10 unheralded NFL players set to make major impacts in Week 13

We have already seen a rather big performance from a relatively unknown player around the NFL this week.

Including his catch of a Hail Mary to send the Green Bay Packers to a win Thursday night, tight end Richard Rodgers put up eight receptions for 146 yards against the Detroit Lions.

Here's a look at 10 other unheralded players set to make major impacts during NFL's Week 13 slate of games.

1. David Johnson, running back, Arizona Cardinals

With both Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington out of action, this rookie third-round pick from Northern Iowa will finally get an opportunity to be the team's primary ball carrier.

Averaging six yards per touch and with seven touchdowns in limited action this season, the explosiveness is surely there. It's all about holding on to the football (three fumbles) and showing Bruce Arians that he can pass protect. If that happens, Johnson will prove his worth to the NFC West-leading Cardinals.

Taking on a tough St. Louis Rams front seven, it is going to be hard for Johnson to get it going on the ground. However, the rookie will provide something of substance in the passing game. He has recorded 19 receptions in limited action this season.

Look for 20-plus touches and a solid contribution in the first major action of Johnson's career.

2. Buster Skrine, cornerback, New York Jets 

With Darrelle Revis out of action this week, Skrine will once again be a focal point in the Jets' secondary. He will remain in the slot with Darrin Walls playing outside opposite Antonio Cromartie.

What makes this former Cleveland Browns corner such an intriguing player on Sunday is that he will likely be lined up against Odell Beckham Jr. multiple times throughout the afternoon.

Yielding a 106.5 quarterback rating when targeted this season, Skrine must step his game up big time if the Jets are going to win against the in-state rivals. That might be the biggest key in this all-important game.

3. Seth Roberts, wide receiver, Oakland Raiders

Behind Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper on the Raiders' depth chart is this little-known, undrafted rookie from West Alabama.

With 21 receptions for 352 yards and four touchdowns on the season, Roberts is also having a surprising first year in the NFL. Heck, he's coming off a career-best performance that saw him put up six receptions for 113 yards and two scores against the Tennessee Titans.

Now taking on a Kansas City Chiefs team that's going to primarily focus on Cooper and Crabtree on the outside, Roberts becomes a solid under-the-radar option for Derek Carr. That's only magnified by the fact that Kansas City will likely throw out a true safety in Ron Parker to cover Roberts in the slot. Look for a big game from this rookie.

4. Antone Exum, safety, Minnesota Vikings

With Harrison Smith unlikely to play this week, Exum will continue to play out of position at free safety in an important inner-conference game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Last week saw Exum play extremely good football against Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons in that role. He was solid in coverage over the top and did a tremendous job recovering a Tevin Coleman fumble on what looked like a touchdown for the Falcons.

The key here might be Exum getting involved in the run game against Thomas Rawls. With Jimmy Graham out for the season and Seattle likely forced to go outside in the passing game, this former Virginia Tech standout could hedge his bets closer to the line of scrimmage than your traditional cover safety.

5. Jerry Attaochu, linebacker, San Diego Chargers

It took a while for Attaochu to make his presence known after the Chargers exhausted a first-round pick on him back in 2014, but it does look like he's finally arrived.

Despite putting up just 4.5 sacks on the season, this outside linebacker has found a way to put consistent pressure on the quarterback heading into Week 13. He has put up 22 quarterback hurries in 11 games and grades out as Pro Football Focus' 14th-best pass-rushing 3-4 linebacker in the NFL.

Attaochu will likely find himself lining up from a hands-up position against Broncos right tackle Michael Schofield, who has given up an astounding 26 hurries on the year.

With a young quarterback in Brock Osweiler under center, it will be important for the Chargers to disrupt the timing and create some mistakes by putting pressure on him. If that happens, San Diego could come away with an upset win.

6. Cecil Shorts, wide receiver, Houston Texans

It's readily apparent that Houston is attempting to get Shorts involved in the offense as much as possible. While Shorts caught just three passes for 18 yards last week, he did put up a touchdown.

In addition to this, Shorts attempted three runs out of the backfield. This came a week after the veteran caught two passes for 51 yards while adding 26 yards receiving and 21 yards passing. How's that for a stat line?

Taking on a Buffalo Bills defense that tends to struggle with speed on the outside, the expectation here has to be that Shorts will continue to play a large role in Houston's offense. Without much more behind DeAndre Hopkins, his ability to perform at a high level is important for the first-place Texans.

7. Vance McDonald, tight end, San Francisco 49ers

After being written off as a bust for the first two-plus seasons of his career, this former second-round pick has stepped up big time with Blaine Gabbert under center in San Francisco.

In his first nine games of the season, McDonald tallied a total of nine catches for 64 yards and zero touchdowns. Over the past two games, the Rice product has put up 10 receptions for 136 yards and two scores.

It's a rather interesting development. Most scouts viewed McDonald as a talented but raw prospect coming out of college. Now that he's been given a chance to perform following the trade of Vernon Davis, he has stepped up big time.

If San Francisco has a chance of pulling off an upset against a suddenly surging Chicago Bears team on the road, it will have to find continued success from the tight end position. That responsibility will likely rest with McDonald.

8. Spencer Long, guard, Washington Redskins

After seeing very limited playing time as a rookie, Long has started all eight games in which he has appeared at left guard this season. He struggled terribly in the run-blocking aspect of the game early on but has since picked it up.

Over the past few weeks, Long's blocks have sprung big runs for the trio of Redskins running backs looking to create balance on offense.

At 5-6 and in first place in the NFC East, that's going to be key moving forward. Can Washington continue to get solid play from its offensive line in the running game? If so, there's a good chance this team will win the division.

It continues Monday against a Dallas Cowboys defense that has been average in the run game all season.

9. Jerome Felton, fullback, Buffalo Bills

Fullbacks still exist in today's NFL — just ask Bills running back LeSean McCoy. In the limited action Felton has played this year, he's been instrumental in helping McCoy rebound from early-season struggles and injuries.

Going to the traditional backfield formation with a lead blocker multiple times over the past several games, McCoy seems to have a new best friend in Felton, a three-time Pro Bowl performer.

It's going to be important for the Bills to implement the lead blocker in a tough inner-conference game against a Houston Texans defense that has allowed a total of two touchdowns in its past 18 quarters.

If Felton is able to continue opening up holes for McCoy, it will go a long way in Buffalo rebounding from a Week 12 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

As it stands, McCoy has put up 100-plus total yards in each of the past five games. You better believe Felton is one of the primary reasons for this.

10. Spencer Ware, running back, Kansas City Chiefs

Even with Charcandrick West healthy after missing last week's game, the expectation here has to be that Kansas City will go with a committee backfield against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

Ware's inclusion in this committee became clear after what we saw the former LSU running back do over the past two weeks. During that span, Ware has put up 210 rushing yards and three scores on 30 attempts.

To put this into perspective, the former sixth-round pick gained 34 yards on nine attempts in his first two-plus seasons in the NFL.

As has been the case throughout his entire career, Alex Smith performs best with a solid running game behind him. Despite Oakland's struggles against the pass this season, Smith's ability to lead the Chiefs to a sixth consecutive win could depend on the type of performance he gets from this running back tandem.

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