Breakout players for every NFL team

Anyone anointing Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard as the next great player at the position is probably jumping the gun. With that said, the second-year pro tallied five touchdown receptions in eight games this season after finding the end zone six total times in his rookie year. Perhaps the 24-year-old has just needed to play alongside a better quarterback. That's a different topic for a different piece. 

Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey proved to be a playmaker in the passing attack as a rookie, catching 80 passes and notching five touchdown receptions. The 22-year-old is even better in 2018. Along with trending toward finishing the 2018 campaign with 100 catches, McCaffrey also has 502 rushing yards and three runs for scores after Week 9. 

Admit it, non-diehard New Orleans Saints fans: You never heard of Taysom Hill until this season. Granted, the "Thor-terback" isn't ever going to replace Drew Brees as the team's starting signal-caller. But the 28-year-old is a useful utility weapon lining up under center and as a returner. He averaged 5.8 yards per carry across the first eight games of the season. 

After averaging two receiving touchdowns per contest across three games, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley came back down to earth a bit and failed to find the end zone in three consecutive outings. Yes, he's been so good that it's actually noteworthy when he doesn't score. The first-round pick tallied seven touchdowns in his first eight regular-season games. 

So much went wrong with the 2018 Arizona Cardinals over the first half of the season. At least rookie wide receiver Christian Kirk appears to be the real deal. The 22-year-old led the team in receiving yards after the first full weekend of November, and he and Larry Fitzgerald were tied for the team lead in touchdown grabs with two apiece. 

Picking a breakout player on the Los Angeles Rams is challenging since just about everybody who follows the NFL knew back in the summer the team would be a championship contender. Before the season, defensive tackle Aaron Donald signed a six-year contract that guarantees him nearly $87 million, and he's responded by playing like a man still seeking a massive payday. As of September 2018, his career best for sacks in a single campaign was 11. He posted 10 QB takedowns his first nine games of this year. 

The concern here is that the San Francisco 49ers have already seen the best from running back Matt Breida in his second season. The 23-year-old who averaged 12.5 rushing yards in Week 2 failed to run for even 50 yards in three consecutive games from Oct. 21 through Nov. 1, and he has only a pair of rushing scores. Breida should remain San Francisco's lead carrier the rest of the way, so he'll see plenty of opportunities to reclaim his form. 

Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Jarran Reed entered the season with three career sacks. The 25-year-old tallied five sacks in the first eight games of the 2018 campaign. Just don't refer to Reed and his teammates as a "no-name defense," because he will clap back via Twitter. 

OK, so Matt Nagy  didn't turn quarterback Mitchell Trubisky into Aaron Rodgers immediately after becoming Chicago Bears head coach. The 24-year-old has, however, undeniably improved under Nagy. Trubisky's completion percentage is up, he looks more comfortable running and passing the ball, and he was on pace to finish the year with 32 throwing scores after Week 9. Limiting his avoidable miscues and turnovers should be the next phase of his development. 

Similar to Matt Breida, the jury is still out regarding how much Green Bay Packers wide receiver Geronimo Allison will "break out" through the end of the season. The 24-year-old who has played in only five games because of injuries was well on his way to the best campaign of his three-year tenure at the end of September. As long as he returns to the lineup, he should post career-bests in catches and touchdown receptions. He has already eclipsed his prior high for receiving yards. 

Yes, the secret was out on Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen a year ago. The 28-year-old has merely confirmed he's no one-season wonder, as he's the best in the business as of November 2018. Thielen tied Calvin Johnson's record for most consecutive games with at least 100 receiving yards with eight, and he found the end zone seven times in nine contests. 

Detroit Lions rookie Kerryon Johnson reminds us of a different first-year back who could produce even better numbers if playing behind a good offensive line. Johnson has nevertheless introduced himself to NFL audiences in a big way since Week 3 when he rushed for over 100 yards for the first time as a pro. The 21-year-old was averaging 5.7 yards per carry after Week 9, and he should, at the very least, approach a 1,000-yard season. 

While the resurrection of Adrian Peterson has been the big surprise for the Washington, Matt Ioannidis has been the standout on the team's defensive line. As Peter Hailey of NBC Sports Washington explained, Ioannidis entered Washington's Week 9 showdown with the Atlanta Falcons averaging one sack per 41.8 snaps played, which put him in some elite company. The 24-year-old improved his already career-high, single-season sack total to 6.5 on the year with a takedown of Matt Ryan in the loss to the Falcons. 

The retirements of Jason Witten and James Hanna left a noticeable gap at the tight end position on the Dallas Cowboys' depth chart. Enter Geoff Swaim, who could be a solid fantasy football play the remainder of the campaign as long as injuries don't sideline him for too long. Swaim, fourth on the club in receiving yards after Week 9, has become a favorite target for quarterback Dak Prescott, and the 25-year-old caught 19 of 24 targets over the season's first seven games. 

The Philadelphia Eagles relying on a running back by committee system may be harmful to your fantasy football hopes and dreams, but it's done wonders for Wendell Smallwood. The third-year pro, who is averaging 4.3 yards per carry after eight games, isn't going to lead the league in rushing yards anytime soon. But he is the top option in the Philly backfield with Thanksgiving approaching. He should have a career high in single-season rushing yards by the time you read this sentence. 

Running back Saquon Barkley was the second pick of the draft. He's supposed to be good. Guard Will Hernandez, a second-round selection, has been a bright spot on a horrendous, sieve-like offensive line. As Dan Schneier of 247Sports.com explained, Pro Football Focus named Hernandez to its midseason All-Rookie Team. 

Houston Texans wide receiver Will Fuller V suffered a torn ACL in late October that prematurely ended what was going to be his best season, to date. Fuller had 32 receptions and four touchdowns in seven contests before the injury. The hope is that the 24-year-old will be as good as new, if not better, by September 2019. 

Nobody will confuse Jacksonville Jaguars running back T.J. Yeldon with Le'Veon Bell, but the 25-year-old picked the right time to enjoy the best season since his rookie year. Yeldon, who will be seeking a new contract next March, became Jacksonville's top back with Leonard Fournette sidelined, and he should notch his highest receiving numbers even though Fournette will be back in the starting lineup come Week 10.  He averaged 9.4 yards per catch the first eight games of the season. 

The Indianapolis Colts signing tight end Eric Ebron earlier this year looks like the top get of the 2018 free-agency class. After scoring 11 touchdowns in four seasons with the Detroit Lions, the former first-round pick selected ahead of Odell Beckham Jr. in 2014 (whoops) notched seven TDs in the first eight outings of the current campaign. His chemistry with Andrew Luck should only grow with additional time together on the field. 

There's no nice way to say that Tennessee Titans wide receiver Corey Davis underwhelmed in his freshman NFL season. The 23-year-old has done well to rebound despite playing in a low-powered offense. Davis averaged over four catches per game the first eight contests of 2018, and he's going to lead the Titans in multiple categories for receivers come Week 17. He needs to catch more than 54.5 percent of the passes thrown his way, though, and it's clear he and quarterback Marcus Mariota still have plenty of work ahead of them. 

The Buffalo Bills are a complete mess, and the roster may have waved the figurative white flag during the Week 9 loss to the Chicago Bears. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is one thing the organization got right this year. The first-round pick will enter Week 10 leading the Bills in tackles, even though he missed the game vs. the Bears because of a concussion, and he will likely remain atop that category through the end of the season. 

There aren't a ton of options here, particularly if you want to shy away from rookies. Wide receiver Jakeem Grant should climb up the list as long he is targeted more than two times per game, as he was in the Week 9 win over the New York Jets. With six contests left on the schedule, the 26-year-old should double his 2017 statistics for receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. He's also taken one kickoff return and one punt return to the house this season. 

The interceptions thrown by New York Jets rookie Sam Darnold, who led the NFL in that particular category after Week 9, concern fans, observers and onlookers. The 21-year-old still possesses the goods to drag Gang Green back to relevance, for positive reasons, in the right circumstances. To be direct, Darnold may need to work underneath a different (and better) coaching staff to avoid turning into the 2020s version of Mark Sanchez. 

History tells us that Tom Brady and the New England Patriots would be just fine with any combination in the backfield. Don't discount how good rookie Sony Michel was during the first half of the campaign. Until the 23-year-old was downed by a knee injury, he averaged 4.4 yards per carry in six games, and the physical runner scored four rushing touchdowns over three contests. The first-round pick could be New England's feature back for the next five years, if not longer. 

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett accumulated seven sacks in 11 games his rookie year. Garrett is averaged one sack per game nine weeks into the 2018 season. It's a matter of when, not if, he will be the best pass-rusher in the NFL. 

Mark Andrews isn't the rookie tight end who was supposed to lead the Baltimore Ravens in targets after Week 9. Andrews has not only outperformed Hayden Hurst, a first-round pick, and Nick Boyle. It appears he, not the other two, is the desired option for Joe Flacco on passing downs, as he is tracking to lead all Baltimore tight ends in targets. There's no such thing as a team having too much talent at any position. 

A knee injury kept Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd off the field for roughly one month last season. He's healthy and in the lineup this fall, and he is going to shatter the personal records he set in 2016. Boyd caught 49 of 66 passes thrown his way in eight games, and he already has five touchdowns. He's flirting with surpassing A.J. Green in scores by the end of the year. 

Running back James Conner has gone from being a nice story of a young man from Erie, Pennsylvania who returned from cancer and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers to the team's top ball-carrier who has made holdout Le'Veon Bell surplus to requirements. Conner rushed for over 700 yards and nine touchdowns his first eight games, and he also caught 38 passes, one of which was a score. 

Jalen Richard isn't seeing a plethora of carries per game in the Oakland Raiders offense that may struggle to score against Alabama these days, but the 25-year-old led the Raiders in catches (43) after eight games. Oakland will probably be losing early and often up through the end of the season, so expect Richard to continue earning targets from Derek Carr or whomever else Jon Gruden wants to play at quarterback during this lost season. 

It's no surprise a rookie is leading the Denver Broncos in carries and rushing yards. We all thought that rookie would be Royce Freeman instead of Phillip Lindsay. As Kevin Patra of NFL.com explained, Lindsay became the first undrafted rookie to tally at least 100 scrimmage yards his first two games of his career. In the first nine weeks of the season, the 24-year-old averaged 5.4 yards per carry, he gained 591 yards on the ground and he scored four total touchdowns. He's a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate. 

Second-year running back Austin Ekeler has been an effective weapon for the Los Angeles Chargers when he's received touches. Ahead of Week 10, Ekeler was averaging 5.8 yards per carry, and he is on pace to finish the campaign with 40 receptions and six touchdown grabs. The 23-year-old won't leapfrog Melvin Gordon on the depth chart, but he could become a feature back for a different club in 2020.  

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes would win NFL MVP if the voting occurred today. The 23-year-old will only have to wait a couple of months to claim that trophy if he continues averaging three touchdown tosses a game through Week 17, assuming the Chiefs will actually need to play him in that game. Mahomes isn't the future of the NFL. He's the now, even if he and the Chiefs fall short of a Super Bowl this season.