring in any immediate competition this offseason, which means Raimann should be Anthony Richardson's blind-side protector.
"Single greatest thing that I learned (from 2022)? That I could do it," the second-year blocker said, per Boyd.
LB Nakobe Dean, Philadelphia Eagles
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Nakobe Dean went from being the heartbeat of the national championship-winning Georgia Bulldogs defense and Butkus Award winner as the college football's best linebacker to falling well into Day 2 of the NFL draft. The Philadelphia Eagles took him with the 83rd overall pick, and he served as a backup for the entirety of his rookie campaign.
"My time will come, but right now, this is my role and I'm just focused on getting better every day and being ready when my number is called," the 22-year-old told reporters late last season.
Dean's number has been called this offseason. He's set up to be the team's new starting middle linebacker.
The Eagles' two leading tacklers from last season, T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White, both signed elsewhere as free agents. Under general manager Howie Roseman, the Eagles typically don't place significant value on off-ball linebackers, which is why they allow their top tacklers to leave. Instead, they tend to load up on defensive line reinforcements.
Dean's draft slide should be a massive steal, particularly for a team that doesn't invest much in the position. As NBC Sports Philadelphia's Reuben Frank reported last year, the linebacker "dazzled the Eagles' coaches with his intelligence since the pre-draft process began."
Dean should benefit from a much bigger opportunity as a sophomore, especially working alongside so many of the same players whom he helped lead at Georgia. The Eagles defense will feature four other former Bulldogs in defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter, edge-rusher Nolan Smith and cornerback Kelee Ringo.
Familiarity may go as far as intelligence when it comes to Dean potentially wearing the green dot and communicating the defense to everyone else.
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