10 NFL Players Primed to Break out in 2nd Half of NFL Season
Eight weeks in the books means it's time to look over the foreground and toward the horizon.
For some teams, their focus remains on staying relevant in the wild-card hunt. For others, the passing trade deadline spotlighted their attempts to boost already intimidating rosters.
While the usual suspects—Miami Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill and Cleveland Browns edge-rusher Myles Garrett to name a couple—holstered headlines and stuffed stat sheets in the first half of the campaign, the meat of the 2023 season should showcase a list of athletes that could ramp up production.
With injuries, trades and individual performance levels influencing certain roles, let's get into a list of players whose environments should allow them to see an uptick in production over the next few months.
RB Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings
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With quarterback Kirk Cousins out for the remainder of the season, the attention has turned to Alexander Mattison to shoulder a hefty workload on offense.
Rookie signal-caller Jaren Hall is expected to take ahold of the reins in place of Cousins, but expecting anything close to what the offense looked like under Cousins' veteran leadership would be foolish. With Cousins joining superstar pass-catcher Justin Jefferson on the shelf, an offense that usually enjoys attacking teams via the air will likely look totally different moving forward.
The easiest way to allow Hall to get his feet wet comfortably is by churning chunk plays on the ground. While Mattison has yet to make a trip to the end zone this year via the run and remains without a 100-yard outing in eight appearances, he'll be tasked with getting the offense going week in and week out moving forward.
EDGE Keion White, New England Patriots
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A workload of 62 snaps in Week 8 could paint the picture for Keion White moving forward.
New England's third-round pick out of Georgia Tech this past spring, the versatile lineman will be put in a position to wreak havoc in a multitude of ways.
While his snap count has fluctuated all year long, recording his first pressure since Week 3 last week against the Dolphins is a step in the right direction and a potential preview of what's to come. After a game that saw him amass a tandem of both pressures and QB hits, his increased snap count should pave the way for increased production.
A youthful, versatile piece within a veteran defensive front, his ability to play up and down the trenches should allow him to flash in a variety of alignments.
TE Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
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With Zach Ertz now on injured reserve, Week 8 saw Trey McBride showcase a skill set Arizona Cardinals fans have waited nearly two years to see.
A second-round selection out of Colorado State in 2022, McBride's 14-target, 10-reception, 95-yard day represented a trio of single-game career-highs. It could also provide a glimpse of what's to come.
Initially looked upon to become the face of Arizona's tight ends room last spring, he's sat second-fiddle to Ertz since he arrived in town. With a blend of size and quickness to win inside the phone booth of the second level, he could become the featured flex weapon in the desert—even when Ertz returns.
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OL Teven Jenkins, Chicago Bears
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Now in Year 3 as a Chicago Bear, former second-rounder Teven Jenkins is in the midst of a massive evaluation period.
While injuries have plagued him throughout the early portions of his career, his play this fall has seen his dominance reappear from the flashes shown during the middle portions of last year. While his first snaps this season didn't come until Week 5, he's been one of the top guards in football since his cleats hit NFL-branded turf.
With over 100 snaps at both right and left guard, his versatility has showcased itself despite the changes in scenery.
Health will remain of the utmost importance in the short and long term, but with zero sacks and zero QB hits allowed in four weeks, his play will hold a ton of weight toward the success of the Bears offense no matter who lines up at quarterback.
RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
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It took eight weeks, but Monday Night Football saw the Detroit Lions take the tarp off their Ferrari in the form of first-rounder Jahmyr Gibbs.
While Detroit has opted to feature the stylistically unique David Montgomery when healthy, Gibbs showcased why he was so highly touted in the pre-draft process. He had 26 carries for 152 yards and hauled in five catches for 37 more against the Las Vegas Raiders, and he has now made trips to the end zone in back-to-back weeks.
With Montgomery battling injury since Week 6, it looks to be Gibbs' show as long as Montgomery remains on the shelf. Even when the Lions' veteran, big-bodied back returns, handing the keys over to Gibbs as a dynamic offensive chess piece will only heighten the potential of Detroit's impressive offensive arsenal.
EDGE Casey Toohill, Washington Commanders
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With Montez Sweat (Chicago Bears) and Chase Young (San Francisco 49ers) now elsewhere, snaps have opened up for guys like Casey Toohill in Washington.
A seventh-round pick back in 2020, Toohill has deserved a much higher snap count even when Sweat and Young were in town.
Although the fourth-year veteran totaled just 59 pass-rush snaps in comparison to over 235 for both Sweat and Young through the first eight weeks this fall, he ranks third on the team in sacks with four behind Sweat's eight and Young's six.
Long story short, he made the most of his limited opportunity. Moving into the back half of 2023, he'll be able to pin his ears back with a full allotment of snaps on his plate.
While the Commanders will look to involve their tandem of Day 3 edge selections in KJ Henry (Clemson) and Andre Jones Jr. (Louisiana-Lafayette), Toohill looks to be the primary beneficiary following the losses of two of Washington's headlining defensive talents.
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, Detroit Lions
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Acquired for a 2025 sixth-round pick, Donovan Peoples-Jones should receive an immediate opportunity to produce inside Detroit's lethal attack.
A big target at 6'2", he could quickly become—at worst—the vertical threat the Lions have lacked in 2023. While Detroit drafted a burner in Jameson Williams via the first round in 2022, his target share has remained limited through four games this fall.
Over his three and a half seasons in Cleveland, Peoples-Jones appeared in 50 games totaling 117 receptions for 1,868 yards and eight touchdowns. His most successful campaign came last fall when he caught 61 passes for 839 yards and three scores.
With struggles under center in Cleveland this year, however, stretching the field vertically wasn't part of the weekly game script. As a result, Peoples-Jones saw a decrease in volume.
Now in Detroit where eyes will remain fixed on Amon-Ra St. Brown, tight end Sam LaPorta and ball-carrier Jahmyr Gibbs, Peoples-Jones will not only provide a sure set of hands (zero drops on 17 targets) in the intermediate areas, but the threat of him throttling up will also force secondaries to stay high in their defensive shell.
WR Demario Douglas, New England Patriots
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A sixth-round selection from Liberty, Demario 'Pop' Douglas has been one of the better stories in all of football this year.
A small-in-stature pass-catcher (5'8") who made his money on designated touches at the collegiate level, his already hefty role should ratchet up a few notches within the New England Patriots' offense moving forward.
Following Kendrick Bourne's torn ACL in Week 8, a plentiful helping of targets are to be had. Bourne's 55 receptions led all Patriots pass-catchers through eight weeks. Douglas sits second among wideouts with 28.
While quarterback Mac Jones has continued to prioritize tight ends Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki (59 targets combined), Douglas has potentially become 'WR1' on the perimeter.
An explosive playmaker whose pre-draft process saw him go from a UDFA flier to a Day 3 pick, Douglas could potentially both make Jones' life easier and raise the potential of chunk plays inside an already limited playbook.
DL Osa Odighizuwa, Dallas Cowboys
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Micah Parsons draws the attention on the edge, but a quick peek toward the middle could highlight an athlete on the verge of taking the next step in his young career.
An alignment-versatile one- and three-technique along the Dallas interior, Osa Odighizuwa sits second to Parsons in pressures among all Cowboys defenders (21).
A former top-100 pick out of UCLA, Odighizuwa is on pace to set career-highs in pressures, sacks and QB hits. And after totaling just eight pressures during the first month of the season, he's totaled 13 combined in his past three outings.
With his ability to push from the interior with Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence rushing from either side, Odighizuwa has seemingly flipped a switch that should see his production continue to rise in the weeks to come.
S Camryn Bynum, Minnesota Vikings
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Camryn Bynum's first half of the 2023 season could be a small appetizer of what's ultimately to come.
While veteran Harrison Smith and former first-rounder Lewis Cine have drawn headlines—both good and bad—over the past few seasons, Bynum's versatility and production when thrown into the fire have been nothing short of sensational.
Missed tackles plagued him in the early portions of this fall (four in four games). However, the past month has seen him clean up his technique. And while his coverage ability has consistently remained above league standard, the ball production displayed the past two weeks (two interceptions) has opened up a new window into just how good he could be for the Vikings.
With snaps at every defensive alignment except for one- and three-technique along the defensive line this year, Bynum has become a unique athlete inside defensive coordinator Brian Flores' unit whose potential looks to be just scratching the surface.
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