Tag: Breakout players

Every NFL team’s potential breakout player for the 2022 season

Our NFL Wire editors examined one potential breakout player for every team ahead of the 2022 season.

There’s no underestimating the transition from college football to the NFL, where it takes some players time to fully adjust to the size and speed of the pro game.

It’s why rookies rarely thrive and why we see some substantial jumps for young players over the course of a few years.

There are a number of players around the league who are primed to make a leap this season due to their situation and/or opportunity following what’s been a whirlwind of an NFL offseason, which has featured its share of change among NFL rosters.

From second-year quarterbacks to talented, young wideouts, our NFL Wire editors examined one player from every team poised for a breakout year in 2022.

Five Longhorns that are poised for a breakout in 2022

These players have the potential to ascend to stardom this season.

The excitement around Texas’ football program is swirling at an alarming rate again just like it does every offseason, but this year may have some validity to it.

While Texas likely won’t be competing for a national championship, it is not out of the realm of possibility that they have a major bounce back season after finishing 5-7 last year. Steve Sarkisian and his staff did a remarkable job of bringing in a talented recruiting class, which they then complimented with a very impressive group of transfers.

The Longhorns lost quite a few starters and key contributors from 2021, which means that there is room for new players to step up and shine.

This offseason will be very similar to the last one due to the fact that there will be position battles all over the field. However, this time around there will likely be even more urgency by the staff to make their decisions so chemistry can be built.

Here are a few players that I believe are poised for a breakout season in 2022.

Texas’ players with breakout potential for the 2022 season

10 players who have the potential to have big seasons in 2022.

Texas will have many fresh faces in the program next season.

Over 30 recruits and transfers will make up an exciting group of newcomers joining Texas’ roster.

Steve Sarkisian has a good amount of talent to work with between the newcomers on the team and the young players who have been held over from last season.

Despite the 5-7 record, many around the program feel they are knocking on the door for a massive improvement. Texas proved they could compete with any team in the conference last season but struggled to find ways to win in the second half of games.

Finding some breakout players could turn Texas into real competitors in the Big 12 conference. Last season Xavier Worthy and Bijan Robinson established themselves as elite players. Who on the roster could share similar leaps in the 2022 season?

Here are 10 players who could break out into major contributors next year:

Texas QB Quinn Ewers makes 247Sports 10 breakout players for the 2022 season

Expectations are high for Quinn Ewers’ first season at Texas.

The transfer portal has been kind to Texas this offseason. Landing Quinn Ewers from Ohio State is a potential program changer for the Longhorns.

Between his talent, hair, and NIL deals, Ewers is already one of the biggest names in college football.

247Sports’ Nick Kosko believes Ewers will have a major impact in his first year in Austin. He rated Ewers in his top 10 breakout players for the 2022 college football season.

It should not be a shock to anyone if Ewers has early success.

Ewers will have the advantage of playing for a proven quarterback guru in Steve Sarkisian with elite player makers Bijan Robinson and Xavier Worthy around him. Texas should have one of the more exciting offenses in the country next season.

If Texas has a bounce-back season in 2022, Ewers will be one of the main reasons why.

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Jaguars’ Laviska Shenault Jr. named a breakout fantasy option by The Athletic

Shenault had 600 yards as a rookie through the air, and nearly half of those came after the catch.

Second-year Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. made quite a name for himself as a rookie despite the anemic offense around him. A second-round pick in 2020, Shenault finished with 600 yards and five touchdowns on 58 catches.

Now, with a new starting quarterback in place in Trevor Lawrence, Shenault looks to play an even bigger role in the offense this season. He won’t do it without competition, as No. 1 receiver D.J. Chark Jr. is looking for a bounce-back season, and free-agent signing Marvin Jones Jr. has been one of Lawrence’s favorite targets in the preseason.

Still, Shenault is a unique player within this offense. He moves like a running back with the ball in his hands, and it’s likely for this reason that The Athletic’s Andy Staples named Shenault as the Jaguars’ breakout fantasy football candidate in 2021.

WR Laviska Shenault Jr. is going to be a favorite of Urban Meyer because he’s used to getting the ball in a lot of different ways. At Colorado, Shenault was the only offensive threat. So with defenses primed to stop him, the Buffaloes moved him around and found ways to get him the ball in space. In camp and in the preseason, QB Trevor Lawrence has shown a fondness for throwing to Shenault. Shenault only averaged 10.3 yards a catch last season, but even if that number doesn’t rise much, expect him to produce because he’s going to be fed the ball a lot.

We have an idea of how coach Urban Meyer plans to use Shenault in the offense, as most of his opportunities in the preseason have been on short passes or screens designed to get him the ball in space. Considering 298 of his 600 yards as a rookie came after the catch, this makes a lot of sense. It also makes him a very intriguing candidate in PPR leagues.

Shenault has seen a lot of offseason hype, and the concern with drafting him in fantasy would be the fact that it’s unclear how big his role will be in the offense. Still, he should see a nice boost with Lawrence under center.

Antonio Gibson set a breakout season in year 2

After a strong rookie season, Antonio Gibson is poised for a breakout in year two.

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Antonio Gibson was outstanding for Washington as a rookie in 2020. The third-round pick from Memphis rushed for 795 yards and scored 11 touchdowns.

Gibson reached those numbers despite missing two games late in the season and being hobbled with a toe injury throughout December.

Now, Gibson is healthy and more comfortable in Washington’s offense. In addition, the Football Team added veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to open up the passing game, raising expectations even higher for Gibson in year two.

The Athletic recently named breakout candidates for all 32 teams, and Ben Standig, who covers the Washington Football Team, chose Gibson as his breakout player.

Antonio Gibson had more than 1,000 combined yards from scrimmage with 36 receptions and 11 touchdowns as a rookie. That sounds like the definition of a breakout performance for a running back selected in the third round. Just remember that Gibson primarily played receiver at Memphis and had only 33 carries during his final season. No wonder he was slow to read his running lanes early on for Washington. Yet he still averaged 4.7 yards per carry and managed to find the end zone frequently despite playing in a lackluster offense that ranked 25th in scoring and cycled through four quarterbacks. Now there’s Ryan Fitzpatrick under center, a greater pool of playmakers and an experienced version of Gibson ready to run his game up another level.

The most impressive part of Gibson’s rookie season was that 4.7 yards per rushing attempt. And the lack of negative rushes for Gibson.

Another reason to be more optimistic regarding Gibson in 2021 is Washington would like to get the former wide receiver more involved in the passing game.

 

Texas Longhorns Football: Five fresh faces who could break out in 2021

Texas has an abundance of talent on its roster waiting to shine. Here are five fresh faces who could break out for Texas in 2021.

Steve Sarkisian and his coaching staff are not going to be the only fresh faces on the sideline this fall. Texas’ depth chart has the potential to look a lot different than during the Alamo Bowl against Colorado. Continue reading “Texas Longhorns Football: Five fresh faces who could break out in 2021”

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2021 Wisconsin Football Preview: Early breakout players, true freshmen to watch

The Wisconsin Badgers’ 2020 football season saw sophomore ILB Leo Chenal, freshman RB Jalen Berger, freshman OLB Nick Herbig and others…

The Wisconsin Badgers’ 2020 football season saw sophomore ILB Leo Chenal, freshman RB Jalen Berger, freshman OLB Nick Herbig and others break onto the scene and make their names known.

The team would not have had the same success without these guys and what they did on the field, as Chenal and Herbig were two of the driving forces on defense and Berger was far-and-away the best option in the backfield.

Going into any season there will be hype given to certain players and positions, hype which I expect the three names above to receive as well as QB Graham Mertz, WR Chimere Dike and NT Keeanu Benton.

Related: The Badgers’ projected 2021 depth chart on offense, defense

But aside from the names that every Badger fan knows and players that we know will take a step forward, who else should you watch and keep on your radar?

I set out to answer that question in this week’s edition of way-too-early breakout players and freshmen to watch for the 2021 football season.

For 2020 season review: