The most surprising player on every NFL team so far

Hicks has always been a nice player in his career, so it's not that surprising he's doing well, but he's already a leader and one of the most important pieces of the Arizona defense. Hicks leads the team with 54 combined tackles, including 31 solos and 3.0 tackles for loss. He also has four quarterback hits and 0.5 sacks.

The Falcons tight end burst onto the scene in 2018, making the Pro Bowl, but it is surprising that Hooper leads Atlanta with 34 catches and 363 receiving yards so far this season. The Falcons are off to a terrible start, so they didn't have many other choices for this list. But Hooper really has become one of Matt Ryan's favorite targets.

Receiving a chance for a lot more playing time in his second season, Andrews has developed great chemistry with quarterback Lamar Jackson. Andrews has 28 receptions for 311 yards and three touchdowns in five games. He's averaging 5 yards fewer per catch compared to last season, but he is on pace for almost twice as many yards.

The future Hall of Fame running back has seemingly been on his last leg for years, and yet he continues to remain productive. He just made his 200th career start, which is an astonishing number for a running back, and he has 333 rushing yards with two touchdowns in the first five games. He's averaged 4.6 yards per carry since the start of 2018, which is his best mark in that category since 2012.

All the talk in Carolina has been about Christian McCaffrey, and rightfully so, but Addison has the defense playing at a high level. At 32 years old, some wondered if Addison would slow down in 2019, and the Panthers may have even believed that themselves, as they added defensive end Brian Burns in the first round. But Addison is better than ever. He has at least a 0.5 sack in every game since Week 2, and he is among the leaders in that category with 6.5 sacks through five games.

After the last few years, it didn't seem like the football gods were ever going to let the Bears have another good kicker again. That was their punishment for giving up on perennial Pro Bowler Robbie Gould. But Pineiro won the kicking competition in Chicago over the summer, and he's begun the season 8-for-9 on field-goal attempts and 9-for-9 on extra-point tries. He's also a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond 50 yards.

Unfortunately, Ross hit the injured reserve last week and may not return for the rest of the season, but in the first quarter of the year, he proved that it's too early to place the bust label on him. In the first four games, Ross posted 16 catches for 328 yards and three touchdowns. He had more yards in four games this season than he had in 13 contests during 2018.

Myles Garrett is having a terrific start to the year, but Ogunjobi isn't that far behind him. In five games, he already has 3.0 sacks, five tackles for loss and five quarterback hits. He had 5.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits in 16 games last year.

Awuzie is putting together a strong third season in the NFL playing opposite Byron Jones. Awuzie has 25 combined tackles, including 16 solos, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hit. He also has five pass defenses and an interception. His pick is the only one the Cowboys have through five games.

The Broncos could use more help from their young players. Phillip Lindsay burst onto the scene last year, but Denver hasn't had many other surprising contributions from young players in the last couple of seasons. Veteran defensive back Kareem Jackson makes our list behind his team-leading 26 combined tackles and one tackle for loss.

A year after coming in during only passing downs, Walker has earned a starting role with the Lions in 2019 and is quickly becoming an intricate part of Detroit's defense. The former third-round pick has a team-high 36 combined tackles, including 32 solos and three tackles for loss. No other Lions defender has even 20 combined tackles.

Desperate for defensive playmakers, the Packers added the former Washington defensive end in free agency, and in just five weeks he's arguably already exceeded expectations. Smith has 5.5 sacks, four tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits. In 16 games with Washington last year, he posted 4.0 sacks with five tackles for loss and 16 quarterback hits. Smith needs just three more sacks for a new career high.

In 2015, Mercilus and J.J. Watt were one of the most dangerous sack duos in the league. But then Jadeveon Clowney finally emerged, and Mercilus switched roles, going from 12.0 sacks in 2015 to only 1.0 in 2017. Without Clowney on the roster this season, Mercilus is back to being one of the most underrated pass rushers in the NFL. He has 5.0 sacks, four forced fumbles, seven quarterback hits and five tackles for loss in five games this season.

The Indianapolis organization swears it isn't surprised with Brissett's early-season performance, but it's probably pretty shocking to the rest of the league. Brissett has almost seamlessly taken over for the retired Andrew Luck and just picked up a win at Kansas City, where Luck and the Colts lost in the playoffs in January. Brissett has 1,062 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and just three interceptions in five games. Most importantly, he's led the Colts to a 3-2 start.

Speaking of surprising quarterbacks, Minshew has taken the league by storm with his mustache, jorts and passing ability. He hasn't done quite as well the last two weeks, but Minshew is still 2-2 as a starter with a 66.7 completion percentage. In five games, he has 1,279 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception.

The Chiefs really missed Tyreek Hill on Sunday night against the Colts, but Robinson has emerged as another weapon for Patrick Mahomes in the passing game. Last season, he had 22 catches for 288 yards and four touchdowns. During 2019, Robinson already has 17 receptions for 281 yards and three scores in five games. Once Hill comes back, things could open up even more for Robinson, as stopping Hill will again become the opposition's top priority.

After 13 years in Carolina, Davis hit free agency for the first time in his career, and the market was slow for the 36-year-old linebacker. But through five weeks, Davis leads the Chargers with 41 combined tackles and 20 solos. He also has two quarterback hits and 1.0 sack.

It's really too bad Matthews broke his jaw last Thursday night against the Seahawks because he was off to a fantastic start. Matthews had at least a sack in each of the Rams' first five games and is among the leaders with 6.0 sacks through five weeks. He's on pace for his first double-digit sack since since 2014, but that now depends on how quickly he can return to the field.

It's hard to find nice surprises on a team that appears to be tanking, but the rookie wideout has played well. Williams leads the Dolphins with 15 receptions and is tied with DeVante Parker with 201 receiving yards and a touchdown. Who knows where this team is heading, but Josh Rosen to Williams is a connection the offense could build around in the future.

Dalvin Cook is fulfilling his potential this year and has become a top five back in the league, but rookie Alexander Mattison has looked impressive as his backup. The third-round pick has averaged 5.6 yards per carry and scored a touchdown in his first five games. The Vikings backfield should be in decent hands if anything happens to Cook this year.

McCourty has been a strong player for the Patriots this entire decade, but the surprise is he leads the NFL with four interceptions after just five games. He hasn't recorded more than two interceptions in a season since 2012. If he keeps this up, McCourty is going to receive Defensive Player of the Year votes, especially if the Patriots finish as the league's No. 1 statistical defense.

When Drew Brees suffered his thumb injury in Week 2, the Saints weren't necessarily counted out as a playoff team, but it provided the other NFC South teams a glimmer of hope that they could win the division. That's not really the case in large part because of Bridgewater. Taking less money to stay in New Orleans as the backup this offseason, Bridgewater has received plenty of help from his playmakers on offense, defense and special teams, but he's gone 3-0 as a starter since Brees' injury. Bridgewater is completing 70.2 percent of his passes for an average of 7.0 yards per attempt with six touchdowns and two interceptions this year.

The writing was on the wall that the Eli Manning era was coming to an end, but it's surprising that Jones took over in September, and it's more surprising at how well he's played. Jones won his first two games as a starter, leading the Giants back from an 18-point deficit against the Buccaneers in Week 3. Jones has completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 7.0 yards per attempt, four touchdowns and three interceptions in four games this season.

There haven't been many bright spots for the Jets this season, but the 26-year-old linebacker has played better than expected. He leads the team with 28 combined tackles, including four tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.

Dealing Khalil Mack was dumb at the time, but at least the Raiders have hit on the first draft pick they received in the deal. Jacobs has been spectacular, rushing for 430 yards, four touchdowns and 4.9 yards per carry in his first five career NFL games.  Jacobs has helped coach Jon Gruden establish the power running game he wants to supplement with Derek Carr's passing.

The Eagles originally cut Scandrick in August and only brought him back a week ago out of necessity. But in his first game with Philadelphia, he was outstanding, posting 2.0 sacks and two forced fumbles, one of which he recovered and returned for a touchdown. It's only one game, but Scandrick has been a pleasant surprise so far.

The former 2015 first-round pick appears to be finally getting things together. Dupree has never had more than 6.0 sacks in a season, but he already has 3.0 in five games this year, along with 22 combined tackles, four tackles for loss and five quarterback hits. Pittsburgh has a ton of defensive talent on paper, but the key is to get players like Dupree playing to their full potential.

He wasn't quite as good on "Monday Night Football" against the Browns, but the veteran running back is already 26 rushing yards away from a career high through four games. He's averaging 5.8 yards per carry and has four receptions for 68 yards with a score.

The 23-year-old tight end is quickly becoming the best tight end nobody has heard of in the league. He already has four touchdowns in five games and has almost tripled his reception total from his rookie season. Dissly has 23 catches with 262 receiving yards.

After helping the Broncos win Super Bowl 50 as a 23-year-old, Barrett never rekindled his magic from that season. But he's off to an absolutely terrific start in his first season with the Buccaneers. Barrett leads the league with 9.0 sacks, which is also a career high. He had just 8.5 sacks in the previous three seasons. Barrett also has a league-high seven tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits.

The former fifth-round pick accumulated 97 combined tackles last season as not even a full-time starter. But this season he's in the starting lineup and tied for the team lead with 35 tackles through five weeks.Brown also has four pass defenses, three quarterback hits and 1.0 sack.

If there's any reason to be excited in Washington, it might be for rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin. The Redskins nabbed him in the third round of this year's draft, and he caught a touchdown pass in each of his first three games. McLaurin has 19 catches for 308 yards and three touchdowns in four games.