NFL 2024 breakout candidates: Drake London, Jaylen Warren, Trey McBride and a whole lot more

OK. Enough table setting. Here are my candidates for the breakout players in the 2024 NFL season.

Wide receiver

Drake London, Atlanta Falcons

You can just ride the classic "third-year wide receiver breakout" line here. Chris Olave is a fantastic player with a silky smooth game, but has been limited production-wise by his offensive (used multiple ways here) surroundings. Olave will continue to be a great player, but his production might stall because of the Saints' gigantic question marks along the offensive line and Derek Carr's peppery play style, not to mention fellow breakout candidate Rashid Shaheed playing on the same team.

Olave’s former Ohio State teammate, Jets star Garrett Wilson, won Offensive Rookie of the Year, so he wasn’t an available candidate. That leaves us with Drake London, the first receiver drafted among this electric group in 2022. London has the talent and conducive surroundings for a major leap forward in his play, production and recognition. If new Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson replicates the Rams' preferred style of play — condensed formations, jet motion, similar personnel and formations on a snap-to-snap basis — London’s bullyball style and ability to win inside and out will be unlocked.

London wins with his size and body control, and while he doesn't have the best long speed, he's able to create yards after the catch with his strength, balance and effort.

London’s size and strength also make him a viable blocker, something previous Falcons head coach Arthur Smith would use to open up aspects of the team’s run game. Again, if Robinson follows a similar offensive preference to what McVay has done in Los Angeles, can use London in a similar manner to Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and Robert Woods, true triple-threat players that are viable options to run, receive or block on any given snap, with the offense using similar formation looks and motions to disguise the intent and give defenders headaches before each snap.

Granted, motion without the ball and all of this blocking sounds more like a breakout path for running back Bijan Robinson (which, yes), but this style of attack suits London’s receiving game almost perfectly. The shorter and intermediate areas are where London’s size and ball skills show up, along with his ability to create a few yards through contact after the catch. Inbreakers, crossers, quick hitters. Let London be a big target for Kirk Cousins and bully his way forward with the ball. This offense will put London on the move and give him more of the gimme and third-down looks to let him go to work.

Robinson will surely mold the offense based on his personnel. Darnell Mooney is more of a finesse, slot-only player and isn’t exactly an ideal match for the Rams' style of attack, while Rondale Moore was used as a running back as much as a wide receiver in his last year with the Cardinals. Although McVay has tried to make Tutu Atwell happen, so maybe that is what this tree likes.

Even with less-than-ideal running mates, London looks primed to take off this year. The flashes have been there, the underlying stats (he has posted excellent yards per route numbers) are there, and now the offense looks like it’s set up to make it all more consistent, obvious, and less frustrating for Falcons fans.

Running back

Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers

Jaylen Warren’s potential fantasy league-winning stock could command the spotlight, but his real football acumen should have had him poised for a breakout anyways.

Warren rocks. He’s a psychotic competitor who plays like every snap is to win the Super Bowl, but the (listed) 5-foot-8 back is more than just sheer effort and Rudy-ness. He has good vision and knows how to tempo his runs to allow blocks to unfold. He has real burst to fire through the hole and a tough running style that is simply infectious. Constantly fighting for every yard like his life depends on it.

Warren is a smart football player. He has had a strong understanding of pass protection ever since he arrived in Pittsburgh as an undrafted rookie and has good hands and some receiving chops.

Warren shares the backfield with the highly drafted Najee Harris. And both backs should thrive in Arthur Smith’s run first, second and third style of offense and behind the Steelers’ offensive line youth movement (not to mention potential starter Russell Wilson’s preference to check the ball down). Over time, I do think Warren’s all-aroundness will allow him to start eating more and more snaps and earn him even more trust with Smith. Either way, I'm excited to watch the Steelers run game unfold this season.

Rhamondre Stevenson was also another candidate. But he already cracked 1,000 rushing yards in a season and is coming off a freshly signed contract, so I’ll just give the sweet-footed Stevenson an honorable mention instead.

Tight end

Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals

The chemistry that Kyler Murray and Trey McBride developed in the back half of 2023 was one of the more pleasant surprises of the season.

I am particularly bullish on the Cardinals offense this season (more on that in the weeks to come), and think McBride is on the cusp of stardom. He is a valid option at all three levels, with confident hands that can snatch the football and cleanly transition to a runner after the catch. And most importantly: Murray trusts him.

McBride is no slouch as a blocker, either, and can hold his own in-line, but the addition of third-round tight end Tip Reiman and Elijah Higgins’ emergence should give McBride the opportunity to move off the line of scrimmage and around the formation, opening up interesting formation potentials for creative offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.

The Cardinals' offense has a chance to be extra plucky this year, led by a strong run game. But McBride’s potential two-man game with Marvin Harrison Jr. and mindmeld with Murray will make the Cardinals' passing game just as intriguing as the rest of this redbird renaissance.

Offensive tackle

Charles Cross, Seattle Seahawks

Bernhard Raimann, Indianapolis Colts

Luke Goedeke, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I’m kind of cheating in different ways here, but I really just wanted a chance to talk about all three of these players. Raimann and Goedeke could be argued as already broken out, with Raimann rapidly improving along with the rest of the Colts' offensive line into what looks like a solid blindside protector. Some of Shane Steichen’s RPO and protection-heavy scheme did help out with this, but Raimann has good technique and is a clean mover in space. With more starts under his belt and another season to add lower-body strength, Raimann could help turn the Colts left side into a true weapon for Jonathan Taylor to run behind.

Raimann’s former Central Michigan teammate is another player who rapidly improved in his second season, going from a major question mark for the Bucs to a clean punctuation to finish the sentence of who’s starting along Tampa Bay’s offensive line. Again, you could argue that Goedeke has already broken out, but I think there is even more to tap into with more improvement alongside him.

Cross is the player with the highest pedigree of this trio and the one who had the worst 2023 season. Cross looked like a Pro Bowler at times as a rookie, showing off his length and light feet in pass protection and more run-blocking ballyhoo than you’d expect from an ex-Air Raid offensive tackle. But his 2023 season was marred by injuries and it was apparent that even when he was on the field, he was nowhere close to 100%.

I expect a bounceback from Cross on a Seahawks offense that I think will surprise a lot of people under new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb (who brought his former Washington Huskies offensive line coach Scott Huff, whose unit won the Joe Moore award as the nation's best in 2023). Grubb and Huff have shown they understand how to keep their line from difficult asks and streamline a lot of things for their players. I'm betting that Cross rebounds simply by being healthier and excels in a friendlier offensive environment.

Interior offensive line

Alijah Vera-Tucker, OG, New York Jets

Vera-Tucker, like basically the rest of the Jets offense, just has to stay healthy. That's really it. When he's been on the field, he has the size and movement ability to be one of the upper echelon guards in the NFL.

Vera-Tucker has star qualities and can really open things up for a run game because of his athleticism. I might be asking too much for a player coming back from an Achilles injury, something that takes a long ramp back up from and is even more potentially damaging for a player that uses his athleticism to win. But I do think Vera-Tucker, with the bump up in talent along the Jets' line, has a chance to start climbing back up to the ceiling he showed as a rookie.

Edge

Bryce Huff, Philadelphia Eagles

This one is kinda sorta (OK, definitely) cheating. Putting a player that recorded 10 sacks and was just given $17 million a year as a breakout candidate kind of seems off. But Huff, owner of pressure rates the past few seasons that rival, or better, the Micah Parsonses, Nick Bosas and Myles Garretts of the world, could launch to a whole new level in his new Brotherly Love surroundings.

Huff has never played more than 500 snaps in a season in his career, topping out at 480 snaps last season (where he appropriately matched with his best box score stats), but he has always been at or near the top of the leaderboards for the underlying pass rush statistics before that. He was constantly harassing quarterbacks as a rotational player as part of the Jets' deep defensive line.

More snaps doesn’t always mean more production; there is typically a reason that a player has a cap to their playing time, whether it’s size or play style limitations. But pass rush stats seem to stay sticky as a player has more usage. Huff will never be able to be a total ironman, but Vic Fangio’s scheme could ease some of his wear and tear — and give him more snap-to-snap variety — with dropping him into coverage or changing up the pass rush look.

What’s happening on the other side of the ball should also be a boon for Huff and the rest of the Eagles' front. The offense will likely put up points in bunches, and a strong offense is something that Huff has never experienced in his career in the NFL, which may create juicy opportunities to pin his ears back and go get the quarterback as Philadelphia plays from ahead and teams are forced to pass.

The Eagles already decided that there is more of Huff to tap into, and I am inclined to agree. He won’t be much in the run game, but I think Fangio will have ways to help mitigate this. With more real snaps to make an impact and more production on a winning team, more eyeballs will be directed to the dynamic Huff as he terrorizes another poor offensive tackle..

Defensive tackle

Alim McNeill, Detroit Lions

I looked at the Lions' defense going into 2023 with the same face Michael Bluth gave his son when discussing Ann. "Her?"

Then Brian Branch and Alim McNeill happened in September.

And January.

McNeill was a straight-up good defensive tackle last year. An emergence that came out of nowhere considering his rookie year and a stark reminder of the non-linear lines of player progression. I think McNeill is just getting warmed up (and a midseason injury neutered a total emergence).

This offseason, the Lions paired McNeill with a brawny interior running mate with DJ Reader coming over from the Bengals, giving the Lions a stout and disruptive pairing that can both limit efficient plays and create edginess along the offensive front. Look for McNeill to get even more opportunities to disorganize a run game with his gap-shooting ability as Reader eats double teams.

Christian Barmore is in line for a leap into discussions among the league’s best tackles (it’s a LOADED position right now) on what I think will be a top-tier Patriots defense. But tie goes to the guy not making $20 million a year.

Linebacker

Terrel Bernard, Buffalo Bills

Azeez Al-Shaair, Houston Texans

Bernard had the tall task last season of filling in for Tremaine Edmunds, who departed to Chicago in free agency. Bernard not only stepped up, he thrived in the middle alongside Matt Milano.

A high IQ, speed and the ability to tackle and track allowed Bernard to impact all three downs against both the run and pass. Even with Milano and other Bills defenders dropping like flies due to injury, Bernard did a more than admirable job holding down the middle of Buffalo’s defense. And his positive play continued as reinforcements arrived for the Bills in the latter half of the season before suffering an injury that ended his season in the playoffs.

Linebackers today are lighter and faster than ever. Bernard and Milano, are the epitome of this new hyper-intelligent and hyper-athletic player at the position that beats offenses by arriving at the football with precise speed.

Azeez Al-Shaair, meanwhile, is a player that I wanted the Texans to sign last year, but he instead took a one-year foray to Nashville to start in the middle for the Titans. Al-Shaair now gets matched with head coach DeMeco Ryans, his former 49ers defensive coordinator, in a more expanded role. He’s solid in a lot of areas and can play the run and pass equally well, with a real set of wheels to run plays down and a tough attitude that has no qualms taking on blockers despite his lack of overwhelming size (listed under 230 pounds). I liked this signing for the Titans and think Al-Shaair will benefit with the Texans pass rush and narrower play calling menu.

Cornerback/slot

Derek Stingley, Houston Texans

Roger McCreary, Tennessee Titans

Kyler Gordon, Chicago Bears

This is a fun trio, I couldn’t leave any off so I just merged some categories together. Stingley is a true shutdown outside cornerback that can challenge any ace wide receiver in the NFL. Stingley has battled injuries throughout college and as a pro, but when he’s on the field, he shows all the makings of an eraser on the outside. Watch him chase and track this throw from the top of the screen to break up the pass against the Titans:

With the Texans building up their front and adding more teeth to their pass rush, Stingley should stand to benefit by playing more aggressively as quarterbacks have to quicken their time to throw. And Stingley has the size, range, and ball skills to punish those quarterbacks and ascend to one of the game’s elite outside corners.

McCreary has played outside but has been best as a slot dynamo for the Titans in his young career. He didn’t test as a great athlete when entering the draft, but McCreary’s tenacity, smarts and feel for space allow him to play faster and bigger. than he seems Add his versatility to drop deep, blitz the passer and play against the run, and you have a modern slot defender ready for a national breakout.

Gordon was key for a Bears defense that played like a top-10 unit in the back half of the season. You can actually track the Bears' statistical improvement to when Gordon was reinserted back into the Bears line-up in Week 6 after an injury. Gordon is another terror in the slot that can impact the game in multiple ways and is a key cog in the Bears' zone-heavy scheme that requires smarts and feel for space. Gordon helps round out what I think is the best cornerback trio in the NFL right now alongside Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson.

Safety

Jalen Thompson, Arizona Cardinals

Andre Cisco, Jacksonville Jaguars

Cisco was really starting to shine before injuries and a struggling Jaguars defense took him off his ascension. His versatile and heady style should be a fantastic fit in new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen’s scheme that thrives on moving the picture on quarterbacks and sending plenty of heat toward the pass protection. Safeties are very scheme-dependent, and Cisco has a chance to shine in his new environment.

Speaking of scheme, Thompson gets to play in one of the wonkiest schemes in football. The Cardinals' defense was barren of talent in 2023, and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis threw everything at the wall to try and make life somewhat hard on offenses. Thompson's adaptability is perfect for the type of knuckleball pitches that Rallis likes to throw (or at least had to throw in 2023). With Budda Baker already thriving as a rover player in this defense, Thompson's complementary skillset with Baker is perfect for adding layers to this interesting — notice I didn't say good — defense.