Sportsnaut
Now that NFL rosters are set (for now), it’s time to predict which players are set for a big year. While all athletes spend the offseason fine-tuning their craft, not everyone returns as an improved player ready to make a bigger impact.
Below, you’ll find a player from each NFC South team who is most primed to have a breakout season. After publishing the NFC East yesterday, this is the final division in our series. You can see all the other breakout player predictions from each division at the bottom of this article.
Having started only three games (and posting a completion rate of just 58.1%), Michael Penix still has a lot to prove. Remember, Kirk Cousins is still on this team. Still, with the amount of talent surrounding him, and the big arm that can make any throw, we have high expectations for Penix, probably even leading a top ten scoring offense if he can put it all together quickly.
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Selected in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Ja’Tavion Sanders put together an impressive rookie season with 342 yards and a touchdown. Still behind Tommy Tremble on the depth chart, it may not be long before Sanders snatches the starting role. If so, he could easily double his production.
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A third-round pick from 2023, Kendre Miller has rarely shown the special speed that helped him star at TCU. His longest NFL rushing attempt to date only went for 18 yards, and that was as a rookie. With just 304 yards and two touchdowns to his name after two seasons, Miller is primed to double that output in season three. If he can’t top the 3.8 yards per carry average of his first two years, Miller’s chances at being a contributor in year four would be slim.
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Chris Braswell, last year’s second-round selection, appeared in just 17 games as a rookie. But he only compiled 18 tackles, plus 1.5 sacks. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will need more from their 23-year-old pass-rusher in year two. Yet, with Braswell set to see more playing time, he should be able to show why the Bucs were willing to take a chance on the 6-foot-3, 255-pound linebacker early on.
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Full List of Divisional Breakout Player Predictions – AFC West
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