NFL Backups Who Could Earn Starting Jobs Before 2023 Season
The 2023 NFL season is still a long way off. While some players are sure to be on the field, starting for their squads, many others will have to earn that status during training camp and the preseason.
There's always the potential for a surprise outcome in a positional battle. Last year's starters could become depth options or even be released during the rounds of roster cuts. Unheralded late-round picks and undrafted rookies may shock the world, earning starting gigs early in their careers.
Keep that in mind as we highlight a handful of players projected to be second-stringers but who could make the leap to starters before Week 1.
Depth chart projections courtesy of Ourlads and accurate as of Monday.
Jordan Battle, S, Cincinnati Bengals
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The Cincinnati Bengals landed one of the steals of the draft when they selected Jordan Battle in the third round. The Alabama safety should be an immediate contributor and perhaps even secure a starting role once the dust from training camp settles.
Battle was a three-year starter in Tuscaloosa, an especially impressive accomplishment given how many talented defensive backs filter through head coach Nick Saban's program. He finished with 252 tackles and six interceptions, including three he returned for touchdowns. That's a testament to his high-level awareness and coverage skills.
While Battle has just adequate size (6'1", 206 lbs) for an NFL safety and isn't a mind-blowing athlete, he is smart, moves well and has great range. He'll put up a fight against veteran free agent Nick Scott and Dax Hill, the two projected starters, as well as 2022 fifth-round pick Tycen Anderson for the openings created by the departures of Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell.
Hill is projected to nab one of those spots after Cincinnati's investment. There's a possibility he will outplay Hill, who played only 131 defensive snaps last year. Scott isn't a shoo-in either, as the 2019 seventh-round pick earned only a 54.2 Pro Football Focus grade for the Los Angeles Rams.
With so many question marks in the secondary, Battle could carve out a first-string role.
Robert Beal Jr., EDGE, San Francisco 49ers
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The San Francisco 49ers have arguably the best pass-rusher in the league in Nick Bosa. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is an anchor on the edge, but the starter at the other end spot is far from clear.
After losing both Samson Ebukam—a starter last year—and Charles Omenihu via free agency, San Francisco went out to find replacements. The club came away with a pair of veterans in Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant, but neither has distinguished himself after four years in the NFL.
Drake Jackson will also be in the mix and is even listed as a starter on unofficial depth charts. Despite being picked in the second round last year, he was removed from the rotation because of his conditioning and was inactive for two of the final three games in the regular season as well as all three playoff contests.
The lack of surefire contributors may lead to a rapid ascent for fifth-round pick Robert Beal Jr. Though Beal was a depth option for most of the half-decade he spent at Georgia—starting just 10 games in college—he will receive more usage on the edge at the next level.
General manager John Lynch spoke about Beal's potential impact after the team selected him at No. 173 overall, highlighting his athleticism, length and explosiveness as assets that should help him take down quarterbacks. Lynch also noted Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart had high praise for Beal and that that influenced San Francisco's decision to draft him.
While the 49ers will almost assuredly go with a platoon approach across from Bosa, the 6'4", 247-pound Beal could log a good chunk of playing time early on because of his abilities and potential. A good training camp could even help him land the starting job.
Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings have one of the better backup running backs in the league in Alexander Mattison. After several strong performances in games wherein he assumed an elevated role, the club should feel comfortable parting ways with incumbent starter Dalvin Cook before the campaign kicks off.
While Mattison didn't earn any starts last year—Cook was on the field for every game for the first time in his six seasons—he proved more than capable of fulfilling those duties as recently as the 2021 season. In four starts that season, the Boise State product amassed 356 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 86 totes while adding 162 yards and another score on 19 receptions.
With only 474 career touches and 1,100 offensive snaps, the 24-year-old should have plenty of gas left in the tank as he gears up for his fifth campaign.
Minnesota retained Mattison after the expiration of his rookie deal, bringing the 2019 third-rounder back on a two-year, $7 million contract in March. Considering Cook is due to make a combined $22.3 million in base salary over the next two seasons—the four-time Pro Bowler is the third-highest-paid back in the NFL—Mattison represents a much cheaper primary backfield option for the Vikings, who have the least amount of salary-cap space in the league.
With ESPN's Adam Schefter recently saying "I think there is some real question as to whether or not [Cook] will be in Minnesota this upcoming season," it seems plausible that the Vikings could jump at any chance to offload Cook's contract and promote Mattison to a starting role.
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Tyquan Thornton, WR, New England Patriots
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The New England Patriots offense is in transition following an ugly showing in 2022. The team regressed significantly after longtime coordinator Josh McDaniels was poached by the Las Vegas Raiders, and failed head coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge did not distinguish themselves as offensive geniuses.
While Bill O'Brien's hiring should shore up the offensive coordinator issue, the wide receiver position is still a question mark. The team lost its most productive pass-catcher when Jakobi Meyers signed with the Raiders following two strong seasons, leaving DeVante Parker and Kendrick Bourne as the projected starters on the outside and JuJu Smith-Schuster—Meyers' free-agent replacement—in the slot.
While Smith-Schuster should be locked in to his role, Parker and Bourne could be usurped by promising second-year talent Tyquan Thornton. Thornton flashed immense potential as a last season, catching 22 passes for 247 yards and a pair of scores—plus another touchdown on the ground—in 13 games.
If Thornton has a strong training camp, he could climb the depth chart to become the team's main outside receiving threat. He'll just have to beat out the 30-year-old Parker—who caught a pedestrian 31 passes for 539 yards and three touchdowns during his first season with the Patriots last year—and regressing Bourne, who only reeled in 35 receptions for 434 yards and one score last year, a noticeable dip from the 55-catch, 800-yard, five-touchdown campaign he had in 2021.
Kyle Trask, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Tom Brady's retirement left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stuck between a rock and a hard place. The team had no heir apparent on the roster and no viable path with its mid-first-round pick to secure a high-end prospect to replace the legendary signal-caller.
Given that hand, the Bucs signed a veteran in Baker Mayfield after he showed sparks during his four starts with the Rams at the end of last season. Mayfield is projected to be the starter, but it's possible incumbent backup Kyle Trask will win the role in training camp.
Trask had been a backup to Brady ever since he was drafted at No. 64 in 2021. The Florida product didn't touch the field as a rookie and played just one game last year—completing only three of his nine pass attempts for 23 yards during mop-up duty in Tampa Bay's regular-season finale—but has far more experience in the team's system than Mayfield.
That could give the 25-year-old an edge in the battle for the QB1 role. According to SI.com's Dustin Lewis, Trask said he is focusing on being consistent and plans to utilize what he learned from Brady in a competition that should be his for the taking:
"For me, I feel this time I just really need to hone in and be as consistent as I can. At the end of the day, I'm just trying to do whatever I can to make this team succeed. Fortunately enough, I've had two years of prior experience with a very veteran quarterback room, and there's a lot to take away from that. I'm going to try to implement some of those styles and routines that they had into my routine, and hopefully that will make us more successful at the end of the day."
Mayfield may have more overall experience than Trask, but the No. 1 pick in 2018 hasn't led his teams to much success. Trask still offers upside and an outside chance to develop into a franchise quarterback. The rebuilding Bucs have little to lose, and Trask may win the starting job.
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