Nobody is protected from regression within the NFL, and the 2023 common season was no completely different, as we noticed a number of high-profile gamers fail to reside as much as their potential. Listed here are 10 gamers on offense who both entered the season with excessive expectations or began robust, solely to finish up underachieving.
QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
Any momentum Lawrence and the Jaguars constructed throughout final season’s sudden run to the AFC divisional spherical has vanished now that they completed 1-5 to choke away their likelihood at one other playoff look. Though Lawrence handled a number of late-season accidents, he did not take the third-year leap many anticipated after a Professional Bowl-caliber 2022 season. In 16 video games, Lawrence accomplished 65.6% of his passes for 4,016 yards and 21 touchdowns, all worse than final season’s figures, to go together with 21 turnovers, the third-most within the NFL.
WR Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Payments
Regardless of notching 5 100-yard outings in his first six video games, it might’t be neglected that Diggs hasn’t been the identical receiver since his brother Trevon posted that “14 Gotta rise up outta” Buffalo. Over his remaining seven video games, Diggs averaged 45 receiving yards per contest and located the tip zone simply as soon as in that span. His 87-yard Week 18 efficiency offers some optimism, nevertheless, if the Payments cannot make a deep playoff run, it would not be stunning if Diggs requested a commerce this offseason.
QB Bryce Younger, Carolina Panthers
Though Younger could not have ended up in a worse state of affairs, he confirmed little promise to justify his standing as final April’s No. 1 general draft choose. Younger threw for two,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for the 2-15 Panthers whereas rating twenty ninth amongst certified passers in QBR (33.3). For comparability, Browns mid-season signing QB Joe Flacco threw 13 landing passes and had three extra 300-yard passing video games than Younger regardless of taking part in simply 5 video games.
RB Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders
The previous first-rounder broke out final season, main the league in speeding yards (1,653) on a particularly environment friendly tempo (4.9 yards per carry) and scoring 12 touchdowns. Nonetheless, the intensive workload clearly taxed Jacobs, as he rushed for 805 yards and 6 touchdowns in 13 video games this season, averaging a career-worst 3.5 yards per try. In Week 2, Jacobs earned the unglamorous distinction of turning into the primary reigning speeding champion to run for unfavorable yards in a sport for the reason that AFL-NFL merger (-2), per ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez.
QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles
The 2022 MVP runner-up opened the primary season of his five-year, $255 million extension properly, however his second-half struggles and Philadelphia’s disastrous 1-5 end have raised doubts concerning the franchise’s future underneath him. Though Hurts threw for 3,858 yards and 23 touchdowns, he was much more careless with the ball, rating third in interceptions (15). Whereas he grew to become the primary quarterback to hurry for 15 touchdowns in a season, Hurts is not the identical menace along with his legs as he was final 12 months, seeing that he averaged 15.1 fewer yards on the bottom in 2023.
RB Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers
After rating first in whole touchdowns (38) and fourth in scrimmage yards (3,195) from 2021-22, Ekeler struggled mightily this season, which was a significant purpose why the Chargers had been the Twenty fifth-ranked speeding offense. Ekeler averaged a career-low 3.5 yards per carry, ending with 628 speeding yards and 6 whole touchdowns, together with 51 receptions for 436 yards. As an impending free agent, it appears seemingly that Ekeler will play his age-29 season elsewhere, and it is tough to think about him having a lead-back position.
RB Miles Sanders, Carolina Panthers
The Panthers additional exacerbated their disastrous state of affairs by spending closely on mediocre expertise in free company final offseason, although no signing panned out worse than Sanders. The previous Philadelphia Eagle signed a four-year, $25.4 million deal recent after posting career-highs in speeding yards (1,269), touchdowns (11) and yards per carry (4.9) in 2022 however was drastically much less productive this season. Sanders began simply 5 video games this season, setting profession lows in speeding yards (432) and yards per carry (3.3) whereas solely scoring one landing.
QB Daniel Jones, New York Giants
Whereas a neck damage and season-ending ACL tear restricted Jones to 6 video games this season, his efficiency when wholesome proved why some thought of him unworthy of the four-year $160 million extension he signed final offseason. Jones threw for 909 yards, two touchdowns and 6 interceptions this season whereas his backups outperformed him regardless of throwing to the identical lackluster supporting solid. With New York holding the sixth general choose within the 2024 draft, it’s going to be intriguing to see if the crew selects a successor to Jones and cuts ties with the fifth-year signal-caller after subsequent season.
TE Travis Kelce, Kansas Metropolis Chiefs
It is not straightforward to seek out somebody who loved extra success by way of his private life in 2023 than Kelce, however there is not any denying that his on-field manufacturing fell in need of expectations this season. Father time appears to be catching as much as the 34-year-old, who completed 16 yards in need of his eighth consecutive season with no less than 1,000 receiving yards and solely had 5 touchdowns. Moreover, Kelce averaged his fewest yards per sport since 2015 (65.6) and failed to attain a landing over his remaining six video games.
