Stars are being born as NFL teams fight for postseason berths.
Many of these breakout candidates are rookies or second-year players. Others have been around for a few years but were riding the bench before this season began.
There’s already been plenty of buzz this week about one of these 10 rising stars—after his four-touchdown performance on Sunday Night Football—and you’ll be hearing more about the rest in the coming weeks.
Jonas Gray, RB, New England Patriots
If Jonas Gray continues to produce at the rate that he did on Sunday night, he’ll be on more posters in New England than the Jonas Brothers.
Perhaps it’s fitting that the Patriots have reunited with LeGarrette Blount, who was cut on Tuesday by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Both he and Gray seem bestowed with magical powers when they wear a Patriots uniform against the Indianapolis Colts.
Gray rushed for four touchdowns in Sunday night’s 42-20 victory at Indianapolis. Blount did the same in the Patriots’ 43-22 AFC divisional playoff win over the Colts in January.
Gray also became the third 200-yard rusher in Patriots history—with 201 yards on 37 carries.
An undrafted free agent in his third season, Gray gashed the Colts defense exactly a month after being promoted from the Patriots’ practice squad. As long as he’s more of a team player than his new teammate, Gray can help the (8-2) Patriots secure the top seed in the AFC heading into the playoffs.
Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins
Jarvis Landry wasn’t feted like a king at Radio City Music Hall during the 2014 NFL draft like LSU teammate Odell Beckham Jr., but he’s more likely to play meaningful games in the coming weeks.
The Dolphins picked Landry in the second round, 63rd overall, and he’s become their No. 2 receiver. Mike Wallace leads the Dolphins with 44 receptions, and Landry has 42. Landry caught all five passes thrown his way—including one for a touchdown—in the Dolphins’ pivotal 22-9 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 11.
Landry also averages 31.2 yards per kickoff return, third among those who have fielded at least 14 kickoffs.
The (6-4) Dolphins—along with the Browns, Ravens and Chargers—are a half-game out of the final playoff spot in the AFC.
Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals haven’t done much right in their history, but it seems like they’re finding a knack for drafting running backs.
Giovani Bernard, their first of two second-round draft picks in 2013, has missed the last three games with a hip injury. So Jeremy Hill, their second-round pick in 2014, has filled the void and then some.
The 6’1″, 238-pound Hill ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the Bengals’ 33-23 win over the Jaguars in Week 9. On Sunday, Hill pounded out 152 yards in the Bengals’ 27-10 upset victory at New Orleans.
Hill has rushed for 361 yards in November, more than any running back in the NFL. He leads all rookies with 556 rushing yards.
Bernard is on track to return for Sunday’s game at Houston, according to ESPN.com. But Hill gives the (6-3-1) Bengals the luxury of easing Bernard back into the lineup as they try to cling to first place in the brutal AFC North.
Martavis Bryant, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Heading into Week 7 of the 2014 season, the Steelers had been 21-21 in their last 42 games dating back to Week 15 of the 2011 season. They might as well have converted Heinz Field into a racetrack and called it The Pittsburgh 500.
The Steelers were in danger of falling on the wrong side of .500 on Monday Night Football. They trailed the Houston Texans 13-3 in the second quarter. Then a funny thing happened. A guy who didn’t dress in any of the first six games caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger.
That was Martavis Bryant’s first career reception, and the Steelers went on to beat the Texans 30-23. It was the first of five touchdown catches in three games for the rookie fourth-round draft pick. That’s a record for the first three games of a player’s career, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and it coincided with a three-game winning streak that made the (7-4) Steelers playoff contenders.
Bryant is second only to Antonio Brown on the team with six touchdowns and he’s caught 16 balls for an average of 20.1 yards per reception. That’s third in the NFL among receivers with at least 10 catches.
Mark Sanchez, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Mark Sanchez was already a household name entering this season, so is he really a “breakout” star? Well, he’s broken out of the oblivion the Jets pushed him into when they thought it would be a good idea to bring in Tim Tebow, draft Geno Smith and play Sanchez in the fourth quarter of a meaningless preseason game.
Nick Foles suffered a broken clavicle late in the first quarter with the Eagles and Texans tied 7-7 at Houston in Week 9, and Mark Sanchez came to the rescue.
Sanchez’s first pass since 2012 was a 52-yarder to Jeremy Maclin. It set up an 11-yard touchdown reception by Jordan Matthews that gave the Eagles a 14-7 lead. Sanchez threw another TD pass to Maclin with just under four minutes left to secure the Eagles’ 31-21 win.
The following week, Sanchez threw for 332 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles’ 45-21 thumping of the Panthers. The Eagles ran into a brick wall at Green Bay, losing 53-20. The Packers haven’t lost at home this season, so that’s an excusable loss.
Sanchez has thrown six touchdown passes and four interceptions to lead the Eagles to a 2-1 record in Foles’ absence. He’s helped the (7-3) Eagles keep pace with the (7-3) Cowboys atop the NFC East, with two showdowns between the division rivals looming.
C.J. Mosley, ILB, Baltimore Ravens
It didn’t take long for this rookie to make an impact. In Week 2, C.J. Mosley mugged 10th-year veteran Heath Miller and forced him to fumble early in the fourth quarter of the Ravens’ 26-6 win over the Steelers.
That win has helped the Ravens stay alive in the AFC North. Not only does every team have a winning record in that division, but every team is at least two games over .500. The (6-4) Ravens are holding up the rear with the (6-4) Browns, but both teams are only a half-game behind the first-place (6-3-1) Bengals.
Drafted 17th overall, Mosley leads the Ravens and is seventh in the NFL with 90 tackles. He’s tied for second among NFL linebackers with seven passes defensed. The 6’2″, 235-pound Alabama product has hurried quarterbacks 10 times this season, which ties him for the league lead among inside linebackers, according to Pro Football Focus.
Brian Hoyer, QB, Cleveland Browns
Brian Hoyer has worn a baseball cap on the sidelines so much in his career, you’d think he’s played for the Red Sox, Pirates, Diamondbacks and Indians—not the Patriots, Steelers, Cardinals and Browns.
The 29-year-old Hoyer made four career starts before this season, and he’s started all 10 games for the Browns this season. So it sure is a breakout year for him. And if you lead the Browns to their most one-sided win over the Steelers in 25 years, you’re an instant star in Cleveland.
Hoyer, not first-round draft pick Johnny Manziel, has steered the Browns not only to respectability, but a legitimate shot at their first playoff berth since 2002. The (6-4) Browns are among four teams breathing down the neck of the (7-4) Chiefs for the final playoff spot in the AFC.
The Browns were 1-2 and fell behind 28-3 at Tennessee in Week 5. But just when Cleveland fans were about to start their 2015 mock drafts, Hoyer threw three touchdown passes to lift the Browns to a 29-28 win and the biggest road comeback in NFL history. Then came their 31-10 win over the Steelers.
If Hoyer leads the Browns to the playoffs, maybe he’ll get his own mural in downtown Cleveland—just like LeBron James.
Jordan Matthews, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Mark Sanchez and Jordan Matthews are breakout buddies.
Four of Matthews’ six touchdown catches this season have come since Sanchez replaced Foles in Week 9. His 11-yard touchdown grab gave the Eagles a 14-7 lead at Houston, and they never trailed after that.
Chosen in the second round, the rookie caught seven passes—including two touchdowns—for 138 yards in the Eagles’ 45-21 win over Carolina in Week 10.
Matthews can catch passes from Foles, too. He hauled in a season-high eight for 59 yards and two second-quarter touchdowns in the team’s 37-34 win over the Redskins in Week 3.
It’s hard to stand out among this year’s wide receiver brat pack in the NFL. Five rookies have more receptions than Matthews’ 44. But three of them (Brandin Cooks, Kelvin Benjamin and Mike Evans) play in the sad-sack NFC South, and Cooks is now out for the season. Allen Robinson of the (1-9) Jaguars is also done for the year. Sammy Watkins and the (5-5) Bills are not only buried in snow, but they might be in over their heads in a conference that likely will require a winning record to make the playoffs.
There’s a good chance all of those guys will be home watching Matthews catch passes in January.
Terrance Williams, WR, Dallas Cowboys
This might not be much of a breakout season for Terrance Williams in terms of receptions. With 27 through 10 games, he’s on pace to match the 44 passes he caught last season.
But the 2013 third-round draft pick scored just five touchdowns last year. He already has six this season, and four of them have either tied a game or given the Cowboys a lead. Five of Williams TDs came in a five-week stretch in which the (7-3) Cowboys improved from 1-1 to 6-1.
Even in the one game during that time period when he went without a touchdown, Williams made two key second-half catches to help the Cowboys upset the Seahawks in front of the 12th Man.
His 47-yard connection with Tony Romo late in the third quarter helped set up a game-tying field goal. Then in the fourth quarter with the Cowboys down 23-20, Romo was swarmed by Seahawks on a 3rd-and-20 situation but found Williams, who made a tip-toe catch near the sideline for 23 yards. That led to DeMarco Murray’s go-ahead touchdown in the Cowboys’ 30-23 win.
The Cowboys and Eagles are tied atop the NFC East. They play each other twice in the final six weeks of the season, and Dallas also has divisional games remaining against the Giants and Redskins. The race for first place in the NFC East has just begun.
John Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals
The (9-1) Arizona Cardinals probably wouldn’t have the best record in the NFL if it weren’t for a 179-pound, third-round draft pick from Pittsburg St.
Rookie John Brown leads the team with five touchdowns. Four of those touchdowns put the Cardinals ahead. The other brought them to within a point.
The 5’10” Brown caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Carson Palmer with 2:32 left in the Cardinals’ 18-17 victory over the Chargers in Week 1. He caught two third-quarter touchdown passes from Drew Stanton to swing a 14-6 halftime deficit into a 20-14 lead over the San Francisco 49ers. The Cardinals went on to win that game, 23-14, to improve to 3-0.
Brown caught a 75-yard bomb from from Carson Palmer on 3rd-and-5 with 1:33 left to give the Cardinals another quality win, 24-20, over the Eagles. The win could be an asset if tiebreakers come into play for home-field advantage in the playoffs.
If none of that was enough to make Brown a star, his dance after catching his fifth touchdown of the season sure was. Stanton’s 48-yard TD pass to Brown gave the Cardinals a 17-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter, and they beat the St. Louis Rams, 31-14, at home despite losing Carson Palmer for the season.
Brown’s 34 receptions this season are third on the team, but he’s the only Cardinals player with at least two catches in every game.