Dallas Cowboys: WR Michael Gallup
The Cowboys recently signed Amari Cooper to a five-year, $100 million contract, and then selected Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb with the 17th overall pick in the 2020 draft. Both great moves, but if we’re talking about Dallas’ receiver corps as one of the league’s best in 2020 and beyond, it should have as much to do with Michael Gallup as the other guys. In his second NFL season, Gallup doubled his reception total from 33 to 66, more than doubled his yardage total from 507 to 1,107, and upped his touchdown total from two to six. Gallup is also am underrated deep threat, with eight catches of 20 or more air yards for 259 yards and a touchdown. Gallup may fight for targets in the new paradigm, but he’ll make the most of the ones he gets.
Denver Broncos: LB Alexander Johnson
An undrafted free agent, Johnson signed with the Broncos for the 2018 season and didn’t see much time outside of special teams. That changed in 2019, when Johnson started 12 games and got 731 total snaps out of nowhere. Johnson proved to be one of the NFL’s most versatile young linebackers, amassing 93 total tackles, 51 solo tackles, 33 stops, two sacks, 11 total pressures, one interception, and no touchdowns allowed in coverage. Johnson had been a star for the Vols, but was kicked off the team after he was indicted on two counts of aggravated rape in 2015. Johnson and Tennessee teammate Michael Williams were acquitted of all charges in 2018, which gave Johnson his NFL opportunity.
“He had about three years away from football,” Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said last December. “That’s a long time. To come back and get thrown right in there and start playing and play as well as he did, I think it speaks volumes about his talent and his ability and who he is as a guy.
“Hopefully a solid offseason will make him even better.”
Detroit Lions: WR Kenny Golladay
Over the last two seasons, Golladay ranks ninth in the NFL in yards from receivers (2,253), seventh in yards per reception (16.69), and tied for fourth in touchdowns (16). Not bad for a guy who caught just 135 passes, which ranked 23rd over that period of time. Factor in that the Lions lost Matthew Stafford for half of the 2019 season with a back injury, and it’s clear that Golladay would be a force multiplier in any offense. All he needs to be one of the league’s top receivers is the target opportunities (he’s had 235 in the last two years, which ranks 15th) given to the other top names.
Green Bay Packers: DL Kenny Clark
Sacks are not always the ultimate indicator of defensive line excellence, and Green Bay defensive tackle Kenny Clark is a prime example. Though he had just seven quarterback takedowns last season, he amassed a career-high 69 total pressures last season, including 58 quarterback hurries, an amazing total for an interior defensive lineman (Aaron Donald had 53 quarterback hurries in 2019). Yes, Clark was freed up by new edge-rushers Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith, but that doesn’t negate his effectiveness, especially when he was still frequently double-teamed out of necessity.
Houston Texans: S Justin Reid
Asking any young player to patrol the deep third of a defense right away is a big deal, and reflects the confidence a coaching staff has to have in that player. The Texans took Reid out of Stanford in the third round of the 2018 draft and asked him to play a ton of deep safety right away. He’s been remarkably consistent in that role over the last two seasons, allowing 26 catches in 38 targets in both 2018 and 2019, though reducing his yards allowed from 461 to 340, and his touchdowns allowed from four to two. Houston’s defense was exposed due to schematic malpractice at times (especially in the Texans’ epic playoff loss to the Chiefs), but with a new defensive coordinator in Anthony Weaver, perhaps Reid can reach an entirely new level in 2020.
Indianapolis Colts: C Ryan Kelly
Only 26 college centers have been selected in the first round of any NFL draft since 1970, and only four have been taken higher than Kelly out of Alabama in the 2016 draft — 18th overall. When healthy, Kelly has been as sure a pick as there’s been in recent years. Though his position is generally undervalued, Kelly has allowed just two total sacks in 3,398 career snaps, and he’s one of the league’s stronger and more mobile run-blockers at his position. Kelly missed a total of 13 games due to injury in 2017 and 2018, but he came back strong in 2019 with a full 16-game season, and just one sack and 21 total pressures allowed.
Jacksonville Jaguars: WR D.J. Chark Jr.
What a difference a year (and a new quarterback) made for Chark, the Jaguars’ second-round pick out of LSU in 2018. In his rookie season, he caught just 14 passes for 174 yards and didn’t start a game with Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler running the offense. But in 2019, with rookie Gardner Minshew on board, Chark caught 73 passes for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns, made the Pro Bowl, and became one of the league’s best deep receivers, catching 13 passes of 20 or more air yards for 424 yards and four touchdowns. Amazing what happens when you’re a great receiver and you have a quarterback who can throw deep into tight windows. Expect more from Chark in the years to come.
Kansas City Chiefs: OT Mitchell Schwartz
If you’re of the opinion that the right tackle position matters less than left tackle in today’s NFL, you’re not living in today’s NFL, and Schwartz’s value to Kansas City’s right-handed passing game is proof. The Chiefs averaged a league-best 5.93 yards per carry when running to the right tackle gaps, and Schwartz allowed no sacks, just five quarterback hits, and 16 quarterback hurries in 834 pass-blocking snaps as Kansas City took home its first Lombardi Trophy in 50 years. In the postseason, Schwartz nearly pitched a three-game shutout — he gave up no sacks, no hits, and just one quarterback hurry.