AFC: One potential fast riser on every team's depth chart (msn.com)
AFC: One potential fast riser on every team's depth chart
Story by Yardbarker Staff • 3hrs
With all NFL training camps open, some players are already making strong impressions.
Yardbarker NFL writers identify one potential fast riser on the depth chart for all 16 AFC teams.
MIAMI DOLPHINS | Wide receiver Malik Washington | With veteran wideout Odell Beckham Jr. landing on the physically unable to perform list, Washington will have a chance to earn reps as the first-team offense's No. 3 receiver. A sixth-round pick, Washington was one of the most productive players in college football last season for Virginia, catching an FBS-high and ACC-record
110 passes for 1,426 yards and nine touchdowns.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | Wide receiver Javon Baker | According to
Boston.com's Khari Thompson, Baker, a fourth-round pick, hasn't received many first-team reps so far, but that could soon change as he is turning heads in training camp. The 6-foot-1, 202-pounder has made several spectacular catches, providing optimism that he can be a reliable deep-threat target for New England as a rookie. —
Colum Dell
DENVER BRONCOS | Wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. | Mims’ workload should increase after Denver's trade of WR Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in March. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler
reported the Broncos plan to use the second-year wideout as an “explosive play guy” in the passing game and in the new kickoff returns setup.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS | Wide receiver Tre Tucker | Veteran WR Michael Gallup’s unexpected retirement could give Tucker more opportunities. The third-round pick out of Cincinnati flashed big-play ability in 16 games during his rookie season, leading the Raiders in yards per reception (
17.4).
CINCINNATI BENGALS | Running back Chase Brown | The Bengals must find a way to replace their third all-time leading rusher, Joe Mixon, after trading him to the Texans in March. Cincinnati signed veteran Zack Moss in free agency, but Brown, a fifth-round pick in 2023, could prove to be the answer after averaging
4.1 yards per carry and showing off his receiving ability with 14 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown as a rookie.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS | Wide receiver Roman Wilson | The Steelers signed veteran wide receivers Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins and Scotty Miller this o***eason in hopes of filling the void left by Diontae Johnson, whom the team traded to Carolina in March. However, Wilson, a third-round pick, could prove to be Pittsburgh’s best No. 2 option opposite George Pickens after reeling in 48 catches for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns during his final year at Michigan. —
Aaron Becker
HOUSTON TEXANS | Wide receiver John Metchie | The start of Metchie's NFL career was interrupted by a terrifying
leukemia diagnosis that kept him out for the entire 2022 season. He returned in 2023 but seems primed to do much more after impressing quarterback C.J. Stroud in minicamp by running some of the "
best routes" he'd ever seen. In training camp, he got the the best of
No. 1 cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS | Tight end Jelani Woods | Woods missed last season with a hamstring injury but could be a breakout candidate for the Colts if healthy. With a compelling mix of size (6-foot-7, 253 pounds) and speed (
4.61 40-yard dash), he should separate himself from the rest of the depth chart, including Kylen Granson, Mo Alie-Cox and Will Mallory, and carve out a significant role.