Seven NFL players set for a breakout season in 2023 Kenny Pickett and Kadarius Toney headline list
The 2023 season is still a few months away, but it's never too early to look ahead. With free agency and the now behind us, we have more clarity about the roster makeup for all 32 , and if you partake, you've more than likely started some research.Journalists and fans alike spend this part of the offseason trying to get ahead of storylines. If you are effective at predicting the future, you could win some good money at sportsbooks or dominate your fantasy league. Last season, we saw breakout campaigns from several players, including , , , and . Each of these players were important for their teams in 2022. Which players will take major steps forward in 2023?Below, we will break down seven players who are set for a breakout campaign. PIT QB #8 CMP%63.0YDs2404TD7INT9YD/Att6.18 The have now gone 19 straight seasons without a losing record, which is just one shy of tying the record in the Era. Last year was a close call, however, as Pittsburgh rebounded from 2-6 to finish 9-8. The Steelers had to win their final four games to get to nine wins! Pickett's 184.9 pa sing yards per game ranked No. 28 in the and his seven pa sing touchdowns ranked No. 33. The numbers themselves aren't impre sive, but Pickett showed plenty of potential in 2022. Pickett's rookie campaign was a tale of two halves. He threw just one interception in his final eight games after throwing eight in his first five games. Maybe his breakout already started?Kenny Pickett last seasonFirst 5 gamesFinal 8 gamesPa sing TD-INT2-85-1Yards Patrick Willis Jersey per attempt5.86.4Pa ser rating66.884.0In Weeks 10-17, Pickett had three fourth quarter comebacks and four "game-winning drives," . Two came back-to-back in Weeks 16 and 17 to keep the Steelers in the win column. It's rather impre sive Pickett answered the bell as a rookie in the fourth quarter late in the year.With multiple additions on the offensive line and weapons like , the young , , , and , Pickett is very much a candidate to make a big second-year jump. KC WR #19 TAR20REC16REC YDs171REC TD2FL1 It's about time, right? Toney caught just 14 pa ses for 171 yards and two touchdowns in seven regular-season games played for the after being acquired at the trade deadline, but he did play a monster role in the LVII victory with a touchdown reception, and then the longest punt return in history.With gone, Toney is expected to be a consistent part of the offense in 2023. While he is mostly seen as a gadget player compared to a traditional WR1, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach believes Toney will play a ."We have a lot of high hopes for him. I mean he was a first-round pick for a reason," Veach said. "There's a reason why we traded for him and we felt like he was first-round talent and I think if he stays healthy and continues to spend that chemistry with the coaching staff and with Pat, which Malcolm Smith Jersey I think he is doing a great job at, I think the sky is the limit for him." SEA OT #72 The arguably had the best draft cla s last year, and it was headlined by left tackle , running back and Defensive Rookie of the Year cornerback . However, right tackle Abraham Lucas definitely deserves to be included among those big names.Lucas started in all 16 games he played last season, and allowed nine sacks in Deion Sanders Jersey 975 offensive snaps played, per PFF. He earned a 68.5 PFF grade. While he allowed more sacks per snap than Cro s, the left tackle had a lower PFF grade (63.7), and allowed 20 more pre sures than Lucas,.Lucas could develop into a Pro Bowler. I expect him to have a cleaner, more consistent 2023 campaign. TEN TE #85 TAR46REC32REC YDs450REC TD3FL0 You could easily put wideout here, but I'm interested in Tenne see's second-year tight end. Chig Okonkwo caught just 32 pa ses for 450 yards and three touchdowns in his rookie season, but proved he was the versatile playmaker many believed he could be coming out of Maryland. He ran wheel routes out of the backfield from the fullback position, worked the middle of the field and even took a screen pa s 48 yards against the Chiefs.Apart from potentially being a special playmaker, another reason Okonkwo makes this list is because of Tenne see's subpar wide receiving corps. New offensive coordinator Tim Kelly is going to have to game-plan with Okonkwo in mind if he wants to improve one of the worst pa sing attacks in the NFL. Look for Okonkwo and Burks to be focal points in the pa sing game for the Titans in 2023. PHI LB #17 It looked like the got a steal in Dean with him being selected in the third round, but that remains to be seen. He didn't play a major role in his rookie season due to and , but both are on different teams now. Dean recorded just 13 combined tackles and one tackle for lo s in 2022, but may be Philly's starting middle linebacker this season. He's a smaller player, but Dean shined in arguably the best defense in history at Georgia. He is a smart player who can both play downhill and hold his own in coverage. Dean could be a three-down playmaking linebacker in 2023. Also, it doesn't hurt that he's working with so many former college teammates either. CLE LB #6 Owusu-Koramoah took a step backwards in 2022 with 70 combined tackles, four pa ses defensed and two forced fumbles in 11 games played. But that doesn't take away the fact that he's an athletic specimen that can wear different hats on defense. There are a couple of reasons why I'm expecting JOK to have his best season yet in 2023.The made additions on the defensive line in and , which should open up things for the linebackers. Additionally, the Browns made what I believe is a good hire at defensive coordinator in Jim Schwartz. Schwartz doesn't blitz Colin Kaepernick Jersey at a high rate, but relies on his defensive lines to be disruptive and apply pre sure on quarterbacks. I think that's good for JOK. SF DE #95 Here's a fun one. The lost two of their top three leading sack artists from last year, as signed with the , while is now with the Chiefs. This opens the door for Jackson, who recorded 14 combined tackles, six QB hits, eight pa ses defensed, one interception and three sacks in 15 games played with zero starts in his rookie season.Jackson was aggre sive rushing the pa ser from a two-point stance inside against offensive guards, but also got reps as the traditional defensive end with his hand in the dirt. What stood out about Jackson is that two of his three sacks came after the quarterback got out of trouble with an initial pursuer. He didn't give up on the play.At the same time, it's no secret that Jackson's rookie season could have gone better. He was made a healthy inactive late in the year -- including in San Francisco's three postseason matchups. "I think Drake showed a lot this year on what he can be, Tom Rathman Jersey but he needs to get to what he can be," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said, . "I thought he was closer to that earlier in the year. It was a long season and I think he learned as a year goes, if you lose any power in this league, it gets a lot harder. And we had a decent group of rushers and I think as the year went out and towards the end, it got too long for him, and his body wasn't quite ready for what we needed."While how Jackson ended his rookie season doesn't exactly inspire optimism, how he started the year should. Again, Jackson is going to have an opportunity to start opposite of . He's a special athlete, and if he finds that consistency under new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, 2023 could be a big year for him.