NFL Preseason: 26 Unheralded Players with Breakout Performances in Week 1

Every year in the NFL, there is a bevy of players that finally make a strong impression in the preseason.

It could be a rookie, either drafted or undrafted, or it could be a veteran that is finally getting their first real chance in the spotlight. Excelling in the preseason may also be the result of playing in garbage time and going up against the third team of reserves, so you shouldn't place much stock in the results.

Some of these preseason breakouts fizzle before they ever reach the regular season, while others used their breakout as a springboard to bigger and better things down the road. This is where their star was able to be officially launched.

So, we will take a review around the NFL from Week 1 action and toast the top 26 unheralded players that had a breakout game.

By the way, some of you might be wondering with all of the scrutiny of the NFL Network at the Scouting Combines, how is any player in the NFL still unheralded? Good question.

For the purpose of this article, first-round draft picks like Cam Newton and Julio Jones don't qualify, but day three picks like Denarius Moore and Dwayne Harris do.

Makes sense?

26) Raiders WR Denarius Moore

His production from the first preseason game wasn't earth shattering, but his daily performance at training camp has been impressing everybody that is connected with the Raiders organization.

For Week 1, Moore returned one kick for 18 yards, returned two punts for 16 yards and had three catches for 37 yards. He also had a 57-yard punt return called back due to a penalty. In total, Moore had 71 all-purpose yards for the day.

Expect to hear much more about Moore as the preseason rolls around. This is a name you want to stay on top of, especially if you play fantasy football. If you have not heard of Moore before, he was a day three draft pick for the Raiders, as they selected him in the fifth round out of Tennessee.

25) Saints RB Joique Bell

In Week 1, New Orleans Saints running back Joique Bell ran the ball nine times for 52 yards against the San Francisco 49ers. Bell was the Saints leading rusher for the game.

Bell was an undrafted rookie free agent that was originally signed by the Buffalo Bills in 2010. The Bills tried to stash him on their practice squad, but he was plucked away. Bell never received any carries in the NFL in his rookie season.

Bell played his college ball at Wayne State. Unfortunately for Bell, he suffered an injury in the game against the 49ers, so we are waiting word as to how long he will be out due to his sprained knee.

24) Bears WR Kris Adams

You know a player is unheralded when the only photo of him in Getty Images is this one practice shot. Such is the case when you are buried on your team's depth chart, as Bears WR Kris Adams is.

In Week 1, however, Adams had a moment to shine, as he was the Bears leading receiver. Adams caught three passes for 58 yards, good for a little more than 19 yards average per catch, which is not too shabby at all.

Adams played his college ball at UTEP. At least he has now had his day in the sun. 

23) Buccanner WR Dezmon Briscoe

Tampa Bay Bucs WR Dezmon Briscoe was the leading receiver for the team in Week 1. Briscoe had four catches for 60 yards, which is almost what he gained the entire 2010 season.

In 2010, Briscoe saw action in the final two games of the season and wound up with six catches for 93 yards.

Entering his second year in the NFL, Briscoe played his college ball at Kansas.

22) Colts RB Darren Evans

Another sign that you are unheralded in the NFL is when the most recent picture that Getty Images has of you is back when you played in college at Virginia Tech.

Such is the case for Colts running back Darren Evans. Evans was the leading rusher for the Colts in Week 1, as he gained 52 yards on just eight carries.

The big question for Evans is will he make the Colts' final roster, or will he be on their practice squad come September 11th?

21) Redskins RB Evan Royster

Another unheralded player is Washington Redskins running back Evan Royster. His most recent picture in the data base at Getty Images is from his days at Penn State. Enough said.

The Week 1 star led the Redskins in rushing with 66 yards in 15 carries. He was targeted for one pass attempt, but that was incomplete.

Royster is on the bubble with Washington in regards to making the final roster, or becoming a member of their practice squad.

20) Seahawks RB Thomas Clayton

In their Week 1 contest against the San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks running back Thomas Clayton wound up with the longest run for the team of 25 yards and was the leading rusher for Seattle with 62 yards on 16 rushes.

Clayton also had one catch for five yards. Clayton closed out the scoring with his 25-yard touchdown run.

Clayton is entering his third year in the NFL but has been working in obscurity. For his career, he has seven carries for 17 yards, so this breakout in Week 1 might allow people to notice the ex-Kansas State alum.

19) Seahawks QB Josh Portis

When you have Slippery Rock University (my alma mater) on your regular season schedule, you are probably going to be an unheralded player. Since Josh Portis attended college at California (PA), he qualifies for this presentation.

Portis had a very nice NFL debut in Week 1, as he faced the San Diego Chargers and completed five of nine passes for 69 yards and one touchdown. The performance gave him a QB passer rating of 117.4.

Word is that the Seahawks were excited about what they saw from him, so Portis is somebody to keep an eye on for the future. Portis was one of the quarterbacks that was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine but went undrafted.

Perhaps the Seahawks found themselves a gem.

18) Bills Punter Reid Forrest

Reid Forrest has an uphill battle if he intends to overtake long time Buffalo Bills punter Brian Moorman. Forrest helped his cause by nailing a 62-yard punt at soggy Soldier Field against the Bears.

Forrest also had a 40-yard punt, which brought his average to a very strong 51. But, he will have to do this and more if he expects to win a job. Maybe he caught some team's eye, as you never know when an injury to a starter will occur. Forrest kicked for Washington State in college.

In case you don't like a punter being on this list, I am quite sure the Bills pass rush would qualify as unheralded, since they only had 27 sacks for all of the 2010 season.

What did they do against the Bears in Week 1? Nine total sacks, four of which came against the Bears starting offensive line in the first half. Sacks came from Danny Batten (2), Shawne Merriman (2), Marcell Dareus (1), Alex Carrington (1), Brad Jefferson (1), Kellen Heard (1) and Spencer Johnson (1).

17) Jets TE Jeff Cumberland

If you would have made a wager that the New York Jets leading receiver in Week 1 was going to be tight end Jeff Cumberland, you would have probably received some great odds. As it turned out, Cumberland was the leading Jets receiver, as he came up with six catches for 77 yards in the game.

Maybe he is just catching on now. Cumberland did play in one game for the Jets in 2010, and he caught one pass for three yards. That was his career total coming in to the 2011 season. Cumberland played his college ball at Illinois.

That is what I would call a classic example of an unheralded break-out performance.

16) Eagles WR Chad Hall

Another unheralded performer who had a big Week 1 was Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Chad Hall. Hall was the Eagles leading receiver with five catches for 82 yards.

In 2010, Hall spent time on the Eagles practice squad. He was active for a stretch of the season and wound up with 11 catches for the year.

Hall played his college ball at Air Force.

15) Texans QB T.J. Yates

The Houston Texans gave snaps to three quarterbacks in Week 1. Matt Schaub, Matt Leinart and T.J. Yates all had work, but it was Yates that wound up with the best performance. Guess it means he is not willing to be a door mat (get it?).

Yates completed half of his passes, going six for 12 for 97 yards. His QB passer rating was 77.4, which was higher than Schaub (52.1) and Leinart (67.0). His average yardage per pass of 8.1 yards was the highest of the three quarterbacks as well.

Yates was part of the North Carolina team who lost so many players to NCAA suspension in 2010. Yates was by and large passed over in the draft, as the Texans were able to wait until pick 152 to find him still available for selection.

14) Chargers WR Bryan Walters

Not sure if there has ever been a kick off return specialist who played in the NFL from the football powerhouse of Cornell, but there is the chance that Bryan Walters might do it.

Before I went on to the next slide, I figured I better go back and make sure that my first statement wasn't going to come back and haunt me later. Would you believe that 35 players have wound up in the NFL from Cornell? I recalled Ed Marinaro and Pete Gogolak, but that was where my recognition of the names ended.

Anyway, coming back to Walters, he wound up with a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in Week 1 against Seattle. For the day, Walters had four kick returns for 179 yards and for good measure had two catches for 31 yards.

The strange thing is that there was an item in Rotoworld that the Chargers had actually waived Walters on August 5th, but something happened that changed the Chargers' minds. Good thing that they did, because he just may now make the team.

Make that 36 players from Cornell, in case you are counting at home.

13) Texans RB Chris Ogbonnaya

Few people would have guessed that the star player of the Week 1 contest between the Houston Texans and New York Jets would be Texans running back Chris Ogbonnaya.

But Ogbonnaya had a solid game, in that he rushed for two touchdowns and came up with a third touchdown via a pass reception. For the day, Ogbonnaya rushed 17 times for 37 yards and caught six passes for 67 yards.

You could say that he had the trifecta, as Ogbonnaya was the Texans' leading rusher, receiver and scorer. In his NFL career, the former Texas Longhorn back has 11 carries for 50 yards. This was truly his breakout game.

12) Patriots WR Taylor Price

When the New England Patriots decided to rest their first-team offense against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, that meant that somebody had to step up. Actually, quite a few Patriots did, but for now, we are just going to highlight one of them.

That would be wide receiver Taylor Price.

In the contest, Price made five catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. That is noteworthy production, because in his rookie year in 2010, Price was only able to see action in one game for the entire year. In that contest, Price made three catches for 41 yards.

Hopefully, this is the start of Price moving up the ranks, but if he fails to crack the Patriots roster, you can bet that some other team out there was paying attention and liked what they saw.

11) Saints WR Joseph Morgan

Joseph Morgan is another unheralded player that makes our list from Week 1. The Saints wide receiver had a big game, as he had six punt returns for 107 yards, which included a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown.

In addition to that, Morgan caught one pass in the game for 21 yards, which is a great average if he can maintain it.

Morgan played his college ball at Walsh, so this is not only an obscure player, but one that has a chance to put Walsh on the map.

10) Patriots RB Stevan Ridley

As we detailed in the earlier slide of Taylor Price, other Patriots had to step up when the first team sat out the game. Enter running back Stevan Ridley, who had a huge game in his NFL debut.

Ridley gained 111 yards overall, which also included a three touchdown performance. Ridley gained 64 yards rushing on 16 carries. The longest rush was 21 yards. Ridley also added seven catches for 47 more yards.

Out of eight total targets, Ridley made seven grabs, demonstrating very good hands. Ridley played his college ball at LSU. Since he is competing against Shane Vereen, who missed Week 1 due to injury, Ridley now has a leg up going into the Week 2 game, as the Patriots attempt to determine their pecking order in the backfield.

9) Cowboys WR Dwayne Harris

He was a sixth-round draft pick without much fan fare, but after Week 1, he was no longer lacking attention. Cowboys wide receiver Dwayne Harris made quite an impression in his first NFL preseason game.

Harris made five catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Of the two scores, one of them went for 76 yards, putting the rest of the Cowboys receivers on notice that Harris can take it to the house.

Harris was a star in college at East Carolina, but he showed that he wasn't intimidated by the jump to the NFL. What happens from here on out is anyone's guess.

8) Saints QB Chase Daniel

Another unheralded player that stepped up their play in Week 1 was Saints quarterback Chase Daniel.

Ever since he graduated from Missouri, Daniel has basically been MIA. In two years in the NFL, Daniel has thrown three passes, completing two of them for a total of 16 yards. Like I said, missing in action.

In the Week 1 preseason opener, Daniel showed that he still has some game left. He completed 13-of-21 passes for 129 yards. He did not have a touchdown or an interception, but he took care of the ball.

His QB passer rating of 79.3 was higher than Drew Brees, who went 1-for-4 for the game. Perhaps 2011 is the year that Daniel really gets his feet wet in the NFL with some extended game action.

7) Eagles QB Mike Kafka

Another quarterback that stepped up in Week 1 was Eagles quarterback Mike Kafka. Kafka is entering his second year in the NFL out of Northwestern but hasn't seen any NFL regular season action yet.

Kafka showed a lot of promise against the Baltimore Ravens. Kafka completed 13-of-19 passes for 132 yards. He had one interception and no touchdowns. For the game, Kafka had a QB passer rating of 66.1, due to the lack of any touchdown passes.

Kafka also 12 yards on three rushes. If he continues to develop over the rest of the preseason, perhaps he will join the list of quarterbacks that the Eagles have traded away such as Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb.

6) Patriots QB Ryan Mallett

You stopped hearing anything about Ryan Mallett on a national level as soon as he was drafted by the New England Patriots. But there he was, popping up in Week 1 of preseason play, and he really came out with a strong performance. His QB passer rating for the night was 108.2, just to give you an idea.

Mallett will probably not see any snaps of consequence in his rookie year, unless something drastic happens to Tom Brady. But for the first preseason game, Mallett demonstrated some of his skills. He completed 12-of-19 passes for 164 yards and one touchdown.

In the second half, Mallett directed four separate touchdown drives. For a shortened training camp, no OTAs or mini-camp, Mallett demonstrated a strong handle on the Patriots offense.

This might be just one more shrewd draft pick made by Bill Belichick.

5) Patriots QB Brian Hoyer

Back-to-back Patriots quarterbacks? I am not even a Patriots fan, but I have to give credit where it is due. The Patriots came out with a solid game, as Tom Brady and the rest of the starters sat out the game and watched as the second and third team just went crazy on Jacksonville.

For the Week 1 game, quarterback Brian Hoyer completed 15-of-21 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown. He was even better than Mallett was. Hoyer came out with a QB passer rating of 111.4.

Hoyer has been patiently waiting his turn to play in the NFL. He has been observing from the sidelines for the past two years. The output from Week 1 was more than anything he has done in his NFL career to date, which to me is a great illustration of an unheralded performance.

4) Dolphins WR Phillip Livas

Another unheralded performer that surfaced in Week 1 was Miami Dolphins wide receiver Phillip Livas. Livas focused on special teams against the Atlanta Falcons and continued to burn them with one return after another.

For the night, Livas had three kickoff returns for 84 yards and three punt returns for 90 yards. Included in the 90 punt return yards was a touchdown return that went for 75 yards.

We don't know if Livas will have many passes thrown to him in 2011, but if he can continue to return punts and kicks like this, he will make quite an impact on the Dolphins this year.

3) Ravens QB Tyrod Taylor

When Baltimore Ravens backup quarterback Marc Bulger decided to retire, the Ravens wondered aloud who would be backing up Joe Flacco this year.

The Ravens had drafted Tyrod Taylor as a project for down the road. Taylor played his college ball at Virginia Tech but would need work to develop his game to play in the NFL.

But, still without a strong bona-fied backup, the Ravens decided to give a long look to Taylor in the Week 1 preseason game against the Eagles. Taylor didn't disappoint, as he threw for 179 yards, completing 19 out of 28 passes. He threw two interceptions on the game and had no touchdowns. For the game, his QB passer rating was 55.5

We also need to call attention to another part of Taylor's game that makes him more valuable than just being a passer. Taylor can run with the ball. In Week 1, he gained 59 yards on only six rushes, finishing just one yard shy of averaging 10 yards per rush.

2) Jets QB Greg McElroy

Joe Namath to Richard Todd to Greg McElroy. There is a clear tradition of Alabama quarterbacks graduating to the NFL to play football for the New York Jets. McElroy showed in Week 1 that he is not only very smart but is also physically talented, as he came out with a strong preseason debut.

Against the Houston Texans, McElroy completed 23-of-39 passes for 208 yards and one touchdown. For the game, McElroy had a QB passer rating of 82. No word yet if McElroy was experiencing any arm pain, since Alabama was such a run-oriented offense.

Welcome to the NFL Greg.

McElroy was still sitting there on the draft board when the Jets turn was up at No. 208. For McElroy to come out with a performance this good, when so many people passes on him, it has to be very gratifying.

1) Cowboys QB Stephen McGee

While Greg McElroy threw for exactly the same number of yards (208), I had to award the top spot to the quarterback with the higher rating. That went to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Stephen McGee.

McGee also threw for 208 yards, as he completed 14-of-24 passes, while coming up with three touchdown passes and one interception. McGee had a QB passer rating of 109. McGee had an average of 8.7 yards per pass attempt, which is something that quite a few NFL veteran QB's would have been delighted with.

McGee also rushed the ball four times for 25 yards, which made him the second leading rusher for the game. McGee is entering his third year in the NFL. The Texas A&M quarterback has only appeared in two prior NFL games, which were the final two games of the 2010 season.

Based on this showing, he looks like he is ready to see more regular season game action in 2011.