AFC Breakout Players

Here's a look at potential breakout players for each AFC team. As with yesterday's NFC teams, most are players I believe will break out. Others are players that I believe their teams need to have break out.

Cincinnati Bengals
Tyler Boyd, WR
Perhaps this choice is because Boyd was one of my favorite receivers in the draft. He's a solid, polished, aggressive pass-catcher. Most receivers take a while to adjust to the NFL. Boyd is more ready than most. The Bengals have had a fleet of receivers to play opposite all-everything A.J. Green. This past free agency stripped them of that depth. Boyd is a great start to replenishing it.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Artie Burns and Sean Davis, DBs
The Steelers offense will win a lot of games. The defense has been undergoing a youth movement. Some of those young players have established themselves in the front seven. The secondary has to get better. Burns and Davis were their first two draft picks. They need to get ready quickly.

Cleveland Browns
Robert Griffin III, QB
This one is almost too easy. The best thing going for Griffin is the presence of new head coach Hue Jackson. He's an excellent coach in general and quarterback coach in particular. He should have had a head coaching job years ago. But, this is about the Browns new quarterback. This could be Griffin's last chance as NFL starter. He has the talent to excel. He's shown that he can excel.

Baltimore Ravens
Mike Wallace, WR
The Ravens have a bunch of players that can break out or needs to break out. Any of the injured players. Several of the picks from a terrific draft. I'll go with free agent addition Wallace. He hasn't done a lot since he left the Steelers a few years ago. Wallace and Joe Flacco should be a beautiful combination.

New England Patriots

Dion Lewis, RB
Picking a running back as a break out player for the Patriots seems like a stupid choice. Running back is a disposable product for the team. It's just that Lewis was brilliant for the Patriots before he was injured. So brilliant that he was given a contract extension. An extension for a Patriots back! That's inconceivable! If Lewis is healthy and stays healthy he's a great weapon for the offense.

New York Jets

Ryan Clady, T
D'brickashaw Ferguson was a left tackle staple for the Jets for such a long time. He's retired now. That void forced the Jets to obtain Clady from the Broncos in a trade. Before injuries robbed him of two of the last three seasons Clady was one of the best tackles in the league. If he's healthy and stays healthy the Jets might have upgraded the position.

Buffalo Bills
LeSean McCoy, RB
McCoy gained nearly 900 yards in 12 games so it's not like he played poorly in his first season in Buffalo. It's just that he gained nearly 3,000 yards in his previous two seasons with the Eagles. He's a dynamic runner. The Bills need him to be a dynamic runner for 16 games.

Miami Dolphins
Laremy Tunsil, T
Tunsil has to put the disaster that was his draft weekend behind him and become the dominant player that he has the talent to be. If he keeps his life off the football field clean his presence on the Dolphins line will do wonders.

Indianapolis Colts
Arthur Jones, DL
One has to figure that the Colts offense will improve if Andrew Luck is healthy and on the field the entire season. The offensive line has to improve but it's the defense that really has to break out if the Colts really want to be the Super Bowl contenders that everyone expected them to be last year. Jones was a terrific player for the Ravens and I thought that he'd be a difference-making free agent signing for the Colts in 2015. He didn't see much of the playing field. An ankle injury ended his season before it started. He has to get healthy, stay healthy, and play like the player that he was in Baltimore.

Houston Texans
Brock Osweiler, QB
The Texans gave Osweiler a ridiculous contract to pry him away from the Broncos. If he can play to a level even close to deserving of that contract the Texans could contend this year. They have so many pieces in place. Osweiler just has to be more Drew Brees and less Scott Mitchell as a free agent addition.

Tennessee Titans
DeMarco Murray, RB
The Titans could be one of the most interesting and fun teams in the league. Marcus Mariota is an exciting, young quarterback. If Murray can be stay healthy and be the explosive runner that sliced up defenses in 2014, the pressure on Mariota will decrease greatly. The Titans also added Alabama bruiser Derrick Henry in the draft so Murray has some help in the run game.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Dante Fowler, Jr., DE
The Jaguars selected Fowler with the third pick in the 2015 NFL Draft to provide a potent pass rushing presence on the edge. He tore his ACL before he even got to training camp. As with several players on this list he has to get healthy and stay healthy. The Jaguars have a promising offense with a pack of intriguing, young, skill position players. They need players like that on the defensive side of the ball. Fowler's pass rushing is a must.

Denver Broncos
Shane Ray, LB
The Broncos won the Super Bowl with their dominant defense. They still have potent pass rushers in Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware but they could really use 2015 draft day steal Ray to step on the field more often. Ware is much closer to the end of his career than the start. Miller is still a force of nature and should be for many more years. It's time for Ray to play a bigger role.

Kansas City Chiefs
Dee Ford, LB
This is a similar situation to that in Denver with Shane Ray. Tamba Hali has been terrorizing quarterbacks for a long time. Ford was drafted in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft to be Hali's pass rushing heir. It's his time to step in more while Hali is still an impact player.

San Diego Chargers
Melvin Gordon, RB
The Chargers traded up a few spots in the 2015 NFL Draft to secure Gordon in the first round. His initial season in the NFL wasn't a bust but it was far from the impact expected. 3.5 yards/carry and five fumbles aren't great. While he may never be an explosive, game-breaking back he can be a very productive, chain-moving back. The Chargers can control the clock with him and he can help quarterback Philip Rivers stay relatively young. An improved offensive line will help both Gordon and Rivers.

Oakland Raiders
Kelechi Osemele, G
Osemele has been one of the better guards in the league for a few years now. The Raiders paid him like he one of the best offensive linemen in the league. They had a lot of money to spend and they sure spent it. A lot of it went to Osemele. His addition gives the Raiders the best interior line in the league. On paper. Now he has to earn that huge contract on the field.