Three Candidates for a Second-Year Breakout NFL Season in 2022

 

The 2022 NFL season is rapidly approaching, with the opening fixture schedule for September 8, when the Buffalo Bills travel to the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Los Angeles Rams, in the NFL Kickoff Game. Teams are heading to their respective training camps, and many players have high hopes for the upcoming season. The following three players have a reason to be extra excited for the 2022 campaign because they are about to embark on their second year as NFL professionals and are highly likely to enjoy a breakout year.

TrevorLawrence – QB – Jacksonville Jaguars

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Last season was another disappointing campaign for Jacksonville Jaguars, who slumped to a 3-14 record, ultimately resulting in Urban Meyer losing his job at the TIAA Bank Field. It was hardly the ideal situation for Trevor Lawrence to flourish. The 2021 first overall pick started all 17 regular season games, had a 59.6% pass completion rate from 602 attempts, racked up 3,641 yards, and threw 12 touchdowns. It is fair to say Lawrence was one of the few positives for the Jaguars.

While the Jaguars are not on the radar of anyone about to make NFL bets online for the coming season, they should be massively improved with Doug Pederson coming in as head coach. Pederson guided the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl LII glory and is considered a quarterback guru by many, which should help Lawrence thrive.

The Jaguars have the likes of Evan Engram, Marvin Jones, and Christian Kirk on the perimeter, in addition to strengthening the offensive line that failed to protect Lawrence during the last campaign. Expect the Jaguars to be much improved throughout the 2022 season and Lawrence to be one of the main reasons for that vast improvement.

Zach Wilson – QB – New York Jets2024-25 NFL Computer Predictions and Rankings three style second color candidates breakout 011369

The New York Jets selected Zach Wilson as the second overall pick in 2021, and it is easy to see why. The former BYU Cougar played 30 college games and enjoyed a 67.6% pass completion for 7,652 yards and 56 touchdowns, which earned him an overall rating of 162.9. Reproducing those figures for the Jets was always going to be a tall order.

The Jets went 4-13 during the regular season, partly because of their inability to stop the opposition defense from beating up Wilson. He was sacked 44 times and lost 370 yards due to those sackings, the most yards lost via sacks in the entire league. In addition, that lack of protection cost the Jets and Wilson dearly because he suffered a knee injury in Week 7 against the Patriots, which kept him out for four games.

Like the Jaguars mentioned above, the Jets have strengthened their offensive line and playmakers on the perimeter, making the Jets system very quarterback friendly. There are no excuses for Wilson not to have a breakout year and put up solid numbers in 2022, even if the Jets continue struggling.

Rondale Moore – WR – Arizona Cardinals2024-25 NFL Computer Predictions and Rankings three style second color candidates breakout 011369

Rondale Moore joined the Arizona Cardinals as the 49th overall pick in Round 2, entering the 2021 season fourth on the Cardinals’ wide receiver depth chart. However, he still turned out 14 times in a Cardinals uniform, averaging 8.1 yards from 54 receptions and scoring a 77-yard touchdown.

Moore has a great chance of becoming a vital starting player for the Cardinals. Christian Kirk left Arizona for the Jacksonville Jaguars, freeing up one of the perimeter places. Plus, DeAndre Hopkins misses the first six games of the 2022 season through suspension, giving Moore the perfect opportunity to show what he can do on the football field.

The Cardinals acquired Marquise Brown from the Baltimore Ravens, but Moore should still enjoy plenty of game time. Combined more minutes on the field with an ever-improving Kyle Murray pulling strings at quarterback, you have the recipe for a potential breakout year for the former Purdue Boilermaker.

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Three Mind-Blowing 2017 NFL MVP Candidates

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As National Football League teams prepare their respective training camps, there are a number of questions heading into the new season. Can the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots repeat? Will the Dallas Cowboys continue their winning ways behind a second-year quarterback and last year’s NFL Rookie of the Year? And everyone wants to know, who will win the NFL’s MVP award?

If you are looking for answers to those questions, they may very well be 1) absolutely, 2) maybe, and 3) any of a number of players. The best bet is the guy that guided New England to its (sixth) Super Bowl victory last season. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has shown no signs of slowing down despite being 39 years of age. In 2016, Brady enjoyed a season where he completed 67.4 percent of his passes, threw 28 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. His receiving corps returns and gets a boost from former New Orleans WR Brandin Cooks who had 78 catches for 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns last year. Brady will turn 40 in August, but has the ingredients for an MVP season.

Another solid bet for the NFL MVP award is Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers. A winner of two MVPs already, Rodgers established career highs in both completions (401) and attempts (610) last season. He threw 31 touchdown passes versus just eight interceptions and this year should have a better running game to aid the Packers passing attack. If that isn’t enough, history could be an indicator. Rodgers won his first MVP in 2011. Three years later in 2014, he won his second. The 2017 season marks three years since Rodgers’ last MVP. He will have the weapons to put together an MVP-caliber season.

The longshot pick in the MVP race is Houston Texans DE J.J. Watt. The 6-foot-5, 295-pound Watt missed most of last season with a back injury, but will return in 2017. In his first five seasons in the NFL, Watt was the league’s defensive player of the year three times. At age 28 and healthy, he should be in his prime and another 20-plus sack season could be in the cards. Watt will also benefit from the improved play of DE Jadeveon Clowney, who had six sacks and 16 tackles for loss last season. It is difficult for a defensive player to win an MVP award, but if Watt has a season similar to 2012, ’14, or ’15 he will be in the mix to be crowned the NFL’s best player in 2017.

Don’t Overlook These NFL MVP Candidates for 2015-6 (archival article)

2024-25 NFL Computer Predictions and Rankings these overlook how to get into sport betting candidates It is fun and potentially lucrative to bet on the NFL MVP award winner.

It seems like all we hear about these days is Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson. Bla-bla-bla….But we give you four other  NFL offensive players who are rated as longshots but have a decent chance to win the award:

 

 Adrian Peterson, Running Back, Minnesota Vikings at 8-1:

A lot of people are overlooking Adrian Peterson due to his off field issues. They are forgetting that he is one of the most talented running backs of all time!

The Vikings lost four of  nine games last season by a combined eight points! With Peterson now back in the fold and additions on both sides of the ball, Minnesota can do some serious damage. At age  30  he has nearly 2,300 total touches under his belt. However, he’s had an entire season to rest! He’s  averaged nearly 1,700 total yards and 13 touchdowns in his first seven NFL seasons.  If he performs similarly he could  easily walk off with the MVP trophy!

 

 Tony Romo, Quarterback, Dallas Cowboys at 15-1:

Tony Romo can be a very effective and dangerous quarterback. Last season with the assistance of Demarco Murray , Dez Bryant and a strong offensive line he led the Dallas Cowboys to a 12-4 record. He led the league with a 69.9 completion percentage and a 113.2 quarterback rating. He threw for over 3,700 yards with 34 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.

If Dallas and Romo have another great season, he will have arrived into the elite category and will surely be a hot MVP candidate.

 

Antonio Brown, Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers at 15-1:

By now everybody recognizes the extraordinary productivity of Antonio Brown. If anybody is a potential dark horse candidate for the MVP award it is surely him. Last year’s season was simply phenomenal.His 129 receptions were second-most in league history. The 1,698 receiving yards Brown put up were sixth in league history. What if he improves on these numbers? How could voters ignore him as they did last year?

 

 Philip Rivers, Quarterback, San Diego Chargers at 20-1:

OMG! Phillip Rivers seems to get better with age!

He put up nearly 4,300 yards with 31 touchdowns last year. Unfortunately the Chargers lacked a running game. They ranked 31st in the NFL in yards per rush at 3.3 and 30th at 80.4 yards per game. Hopefully, now that the Chargers added Melvin Gordon in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft, Rivers should have more support on the ground. Throughout history the elite quarterbacks have typically had such a solid running option to go to. San Diego is loaded in the passing game and has one of the most underrated offensive lines in the NFL.  If San Diego wins the AFC West over Peyton Manning’s Broncos don’t be surprised if Rivers is getting lots of MVP love!