Every NFL Team's Most Promising Building Block Entering 2023

Building a Super Bowl winner is a lot easier when you already have a solid foundation.

Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Chris Jones formed the foundation for the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Think how quickly it all came undone for the Los Angeles Rams without a healthy Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald last season.

Youth is a valuable resource in roster-building because it offers the chance to find the next cornerstone for a team's offense or defense. It's why teams spend so much time, money and resources at turning over every stone in the draft.

Here, we'll take a look at the most promising player on each NFL roster who could become a building block. For the sake of avoiding the obvious, we're looking at players who are still on rookie contracts, haven't received an extension and haven't made the Pro Bowl. Players from this year's draft class are also excluded because they haven't shown anything on the field yet.

These players have the potential to become a fixed part of the future plan, but they still have something to prove.

Based on the parameters it's pretty slim pickings for the Arizona Cardinals. That's likely why they've essentially cleaned house and started over with new head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort.

The Cardinals recent draft history is littered with misses, but Marco Wilson's improvement from Year 1 to Year 2 is cause for some hope.

As a rookie fourth-round draft pick, Wilson started 13 games, surrendering six touchdowns and a passer rating of 120.8 with no interceptions. In 2022, he cleaned up those numbers. He still started 13 games but had three picks and only gave up a passer rating of 77.1.

Gannon was able to get great play out of Darius Slay and James Bradberry in 2022. It's a good bet that he's the right coach to help Wilson elevate his game to another level.

If he makes the same kind of improvement in 2023, he could prove that he's a future starter on the outside for the foreseeable future.

Kyle Pitts has already made a Pro Bowl and his usage last season was questionable so Drake London gets the nod based on his potential to become one of the elite wide receivers in the game.

London's rookie year was solid. His numbers weren't as flashy as Chris Olave or Garrett Wilson, but he posted 72 catches for 866 yards and four touchdowns on 117 targets. On first glance, that's not great efficiency, but it's important to keep the quarterback situation in mind.

According to Player Profiler, London was 37th in target accuracy and 11th in yards per route run. In other words, he didn't fare well in quarterback-dependent metrics but was better in things that account more for his contributions.

That makes him a bit more promising as a building block than Desmond Ridder. The second-year quarterback showed some positive things in four starts at the end of the season and is going to have every opportunity to get better with Pitts and London forming a dynamic duo in the passing game.

The Ravens know better than most organizations that an elite safety can be a foundational player for a long time. Ed Reed's presence was a big part of several great Baltimore defenses.

Kyle Hamilton has a long way to go to reach Reed's Hall of Fame career, but it's in the range of outcomes.

Hamilton broke into the lineup by the end of his rookie season. His body of work was good enough to be the highest-graded safety by PFF last season.

As the third safety for most of the season, Hamilton played a little bit of everything. From lining up in the slot to being a linebacker to playing deep, he was all over the field. With the Ravens trading Chuck Clark this offseason, Hamilton is getting the green light to be a more traditional safety with the benefit of having played so many alignments before.

Hamilton expressed in an interview with Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic that he wants to be a more vocal leader who helps the defense get on the same page this season.

After flashing a ton of potential as a player last season he should settle into the role of being the guy who gets the secondary set and makes plays all over the field next season.

Pass-rushing in the NFL is a nuanced art. While production in college can just come from superior athlete, it takes real pass-rushing know-how and craft to find the quarterback in the league.

Gregory Rousseau has been building toward being an expert pass-rusher. His third season might be the one that sees him put everything together.

After starting 17 games and getting four sacks as a rookie, Rousseau doubled his total in his sophomore campaign. He got off to a hot start with four sacks in his first four games. However, an injury in Week 9 and slowed productivity gave him just four more sacks for the rest of the season.

Rousseau acknowledged the injury slowed him down, but he worked through it to finish out the season.

"The whole second half (of the season), I was fighting back to get my ankle (to 100%). It's part of the game. You have to fight through injuries and put it all on the line for your team," he said, per Ryan O'Halloran of The Buffalo News.

The Bills could benefit from a star pass-rusher as Von Miller continues to edge. If Rousseau can continue to have stretches like he did in the first four games of the season, he will be a superstar on a contender.

The Carolina Panthers have a few promising building blocks on the defense but it's Jaycee Horn who stands out as the most likely All-Pro talent at a premium position.

Horn's rookie season, which was cut short by a foot injury just three games in, seems to have taken him out of the spotlight. However, he quietly bounced back to show why he was taken with a top 10 selection in the 2021 draft.

He's not likely to get the recognition he deserves without better interception totals. He only picked off three passes, but everything else was arguably at a Pro Bowl level already. He only surrendered a completion percentage of 55 percent on 60 targets and a passer rating of 62.4 with just one touchdown conceded.

Horn is already getting his due from some. Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire recently ranked him as the No. 5 cornerback in the league, giving great examples of how he improved his off-coverage in 2022.

By the end of 2023, he'll be on a lot more lists and firmly entrenched as a star for the Panthers.

The most important question for the Chicago Bears in 2023 is whether Justin Fields will prove that he's more than just a promising prospect. It's go time for the third-year quarterback.

Fields' rookie season was a bit of a disaster. The coaching was suspect, the offensive line was shoddy and there was little support from the surrounding cast.

Year 2 saw improvement in all of those areas and he more than doubled his Total QBR.

Much of that success came because he was unleashed as a runner. Next Gen Stats dubbed him the most explosive runner in the league last season with 89 runs in which he hit more than 15 miles per hour.

It's all really promising for a team whose best quarterback in the last decade was Jay Cutler.

The last remaining question is whether he can improve as a passer. Fields finished 30th among quarterbacks in passing EPA, highlighting just how much of his success came from his rushing prowess.

With the addition of D.J. Moore, Fields now has a legitimate No. 1 receiver. The offensive line should be better. If Fields takes the next step, the Bears finally have their franchise quarterback.

This is a good time to remind everyone of the criteria for "promising building block". We are talking about players on rookie contracts who haven't been to a Pro Bowl yet. Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase have already proven beyond a shadow of a doubt they are foundational pieces.

Tee Higgins—despite three productive seasons—hasn't proven that he's completely indispensable yet.

Higgins has never been voted to a Pro Bowl but he scored at least six touchdowns every year with two 1,000-yard campaigns to his name already.

Essentially, he's the best No. 2 receiver in the league and there are weeks where he's WR1 in the Bengals offense. General manager Duke Tobin told teams to "go find their own" receiver when asked about trade rumors, but there's a reason speculation exists.

The Bengals have a massive contract extension looming for Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase's isn't too far down the pike either.

That leaves Higgins as a possible odd man out as the team has to take an honest look at what nucleus they will look to move forward with.

If Higgins has another monstrous season it's going to put pressure on the Bengals front office to figure it out financially.

The Browns already have two good outside corners in Greg Newsome and Denzel Ward, but Ward is already getting paid like a building block and Martin Emerson Jr. showed a higher ceiling than Newsome last season.

Emerson was pressed into the starting lineup for six games last season but saw action in all 17. He was tested often, seeing 91 targets but it wasn't a great strategy for opposing offenses.

The 6'2", 201-pounder didn't have any interceptions but he got a hand on 15 passes and allowed a completion percentage of just 50.5 percent and a stingy 5.4 yards per target. Quarterbacks had a 77.6 passer rating when throwing Emerson's way.

The physicality that he showed at Mississippi State translated to the NFL quickly. The Browns are quickly putting together a trio of talented corners. That's important as Jim Schwartz takes over the defense and attempts to make the Browns a contender in an AFC filled with high-powered passing attacks.

The Cowboys already have multiple exciting young building blocks in Micah Parson, CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs.

Tyler Smith could round out the group nicely.

From about 2013-2019, the Cowboys didn't have to worry about the left tackle position. Tyron Smith protected the blindside at a Pro Bowl level in each of those seasons but right around 2020 is when the injuries started to mount up.

Tyler Smith was drafted in the first round last year as the heir apparent. The initial plan was for him to play guard until Tyron Smith was ready to hang them up but another injury for the elder Smith forced him over to left tackle at times last season.

Overall, Smith did a good job of handling both responsibilities. He earned a PFF grade of 73.3, ranked 25th among all tackles in the league. With Terence Steele recovering from a torn ACL, Tyron Smith worked at right tackle in OTAs with Tyler Smith taking his reps at left tackle.

It's unclear where he'll end up playing in 2023, but his versatility and physicality leave him with a high ceiling and the best bet for the Cowboys to have a lineman who can carry the torch at left tackle.

Thus far, Jerry Jeudy has not lived up to the billing as the 15th overall selection in the 2020 draft. He has 2,295 yards and nine touchdowns through his first three seasons.

Jeudy was inefficient as a rookie with Drew Lock at quarterback. Then injuries limited him to 10 games in 2021.

However, his 2022 campaign has reignited hope he can still be a building block for the passing game. Jeudy nearly eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career with 972 yards and six touchdowns.

The fact that he did that in an offense that was otherwise a disaster points to a player who could do even bigger things in a functional unit.

That's exactly what the Broncos are hoping to have by bringing in Sean Payton. The veteran head coach put together several explosive passing attacks as the head coach in New Orleans.

According to Next Gen Stats, only two receivers averaged more separation per reception last season.

It's a make-or-break year for Jeudy, but there's still a lot of reason to be optimistic he can become the receiver the Broncos hoped he would be.

A year after the 2022 NFL draft, the Detroit Lions still have to be ecstatic that the Jacksonville Jaguars elected to take Travon Walker over Aidan Hutchinson with the first pick in the draft.

It allowed them to take local talent Aidan Hutchinson who proved to be worth the second overall pick last season. The former Michigan Wolverine notched 9.5 sacks, which led all rookies.

More importantly, had 53 total pressures. That was tops among all rookies with a defensive line designation from Sports Info Solutions.

From a team-building standpoint, the Lions had to get better at rushing the quarterback. Without Hutchinson in 2021, they were 30th in sacks with just 30 on the season. In 2022, they elevated that ranking to 19th in the league.

Hutchinson now gives them a foundational pass-rusher who they can build their defensive line around as the unit tries to support an offense that was really good last year.

It is very likely that if Rashan Gary had not suffered a torn ACL nine games into this season. At the time, he was top 10 in the league in sacks (six), quarterback hits (12) and pressures (17).

Finishing out the season healthy at that pace would have likely already led to Gary's first Pro Bowl nod and a hefty contract extension. For now, Gary is still waiting on both of those things.

Rob Demovsky of ESPN reported the Packers are waiting to see how Gary's rehab goes before they come to an agreement on a long-term extension. While the reporter notes that could come before the regular season, it sure seems like Gary is going to have to prove that he can be the player he looked like over the first nine games of the season.

While most of the players on this list have yet to quite prove they can be building blocks on the field, Gary has shown it. He just has to prove that he's still that player after a major injury.

In all likelihood he's going to do just that and the Packers could have a dynamic duo of pass rushers with Gary and first-round pick Lukas Van Ness for the long-term future.

Derek Stingley Jr. didn't have the best rookie year of the Houston Texans rookie class. That distinction belongs to Jalen Pitre who started all 17 games, had five interceptions and led the defense with 147 tackles.

But the prospect of Stingley becoming a shutdown corner remains the best possible building block of the ones the Texans have in place.

Stingley started nine games before a stubborn hamstring injury ended up costing him the rest of the season. In those nine games, Stingley showed shades of a shutdown corner.

The rookie surrendered just 7.6 yards per target and a passer rating of 78.4. Notably, he gave up less than 10 yards in three straight games leading up to his injury after some shaky starts at the beginning of the season.

His play was enough to catch former All-Pro corner Antonio Cromartie.

"I think if Sting was in New York, it would be a whole different spiel. I think Stingley had a great rookie season and I think it's going to be even better as he goes on. The kid is phenomenal," Cromartie told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 in Houston.

Stingley has the skills to make a lot more people catch on next season and team up with Pitre to form a strong secondary.

It's a close call between Michael Pittman Jr. and Kwity Paye for the Colts, but Paye gets the nod because there's been less time for him to show us his ceiling.

Pittman has three years of solid production despite a less-than-ideal quarterback situation but Paye is a serious breakout candidate in his third season.

The 24-year-old upped his sack total from four in his rookie season to six as a sophomore despite playing in three fewer games. Paye suffered a high ankle sprain against Denver in Week 5 which kept him out of the lineup for three games.

When he returned in Week 9 against the Patriots he got another sack but re-aggravated the injury again a week later. He missed the next before returning for the final five games of the season.

It's hard to get momentum going when dealing with an injury that obviously slowed the pass-rusher.

Despite the adversity, Paye managed to increase his numbers and show off his improvement.

If he can build on that while staying healthy, he'll prove to be a building block for a defensive line that already has veteran talent.

Trevor Lawrence made the leap from a questionable rookie season to a bona fide franchise building block in his second year, securing a Pro Bowl appearance.

Now the Jacksonville Jaguars will hope their other first-overall pick can do the same in his second season. Travon Walker finished with just 3.5 sacks and 21 pressures in his rookie season.

But Walker's selection was always more about potential than immediate production. He's a powerful athlete who was mostly used as a traditional defensive lineman in Georgia's system but was asked to be a stand-up rusher in Jacksonville.

After the season, head coach Doug Pederson noted the Jags need to, "find ways to utilize his strengths," per Michael DiRocco of ESPN.

If that translates to playing him in a three-point stance more, we could see Walker putting together more of the flashes that made him the top pick in last year's draft.

If he has the equivalent of Lawrence's Year 2 jump, the Jags will have a foundational star on both sides of the ball.

As long as Patrick Mahomes is at the helm of the offense, the Chiefs are going to be dangerous. As long as they keep hitting on defensive draft picks, they can win the Super Bowl.

Trent McDuffie appears to be the latest good get for the Chiefs through the draft. While Chris Jones is a superstar making superstar money, the rest of Kansas City's defense is made up of strategic veteran additions and young players on rookie contracts.

McDuffie is looking like he might be getting a second contract one day, though. After missing games 2-8 with a hamstring injury, he returned to the starting lineup and played 95 percent of the snaps on a defense that won it all.

His physicality plays well in the Chiefs system and allowed him to hold opposing passers to a 52.9 percent completion percentage. He was also an efficient tackler, missing just 4.3 percent of his attempts.

That's a good conversion rate for a sub-200-pound player and a great example of why he could be a cornerstone for the Chiefs defense for a long time.

It was slim pickings to find a player that fits the criteria for the Raiders and that's a testament to how much damage a front office can inflict when they don't draft well.

The Raiders will have to hope that the 2023 draft class can take away some of the pain left behind by Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock. Dylan Parham's success as a rookie should be an optimistic sign for fans of the Silver and Black.

The athletic interior lineman from Memphis started all 17 games as a rookie, making starts at left guard, right guard and center.

Changing positions could have contributed to some of the rough patches of his debut season. He did give up six sacks, per PFF. However, he only allowed three stuffs, per Sports Info Solutions, in the run game where he excelled regardless of where he was playing.

The bottom line is that Parham offers an exciting, athletic option on the interior for an offensive line that has struggled over the last few years outside of Kolton Miller. That's a good asset moving forward as general manager Dave Ziegler looks to build the team his way.

There were only five cornerbacks in the league to record more than five games with a PFF coverage grade higher than 80.

Unsurprisingly, Sauce Gardner and Patrick Surtain II were two of them. Asante Samuel Jr. was the third.

Samuel doesn't get the hype that those other two do. That's likely because his interception numbers don't jump off the page. Samuel has just two picks in each of his first two seasons. The thing he has primarily gotten coverage for was his three-interception game against Jacksonville in the playoffs.

It's also because Samuel has been prone to give up more big plays than Gardner and Surtain thus far. He was charged with being responsible for seven touchdowns after giving up four as a rookie.

Teammate Derwin James recently told reporters that we can expect Samuel to "have more confidence" this season.

If that means that he's going to continue to make more plays while limiting the amount of scores that he gives up then the Chargers secondary will be in good hands.

As the Los Angeles Rams look to rebuild their defense with Aaron Donald surrounded by a lot of unproven young talent, Ernest Jones stands out as someone who could be part of the defensive core moving forward.

The 23-year-old was only on the field for 66 percent of the snaps last season but still put up good numbers. He was second on the team in combined tackles with 114 on the year including four for loss.

In coverage, Jones is a solid zone defender. As the nearest defender, he gave up just 6.3 yards per target and a passer rating of 85.0 with no touchdowns.

Last season Bobby Wagner was the primary linebacker in the middle of the defense that didn't come off the field. The veteran led the way in tackles and made more splash plays.

With Wagner returning to Seattle in 2023 the gates are open wide for Jones to claim the top spot and run this young, rebuilding defense.

The Miami Dolphins have one of the most uniquely threatening offenses because of what Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle can do.

Both happen to be the biggest speed threats in the league. Hill's blazing speed is well-documented but Waddle could hold his own in a foot race, he had the sixth-fasted recorded speed from Next Gen Stats this year when he hit 21.68 MPH on an 84-yard touchdown reception.

Waddle's secondary status to Hill might have contributed to him missing out on the Pro Bowl but it shouldn't be long for him to add that honor to his resume.

He set the record for catches by a rookie in 2021 with 104 and followed it up with 1,356 yards and eight touchdowns in Mike McDaniel's first season calling the offense.

There's a case to be made that Tua Tagovailoa is still the most promising building block. After all, he's shown an elite ceiling, hasn't made a Pro Bowl and is still on his rookie deal. But the combination of Hill and Waddle is good enough that if the Dolphins were to decide to move on after next season, the Dolphins would immediately become a prime destination for any disgruntled quarterback.

Without Waddle, the supporting cast is much more bleak.

A pair of great tackles can be a great foundation for an offense. The Vikings appear to have the makings of one of the best duos in the league with Brian O'Neil at right and emerging star Christian Darrisaw on the left.

The former 23rd overall pick made quite the leap in his second year. He gave up five sacks in each of his first two seasons but his PFF grade skyrocketed from 71.9 to 90.3 which was the second-highest mark of any tackle in the league.

Despite that improvement, Darrisaw was not voted into the Pro Bowl. Two things likely contributed to that. One was the fact that Darrisaw missed two games with a concussion and Pro Bowl voting can be a popularity contest.

The fan vote can sway who gets nominated and offensive line play doesn't always get the recognition it deserves. So an emerging player like Darrisaw might not get the attention they deserve right away.

Another year of him grading out as one of the top linemen will prove that he belongs with Justin Jefferson as a crucial piece of the offense moving forward.

There's no question that Mac Jones is entering a make-or-break year with the New England Patriots. There's also no doubt that it is in the best interest of the Patriots for him to prove he can be the franchise quarterback in his third year.

There were all kinds of reasons for optimism after Jones' rookie season. He was 15th in EPA and excelled under pressure, completing 58.2 percent of his pass attempts while under duress, per Player Profiler.

However, his second-season struggles did a lot to wipe out that goodwill. He was 66th in EPA and completed just 34.5 percent of his passes under pressure.

Some of that could be chalked up to the natural ebbs and flows of being a young quarterback in the league. A lot of it could be chalked up to the fact that the Patriots had Joe Judge and Matt Patricia running the offense despite the majority of their experience coming on special teams and defense respectively.

This offseason, the Patriots brought back Bill O'Brien to be the offensive coordinator and early reports indicate Jones looks much more comfortable running his offense.

That's great news for the Patriots because if Jones doesn't work out this season it will catapult them into a continued era of quarterback confusion. Jones becoming the player they hoped he would be is the path forward that should cause the most optimism.

As wide receiver contracts continue to explode around the league it's become clear that game-changing wide receivers should be considered a premium position.

So when you have one that's capable of leading a passing attack on a rookie contract it's a huge asset.

That's exactly what the New Orleans Saints have in Chris Olave. The former Ohio State alum trailed only teammate Garrett Wilson for receiving yards (1,042) as a rookie in the 2022 draft class.

Olave is already an elite deep threat. He was eighth in the league in air yards, utilizing his 4.39 speed to get open deep downfield. His 2.57 yards per route run was 10th-best in the league, per Player Profiler.

That deep ball ability is only going to get better with Derek Carr coming to New Orleans. Carr was the eighth-best deep passer in the league last season, according to Next Gen Stats' metrics.

Olave gives the Saints passing attack a weapon to build around who can make everyone better because of the attention he'll demand.

Andrew Thomas' inexplicable Pro Bowl snub lands him on this list because he technically qualifies.

Much like Darrisaw with the Vikings, Thomas' Pro Bowl snub was likely caused by the fact that line play often goes unnoticed so improvement can often lead to delayed recognition.

PFF certainly didn't delay their recognition. Thomas went from giving up 10 sacks and getting a 61.9 grade as a rookie to conceding just three sacks and earning an 89.1 grade from the outlet in his third season.

Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley and Brian Daboll are often credited with the Giants success on offense last season, but Thomas' improvement should draw more praise. His quarterback certainly thinks so at least.

"There's no one playing at a higher level right now at that position in the league," Jones said, per Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports. "He's an unbelievable player. If you saw how he works and how approaches every day you wouldn't be surprised."

With Thomas playing on his fifth-year option this season he will look to earn a massive payday and cement his spot as a building block for the Giants.

Among the reasons that Aaron Rodgers decided to be a New York Jet, the presence of Garrett Wilson had to be among the top.

The Jets took three players in the first round and while Sauce Gardner earned his first Pro Bowl nod in Year 1, Wilson wasn't too far behind. He led all rookies with 1,103 receiving yards and scored four touchdowns in his debut season.

What makes his production even more impressive is that it happened in an offense that was piloted by Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco and Mike White. None of them had a passer rating higher than 75.7 on the season, but they combined for 86.6 when targeting Wilson.

Wilson won the Offensive Rookie of the Year honors with some of the worst quarterback play in the league. Now he gets an opportunity to play with a future Hall of Famer and four-time MVP in Rodgers.

He's going to be the anchor of this passing attack for year's to come and makes the Jets an attractive landing spot for a quarterback for years to come.

There was a sentiment out there that the Eagles trading for A.J. Brown last offseason might have been a sign they weren't all that impressed with DeVonta Smith's rookie year.

That thought was quickly erased when Brown and Smith took the field together to form a dynamic duo. Smith actually saw more targets in his second season with Brown involved in the offense, catching 95 of his 136 targets for 1,196 yards and seven touchdowns.

Some of the best offenses in the league right now are the ones that have two top-tier receivers. Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill. Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. You get the picture.

The Eagles have put themselves squarely in that conversation with Brown and Smith.

However, none of those teams have yet to actually sign contract extensions for their second receiver. Higgins, Chase, Waddle, Aiyuk and Smith are all on their rookie deals.

It's going to be really interesting to see how each team approaches the idea of paying two receivers more than $20 million annually. Smith, and the other young receivers, are going to have to prove they are indispensable to their current teams.

The Steelers were the only team last season to take a chance on drafting a quarterback in the first round. That automatically puts a lot of pressure on Kenny Pickett to be the future of the franchise.

His rookie season came with mixed signals on that front. He had top 10 marks in deep ball completion percentage and pressured completion percentage, per Player Profiler. But he was also 33rd overall in adjusted yards per attempt and 32nd in clean pocket completion percentage.

He threw just seven touchdowns to nine interceptions. There's a lot of room for those numbers to grow and there's belief within the locker room that he's going to be much improved in his second season.

"Going into the second year of our quarterback, the sky's the limit for him," veteran defensive lineman Cam Heyward said on the 3 and Out Podcast (h/t Nick Shook of NFL.com). "I think Kenny's done a tremendous job to get us to this point. But I know he's chomping at the bit for more."

The Steelers made prudent moves to give Pickett a better shot at success in 2023. They traded for Allen Robinson II giving them a veteran receiver to go with Diontae Johnson and George Pickens and drafted Broderick Jones to play left tackle in the first round.

As long as offensive coordinator Matt Canada can put them in position, the pieces are there for the offense to be much better.

Brock Purdy is, by far, the most unlikely addition to this list. As Mr. Irrelevant of the 2022 draft, it wouldn't have been shocking if the Iowa State passer didn't even make the 49ers roster.

Instead, he took over as the starter down the stretch and went 5-0 as the starter in the regular season before winning two playoff games. In total, he started eight games, going 7-1 and throwing for 16 touchdowns to four interceptions.

Purdy's QBR of 65.6 would have been fifth in the league if he had enough snaps to qualify for the leaderboard.

There's something to be said for how quarterback-friendly Kyle Shanahan's offenses can be, but those are great numbers regardless of system.

Unfortunately, Purdy's magical run came to an unfortunate end when he suffered an elbow injury that required surgery this offseason. However, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported that Purdy is now in Jacksonville rehabbing the elbow and "remains on track to be ready for the 2023 season."

If Purdy comes back from the injury and proves that his run wasn't a fluke, the 49ers are going to be in a great position as a franchise. A legit quarterback on a seventh-round rookie deal for the next three years with the supporting cast they have in place is going to make them a factor in the NFC through 2025.

There's a tight race here between left tackle Charles Cross and right tackle Abraham Lucas. We'll give Cross the edge because of his draft pedigree and left tackle being slightly more valuable than right.

Both 2022 draft picks appeared to be long-term solutions at the tackle spots as rookies.

Very few tackles step in and play at an elite level as a rookie. Cross didn't do that, but he showed enough to believe the Seahawks invested their top 10 pick wisely. He earned a PFF grade of 63.7 while logging over 1,000 snaps and giving up seven sacks.

In 2021, the Seahawks had one of the worst offensive lines in the league. They gave up pressure on 27.1 percent of dropbacks. Thanks in part to Cross and Lucas taking over on the edges that figure was cut down to 22.5 percent.

If Cross continues his development as a franchise left tackle, that number will be even smaller in 2023 and Geno Smith will continue to enjoy solid protection.

It doesn't provide a complete picture, but pass-rushers are judged primarily by their sack totals. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka is a prime example of why that can be misleading.

Ultimately, an edge defender's biggest job is to disrupt the quarterback. Sacks are great, but throwing a passer off his rhythm, knocking him down and rushing throws is important too.

Tryon-Shoyinka doesn't get a lot of love because he's had just four sacks in each of his first two seasons. But he's in a good position to see that number increase in 2023 based on his pressure numbers.

Last season, the 24-year-old notched 42 total pressures, per Sports Info Solutions. For comparison, Brandon Graham had the same number of pressures but converted 11 of those pressures into sacks.

Head coach Todd Bowles acknowledged that the team is just looking for him to finish more of his reps.

"We like what he was doing last year," Bowles told reporters. "He was kind of missing at the top of the pass rush – he probably missed more [sacks] than he made. If he can wrap up and tackle those, he'll be right where we want him to be."

Tryon-Shoyinka is still close to becoming the edge rusher who can become the star that eventually takes over for Shaq Barrett who is now 30.

Tight end can be a notoriously difficult position for a rookie. There aren't a lot of first year tight ends that end up making an impact because they have to learn how to block at the next level while also adjusting to getting open against NFL defenders.

So when fourth-round pick Chigoziem Okonkwo had more receiving yards (450) than first-round pick Treylon Burks (444) while playing fewer snaps it's noteworthy.

Okonkwo's role and production only got better as the season went on. From Weeks 1-10, he only had one game in which he had more than one reception. In Weeks 11-18, he only had one game with just one catch.

Okonkwo showed his 4.52 speed can translate into getting open and making plays in the league. He was fourth among all tight ends in receptions of 20 yards or more with 14 despite seeing just 46 targets on the year.

The Titans are in need of pass-catching talent. Burks' rookie season was a disappointment and the receiving corps as a whole is one of the most underwhelming units in the league right now.

Okonkwo emerging as a top-tier pass-catching tight end is one of the best sources of hope for the offense right now.

As noted earlier, some of the best offenses in the league right now have an elite wide receiver duo.

Some of the Commanders hope lies with Sam Howell right now. The fifth-round quarterback will start this season if he can fend off Jacoby Brissett in training camp.

But hoping a fifth-round pick pans out as the franchise quarterback is potentially wishful thinking. Hoping Jahan Dotson can become an elite No. 2 option with Terry McLaurin is an expectation.

Curtis Samuel was in that role most of the time last season, but Dotson did prove his worth as a surprise red zone threat. The 5'11", 182-pound receiver led the team in receiving touchdowns with seven.

Dotson is motivated to show his ceiling is much higher than what he showed in 2022.

"You always see these sports analysts talking about this guy is bound for a breakout season, and this guy's gonna do this, and this guy's gonna do that," Dotson said, per Eric Edholm of NFL.com. "I'm never mentioned, and I keep that in the back of my head. That's what I work for. They don't say my name, and that's what I want. I take it personal."

With Eric Bieniemy taking over as offensive coordinator and Carson Wentz out as the quarterback, the Commanders should be excited to see what Dotson can do in Year 2 and beyond.