Five 2014 NFL rookies who will take a big step in 2015

Jadeveon Clowney, OLB, Houston Texans

When you’re hurt and only play in four games, your impact will be limited.

That Jadeveon Clowney’s injury fed into some concerns about his health, which in turn fed doubts about his work ethic and worthiness of being the first overall pick puts him on this list as he needs to stay healthy and prove his detractors wrong as much as Teddy Bridgewater does.

And he should. While he primarily just needs to stay healthy, Clowney also needs to prove he can be a factor on the field. Given he will be at the JACK (a hybrid DE/LB position) likely opposite J.J. Watt, Clowney should be terribly effective.

Mind you, they could shift the JACK to line up behind Watt as well (it depends on how they feel about the SAM or WILL linebacker), which should allow him to be just as effective. You can stop Watt—as the Giants managed last season—when you dedicate extra help or have an outstanding tackle to block him, but add a guy like Clowney and it becomes a lot harder to manage.

This is a defense which added veteran Vince Wilfork to help in the middle as well and safety Rahim Moore to shore up the secondary—both things which will help Clowney succeed. As the rest of the defense improves, offenses will have to pick and choose what they can block and what deserves their attention.

Sometimes that will be someone who is not named Clowney—which means he will be free to cause havoc. Sometimes that someone will be Clowney—which means others will be able to break free and get the quarterback or tackle the running back.

Either way, he’s doing what he is supposed to. Clowney is in a great position to put up some nice numbers this year and be a factor for this defense.

Next: Calvin Pryor, S, New York Jets