1 breakout candidate to watch for all 32 NFL teams

Carolina Panthers

Breakout Candidate: CB Jaycee Horn

The Panthers were ecstatic when they drafted Horn in the Top 10 of the 2021 NFL Draft but their dreams were dashed early in his rookie season. Horn suffered three broken bones in his foot during a Week 3 loss against the Houston Texans, an injury that ended his first year with just five total tackles and an interception.

A return to health should give Horn a chance to fulfill the potential that Carolina saw in him when they invested in him instead of a quarterback like Justin Fields or Mac Jones. The Panthers will need Horn to step up his game too with four games against the loaded receiving corps in New Orleans and Tampa Bay on their schedule.

Chicago Bears

Breakout Candidate: TE Cole Kmet

The sole survivor from Chicago’s tight-end splurge a few years ago, Kmet had a solid second year in 2021. Kmet quickly became one of Fields’ most trusted targets, catching 60 passes for 612 yards, but surprisingly didn’t score a touchdown.

That should change this season with more red-zone targets available now that Allen Robinson is off to Los Angeles and platoon partner Jimmy Graham, who caught 11 touchdowns during his two years in Chicago, is gone. The Bears didn’t do a ton to upgrade the weapons around Fields in his second year so they are clearly expecting Kmet to become a big-time target who could approach the 80-catch plateau in his third year.