NFL: 2008's Surprise Players

Every year there are surprise players throughout the league; players who, for whatever reason, soar beyond their expectations and impress even the most fickle of fans.

So, who are this year's surprise players?

I'll go a step beyond doing a "Top Ten" or even "Top Twenty", and instead I'll break down surprise players team-by-team (yes, even the lowly Lions...)

Arizona Cardinals: Steve Breaston, WR

Stats: 46 receptions, 624 yards, TD. 1 carry, 4 yards

It was very tough for me to not pick Tim Hightower here, but the Cardinals expected big things from Hightower right from the get-go. Breaston? Not so much.

Breaston was the number three receiver, a role which was not very generous stat-wise to last year's contestant, Bryant Johnson. In 2007, Johnson had 46 catches for 528 yards and 2 TDs.

If Breaston continues on his current pace, he is set to finish with 82 catches, 1109 yards, and 2 TDs.

Breaston's play in Anquan Boldin's absence also cannot be overlooked. In the two games Boldin missed, Breaston notched 15 receptions for 179 yards and a TD.

Atlanta Falcons: Erik Coleman, FS

Stats: 52 tackles, 5 passes defended, 3 INTs, 2 forced fumbles

Coleman didn't even start for the New York Jets last year. Considering how desperate the Jets were for a free safety last season, that says a lot.

Then he comes to Atlanta. And things change. He currently ranks 7th among all defensive backs in tackles, 9th in interceptions, and 3rd in forced fumbles.

Those are some impressive numbers. He looks rejuvenated this season, and is playing well enough to warrant Pro Bowl consideration. Don't believe me? Let's re-rank his stats, using only NFC free safeties instead of all NFL defensive backs:

• Tackles: 52 (1st)
• Interceptions: 3 (3rd)
• Forced Fumbles: 2 (1st)

The numbers don't lie. Coleman is playing out of his mind this season.

Baltimore Ravens: Jim Leonhard, SS

Stats: 36 tackles, 2 passes defended, 1.0 sack

Anyone want to guess who's 4th on the Ravens in total tackles? It's not Ed Reed, it's not Dawan Landry, and it's not Jarret Johnson. Nope, it's Jim Leonhard.

Leonhard has been the starter since the forth week and hasn't disappointed.

After Dawan Landry's injury, the team decided to turn to Leonhard over rookie Tom Zbikowski (to the dismay of many fans), and it proved to be a good decision.

Buffalo Bills: Fred Jackson, RB

Stats: 60 carries, 237 yards, TD. 23 receptions, 190 yards

Any Bills fan will tell you they knew about Fred Jackson from last year. But his stats this year are beyond what anyone could have anticipated.

Jackson had 300 rush yards all of last year, with 190 yards through the air. Obviously, he's well on his way to surpassing those numbers this year, even without a single start (compared to his one start last year).

If the Bills can get their offensive line healthy and back to being solid as run blockers, Jackson and Marshawn Lynch will be a solid two-headed monster for years to come.

Carolina Panthers: Chris Gamble, CB

Stats: 53 tackles, 13 passes defended, 2 INTs

There was some question as to whether or not Gamble would start over Richard Marshall next to Ken Lucas this year, and I think it's safe to say that Carolina made the right choice.

Right now, Gamble is playing extremely well, and is a major part to the Panthers success.

That secondary can rest easy knowing that they can leave Gamble out on an island and expect him to be just fine, not needing to bring over Chris Harris or Charles Godfrey over the top.

Chicago Bears: Kevin Payne, SS

Stats: 49 tackles, 1.0 sack, 5 passes defended, 3 INTs

If you're wondering why Matt Forte isn't listed here, see my Cardinals evaluation and replace "Tim Hightower" with "Matt Forte".

If you're still wondering, just ask yourself: who is Kevin Payne? Not many people could've answered that question last year. This year is a whole different story.

Payne has taken over the starting strong safety spot, manned last year by Adam Archuleta. And he has been nothing short of terrific.

Payne is tied for second on the team in tackles. Who is he tied with? Corey Graham, Charles Tillman, and Brian Urlacher. That's right, Payne has as many tackles this year as Brian Urlacher.

Enough said.

Cincinnati Bengals: Dhani Jones, MLB

Stats: 69 tackles, 5 passes defended, INT

Last year, Dhani Jones was nothing more than mediocre on a defense that flat-out sucked. This year? Well, the same can still be said about the defense, but not about Jones.

Jones is 13th in the league in tackles with 69, 7th in the AFC.

He should form a nice tandem with injured running mate Keith Rivers for the next couple years.

Cleveland Browns: Brandon McDonald, CB

Stats: 39 tackles, 10 passes defended, INT

If you can honestly say that you thought Brandon McDonald would be third on the Browns in tackles going into the season, I salute you.

If you were like the rest of us, you thought there was no way this guy could even come close to filling in for Leigh Bodden.

And while I will still say Bodden is by far the better player, McDonald has been quite good this year. He has surpassed his tackle and passes defended totals from all of last season through just nine games this year, and should easily add another interception to equal his 2007 season total.

McDonald may have a shot at being the Browns’ long-term answer at corner next to young stud Eric Wright.

Dallas Cowboys: Mike Jenkins, CB

Stats: 18 tackles, 2 passes defended, INT, TD

Even being a first-round pick, Jenkins was not expected to receive much—if any—playing time on a Cowboys roster that had a gluttony of corners.

With Terrence Newman, Anthony Henry, and Pacman Jones already ahead of him on the depth chart, as well as the impressive fellow rookie Orlando Scandrick nipping at his heels, Jenkins looked like he might not see the field in year one.

But as it stands, Newman and Henry have both had their injury issues and Pacman has been…well, Pacman.

So, when presented with a starting role, what has Jenkins done this season?

Well, 12 of Jenkins' 18 tackles have come in his three starts these past three weeks (not including week 10, Cowboys bye week), as well as his defensive touchdown on a nice 23-yard interception return against Eli Manning.

Based on how the Cowboys secondary has fared with injuries and suspensions, Jenkins should get plenty of playing time the rest of the season to showcase his first-round talents.

Denver Broncos: Nate Webster, MLB

Stats: 64 tackles, 2.0 sacks, FF, 3 passes defended, TD

Not only did Nate Webster beat out Niko Koutouvides for a starting spot, he also has played very impressively this season.

His 64 tackles rank second on the team only to the injured D.J. Williams, and his two sacks are tied for fourth.

He has been flying around the field all year, making plays that no one thought he could make. After all, he’s a linebacker whose career-high in tackles happens to be a measly 87.

His only blemish on this season is the fact that he will now be out “a few weeks” after straining his MCL against Cleveland, ironically the same injury that sidelined teammate D.J. Williams the week before.

Detroit Lions: Daniel Bullocks, SS

Stats: 59 tackles, 2 FF, 2 passes defended

Daniel Bullocks is an interesting story.

After a promising rookie campaign in 2006, in which he earned seven starts, he was sidelined for all of 2007 with a torn ACL, and it was questionable whether he would even start this year over second-year man Gerald Alexander.

Well, Bullocks has certainly answered any and all questions about whether or not he could recover from an injury which has destroyed the careers of numerous athletes with a resounding “Yes."

Bullocks is second on the Lions in tackles this year, and first among all NFC defensive backs.

Of course, he is often overlooked because he plays for the lowly Lions, but his numbers are still quite impressive.

Granted, his tackles are inflated because the Lions secondary has to tackle everyone thanks to their abysmal front seven, but his ability still cannot be denied.

Bullocks looks like he is one of very few bright spots on the Lions defense moving forward, and should be around for years to come.

Green Bay Packers: Tramon Williams, CB

Stats: 32 tackles, FF, 8 passes defended, 4 INTs

After starting only a single game a season ago, Tramon Williams has started five this year after being asked to fill in for the injured Al Harris.

Has he come through? Well, decide for yourself.

In his five starts, Williams has 25 of his 32 tackles on the season (including an  11-tackle performance against Atlanta in week five), five of his eight passes defended, and three of his four interceptions.

Williams has proven to be a star in the making on this Packers roster, and should be able to fill in nicely as a full-time starter when Harris (33) and Charles Woodson (32) retire in the not-so-distant future.

Houston Texans: Zach Diles, OLB

Stats: 66 tackles, 1.0 sack, FF, 2 passes defended, INT

Zach Diles looked like a promising stud on a very young and good-looking defense in Houston this year before being lost to injury (fractured tibia).

Up until his injury, Diles was ahead of phenom DeMeco Ryans in tackles, which any football fan would know is saying a lot.

Even after the Texans ninth game (which Diles didn’t play in), would anyone like to guess who the team leader in tackles is? Still Zach Diles, with four more than Ryans’ 62.

Next season, Diles will team up with Ryans again to form one of the most devastating linebacker tandems in the league.

Indianapolis Colts: Dominic Rhodes, RB

Stats: 80 carries, 290 yards, 3 TDs. 22 receptions, 145 yards, TD

After watching Dominic Rhodes destroy his career in only one season with Oakland, I don’t think anyone in Indianapolis expected him to come back this year and be the runner he was when the Colts won the Super Bowl.

And while he isn’t the same back he was then, he is still a lot better than most expected.

Leading the team in yards with 290, Rhodes has had to shoulder the load of the running with the injuries to Joseph Addai and Mike Hart. His 3.6 yards-per-carry may not be all that impressive, but they are in fact better than Addai’s embarrassing 3.1.

Rhodes looks like he may actually be a competent backup in this league once more, which is better than anyone could have said in Oakland last year.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Matt Jones, WR

Stats: 50 receptions, 586 yards, 2 TDs

Matt Jones has never totaled more than 650 yards in a season, and this year he is on pace for 1,042 yards and 4 TDs.

He has been in and out of Jack Del Rio’s doghouse since being drafted thanks to his character issues, but he looks like he may finally be starting to come into his own as a player. If he can pull off a thousand-yard season this year, I may finally be ready to label him “legitimate."

Kansas City Chiefs: Tyler Thigpen, QB

Stats: 104/192 (54.2%), 1102 yards, 8 TDs, 4 INTs. 21 carries, 129 yards, TD. 1 reception, 37 yards, TD

Who else could it possibly be on this team? Tyler Thigpen may have overtaken Brodie Croyle as the QB of the future in Kansas City with this season.

After starting third on the team’s depth chart, Thigpen has been thrust into a starting role with both Damon Huard and Croyle on injured reserve, and he hasn’t been terrible.

Especially when considering that he plays in Kansas City behind an invisible offensive line and with no Larry Johnson behind him, his stats start to look better and better.

His TD/INT ratio of 2-to-1 is better than Croyle’s 0-to-0 and much better than Huard’s 1-to-2.

Don’t be surprised if Thigpen holds down his starting gig going into 2009.

Miami Dolphins: Ricky Williams, RB

Stats: 89 carries, 388 yards, 3 TDs. 15 receptions, 128 yards

Ricky Williams is back. After he realized being a hippie just wasn’t his thing, Williams returned to the league, and this year he is playing extraordinarily well.

Williams is averaging 4.4 yards-per-carry and showed he still has speed to burn in his 105-yard performance against Seattle this week.

If he keeps this up, he and Ronnie Brown are going to be a very tough tandem to stop for years to come.

Minnesota Vikings: Visanthe Shiancoe, TE

Stats: 21 receptions, 252 yards, 4 TDs

Who? Vi-what? Visanthe Shiancoe had never scored more than two TDs in a season up to this point. This year, he’s already notched four.

That’s good enough to be tied for most on the Vikings this year. Shiancoe isn’t a superstar by any stretch of the imagination, but he is playing at a pretty high level right now.

New England Patriots: Matt Cassel, QB

Stats: 179/267 (67.0%), 1800 yards, 7 TDs, 7 INTs. 43 carries, 123 yards, TD

Could have been BenJarvus Green-Ellis, but he hasn’t had enough good games to convince me yet.

Come on, even the most devout Patriots fans feared for their season once Tom Brady went down. Matt Cassel? The guy who hasn’t started a game since high school?

Well, Cassel isn’t playing at a Pro-Bowl level by any means, but he is playing at exactly the level he needs to be playing at. He is managing games, and that’s all that is being asked of him to this point.

He’s got the Patriots atop the AFC East, and is living the dream right now.

New Orleans Saints: Lance Moore, WR

Stats: 44 receptions, 507 yards, 4 TDs

Going into the 2008 season, it looked like Lance Moore wouldn’t see the field this year, let alone start.

With Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, David Patten, former first-rounder Robert Meachem and rookie Adrian Arrington on the roster, where did Moore, a former undrafted free agent, fit in?

Well, it’s looking like Moore has found his spot… as a starter.

Moore has started five games this season, and in those starts, he has racked up 329 yards and 3 TDs on 28 catches.

Moore probably won’t start again this season, barring injury, but he has played too well to not be considered the team’s best No. 3 option after Colston and Henderson.

Moore is a restricted free agent after this season, and has probably played himself into a nice new contract that should pay him a little more than the $520k he is making this year.

New York Giants: Kevin Boss, TE

Stats: 19 receptions, 217 yards, 4 TDs

Kevin Boss played well in Jeremy Shockey’s absence last year, but if anyone had said before the season he would be leading the Giants in TD catches after week ten, that person would’ve been called insane.

Well, low and behold, Boss is tied with Plaxico Burress for the most TD receptions on the Giants this year.

Boss has been playing exceptionally well over his past three games, catching a touchdown in each of those contests.

New York Jets: Thomas Jones, RB

Stats: 160 carries, 750 yards, 8 TDs, 20 receptions, 104 yards, TD

Last year, Thomas Jones had just one rushing touchdown, and rushed for 1,119 yards on a 3.6 yards-per-carry average. His touchdown total and average were both career-lows.

This year, Jones is on pace to rush for 1,333 yards and only needs two more touchdowns to set a new career-high.

Jones has been revitalized this year, and is a key component to the Jets’ offense.

Oakland Raiders: Kalimba Edwards, DE

Stats: 33 tackles, 5.0 sacks, FF

Kalimba Edwards was brought over from Detroit in the off-season to be a situational pass-rusher.

He was expected to be the third DE on the roster behind Derrick Burgess and Jay Richardson, but that all changed when Burgess went down in week four with a strained triceps muscle.

Edwards is now starting, and leads the team in sacks with 5.0 on the season.

He’s one of very few good players on that side of the ball in Oakland.

Philadelphia Eagles: Stewart Bradley, MLB

Stats: 64 tackles, 1.0 sack, 1 pass defended

I was one of the many people skeptical of Stewart Bradley going into this season, and I will be the first to admit that I was dead wrong.

I thought it was absurd to let a guy who started one game last year lead your defense going into this season.

Well, through week ten, Bradley leads his team in tackles, and has been one of the most reliable middle linebackers in the league to date.

Bradley is the perfect guy for Philadelphia to build around on defense, and teamed with Chris Gocong and Omar Gaither, that linebacking core looks very solid.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Mewelde Moore, RB

Stats: 93 carries, 377 yards, 5 TDs. 22 receptions, 171 yards, TD

Mewelde Moore…where do I begin?

With Willie Parker coming off a Pro-Bowl season and Rashard Mendenhall being drafted in the first round, Moore looked like little more (no pun intended) than an afterthought and a potential return man.

Well, Parker went down with a sprained knee in week three, then again with a torn labrum in his shoulder after week nine, and Mendenhall went on IR with a fractured shoulder, and the Mewelde Moore era began.

So far? He has not disappointed. He currently leads his team in carries, yards, and rushing TDs, averaging a surprising 4.1 yards-per-carry.

Unfortunately it looks like Moore’s saga (for this year at least) is going to end this week when Parker returns from his injury, but what Moore has done should not be overlooked.

San Diego Chargers: Eric Weddle, FS

Stats: 67 tackles, 1.0 sack, 3 passes defended, INT

With the fifth pick in the second round, the San Diego Chargers select… Eric Weddle?

The Chargers could have drafted David Harris (drafted fifteenth in the second round) as their heir-apparent to Donnie Edwards in 2007, but instead chose a versatile safety from Utah to help shore up their secondary. Now we know why.

Through week ten, Weddle leads his team in tackles, and is third among AFC defensive backs in that category.

Weddle’s versatility has carried over from his college days, as he has recorded not only tackles, but a sack and an INT as well, showing he can make plays from any spot on the field.

Weddle is one of the best-looking young safeties in this league, and should continue to get better and be a cornerstone of this frighteningly good Chargers secondary that already consists of Antonio Cromartie, Quentin Jammer, Antoine Cason, and Clinton Hart.

San Francisco 49ers: Isaac Bruce, WR

Stats: 24 receptions, 411 yards, 4 TDs

Isaac Bruce is a 35-year-old over-the-hill receiver who will never again be a relevant player in this league.

Was anyone else thinking that when Bruce signed his two-year, $5.5 million contract this off-season? I was saying it. I admit it.

But I was wrong.

This year, Bruce is leading the 49ers in receiving yards and touchdowns, and has been brought back to life by old friend Mike Martz in San Francisco.

By the way, tonight was Bruce’s birthday. Way to get him a win San Francisco. He notched only a single reception for a measly 12 yards.

Happy birthday, Ike.

Seattle Seahawks: T.J. Duckett, RB

Stats: 39 carries, 108 yards, 4 TDs

Ok, so Duckett’s stats don’t look all that great to the untrained eye, but you have to look past just the numbers.

Duckett is a big, bruising back that was brought in to a system with a coach who has voiced his disdain for “goal-line” and “short-yardage” backs. That didn’t look good for Duckett.

But now, Duckett leads the Seahawks in rushing touchdowns and has established himself as their short-yardage and goal-line back.

When you can make a coach like Mike Holmgren change his coaching philosophy for you, you had better be a damn good player.

St. Louis Rams: Donnie Avery, WR

Stats: 25 receptions, 392 yards, 2 TDs. 6 carries, 61 yards, TD

Donnie Avery was the first receiver taken in a draft that included guys like Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas, James Hardy, and DeSean Jackson.

Now, we’re starting to see why.

Avery’s blazing speed is proving to be a great asset and is the main reason why he has more receiving yards on the year than teammate Torry Holt.

Yes, I’ll repeat that: Donnie Avery has more receiving yards than perennial Pro-Bowler Torry Holt.

If that doesn’t impress you, I have nothing else to say.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Antonio Bryant, WR

Stats: 45 receptions, 566 yards, 2 TDs

Welcome back, Antonio.

Bryant hadn’t been a relevant player since 2005 when he recorded his only thousand-yard season of his career with the Browns. He was out of football for all of 2007 as well.

This year, Bryant is on pace to grab 1,006 yards through the air, only three shy of his career-high.

He has been rejuvenated playing for the Bucs, and should earn himself a nice new contract come season’s end.

Tennessee Titans: Kerry Collins, QB

Stats: 147/248 (59.3%), 1525 yards, 5 TDs, 3 INTs. 20 carries, 34 yards

After Vince Young went down, Titans fans weren’t panicking the same way Patriots fans were, but they certainly weren’t happy.

Nine straight wins later, the Titans are sitting pretty and Kerry Collins has a legitimate shot to be named MVP at season’s end.

His numbers aren’t eye-popping, but when you have Chris Johnson and LenDale White in the backfield, they don’t have to be.

He also proved in week ten that he can win a game with his arm, throwing a season-high 41 attempts (completing 73% of them) for 289 yards and a pair of TDs, also season-highs.

He’s doing everything right for the league’s only remaining undefeated team.

Washington Redskins: Chris Horton, SS

Stats: 42 tackles, 1.0 sack, 5 passes defended, 3 INTs

Also my pick for defensive rookie of the year, please see my NFL's Midseason Award Winners for analysis.

Well, there you go.

Fans of good teams, these were easy to pick.

Fans of lousy teams, take solace in the fact that even the darkest of nights have a dawn.