Breakout Candidates for 2021
The story of every NFL season is the breakout players. Which players come out of nowhere to have major impacts on their franchises? These players sometimes are the make or breaks for if a team can go all the way or not. Today we dive into some names of players we anticipate having breakout campaigns in 2021. We didn't want to do a separate article so some of these players are also double fantasy breakouts for next season and are likely going to be late round gems.
In a weird bridge year for New Orleans, there are going to be a lot of interesting storylines and developments. In our NFC playoff predictions from last week, we had the Saints barely sneaking into the playoffs as the final wildcard for this coming season. We still expect them to be a good team in 2021. One player that might have to step up and breakout for this to happen is second year tight end Adam Trautman. Trautman who entered the league as a third round pick from Dayton last season spent his rookie season mostly riding the bench. The potential was and obviously still is there, his time just wasn't going to come in year 1. With Jared Cook (the team's starting TE from 2020) gone along with WR2 Emmanuel Sanders on his way to Buffalo, Trautman suddenly finds himself right in the thick of things for the Saints. They loved throwing to the TE last year and Trautman has gotten his way into that TE1 spot for the team. This is why they drafted him. To be their future at the position knowing Cook was old and expensive. Jameis Winston who is likely to start at QB for New Orleans loves to throw the football, and with Michael Thomas also probably out with injury to start the season, Trautman could be the top dog in a weak receiver core. Adam Trautman has the talent, and now the opportunity, will he find his way into the small elite tier of TEs this season?
While some may have heard of Trautman, few outside of LA have likely heard of Jones. Come October and on though, Jones might be one of the biggest breakout stories of the league. After joining the Rams as an undrafted free agent from SMU following the 2020 NFL draft, Jones faced an uphill battle to even make the roster but ended up doing so. He didn't play at all in 2020 for the Rams, but now finds himself in an interesting spot. With starter Cam Akers out for the season with a torn Achilles, Jones may slot in instantly as the team's RB2 behind new starter Darrell Henderson. However, with an injury or poor play, we could see Jones assume the starting position. The Rams have one of the most creative offenses in the league and the run game is a massive part of it. Their success is all predicated off the run game. Without a run game, this offense fails. Darrell Henderson is young but has had some chances to show why he should be the starter and failed most of that time. It's too early to call him a bust but he hasn't lived up to the bill of being a second round pick RB. If Henderson can't get it going early, Jones is sure to get his chance quickly. He was an amazing elusive back at SMU with over 3400 yards and 45 TDs during his time there. If Jones gets his chance, I believe he will seize it. He is super underrated and possesses the perfect skillset for success in the Rams innovative offense.
For the first time in years and we mean years, it appears the Seahawks have hit on a first round pick. Rashaad Penny and Germain Ifedi are some of the team's other recent first rounders and it's safe to say they didn't pan out. However, Brooks looks like he may be an exception. What seemed like a reach for the Hawks at the time is looking more and more like a steal. Unlike the other two names so far on this list, Brooks did get some playing time in 2020. Not much, but some. In that time, he showed off the reasons he was a first round pick. At Texas Tech, Brooks was known for his blazing speed, strong tackling, and ability to stop the run. He showed all of that in his limited time on the field for Seattle. Brooks had 57 total tackles along with 2 tackles for loss and 2 pass deflections for the Hawks. He didn't start a single game though he deserved it. The stats show good potential but you actually have to go watch the highlights back to see how good he really was. Some tackles he made were to save TDs. The pass deflections saw him make up crazy ground and get to the ball. Stats don't tell the full story. Heading into 2021, he is a clear cut starter for the Hawks. Longtime stud KJ Wright could have been brought back to the team but they have decided not to because of how much potential Brooks has and they want to see it. It is a big compliment to Brooks that the team won't bring back one of it's longest tenured players to ensure he gets the playtime he should get. Other first round LBs like the Chargers' Kenneth Murray or the Ravens' Patrick Queen are getting the hype, but Brooks quietly looks like he may be the best out of the three first round LBs from the 2020 draft.
This is one of my deeper breakout predictions, but if Taylor Heinicke gets his shot as the Washington starter, I could see him having a chance to win the job for not only this year, but years to come. I loved the move Washington made of signing ageless wonder vet QB Ryan Fitzpatrick early on in FA. The team knew it wasn't in a great position to draft their signal caller of the future so signing the 38 year old vet to a one year deal as a bridge gap guy that could still help them contend this year was an A+ move. However, sitting behind him right now on the depth chart is an intriguing 28 year old signal caller with playoff experience in Taylor Heinicke. Due to lots of injury, the once fourth string Heinicke ended up being the Football Team's starting QB for their wildcard game against Tom Brady and the Bucs. To the surprise of everyone, Heinicke played very well and while they lost, they played the Bucs closer than anyone else on their run to the Lombardi trophy. While Fitz should be the week 1 starter, it's still an open QB competition in Washington according to head coach Ron Rivera. I think Fitz will win it but he is 38. He could easily get injured quickly or even have regressed to the point where Heinicke gets another chance as the starter. The former Old Dominion QB posted 306 yards passing along with a TD and a pick and another 46 yards rushing and a TD in that Wildcard game. The potential is there and Washington has a great offense around him and Fitz. I have no doubt in my mind that Heinicke will have some sort of shot at starting this season and if he gets it, there may be no looking back. Heinicke could be one of the most shocking breakouts of the 2021 season.
You don't just draft a CB as high as the third overall pick for no reason. Okudah being drafted 3rd overall tied him with a few other names as the highest CB ever drafted in NFL history. Again, you don't do this just because. Okudah was coming off an absolutely dominant season at Ohio State in which he showed shutdown potential and was getting NFL comparisons such as Jalen Ramsey or Patrick Peterson. Everyone expected instant success from Okudah, but it's Detroit, instant success, or any at all for that matter, is rare. Okudah struggled at times on the field as a rookie and was also injured for a lot of his rookie year. Despite this, he wasn't terrible. He notched 47 tackles, along with an interception and 2 pass breakups through 9 games. If he stays healthy in 2021, he will almost be able to double the games played. Okudah didn't have an ideal start to his career. A strange COVID off-season had him with little time to get acclimated to the NFL before hitting the field. A full off-season with a new and improved coaching staff should do him wonders. We all know Okudah has the talent, it just needs to be maximized and he has to stay healthy. If he can stay on the field this season, I suspect a major breakout season will follow. What a development it would be for the Lions if Okudah became a top corner in football. It would give their defense a direction.
Jalen Ramsey is widely regarded by many as the NFL's top corner. People gush about how he shuts down the best of the best like DeAndre Hopkins, DK Metcalf, Julio Jones, and more. One man he struggled to run with at times last year was...Darnell Mooney? Yup, that's right. An unheralded rookie 5th rounder from Tulane gave Ramsey fits when the Bears visited LA last season. There are a few viral clips of Mooney absolutely breaking Jalen Ramsey's ankles with his route running. The sad part about it was that the ball was then overthrown to a wide open Mooney after he routed Ramsey up. As a rookie, Mooney was pretty impressive. No one had any expectations for him at the start of the year yet he still found a way into playing time and showed some serious flashes of potential. Mooney caught 61 passes for 631 yards and 4 TDs. Not bad for a 5th round rookie. Those numbers could have been even better had he been playing with a half decent QB. Going into 2021, things are really looking up for Mooney. With Anthony Miller being traded to the Texans, Mooney assumes the full-time WR2 spot behind Allen Robinson in the offense. Another bonus is better QB play. While Andy Dalton is likely to start the year for the Bears as the QB1, no one could be more excited for the future in the Windy City with 2021 first round pick Justin Fields being groomed. Fields was one of the more NFL ready QB prospects in this draft and he is likely going to get his chance as a starter pretty early on in the season. This should be music to the ears of Darnell Mooney. Fields is an accurate gunslinger who is going to be able to deliver the ball to Mooney. I expect a breakout year for Mooney who maybe could go over 1000 yards.
While the hype train for Parham lost some steam with the Chargers signing former Saints tight end Jared Cook recently, I don't think it eliminates the chance of the 23 year old tight end having a breakout season this year. After an impressive brief stint with Dallas' XFL team in 2019-20, Parham was signed by the Chargers. At 23 years old, Parham boasted a towering 6'8 build along with 4.6 speed and a vertical of over 35 inches. An athletic specimen. With Hunter Henry as the Bolts clear cut starting tight end in 2020, Parham didn't get much playing time. He still had 3 TDs due to him being such a great red zone threat but aside from that he wasn't ready for a bigger role. With Henry heading to New England, it seemed as if the Bolts were ready to commit to Parham as their TE1 for the upcoming season. That was at least until the team brought in journeyman TE Jared Cook. Now, we do not know where Parham stands. He is still young and has plenty of time to become a starter in his NFL career, but many were excited to see what he could do in year 2 of the Justin Herbert era in LA. I think Parham still has a great shot at a breakout. He couldn't be their only option at TE. He is just too unproven. That is why they brought in the vet Cook. Cook can mentor Parham and maybe begin the season as the starter,but I could easily see Parham getting phased in as the team's starter. His physicals are just too crazy not to try out. You rarely get a tight end THAT tall and then the fact that he also boasts 4.6 speed. C'mon man! Donald Parham is a super underrated player and a crazy intriguing athlete. He could breakout in 2021 with the Bolts offense that is poised to become one of the top units in the NFL.
The final potential breakout player we want to talk about is Donovan Peoples-Jones of the Browns. One of the most athletic receivers in the 2020 NFL draft, Jones somehow fell a lot further than most anticipated as he was snatched by Cleveland in the 6th round. Many thought he had the talent to be a second or third round pick. What Jones did on limited snaps last year was downright impressive. On just 14 catches, Peoples-Jones had 304 yards and 2 TDs. That is absurd production on such limited catches. That's 21 yards per catch. At that rate (which isn't sustainable anyway) Jones would have gone for over 1500 yards if he had about 100 catches. Heading into year 2, Peoples-Jones has a much bigger path to snaps. Jarvis Landry and a returning from injury Odell Beckham Jr. will be the Browns clear cut WRs 1 and 2. The WR3 position is up for grabs. Peoples-Jones seems to have gained the inside track but he is fighting against consistent catcher Rashard Higgins who has great chemistry with Baker Mayfield. Reports have been coming out of Cleveland training camp that DPJ has been turning heads and making play after play. We all know the athletic specimen that Jones is, he tore up the 2020 combine and we could see it out there on the field last season with some of the crazy grabs he came up with. Now heading into his second season in which the Browns as a whole look so
improved, Peoples-Jones could be the biggest breakout story of the team.
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