Sports
7 NFL Players Who Will Fly Up Depth Charts Before 2020 Season
0 of 7Rick Scuteri/Associated PressIn the NFL, sometimes all it takes for a player to become a star is an opportunity. Throughout the years, fans have witnessed backups like Kurt Warner and Tom Brady rise to the pinnacle of NFL stardom. While there might not be any players who experience that sort of meteoric rise…
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Rick Scuteri/Associated Press
In the NFL, sometimes all it takes for a player to become a star is an opportunity. Throughout the years, fans have witnessed backups like Kurt Warner and Tom Brady rise to the pinnacle of NFL stardom. While there might not be any players who experience that sort of meteoric rise in 2020, some backup players are going to shoot up depth charts quickly.
We'll examine seven players with the potential to go from backup to starter before or during the 2020 season.
While injuries often open the door for rookies and backups, other players force their own way up depth charts—whether due to their own potential, a lack of proven/reliable talent ahead of them or a combination of both.
If these players do break into starting roles? Well, there's no telling how high up the proverbial NFL mountain they might climb.
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Michael Conroy/Associated Press
The Los Angeles Rams parted with star running back Todd Gurley this offseason, leaving a big hole on offense. Los Angeles has veteran players in place who could fill it, most notably longtime backup Malcolm Brown and 2019 third-round pick Darrell Henderson. However, rookie Cam Akers might shoot past them and claim the starting job before Week 1.
The second-round pick from Florida State has a higher ceiling than either Brown or Henderson, and he has a skill set that should help him find early success against pro competition.
“Comparing college numbers to the NFL is always tricky, but we've seen that missed tackle numbers and stats like yards after contact translate well to the NFL,” Ben Linsey of Pro Football Focus wrote. “Last season, Akers forced a missed tackle on 32 percent of his touches and averaged nearly four rushing yards after contact per attempt.”
Akers produced 1,144 rushing yards, 225 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns for the Seminoles last season. While he might not reach those numbers as a rookie, they're indicative of the sort of starting back Akers can be.
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Michael Conroy/Associated Press
The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't exactly short on pass-catching talent. Between JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, James Washington and tight ends Vance McDonald and Eric Ebron, Ben Roethlisberger should have plenty of targets in 2020.
However, rookie second-round pick Chase Claypool could fly past many of the wideouts on the depth chart to secure a prominent role right out of the gate. The Steelers, you see, already have a role in mind for the Notre Dame product—and they have for some time.
“We've been watching Chase for two seasons because as a junior there was a chance that maybe he'd come out a year early and there was some talk about that,” general manager Kevin Colbert said, per ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio. “… He's a 6'4″, 230-pound receiver that can get deep, and quite honestly we didn't have that threat last year. We didn't have that tall receiver that can just outrun coverage.”
Claypool can be the big-bodied speedster that Pittsburgh has been missing. He had 1,037 yards last season, and that sort of production is realistic as long as Big Ben stays healthy.
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Duane Burleson/Associated Press
Second-year Green Bay Packers tight end Jace Sternberger saw limited action as a rookie—though that could be because he began the season on injured reserve. Entering his second year, he'll likely be behind veterans Marcedes Lewis and Robert Tonyan, though he might not stay there for long.
The 2019 third-round pick has the highest upside of any Green Bay tight end, and with Jimmy Graham now gone, there's a big need for a playmaker at the position.
“The flexibility he gives us, obviously he's got a lot of speed that can stretch the seam,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said in January, via the team's official website. “He's a matchup problem for linebackers and safeties.”
Sternberger, who caught 48 passes for 832 yards and 10 touchdowns for Texas A&M in 2018, has the potential to be a playmaking pass-catcher for Aaron Rodgers. He is also a willing blocker who could play more of an H-back role if required. This should get him on the field in multiple situations, and it shouldn't be a shock to see Sternberger become Green Bay's top tight end in 2020.
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Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press
There's a reason No. 2 overall pick Chase Young is on this list and No. 1 pick Joe Burrow is not. The Cincinnati Bengals traded former starter Andy Dalton shortly after the draft, meaning Burrow is essentially being handed the starting job. Young, on the other hand, will probably have to climb his way up a talented Washington depth chart.
The former Ohio State edge-rusher will likely start out behind talented sack-artists Ryan Kerrigan and Montez Sweat. However, as former teammate Nick Bosa did with the San Francisco 49ers last season, Young will make it difficult for Washington to keep him off the field.
He dominated the college competition last season, racking up an incredible 21 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks. He's a terror against the run and the pass, so using him only as a situational pass-rusher doesn't make a ton of sense.
Expect Young to push past the 31-year-old Kerrigan on the depth chart early in the season, if not before it.
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Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press
Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is another early draft pick who probably won't just be handed a starting job. The fifth overall selection and former Alabama star will begin his career looking to take the job from journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick—and he'll have two obstacles to overcome before supplanting him.
Tagovailoa will face the typical transition from college to the NFL. At the same time, he'll have to prove that he is 100 percent healthy following last year's dislocated and fractured hip while convincing Miami that playing early won't put him at higher risk of another serious injury.
At some point, though, Tagovailoa's talents are going to make it impossible to keep him on the bench. That point might come before the regular season even starts.
“According to every coach I've spoken to, it's a foregone conclusion that he will beat out veteran journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick and start Week 1 against the Patriots on Sept. 13,” Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman wrote in May.
As long as he's given a fair shot at the starting gig, Tagovailoa should shoot past Fitzpatrick on the depth chart with ease.
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Adam Hunger/Associated Press
Right now, Philadelphia Eagles wideout J.J. Arcega-Whiteside feels like an afterthought in the offense. The 2019 second-round pick out of Stanford saw limited action as a rookie and will have to contend with DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, Marquise Goodwin and rookie Jalen Reagor for playing time.
However, with Jeffery still recovering from a foot injury, Arcega-Whiteside could emerge as the No. 2 receiver opposite Jackson. For now, the Eagles appear content to groom Reagor as Jackson's backup.
“Right now, he's gonna come in and learn one position,” head coach Doug Pederson said of Reagor, per Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “And he's gonna learn from DeSean Jackson, learn everything he can.”
The 6'2″, 225-pound Arcega-Whiteside can provide a physical presence on the perimeter while Jeffery recovers, and he could eventually push him out of the lineup entirely. The Eagles have explored trading Jeffery in the past, which may add more incentive to give Arcega-Whiteside a crack at the starting gig in camp.
Expect Arcega-Whiteside, who racked up 1,059 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Cardinal in 2018, to take that opportunity and run with it.
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Michael Conroy/Associated Press
Detroit Lions rookie running back D'Andre Swift will likely begin his NFL career behind veterans Kerryon Johnson and Bo Scarbrough. However, he'll be hard to keep out of the starting lineup for a couple of reasons.
For one, Swift is a dynamic runner and receiver with the tool kit of a veteran workhorse running back.
“Tempo and decisiveness are his calling cards, making him a highly talented inside/outside zone runner,” NFL Media's Lance Zierlein wrote before the draft. “He's a cerebral runner who understands block timing and uses quick-cut agility and rare spatial awareness to read and react to defenses beyond the second level.”
Swift is a more dynamic back than Scarbrough. While Johnson has flashed plenty of potential as a pro, he's also missed 14 games in two seasons because of injuries. Swift should get an opportunity to prove that he's deserving of being the long-term starter.
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