Many current NFL players were highly recruited in college, but have not exceeded many expectations in the National Football League. We will take a look at 5 players that are on the verge of having a breakthrough performance.
QB Mitchell Trubisky, Chicago Bears
Trubisky was the 2nd overall pick in the 2017 draft. He was drafted ahead of both Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. He has not played very well in the pros, but people forget his dominance at UNC. In his last year of college, Trubisky threw for 3,748 yards and 30 touchdowns.
In 2020, the former 2nd overall pick will be fighting with the Bears latest acquisition, Nick Foles, for the starting spot.
Trubisky has always had a stellar defense with the Bears. Now, he has rising stars at RB & WR (David Montgomery and Allen Robinson). Trubisky completed 63% of his passes in 2020. With a lot on the line for Trubisky, he will have to play his heart out and break out in 2020!
EDGE Brian Burns, Carolina Panthers
Brian Burns has plenty of potential, but was not utilized correctly by the Panthers coaching staff in 2019. Burns had 7.5 sacks while only playing 43% of snaps.
Burns was always hot off the edge, and has potential to be one of the NFL’s highest sack leaders if used effectively.
Burns only started 5 games in 2019. With the loss of Mario Addison, Gerald McCoy, Dontari Poe, and Bruce Irvin, you can expect Burns to be a star in 2020.
WR Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
In his rookie season, Deebo Samuel finished with 802 yards for three touchdowns, and another 159 rushing yards. He played 15 games, 11 of which he started. He led all WRs in forced missed tackles with 18 of them!
Deebo has received a lot of attention after his impressive Super Bowl performance. Even with the 49ers impressive run game, he totalled 53 yards, eclipsing Percy Harvin’s record for most rushing yards by a WR in the Super Bowl. He also had 5 receptions for 39 yards.
Some people were optimistic that Samuel would have been Super Bowl MVP if the 49ers had won. However, the 49ers drifted away from Deebo after the 3rd quarter.
Deebo has shown impressive flashes all year as both a runner and receiver. With Emmanuel Sanders off to the Saints, Deebo will have a shot to be the #1 receiver for the 49ers.
QB Sam Darnold, New York Jets
The former 3rd overall pick has a very bright future ahead of him, but his team is holding him back. His poor offensive line and lack of weapons is a major reason for his poor play.
The loss of Robby Anderson doesn’t help this. However, the Jets did improve in other areas. They drafted Louisville OT Mekhi Becton to protect Darnold. They drafted WR Denzel Mims out of Baylor to find a big WR for Darnold.
The Jets also drafted Lamaical Perine, a RB out of Florida, in the 4th round. The Jets may not be instant playoff contenders, but they will surely improve. Darnold is destined for greatness, and it could start in 2020!
WR John Ross, Cincinnati Bengals
Ross has been one of the biggest busts of the decade and has received plenty of hate about it. However, the record holder for the fastest 40 yard dash has plenty to prove.
In 2019, John Ross racked up an impressive 506 yards in only 8 games. If he played all 16 games, he would have recorded over 1,000 yards.
Ross has been held back by injuries in his short 3 year tenure with the Bengals. Now that Ross is recovering from injuries, and has former Heisman Joe Burrow at QB, he can be great. If Ross can stay healthy, he could have a major role in an amazing WR core for the Bengals.
