NFL: One breakout star for each team in the 2018 season

Which players will be the breakout stars for their respective NFL teams in 2018?

Carson Wentz, Joe Schobert, Kwon Alexander, and many other young players in the NFL had their breakout seasons in 2017. For some, it resulted in their first career Pro Bowl selection, personal accolades, and even a Super Bowl ring.

Looking towards 2018 a new crop of young players are set to make a name for themselves in the NFL after perhaps not having the start of their careers they dreamed of.

When looking for the breakout players for 2018, George Stockburger, Sayre Bedinger, and Erik Lambert took a couple of things into consideration: chances to start, injury history, and a poor rookie campaign.

Not every player primed for a breakout year is a rookie, some have cut their teeth in the league for years and haven’t gotten their chance in the spotlight. Many are entering their sophomore years after being injured, undrafted free agents, or late draft picks who now have a chance to start.

We’ve compiled one player from each team who fits some or all of those categories, who could break out in 2018.

A heavily courted five-star recruit entering college Ricky Seals-Jones had tremendous promise entering Texas A&M. The hype didn’t follow him to College Station with just 10 receiving touchdowns and 1,442 receiving yards in four seasons. Leg and knee injuries limited him and a disorderly conduct arrest in 2014 put a black eye on his career early.

After going undrafted last year, Seals-Jones signed as an undrafted free agent with Arizona, but not as a wide receiver. Arizona looked at his 6’5 frame and saw a potential red zone star at tight end.

Sitting the majority of last season and getting only one target in the first nine weeks, Seals-Jones caught two touchdowns against the Texans on the road. After collecting 12 passes in five weeks, the production dropped off significantly. Two targets were all the rookie saw in the final two games, ending his campaign on a sour note.

This offseason the Cardinals are getting Seals-Jones more comfortable as a blocker, specifically inline blocking, to make him a well-rounded tight end. With Josh Rosen set to be the franchise quarterback going forward, Seals-Jones could have a reliable passer get him the ball in the red zone where he thrives, creating a perfect opportunity to break out in 2018.

One could argue the breakout was long underway even before Takkarist McKinley ended up on this list. The Falcons 1st round pick had six sacks in the final nine games he played last season including one in each of their playoff games. The edge rusher is fully healthy and only growing in confidence.

Given the fact he’s rushing across from Vic Beasley, the prospects for a major breakout are far easier to envision.

He could be the main cog in what might be one of the best defenses in the NFL this season. It comes down to whether he’s able to stave off the injury bug.

After navigating through the offseason without facing third-degree burglary charges for allegedly stealing a phone charger, Marlon Humphrey is set to be one of the Ravens outside cornerbacks in 2018.

Starting just five games last season Humphrey came down with two interceptions in the second half of the season. His playing time was increased after Jimmy Smith tore his achillies in December, and Smith’s availability for week one is still an unknown.

If the season started today, it’s likely Humphrey’s would line up opposite of Brandon Carr, who had four interceptions in his first year with the Ravens. Tavon Young will return from an ACL injury, and the Ravens also have rookie Anthony Averett, who played with Humphrey at Alabama.

Taking playing time away from a healthy Carr and Smith would be tough with their seven combined picks last year, but Baltimore has a lot invested into Humphrey.

The fact that the Buffalo Bills were willing to trade away Cordy Glenn this offseason speaks to how much confidence they have in Dion Dawkins.

The Temple product emerged as a solid, dependable starter for them last season en route to making the playoffs for the first time since 1999. The fact he did this at Glenn’s position of left tackle made it even more impressive.

Dawkins now doesn’t have to worry about experience issues and is firmly entrenched at the position. The question will be what happens when he has a stationary quarterback to protect be it rookie Josh Allen or free agent signee A.J. McCarron.

By no means did Christian McCaffrey have a bad rookie season after the Panthers selected him eighth overall last year. Appearing in 16 games with 10 starts the son of three-time Super Bowl champion Ed McCaffrey accumulated over 1,000 yards from scrimmage. Carolina utilized the swiss army knife back in all aspects of their offense, but the production as a runner wasn’t as explosive as his Heisman-quality years at Stanford.

McCaffrey will work with new offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who specializes in creating opportunities for running backs. Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who was coached by Turner in San Diego, said McCaffrey will get better matchups and the opportunity to do what he does best, catch the ball out of the backfield.

"“…getting him on the edge, getting him in space. So you’ll see a lot of those toss plays, you will see the misdirection plays…Christian will be the guy, the premier player in that offense.”"

If that doesn’t spell a breakout year from the sophomore all-purpose back, I’m not sure what does.

A quarterback’s sophomore year is one of their most important, and often we see a dramatic rise from the young passers. Carson Wentz, Marcus Mariota, and Jameis Winston each took major steps forward in their second years, and now it’s time for Mitch Trubisky to take his.

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Chicago is following Philadelphia’s plan to a T; surround a young quarterback with dynamic and capable weapons on offense while solidifying the offensive line. It’s a simple plan that looks for a big money addition and one or two modest weapons who can be surefire options.

For Wentz in Philadelphia, the new additions were Alshon Jeffrey, Torrey Smith, LeGarrette Blount, and Jay Ajayi at the trade deadline. Chicago got their big money receiver with Allen Robinson and paired him with reliable options such as Trey Burton and Taylor Gabriel through free agency. Anthony Miller could be a steal in the second round out of Memphis, giving Trubisky even more weapons at receiver.

Match the historic growth trends of quarterbacks, a new head coach, and the weapons added on offense and Trubisky has no reason not to improve.

One of the most controversial players to be drafted in recent history is Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon. After a video surfaced of him assaulting a woman in 2014, resulting in a broken jaw, Mixon fell of draft boards across the league. Cincinnati has a history of taking troubled players, but many thought taking Mixon in the second round, despite first-round talent, was too much of a risk.

On the field Mixon proved to be a valuable commodity for Marvin Lewis, rushing for 626 yards and four touchdowns despite starting the year as the third back behind Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard. Mixon added even more offense through the air, catching 30 passes and averaging 9.6 yards a catch.

Entering his sophomore year Mixon appears to be the featured back for Lewis and quarterback Andy Dalton. Hill, who the Bengals drafted 55th overall in 2014, wasn’t re-signed and landed in New England. Bernard, also a second-round back, proved capable of serving as a dynamic number two who amassed for over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of his first three seasons.

Mixon can rush for 1,000 yards this year as the featured back, especially with Dalton coming under fire for not developing into the star Cincinnati hoped for at quarterback.

When looking for the best young tight ends in the NFL, Cleveland Browns sophomore David Njoku should be in the conversation. Drafted at just 20 years old, Njoku became just the fifth tight end to record 30 receptions, 300 yards at age 21 season: Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski, Jason Witten, Aaron Hernandez, and Njoku. Three of those players are Canton-bound at some point in their life.

Making only five starts last year Njoku played only 46.8% of offensive snaps for Cleveland despite being one of three first-round picks, playing behind Darren Fells early. Njoku lit it up against the Jets with two terrific catches, one of which went for a touchdown, as shown below.

As the starter entering this year and more competent quarterbacks on the roster, Njoku could take a major step forward and solidify himself as a top-10 tight end. His 386 receiving yards were outside the top-20 for tight ends, but the extended playing time and stronger talent around him could push him to the next level.

Jourdan Lewis was a lock-down cornerback at Michigan despite not having elite size or strength, but he fell to the bottom of the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft for off-field concerns.

Despite his lack of great size, Lewis is a very feisty, physical cornerback who plays the slot extremely well.

He played a major role for the Cowboys in 2017, ranking fourth on the team with 746 snaps. Lewis has earned the trust of the Cowboys’ defensive staff and will play an even more critical role in 2018.

His numbers should see a significant rise with increased snaps both in the slot and play outside.

He finished his rookie season with 54 total tackles, 10 pass breakups, and an interception.

Jake Butt didn’t play a down for the Denver Broncos in 2017, but could be poised to make a major impact in 2018.

The Broncos do not have solidified tight end position with Virgil Green leaving in free agency to play for the Los Angeles Chargers, and fourth-year player Jeff Heuerman the most experienced returning player at the position (18 career catches).

Butt was an All-American at Michigan and drew some really lofty comparisons to future Hall of Fame tight end and new Monday Night Football analyst Jason Witten.

Butt’s well-rounded game and ability to make plays after the catch earned him some day two NFL Draft grades, and he would have definitely been picked in that range were it not for an ACL tear in the team’s bowl game against Florida State in January 2017.

With more than a year spent recovering, rehabbing, and learning the Broncos’ offense, Butt is back to full speed and ready for a breakout year.

A’Shawn Robinson was thought to be a first-round lock during the 2016 NFL Draft, but he inexplicably slipped to Detroit with the 46th overall pick. In two years he’s made just 2.5 sacks and 54 total tackles, but last year he was able to start all 16 games for Jim Caldwell.

Entering his third year in the league and second as a full-time starter Robinson is primed to break out under a new coaching staff and defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni, formerly with Boston College and Syracuse.

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New head coach and former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia won’t paint a big brush on his defense and call it a 4-3 or a 3-4. Football has changed where now 80% of the plays on defense are in sub packages, so tagging a defense one thing or another is becoming outdated.

That being said, Robinson primarily played as a 4-3 defensive tackle under Caldwell and finished 46th overall on PFF’s grades of defensive tackles. His highest grade game as a pass rusher for his ability to disrupt the interior of the offensive line, though that hasn’t lead to numbers and sack production, as mentioned earlier. Robinson wasn’t much of a sack machine at Alabama, setting his career high as a freshman with 5.5 sacks.

Look for Robinson to better himself by leaps and bounds next year and be one of the more ferocious interior linemen in the league.

In terms of draft capital, perhaps no team in the NFL has invested more in the secondary in recent years than the Green Bay Packers, and certainly not in the last two.

King was the top pick in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft, and the Packers spent their top two picks in 2018 on cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Joshua Jackson.

King is going to have some big expectations after a slightly disappointing rookie season where he played just nine games (due to injury) and 36.1 percent of the Packers’ defensive snaps.

Built with great size at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds and incredible athleticism (4.43 in the 40-yard dash, 39-inch vertical), King has every tool you could want in a corner.

If he can be physical and come back from season-ending shoulder surgery stronger than he was before, he is definitely a candidate to break out in 2018.

Despite quarterback Deshaun Watson regaining the stability in his knee after suffering a torn ACL the hype around Houston is the progression of wide receiver Will Fuller. Injuries defined Fuller’s second season with a broken collarbone, cracked ribs, and knee surgery in January.

Despite missing six games last year, Fuller still accounted for seven touchdowns and over 400 receiving yards. He looks explosive once again in team camp this week and a healthy season could go a long way for the Texans.

Often it takes wide receivers not named Odell Beckham Jr. about three years to truly breakout in the NFL. Nelson Agholor is the most recent example setting career highs in receiving yards and touchdowns en route to a Super Bowl win.

If Fuller can play a full 16 game season this year he could be the perfect number two to DeAndre Hopkins. Houston has more questions than answers at wide receiver with Braxton Miller, Sammie Coates, and rookie Keke Coutee as the projected backups.

The health of Fuller and Watson is paramount, but if they’re good to go Fuller and Watson are set for Pro Bowl seasons.

Running backs that go in the third and fourth round of the NFL Draft come out with a chip on their shoulder and often play above expectations. That’s what the Indianapolis Colts hope to see from second-year running back Marlon Mack, who projects to be the week one starter with Frank Gore’s departure.

Indianapolis is backing Mack up with two rookies, Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins, Josh Ferguson, and Cowboy/Seahawk castoffs Robert Turbin and Christine Michael. It’s far from a dominating backfield, but the potential is absolutely there for the Colts run game.

A shoulder injury that required offseason surgery forced Mack to miss two weeks early in the season, but didn’t prevent him from being a productive backup. Working behind Gore, Mack picked up 358 yards on the ground and four total touchdowns.

Head coach Frank Reich is coming out of Philadelphia where they had four backs get at least 40 carries with Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood, and LeGarrette Blount, who got the majority of the carries. Indianapolis will need that type of production from their backs with the quarterback situation being unstable as Andrew Luck recovers from shoulder surgery.

Should Indianapolis be forced to lean on their run game due to Luck’s injury, Mack could be their go-to guy.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made somewhat of a surprising decision this past offseason to re-sign wide receiver Marqise Lee after his first four seasons in the NFL didn’t yield the most productive return on investment.

Lee was expected to be one of the best wide receivers from the vaunted 2014 NFL Draft class but didn’t really start to figure things out until the 2016 season, when he had a small-scale breakout with 63 receptions for 851 yards and three touchdowns.

The Jaguars seem to have put plenty of confidence in him now after his 56 catches for 702 yards a season ago, prioritizing bringing him back along with adding through free agency and the draft.

Now officially the number one receiver in Jacksonville, Lee could eclipse 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him set a career high in touchdown catches.

No choice was easier for a breakout player than Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who flashed tremendous talents in the final regular season game of the year. Drafted 10th overall pick year, the former Texas Tech starter was 22 of 35 against Denver and became the first homegrown Chiefs quarterback to win a game since Todd Blackledge in 1987.

Kansas City solidified Mahomes as the starter when they shipped veteran Alex Smith to Washington for Kendall Fuller and a third-round pick, which was subsequently traded to Cincinnati to move up into the second round.

Andy Reid’s history with quarterbacks dating back to Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb is well noted, putting Mahomes in a tremendous position to grow and succeed. The addition of Sammy Watkins to pair with Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt, and Chris Conley gives Mahomes one of the best offenses in the league.

If one quarterback is set to grow next year, it’ll be Mahomes with the Chiefs.

Los Angeles knew the needed a reliable number two receiver with Keenan Allen, who’d battled injuries for years and was becoming unreliable when it came to availability. With the seventh overall pick, the Chargers continued an early run on wide receivers with Clemson’s Mike Williams.

A mild disc herniation in his lower back forced Williams on the PUP list and held his NFL debut back until week six. A bone bruise in his knee limited production to just 11 catches all season, far from par for a wide receiver taken with a top-10 pick.

Feeling healthy entering camp Williams could play a major factor in the Chargers offense with tight end Hunter Henry tearing his ACL in late May. Williams will likely be the number two receiver behind Allen and battle Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin for playing time.

Williams has come back from major injuries before after suffering a neck fracture at Clemson when he collided with the goal post. He put up a career-high 1,361 yards and 11 touchdowns a year after the injury. Can he do that in the NFL?

Wade Phillips is a maestro of defense. While pass rush is his specialty, people often overlook how superb he’s been with the secondary for years. Safety John Johnson had a tremendous rookie season. In 11 starts he had 71 tackles, one interception and 11 passes defended.

Now he’s firmly entrenched in the Rams system with valuable experience under his belt. If that defensive line is as dominant as it’s shaping up to be, Johnson could reap the maximum rewards in coverage.

Thee Miami Dolphins were very excited about their second-round pick Raekwon McMillan out of Ohio State after training camp and into the preseason, before he was unfortunately lost for the season due to injury.

McMillan has an excellent combination of size, strength, speed, and range at the linebacker position and was going to be counted on as a major piece of the Dolphins’ 2017 defensive unit.

Now, the team will gladly take him back as somewhat of a redshirt rookie with the potential to step in and lead the team in tackles.

McMillan excelled in coverage at Ohio State as well, breaking up nine passes over his final two seasons with the team.

He’s going to be a fun player to watch.

Potential breakout players are hard to come by on the Minnesota Vikings mostly because they have one of the best, if not the best, rosters in the league. Nearly every starting job is already set with little competition heading into training camp.

One player the Vikings could see a meteoric rise from is Ben Gedeon, a second-year linebacker out of Michigan. Drafted in the fourth round last year Gedeon started nine games and projects to be the Vikings starting WILL linebacker.

Gedeon made just 15 tackles last year in limited playing time behind free agent addition Emmanuel Lamur and the bevy of Vikings linebackers. This year he’s the guy with limited proven depth at the linebacker position.

Playing next to Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks, two of the best linebackers in the league, can only help Gedeon in his second year.

Part of what has made the Patriots defense so tough in the past was their ability to make you one dimensional. That involved stuffing the run and forcing you to throw into complex coverages against a strong pass rush.

The problem last year was they couldn’t fulfill their first objective. Teams ran on New England consistently all year long. So it was hardly a surprise when they made their trade for former 1st round pick Danny Shelton.

He’s a big, athletic defensive tackle who eats up space in the middle, making it difficult to run at him.

Under a sharper coaching staff, it’s possible his full potential will finally be utilized with the Patriots.

Sheldon Rankins showed flashes in his rookie season in 2016 with four sacks in nine games and took on a new role as a full-time starter in 2017.

With a great combination of power and quickness, Rankins is an explosive athlete at the defensive tackle position who should be eating up tackles for loss and making a ton of plays in the backfield in general.

He had just two sacks in 16 starts last season, but entering year three, he’s a candidate to break out for the Saints and establish himself as a top interior rusher in the NFC.

He just turned 24 this offseason and still has so much potential.

With the Saints continuing to improve on the defensive front this offseason with the addition of Marcus Davenport, perhaps more one-on-one matchups will open up for Rankins.

Many Giants fans were disappointed about B.J. Goodson in 2017. Not because he was bad or anything. More because he played so well but wasn’t able to finish what he started.

Goodson only managed to complete seven games last season, but he was a constant factor during that stretch with 53 tackles, two passes defended and a forced fumble. Now New York is shifting to a 3-4 defense under James Bettcher, and Goodson will likely move to the inside.

He’s got the skill set to thrive in that spot, but it will be interesting to see how quickly he can adapt.

Off-ball linebackers with lower tackle numbers in college are typically very unlikely to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

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Darron Lee was an exception two years ago.

After an okay rookie season, Lee had a nice 2017 campaign with 94 total tackles, but there’s still so much potential to unearth.

With incredible speed and range, Lee hasn’t been utilized as much as a pass rusher as I think he could be, and the Jets might finally start getting creative in the ways they use his speed to their advantage.

While last season was a nice one statistically for Lee, you expect more impact from a first-round linebacker and this year, he may give it to them.

The Oakland Raiders’ secondary desperately needs some kind of a jolt.

They thought they might get it last season from their top pick Gareon Conley, who fell in the draft due to some off-field issues.

Physically, Conley has everything you would want in a cornerback prospect. He now just has to put it all together on the field.

In college, Conley was a very effective press corner with excellent ball skills. The Raiders’ secondary was desperately lacking for turnover forcing ability, and his presence was sorely missed.

With all the players the Raiders have added this offseason, it’s easy to forget how important Conley is going to be to their rebuild defensively. They need him to break out in 2018 in a bad way.

A pro day achillies injury dropped Sidney Jones from being a top-10 pick in 2017 to the 43rd selection by Philadelphia. Jones made eight interceptions in three seasons with Washington before declaring early and ultimately suffering the devastating injury six weeks before the draft.

Rehab from the ruptured achillies forced Jones to miss all but one game his rookie season, but he’s looked fantastic early in practices.

Jones will compete for either one of the outside corner jobs or the slot role with Jalen Mills to pair with Ronald Darby. If Jones returns to form from his time at Washington he stands to be one of the biggest

Philadelphia has craved for a young athletic cornerback like Jones for years, and their lack of success in free agency has just made the hungry dogs hungrier. No more Domonique Rogers-Cromartie, Nnamdi Asamough, or Byron Maxwell types with Jones, Mills, and Darby.

Also keep an eye on second-year corner Rasul Douglas, who Philadelphia added out of West Virginia last year. Douglas made two picks in five starts last season filling in for Darby.

The Pittsburgh Steelers took the 5-foot-11, 188 pound Cam Sutton out of Tennessee in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

With virtually no production in his rookie season, how does he fit in for 2018?

There has been some speculation of a possible position change for the cornerback, but that doesn’t seem likely to be a permanent switch as much as an added bonus way of getting him on the field more frequently.

He’s been working on getting stronger this offseason, and if he can add physicality to his game which already includes excellent ball skills, he could be a nice weapon for the Steelers in the secondary.

New general manager John Lynch made a splash during his first draft by moving back one spot with Chicago and picking up two third, and a fourth-round picks and still getting their guy.

Despite playing just two years at Stanford, Solomon Thomas stuffed the stat sheet with 63 solo tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks in 26 games. His production and projections skyrocketed him to the third overall pick in 2017.

Thomas started 12 games and played in all but two as a rookie with a ton of young talent surrounding him on the defensive line. Taking the starting job from Tank Carridine Thomas made just 12 quarterback hits despite taking almost 700 snaps for the 49ers.

San Francisco plans on moving Thomas to better suit his abilities as a pass rusher by setting him up as the LEO and moving Arik Armstead as a run stopper.

This change by the San Francisco coaching staff could skyrocket Thomas’ production next year and make him one of the best pass rushers in the league.

Seattle drafted Nick Vannett 96th overall more on the potential than production displayed at Ohio State. Five of his six career touchdowns came in 2014, and he never had more than 20 receptions in a season. However, his 6’6 frame and performance at the NFL Combine pushed him into day two territory.

Vannett hasn’t been “the guy” for Seattle at tight end with Jimmy Graham and Luke Willson always listed ahead on the depth chart. Now, both have departed Seattle and the Seahawks project to start Vannett with veteran Ed Dickson. Will Disley was drafted in the fourth round, and former Texas quarterback Tyronne Swopes, also known as the 18-wheeler, returns as an undrafted free agent.

With Graham and Jermaine Kearse gone the Seahawks could turn Vannett into their primary red zone target despite him having just one touchdown reception.

One of the top receivers in the 2017 NFL Draft, O.J. Howard going to Tampa Bay was a pick few expected, mainly because Howard wasn’t supposed to fall to the 19th pick. Many pegged Howard to go as high as sixth overall to the Jets, who instead took Jamal Adams.

Tight end became a luxury for Tampa Bay, but the league is using 12-personnel offenses so much that having two tight ends is imperative. Pairing Howard with Cameron Brate, who was coming off eight touchdowns in 2016, seemed like a great opportunity for Jameis Winston and the Bucs offense.

Howard showed flashes in 14 starts with two of his six touchdowns against Buffalo being the highlight of his season. The Alabama product saw his season cut short in week 14 when an ankle injury on a scoring play put him in a boot and on injured reserve.

Brate signed a team-friendly six-year, $40.8 million deal that allows him to be cut with no dead cap or penalties to the Buccaneers after this season. Tampa Bay would love to see both their young tight ends flourish and grow with Winston, but if Brate takes a step back, Howard could be the number one tight end by seasons end.

The entire Titans offense could be listed as potential breakout stars, but the player who needs to take the next step forward in his career is Marcus Mariota. The former second-overall pick went from throwing 26 touchdowns to nine interceptions his sophomore year to 13 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. In fact, Mariota was one of two quarterbacks who started at least 15 games with an interception ratio higher than his touchdown ratio, the other being former Brown DeShone Kizer.

Mariota feels like he has another level to hit in order to push him into the top-half of quarterbacks in the NFL. He did lead the league with three fourth-quarter comebacks and four game-winning drives. Mariota also had five games when he didn’t throw a touchdown, and six of his wins were one-score games, pin that on whichever team or side of the ball you’d like.

Simply put, when you think about the top quarterbacks in the NFL, the former number two overall pick doesn’t come to mind. With a solid collection of talent around him, this could be the year Mariota proves he’s a top-tier quarterback.

Coming out of TCU Josh Doctson had the measurables, playing ability, and combine workouts identical to A.J. Green. When Washington drafted him 22nd overall in 2016 over Sterling Shepard, Laquon Treadwell, and most notably Michael Thomas, there was a sense the Redskins could build an offense around Kirk Cousins and Doctson.

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The script is completely flipped now in Washington with Alex Smith under center and Doctson showed signs of life after a weak rookie season. Appearing in just two games as a rookie, Doctson came back with 500 yards and six touchdowns replacing Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson.

Can Doctson take the next step in his third year with Smith passing to him? Wide receivers typically breakout in their third year as Nelson Agholor did in Philadelphia during their Super Bowl run.

Doctson is slated to start outside with Jamison Crowder and Paul Richardson playing the slot. Seventh-round pick Trey Quinn and undrafted free agent Simmie Cobbs Jr. could fight for playing time, especially Cobbs Jr. as a red zone target.

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Washington’s offense needs someone to step up and be Smith’s guy. Can Doctson breakout with 1,000 yards in 2018?