5 NFL Players Primed for Breakout Season After Early 2025 Free Agency Moves

The start of the new league year has brought with it much change to the NFL landscape. A frenzy of player movement—including several blockbuster trades in addition to the usual flurry of free-agent signings—has shifted power dynamics and shaken things up ahead of what should be a thrilling 2025 season.

While the dust is still far from settled, there's already a handful of players who appear poised to capitalize on these early moves.

Whether these players landed in a situation where their skill set will be better utilized, had a positional logjam cleared or have new teammates who can help elevate their game, they are on the cusp of breaking out in 2025.

With that in mind, let's look at five players primed to shine next season thanks to the series of signings and trades this past week.

QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

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After months of speculation, the Minnesota Vikings elected not to retain either of their two incumbent veteran quarterbacks who hit the open market this offseason. The door is now wide open for second-year signal-caller J.J. McCarthy to run the show and thrive.

McCarthy has little competition for the QB1 job with Sam Darnold—last year's breakout star—signing with the Seattle Seahawks and midseason pickup Daniel Jones, the longtime New York Giants starter, joining the Indianapolis Colts. Journeyman Brett Rypien is the only other QB currently under contract in the Twin Cities.  

There have been some rumblings that the Vikings may still opt to bring in an established veteran to compete with McCarthy—notably Aaron Rodgers—but the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported the organization is "likely" to hand the reins to McCarthy.

While it's not a surprise that McCarthy—the No. 10 overall pick last year—will become a starter in Year 2, his progression timeline did have a wrench thrown in it when he missed his entire rookie campaign with a torn meniscus.

Although the injury cost him valuable reps, McCarthy said that he's fully healthy and "feeling fantastic" during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show last month.

Surrounded by one of the league's top supporting casts—one that helped Darnold lead the team to a 14-3 record and become a Pro Bowler in his lone year starting—and a brilliant coaching staff helmed by Kevin O'Connell, McCarthy is a good bet to hit the ground running and establish himself as one of the league's best young passers in 2025.

RB Najee Harris, Los Angeles Chargers

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The Los Angeles Chargers just received a major backfield boost via the free agency addition of Najee Harris. The hard-charging running back is a perfect fit for the type of football head coach Jim Harbaugh wants his teams to play and the pairing should result in Harris having a special 2025 season.

Harris hit the open market following four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While he started his career hot—earning a Pro Bowl selection after amassing 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns on 307 totes as a rookie—Harris averaged a mediocre 3.9 yards per carry during his stint with the organization and steadily ceded work to undrafted backup Jaylen Warren.

While Harris isn't the most dynamic back in the league, he's one of the most reliable. He appeared and started in all 68 games since he was drafted No. 24 overall in 2021. Harris also rushed for at least 1,000 yards and six touchdowns in each of those campaigns.

Harris has also displayed the ability to contribute as a pass-catcher. His best receiving work came in Year 1 when he tallied 467 yards and three scores on 74 catches, although Pittsburgh moved him away from that role in later seasons.

Expect the Bolts to unlock the best of Harris. Harbaugh recently helped J.K. Dobbins rejuvenate his injury-plagued career with a pitstop in Los Angeles, as the veteran went on to post personal-best marks of 905 yards and nine touchdowns on 195 carries across the 13 games he played in 2024.

With quarterback Justin Herbert finally appearing healthy following a slow start to last season, the Chargers should feature one of the most balanced attacks in football in 2025. Harris will be a key cog in the system and make the most of his one-year deal before hitting the open market again with far more value in 2026.

WR Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears

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The Chicago Bears have had a massively successful 2025 offseason. The team's transformation began by luring top coaching candidate Ben Johnson away from the rival Detroit Lions. Chicago's wins have continued to pile up at the onset of free agency thanks to a complete overhaul of a roughshod offensive line.

The new coaching staff, coupled with major reinforcements in the offensive trenches—which include a pair of Pro Bowl guards in Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson in addition to proven center Drew Dalman—should finally unlock the potential of this up-and-coming offense.

The Bears invested a pair of first-round picks into quarterback Caleb Williams (No. 1 overall) and wideout Rome Odunze (No. 9 overall) last year, but both underwhelmed as rookies. Each flashed immense talent at times, but Williams took a league-high 68 sacks and Odunze only finished the year with 734 yards and three touchdowns on 54 catches.

Expect both to have breakout sophomore seasons, with Odunze particularly primed to make a massive Year 2 leap. The Washington product put up incredible collegiate numbers—including a 92-catch, 1,640-yard, 13-touchdown line in his final season with the Huskies—and clearly all the tools to be a high-volume No. 1 with production to match at the NFL level.

Odunze will not only benefit from improvements to Williams' protection, but also from Keenan Allen being out of the picture.

The Bears elected not to retain Allen following after a lone campaign in the Windy City. Allen was one of Williams' favorite targets last year—the veteran's 121 targets trailed only DJ Moore for most on the team—and many of those vacated looks are poised to head Odunze's way this coming season.

With less competition for targets and more time for his quarterback to throw, Odunze will make a Pro Bowl leap in 2025.

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are forging into a new era, one that could see Jaxon Smith-Njigba evolve into the NFL's top receiver.

With Tyler Lockett (released) and DK Metcalf (traded) both departing this offseason, JSN is in line to put up some herculean numbers in his third NFL season. The team is betting big on the wideout's progression, as Seattle signed quarterback Sam Darnold to a hefty three-year, $100.5 million deal and did little else to improve the supporting cast.

Smith-Njigba already took a major leap in Year 2. After a pedestrian rookie season, the 2022 first-round pick usurped both Lockett and Metcalf as former QB Geno Smith's favorite target and put up a 100-1,130-6 stat line that earned him the first of what could potentially become many Pro Bowl nods in his career.

Darnold proved last year that he can thrive with an elite receiver at his disposal. Justin Jefferson had one of the best seasons of his decorated career in 2024, teaming with Darnold during their lone season together with the Minnesota Vikings to put up 1,533 yards and 10 touchdowns on 103 receptions.

It wouldn't be a surprise if JSN eclipses those numbers, especially with the likes of Jake Bobo and Marquez Valdes-Scantling currently representing his main competition for looks.

Even if the Seahawks opt to add a receiver early in the 2025 draft, Smith-Njigba will still lead this unit in targets by a good margin next season and will be the primary focus of Seattle's new-look offense.

EDGE Josh Sweat, Arizona Cardinals

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Josh Sweat may already have seven years of NFL service under his belt, but he's yet to truly reach his vast potential. Now that the edge-rusher has joined forces with the Arizona Cardinals, he's poised to put up the best numbers of his career.

Working as a critical part of a pass-rushing unit that helped lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl LIX victory, Sweat gave his market value a major boost during the playoffs and cashed in with a four-year, $76.4 million contract this offseason.

The deal reunites Sweat with Cardinals head coach Josh Gannon, who served as Philly's defensive coordinator during the most productive stretch of Sweat's career. The pass-rusher earned his lone Pro Bowl nod under Gannon in 2021 and notched a career-best 11 sacks the following season—marking the last time the pair worked together before Gannon took the Arizona job.

Gannon's system and Sweat's projected role within it as a feature edge-rusher should equate to several more double-digit sack campaigns and recognition as one of the NFL's best talents at his position.

Although it's rare for a player to have a breakout year in an age-28 season, Sweat is primed to take his game to the next level now that he's no longer part of a deep rotation that limited him to just 63 percent of defensive snaps last year. Expect the Cardinals to rely on Sweat far more heavily as he leads the way for one of the NFL's most intriguing defenses.