Every season, players improve their game and take the NFL by storm. Who will these players be for the 2015 season? Over the next few weeks, I’ll provide you with one player for every team.
Previously done: AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, NFC East, NFC North and NFC South.
Arizona Cardinals: WR John Brown
Despite playing college football at Division II Pittsburgh State in Kansas, Brown was a third-round selection of the Cardinals last year.
The 5-foot-10 speedster (4.34 forty-yard dash at the NFL Combine) proved to be an excellent fit in Bruce Arians’ offense as a rookie, catching 48 passes for 696 yards and five touchdowns. These touchdowns came in important situations. Against San Diego and Philadelphia he caught game-winning touchdowns and against San Francisco and St. Louis he put the Cardinals ahead for good in the second half.
From week 11 to the end of the season (Wild Card playoffs), he led Arizona in receiving yards in five of their eight games.
A few days ago, Cardinals number two receiver Michael Floyd dislocated multiple fingers, which puts his status for week one in question. If Floyd misses playing time in the regular season, Brown will benefit the most.
Entering training camp, the 25-year old Brown was a prime breakout candidate before Floyd’s injury, but that injury only helps Brown’s chances of breaking out.
San Francisco 49ers: OLB Aaron Lynch
San Francisco is going to be a completely different team this year compared to last year–– and not in a good way. The latest saga in the 49ers’ offseason was the arrest of Aldon Smith last night.
Now that the 49ers have released their troubled pass rusher, Aaron Lynch will receive even more playing time.
A fifth-round pick last year out of South Florida, Lynch fell to this spot due to off-the-field concerns. As a rookie, he was used mainly as a situational pass rusher and rewarded the team with six sacks and had the 10th-best pass rush productivity for 3-4 outside linebackers, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Even before the Smith news broke, Lynch was going to be in for a bigger role in San Francisco’s defense this year. Late round draft picks who finish third in sacks for rookies are going to find the field even more as a sophomore.
The 49ers are a team in flux right now thanks to numerous offseason departures. If the team is going to regroup and have a good season, they’ll need a big year from Lynch.
Seattle Seahawks: DT Jordan Hill
Due to the massive contract extensions that have been handed out recently in Seattle, the team had to release starting defensive tackle Tony McDaniel.
One of the potential replacements for McDaniel is Jordan Hill, a third-round pick in 2013. Ahtyba Rubin is expected to assume the starting duties, but Hill will still have a big role in the defense, especially in pass rushing situations.
Used in a similar role last year, Hill produced 5.5 sacks on 268 pass rushing snaps (366 total snaps). With McDaniel released and Kevin Williams not re-signed, Hill brings back the most defensive tackle snaps from the 2014 squad.
PFF graded him as the 50th-best defensive tackle last year, with a positive grade in pass rushing, but poor in run defense.
With plenty of other pass rushers and defenders to look out for, Hill won’t be high on the priorities list for opposing offenses. While team’s look out for the likes of Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Bobby Wagner, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and others, Hill will be making plays in the middle of the defensive line.
St. Louis Rams: SS T.J. McDonald
Defense will again be the strength of the Rams this year, but with the addition of Nick Fairley and Akeem Ayers in free agency, along with the development of other players, it should be even better than before.
One of these players who should develop is starting strong safety T.J. McDonald. With 26 starts over the past two seasons, he has started every NFL game he has played in since being drafted in the third round of the 2013 draft.
Last year, he recorded 105 tackles, six passes defensed, two sacks and one forced fumble.
Halfway through the season, he flipped a switch and he play improved immensely. From week one to week eight, he was PFF’s second-worst safety, but from week nine until the end of the season he was number one in their safety rankings.
If the second half of the 2014 season is to believed, then the Rams have another defensive weapon on their hands to deploy behind the best defensive line in the NFL.
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