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Just because you’re not a rookie anymore doesn’t mean you’re officially out of the spotlight. In the case of these four players, three are now in competition for their position either via free agency or the draft. Check out my 2015 rookies who could sadly have a sophomore slump!
Marcus Mariota: Boy, we all had hope for Marcus Mariota. He seemed like he was mentally ready to make the huge leap from college to NFL. However, physically his body just couldn’t keep up. Mariota only appeared in 12 games last season, threw 19 touchdowns to 10 interceptions and only threw for 2,818 yards before his injury. While mentally it seemed like Mariota could handle it, his injury definitely had to affect him on a personal level too. One of his weaknesses during college was poor ball security and it looks like that hasn’t improved much either which is why he might end up slipping a little this year. The Titans might already be planning for that by picking up a few running backs if Mariota starts to slack.
Stefon Diggs: Stefon Diggs probably didn’t make as much of an impact as the Vikings had initially hoped. He only appeared in 13 games, catching 52 of 84 passes for 720 yards, but only scoring four touchdowns. With an average of 13.3 yards per reception, Diggs could have been a lot worse and this year, it looks like he might be. The Vikings decided to take WR Laquon Treadwell of Ole Miss in the first round of the draft who could end up being Diggs’ replacement if he didn’t step up his game a little bit more. While the Vikings normally aren’t a passing team due to Adrian Peterson, drafting a wide receiver in the firs round could show change is coming.
Jamison Crowder: Despite being a fourth-round pick, Jamison Crowder ended up being a key part of Washington’s offense. Crowder played in every single game, caught 59 of 79 targets for 604 yards but finished the season scoring just two touchdowns. He also became the team’s punt returner which is a job that he’ll more than likely keep but Washington decided to draft Josh Doctson in the first round. Crowder is in a similar situation to Stefon Diggs because they both had good rookie campaigns but probably won’t be able to repeat those stats due to the possibility of being replaced or having the team rely on their running game.
T.J. Yeldon: The last player to make my list is T.J. Yeldon and there’s a lot of factors working against Yeldon this next season. The biggest has to be Jacksonville’s big free agency moves. They loaded up their defense and picked up Chris Ivory during free agency. Ivory had a dynamic season last year with the New York Jets and he could do the same with the Jaguars. Also working against Yeldon is that he sustained a few injuries that didn’t allow him to finish out the entire season and those injuries could end up being a common occurrence. Despite rushing for 740 yards on 182 carries, Yeldon only scored two touchdowns and averaged less than five yards a carry. Even though he was named last year’s starter, Yeldon will more than likely produce less than he did his rookie year due to all the factors above.
