Logan Wilson He played LB with a torn labrum last season imagine him healthy.
Joe Burrow now fully healed from acl injury and more time
Jamarr Chase Year 2 elite all time receivers usually have a jump in year 2.
Evan Mcpherson He may reach Tucker level in year 2

(06-16-2022, 11:32 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Mostly centered on non-rookies in this.

1. Joe Burrow… traditionally a lot of QB’s in year 3 ( in Joe’s case it’s not even his third in games played) take a step. Mostly tied to experience.
2. JaMar Chase…. He’s bound to be more settled
3. Logan Wilson… personally he might be the most likely IMHO
4. Jackson Carman… he’d better
5. Jonah Williams… I think he’s no different than a lot of OL that need 3 seasons to reach their prime.
6. Germaine Pratt… IMO he’s maybe got the most upside
7. Tee Higgins… year 3 and vying for a contract he’s my pick for a huge year
8. Chris Evans… he’s interesting but needs touches. He’s the dark horse IMO.

There’s probably others if so elaborate. Our focus centers mostly on new faces like the rookies and free agents. I’m not sure that making the Super Bowl isn’t like someone in the business world or a salesman just had their best year and got their best bonus. They’ve learned to navigate their job and tasted the fruits. They like it.

On Offense I will go with Joe Mixon who could lead the league in yards and TD's with this upgraded OL. Of course Burrow 
should also make a huge leap in his play with better OL play but that goes without saying. The OL guys we brought in are 
fantastic run blockers. If we are going with a new face on Offense besides OL most definitely Hayden Hurst should have his
best season in the NFL with Burrow throwing to him and these WR's taking up so much attention from secondary's.

On Defense I will go with Akeem Davis Gaither who I think will make a lot of plays, Ints, sacks, pressures, forced fumbles etc.

ADG was really coming around last year until the injury. I think the NFL game finally slowed down for him and we can use him
in a tons of different ways like a swiss army type of player. I know everyone thought I was going to say Ossai so I changed it up.

Also I know Logan should have a great year too, just went with the other guy lots aren't talking about at LB.

Joe Mixon- This is the best offensive Line he has ever played with. Watch him have 2,000 all purpose yards This season. With 20 TDs.

The scoreboard dude. He's going to have to put numbers in the 50's up all season.

Joe Mixon may not have a huge season in yards gained, but I could see him leading the league in rushing tds.

(06-16-2022, 05:54 PM)Sled21 Wrote: With the big 3 getting all the attention, I can see a speedy TE like Hurst getting a lot of targets. He's going to be open a lot while everyone is trying to cover  Chase, Higgins and Boyd.

He will only get a lot of targets if Chase, Higgins, and Boyd are all covered.

I don't see that happening a lot.  Those 3 are just too good.

(06-17-2022, 10:30 AM)fredtoast Wrote: He will only get a lot of targets if Chase, Higgins, and Boyd are all covered.

I don't see that happening a lot.  Those 3 are just too good.

Time will tell. Burrow seemed to like to throw to Uzomah too. 

(06-17-2022, 10:30 AM)fredtoast Wrote: He will only get a lot of targets if Chase, Higgins, and Boyd are all covered.

I don't see that happening a lot.  Those 3 are just too good.

Actually a good point Fred to a point. Gonna be extremely hard to cover all these guys if they are all healthy but Uzo got 
targets a lot last season when he got open and Hurst is even better at getting open then him. Also, one of our top 3 guys 
WILL get injured during the season, just the way it goes. One of them will miss games.

Which is why most of us think we should bring in another WR for depth like your guy Humphries or my guy Westbrook.

(06-17-2022, 11:52 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Time will tell. Burrow seemed to like to throw to Uzomah too. 

Burrow just hits the open man and that could be Hurst a lot who is a crisper route runner then Uzo.

(06-17-2022, 11:52 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Time will tell. Burrow seemed to like to throw to Uzomah too. 

Burrow targeted Uzo a little more than some fans may realize. Uzomah was targeted on 11% of Burrow's attempts. I filtered for TEs that received 25 or more targets last season. Why? Arbitrary, no specific reason. Just trying to filter out bottom of the barrel reserves. 

League average was 9%. So, using this criteria, Uzomah was targeted slightly more than league average. I'm not expecting anything crazy from Hayden, but I do think he will receive a similar amount of looks from Burrow. I also think Hayden is a slightly better athlete, so we may see some bigger plays from him. 

(06-17-2022, 12:15 PM)KillerGoose Wrote: Burrow targeted Uzo a little more than some fans may realize. Uzomah was targeted on 11% of Burrow's attempts. I filtered for TEs that received 25 or more targets last season. Why? Arbitrary, no specific reason. Just trying to filter out bottom of the barrel reserves. 

League average was 9%. So, using this criteria, Uzomah was targeted slightly more than league average. I'm not expecting anything crazy from Hayden, but I do think he will receive a similar amount of looks from Burrow. I also think Hayden is a slightly better athlete, so we may see some bigger plays from him. 

Nice KillerGoose. Thanks for the percentages with Uzo. Makes me still think Hurst will have his best season of his career here.

(06-17-2022, 11:52 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Time will tell. Burrow seemed to like to throw to Uzomah too. 

Of course he did.  I am not saying that Hurst won't get as many targets as Uzomah.  IN fact I think the Bengals will throw for quite a few more yards than they did last season so Hurst will probably have more yards than Uzo last year.

All I am saying is that Hurst is not going to put up big numbers like 800+ yards.  The TE will not be thta important to our offense.

CJ had about 500 last year so I say Hurst might have 600-650.

(06-17-2022, 12:03 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Burrow just hits the open man and that could be Hurst a lot who is a crisper route runner then Uzo.

CJ did not have his targets limited by his inability to get open.    Burrow was not looking to him first then checking down to Chase, Higgins or Boyd.

As long as those three are healthy Hurts will not hive big numbers.

(06-17-2022, 01:52 PM)fredtoast Wrote: CJ did not have his targets limited by his inability to get open.    Burrow was not looking to him first then checking down to Chase, Higgins or Boyd.

As long as those three are healthy Hurts will not hive big numbers.

Cannot disagree, just saying he could have a big leap as the OP asked about certain players...

Mixon and ADG I think will make the biggest leaps if they can stay healthy.

1. Burrow, Chase, Higgins, Boyd, Hurst.

Yes, I know they already broke out, but with improved OL play, I think we can run more offense. Not everything will have to be 3 step drop.

2. Joe Mixon.

Average blocking will be a sight for sore eyes. Plus, teams will be more reluctant to commit guys forward with better OL play.

3. Ossai.

4. Bates

5. Apple

6. Kareem.

Quietly posted an 80.0+ PFF grade last year. That play in the Broncos game gave me hope.

I'd guess Evans based off of opportunity. The improved run blocking and Hope's to keep Mixon fresh through the year could give Evans more touches. Add in 3rd down reps and the attention the big 3 attract and he could make a few big plays. If Chase takes the biggest leap, give him a gold jacket.

(06-18-2022, 01:14 AM)phil413 Wrote: I'd guess Evans based off of opportunity.  The improved run blocking and Hope's to keep Mixon fresh through the year could give Evans more touches.  Add in 3rd down reps and the attention the big 3 attract and he could make a few big plays.  If Chase takes the biggest leap, give him a gold jacket.

Mixon will not stay healthy all year if he is overused. Great call with Evans.

If Chase makes the biggest leap he will break all of Kupp's records from last season and have the greatest season of all time
by a WR. Crazy to think that he is just touching the surface of his abilities.

Joseph Ossai - Really just needs one snap to improve on last year. 4 plus sacks and some rotational disruption at minimum would be a big leap and provide something we desperately need.

Joe Mixon - Really has wasted what could have been some all time great seasons behind a trash line. No more excuses. Now is his time to produce a beastly season. Once again I think this is a player like Burrow that has no where to leap as they are already there. They just lacked the tools in front of them to show it statistically.

Jackson Carman - Can he stay healthy, start, and play at least averagely? That would be a leap. If he plays well that’s a big leap.

Wilson/Pratt/Bailey/ADG - Wilson is on the cusp of being one of the best in the league can he make that leap? The rest of our young LB corps has a lot of unrealized talent. I think under Wilson there is a TON of potential for some guys to make their own leap. Maybe more than any other position.

Dante Smith/Jonah Williams - Can Jonah leap from good to great? I expect the same from him unless the LG play drastically improves as his helper next to him appears to be the weak link on the line. I think someone leaping at LG could push him to greater heights. Can Smith capture that preseason magic and push for a spot on the line?

Tyler Shelvin - Can he leap and produce some quality bench reps?

Eli Apple - We all know he had a huge leap from the first half to the second half of last season (getting beat for the super bowl TD withstanding). Can he continue that high level of play? He’s got some rookie competition waiting in the wings.

Burrow/Chase - I don’t think they have a lot of room to leap unless it’s an all time great season. Burrow could cut down on the interceptions, but if the line is at least average he shouldn’t have a problem doing that and I would consider that a leap for the o line.

Tyler Boyd - Id like to see more of the old Boyd. This is more because the talent around him has improved so the targets are spreading around more, but I’d like to see him produce a season of old. (I find this unlikely if Hurst matches or improves on CJ and we actually get a crazy season out of Mixon. Which would be a good thing for the team)

So many weapons. I think you'll see a different player step up as the star in any given game with some being more consistent (Chase and Tee being the most likely as I think many plays are designed around them) game to game.

(06-16-2022, 11:32 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Mostly centered on non-rookies in this.

1. Joe Burrow… traditionally a lot of QB’s in year 3 ( in Joe’s case it’s not even his third in games played) take a step. Mostly tied to experience.
2. JaMar Chase…. He’s bound to be more settled
3. Logan Wilson… personally he might be the most likely IMHO
4. Jackson Carman… he’d better
5. Jonah Williams… I think he’s no different than a lot of OL that need 3 seasons to reach their prime.
6. Germaine Pratt… IMO he’s maybe got the most upside
7. Tee Higgins… year 3 and vying for a contract he’s my pick for a huge year
8. Chris Evans… he’s interesting but needs touches. He’s the dark horse IMO.

There’s probably others if so elaborate. Our focus centers mostly on new faces like the rookies and free agents. I’m not sure that making the Super Bowl isn’t like someone in the business world or a salesman just had their best year and got their best bonus. They’ve learned to navigate their job and tasted the fruits. They like it.

Love the list, and agree with it...

I might add Khalid Kareem.  I know for pure DEs, the room is pretty crowded and he could even be fighting for a job if any of the rookies shine, but for some reason I think he will be in the mix.  We may even see him rotate inside some, I don't know.  I just like his work ethic and patience waiting for his chance.  He had some bad luck injuries in year two, but I have a feeling he will be a bigger impact this season. 

Although he wasn't on last year's team, I think Hayden Hurst could be up for a career year.  His biggest season was 2020 (notably his first year with a new team, the Falcons) where he had 56 receptions for 571 yards and 6 TDs.  He only had 221 yards on 26 receptions and 3 TDs last year as Kyle Pitts was brought in.  Oddly, this was the same thing that happened at Baltimore where they brought in Andrews who then became TE1.

I could see Hurst at the very least equaling his best season in Atlanta this upcoming season, and possibly eclipsing it.  I think he's very hungry and despite the talent at WR and the basic 11 formation they live in, I think Hurst is a breakout candidate.  

While at LSU the one year with Joe Burrow, Moss had 47 receptions for 570 yards and 4 TDs.  That WR room had Chase, Justin Jefferson, and Terrence Marshal and he (Moss) did that in just 12 games.  

(06-16-2022, 11:32 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Mostly centered on non-rookies in this.

1. Joe Burrow… traditionally a lot of QB’s in year 3 ( in Joe’s case it’s not even his third in games played) take a step. Mostly tied to experience.

Even though his excelled last season, I think Burrow takes an even bigger leap this upcoming year with an improved OL protecting him. He's my vote and I think he'll enter MVP-territory with elite QBs such as Mahomes and Rodgers.