College football: Top 25 breakout players who will be household names in 2021

22. Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina

The departures of wide receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome in addition to running backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter has been a focus of the Tar Heels offseason. Those are four big weapons that Heisman candidate Sam Howell is losing, meaning that someone is going to have to step up on offense and fill the void. Josh Downs showed at the end of last year that he could be that guy.

Largely a slot weapon, Downs only played in four games as a freshman a year ago, but one of those games was the Orange Bowl and he lit up Texas A&M, finishing the game with four catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns. He’s both quick and fast from the slot and should quickly establish himself as a favorite target for Howell, which means the now-sophomore has the chance to put up monster numbers in this prolific passing offense.

21. Adam Anderson, EDGE, Georgia

Suffice it to say that Georgia has a type when it comes to edge rushers and that rising senior Adam Anderson fits that mold. The Bulldogs have long thrived by using long, athletic and somewhat thin pass-rushers off the edge and the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder has all of those tools naturally. But now he’s stepping into the 2021 season with the chance to be a starter and make a huge impact.

Over 23 games played to this point in his college career, Anderson has 8.0 sacks and 10.0 tackles for loss to his credit, but that all came when he was in a rotational role. You watch him and you see a player with high-quality explosiveness and the ability to burn offensive tackles off the end. If he can comfortably assume a larger role, the Dawgs could see Anderson produce double-digit sacks this season.