The NFL season is half over and there’s still a lot left to be determined. Some teams are looking towards 2018. Others are wondering how they can get into playoff or Super Bowl contention.
Regardless of goals, every team has at least one player who needs to step it up big time.
Whoever is under center with the Denver Broncos needs to play much better. Contenders like the New England Patriots need a more consistent spark from the defense. Also, we had a more active than expected trade deadline. Naturally, that’s created many voids that need to be filled.
The reasons are different. But these are the players from each NFL team that need to step up in the second half of the 2017 season.
New England Patriots: Patrick Chung, safety
With Dont’a Hightower out, it’s going to be a team effort for the New England defense from here on out. It’s hard to think that anyone will be as important as Chung. As someone who’ll see a lot of action in three safety sets, he’ll be vital against both the run and pass. If the defense can hold its own, expect Tom Brady and the offense to put the necessary points on the board.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Vernon Hargreaves, cornerback
A lot has gone wrong in Tampa in 2017. But it’s hard to look past the secondary. The Buccaneers have only five interceptions as a team and Hargreaves, a starting cornerback, has none. At 2-6, this team’s chances of turning things around and competing for a playoff spot are slim to none. But especially with Jameis Winston getting shut down, slim leaves town if the defense can’t force turnovers and create short fields for the offense.
Buffalo Bills: LeSean McCoy, running back
The Bills have won five games. In those games, McCoy has averaged 21 carries for 90 yards. Conversely, in Buffalo’s three losses, he’s averaged 32 yards on 14 carries. Additionally, all three of McCoy’s scores have come in Bills’ wins. For Buffalo to finish strong and make the playoffs for the first time in the 21st Century, McCoy will have to develop a more consistent game in the second half.
Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan, quarterback
While the Falcons are only one game worse through eight games in 2017 than they were in 2016, things feel significantly more dire. That starts with the offense, which is averaging nearly 12 fewer points per game than it did at the halfway point of 2017. Ryan has thrown for nearly 500 fewer yards, has thrown eight fewer touchdowns, three more interceptions, and his passer rating is 23 points lower. Ryan turning it around would certainly go a long way towards the team picking its performance up.
Miami Dolphins: Damien Williams, running back
Adam Gase clearly doesn’t want to use Kenyan Drake as a featured back. He rushed for 7.7 yards per attempt against the Raiders in Week 9 and still only got nine carries. With Jay Ajayi in Philadelphia, Williams figures to be Drake’s running mate in the backfield. In that game against Oakland, he ran the ball seven times for only 14 yards. On the season, he’s had 19 carries for 46 yards. Those totals are going to have to get a lot better.
Carolina Panthers: Devin Funchess, wide receiver
Funchess had his moments through the season’s first eight games. But he averaged roughly four receptions for 45 yards per game. Then, Carolina traded Kelvin Benjamin, making Funchess the No. 1 receiver. In Week 9, he caught a solid seven passes for 86 yards. The Panthers will need to see more of those performances during the home stretch of the season.
New York Jets: ArDarius Stewart, wide receiver
Stewart is important for multiple reasons. First of all, if the Jets are going to compete for a playoff spot, their already better-than-expected offense will need to improve. But even if that doesn’t happen, New York will likely be looking for its quarterback of the future after the season. For that person to have a great chance to succeed, he’ll need to have weapons around him. Especially with Jeremy Kerley suspended, Stewart elevating his game and becoming one of those guys will help the Jets not only in 2017, but in the future, as well.
New Orleans Saints: Michael Thomas, wide receiver
The Saints are one of the most surprising teams in the league. As such, most of their players are maintaining a high level of play. But with Thomas, we see something that could use some improvement — his production in the red zone. Thomas, who had nine touchdowns as a rookie, has hauled in only two in 2017. Given that Thomas is 6-foot-3, he needs to emerge as a better red zone target for Drew Brees. If he does, this team will get even harder to beat.
Los Angeles Chargers: Casey Hayward, cornerback
The Chargers are a team that can get at the quarterback. A quarterback under pressure and forcing early passes should put Hayward and company in great position to jump routes and force turnovers. That hasn’t happened, though. Los Angeles has intercepted only five passes, and nobody has picked off more than one. If we’re trying to figure out why this team loses so many close games, the lack of turnovers is a big reason why. As the best player in the secondary, Hayward needs to lead the charge in the second half.
New York Giants: Ereck Flowers, left tackle
The Giants have had a host of problems in 2017. One has been the poor protection of Eli Manning. The rest of this lost season should be spent evaluating the talent going into 2018. That means that Flowers has a lot of work to do. He’ll have to do a lot better at keeping the quarterback (be that Manning or Davis Webb) clean in the pocket. If Flowers can’t do that, then his team will desperately need to go left tackle hunting in the offseason.
Oakland Raiders: Amari Cooper, wide receiver
Cooper’s stats (38 receptions, 462 yards, three touchdowns) aren’t great, but they aren’t awful either. The problem is that 11 of those catches, 210 of those yards, and two of those touchdowns came in one game. Or, in other words, Cooper has caught 27 passes for 252 yards and one touchdown in eight games this year. For the Raiders to make the playoffs, the Oakland offense will need to find its 2016 form again. That’s not going to happen unless Cooper becomes more productive on a weekly basis.
Washington Redskins: Rob Kelley, running back
In the interest of fairness, we should point out that despite having seven more carries than Chris Thompson, Kelley has rushed for 67 fewer yards. So, the more natural solution in Washington would be for Thompson to get more carries. That just doesn’t seem to be the road that Jay Gruden wants to go down. Until he does, we have to call out Kelley. Kelley is averaging only 3.2 yards per carry for the Redskins in 2017. That’s just not good enough. If he’s going to be the featured back, Kelley has to be more productive.
Denver Broncos: Trevor Siemian/Brock Osweiler/Paxton Lynch, quarterback
Siemian and Osweiler have taken all of Denver’s snaps in 2017. They’ve completed 59.9 percent of them for 1,895 yards with 10 touchdowns, 12 picks and a 73.5 passer rating. Osweiler will be under center in Week 10. But for the rest of the year, whether it’s Siemian, Osweiler, or Lynch, Denver will need to get at least below average play from the quarterback position. Through Week 9, it’s fallen well short of even that standard.
Dallas Cowboys: Jaylon Smith, linebacker
One noticeable flaw with Dallas is the run defense. The Cowboys are allowing 4.4 yards per carry, the 25th worst total in the league. That reflects on the entire front seven, of course, but up the middle is where it’s often most noticeable. Smith is still getting acclimated to things after missing all of 2016 with a knee injury. We do expect him to get better. And if Dallas is going to make the leap from playoff team to Super Bowl contender, he’ll need to get better.
Kansas City Chiefs: Dee Ford, outside linebacker
Justin Houston gets the bulk of the offense’s attention. So, Ford should be getting plenty of good matchups. The Chiefs are up in a lot of games. So, he should get plenty of chances to rush the passer. With all of that being said, we’d like to see more than two sacks to Ford’s name. He has been slowed, to a degree, by injuries. But he’s gotten into six games. Ford should be getting to the quarterback more. We think Ford is capable and want to see him prove it in the second half.
Philadelphia Eagles: Halapoulivaati Vaitai, left tackle
Protecting Carson Wentz is the most important thing that the Eagles need to do. That’s the case if we’re talking about winning in 2017. It’s the case if we’re talking about Philadelphia positioning itself for the future. Wentz needs to stay upright. With Jason Peters out for the year, Vaitai is the man responsible for protecting Wentz’s blind side. He has to be up for the task.
Cleveland Browns: DeShone Kizer, quarterback
Every member of the Browns has to view the remainder of 2017 as an audition. It’s that simple. Kizer is front and center on that list. He’s completed only 52.1 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Proving that he’s the franchise quarterback of the future will start with him dramatically turning those numbers around
Arizona Cardinals: Adrian Peterson, running back
Peterson’s first game with Arizona came against the Buccaneers. In that win, he rushed for 134 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns. In his third game with the team, a win against the 49ers, Peterson went for 159 yards on 37 carries. But in between, Peterson went for 21 yards on 11 carries in a loss. Peterson has only been on the Cardinals for three games, but his performances have gone a long way in determining the team’s success.
Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Mixon, running back
Mixon has expressed some frustration about his lack of carries in 2017. To a degree, it’s a valid point. Still, we have to remember that Mixon has carried the ball more times than the rest of his Cincinnati teammates combined. In those 98 carries, he’s averaging less than three yards. His receiving totals (20 receptions for 201 yards) are respectable. Still, his primary job is to run the ball. If he wants to get the carries that a star back would get, he has to put up a better effort.
San Francisco 49ers: Jimmy Garoppolo, quarterback
Maybe the 49ers plan on Garoppolo being the quarterback of the future. Then again, maybe they plan on sending him to another quarterback needy team in the offseason for more than they paid for him. Either scenario is largely dependent on Garoppolo making a big impact when he gets on the field. If he’s terrible, San Francisco will continue to hunt for a quarterback and teams would be unlikely to give more than a high second for him. The 49ers are going nowhere. But the Garoppolo saga will interest plenty of teams.
Baltimore Ravens: Michael Pierce, nose tackle
The Ravens are allowing 125.9 rushing yards per game, the fourth-worst total in the NFL. This is not a team that’s going to win with its offense. The defense has to be able to shut down opposing offenses. That’s not going to happen with a running defense like that. It may not show up a lot on the stat sheet. But Pierce needs to do a better job of staying on his blocks and giving the linebackers a better chance to do their jobs. If that doesn’t happen, this team is going nowhere in the second half.
Los Angeles Rams: Tavon Austin, wide receiver
We understand that Austin isn’t a traditional wide receiver. With that said, seven receptions for 43 yards in eight games is not getting the job done. The 31 carries for 169 yards are nice, but they’re not quite enough to make up for the lack of big plays in the passing game. Austin becoming more of a passing threat will open the field up for Sammy Watkins. That will make this offense even more potent.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback
When looking at Big Ben’s stats, the 10:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio jumps out. The nine interceptions are high, but we must remember that five came in one game. What’s hard to get past is that Roethlisberger should have way more than ten touchdowns. With Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Le’Veon Bell, and even the unhappy Martavis Bryant, there’s more than enough receiving talent at Roethlisberger’s disposal. His touchdown rate needs to increase in a big way in the second half.
Seattle Seahawks: Germain Ifedi, right tackle
For the sake of argument, let’s assume that the acquisition of Duane Brown means that Russell Wilson’s blind side will be adequately protected. That will help the quarterback, but it doesn’t entirely solve the issue. If Ifedi doesn’t do his job, teams will rush the right side of Seattle’s line and get to Wilson that way. In Brown’s first game with the Seahawks, the Redskins sacked Wilson twice and hit him nine times. So, there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Indianapolis Colts: Marlon Mack, running back
The Colts are 3-6 and have the league’s worst point differential. That places them firmly in “play for 2018” mode. Indianapolis has failed to develop many things in the career of Andrew Luck. One of those things has been a running game. Mack, a rookie, has been solid in 2017. Still, with Luck returning in 2018 (at least theoretically), we’d like to see Mack continue to develop. That would be a big first step in creating light at the end of the tunnel.
Chicago Bears: Mitchell Trubisky, quarterback
Chicago has been better than expected in 2017. But the Bears are still another team that should be planning for next year. As such, the primary goal should be for Trubisky to develop as a quarterback. So, he shouldn’t be having games where he’s got nothing more than a cameo role. Trubisky needs to get acclimated to the NFL’s speed. The only way to do that is to pass. If that costs Chicago a game or two in 2017, it’d be better than 2018 when the games will matter more.
Houston Texans: Jadeveon Clowney, outside linebacker
While it seems obvious to say that Tom Savage needs to fill the void left by Deshaun Watson, we have to be realistic. He’s just not that kind of quarterback. For Houston to have any chance to make the playoffs, it has to do what it did last year with Savage and Osweiler under center. Rely on the defense. Clowney is having a good year in 2017. But with the injuries to this defense, he has to be great in the second half. If Clowney can do that, this division is still winnable. If not, it’s time for the Texans to look towards 2018.
Detroit Lions: Ameer Abdullah, running back
When the Lions hear other teams complain about their running games, they laugh. Detroit has not had a 100-yard rusher in a single game since 2013. Four of the team’s remaining games are on the road. Three are in cities where cold weather is at least a distinct possibility. At 4-4, the Lions have long way to get back into the postseason mix. That’s not going to happen unless the running game becomes more formidable.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Blake Bortles, quarterback
The Jaguars should be considered the favorites in the AFC South. If Bortles can continue to play at the rate he’s played, Jacksonville will be in line for a playoff spot. And this team is good enough to not only reach the postseason, but to make noise once it’s there. It’s hard to imagine that happening, though, with Bortles being a check-down quarterback. That doesn’t mean that he needs to become Tom Brady. But to win in the playoffs, Bortles will need to develop more of a consistent downfield attack that doesn’t involve giveaways to the opposing teams.
Minnesota Vikings: Latavius Murray, running back
Whether it’s Sam Bradford, Case Keenum, or even Teddy Bridgewater under center, we can say with some confidence that Minnesota’s offensive attack is going to be dependent on running the ball. That means that Murray, who leads the team with 78 attempts, will have to get better. Murray is averaging only 3.2 yards per attempt on those 78 carries. The Vikings are another team that can probably make the playoffs with things holding to form. But in order to win in the playoffs, the running attack will have to be on point.
Tennessee Titans: Eric Decker, wide receiver
Decker was supposed to give this offense something it didn’t have in 2016. But he’s caught only 26 balls for 247 yards. Worse is that Decker, who’s hauled in 11 or more touchdowns on three separate occasions in his career, has only one touchdown reception. Not surprisingly, Tennessee is one of the league’s worst teams at converting in the red zone. At 5-3, the Titans are in decent shape. But in order to get better, they’ll need more production from Decker.
Green Bay Packers: Brett Hundley, quarterback
Things may seem lost in Green Bay. But the Packers sit at 4-4. Things could be worse. But for Green Bay to make the playoffs, Hundley needs to elevate his game. That doesn’t mean that he has to be Aaron Rodgers — that’s not going to happen. But there is talent around him. He has to do better than the 332 yards with no touchdowns, one interception, and 67.7 passer rating that he’s posted in two starts. If he doesn’t, then the Packers will be watching the playoffs for the first time since 2008.