It is all about value, or perceived value. Some of these NFL stars may be making a small fortune, but if you play fantasy football or have a rooting interest in any of their teams for whatever reasons, now is the time to buy. Their stock prices are only going to go up. Over the course of last year, their stocks took a beating for a myriad of reasons. Whether it was injuries or personal performance, it happened.
So do not call it a comeback; call it a bounce-back instead! We have seen enough out of these magnificent seven NFL stars to let us know that last year was the exception and not the new normal. The past is the best indicator for future performance. We have seen them all play at a high level before, so that is nothing new. What is new is this reinvigorated sense of renaissance they all have.
Truth be told, every team has a bounce-back candidate. PFF did a great job of explaining why each of their top candidates on every team is likely to have a better season than the last. While I do not agree with all of them, I appreciate the exercise, and will now try my own spin on that endeavor. I am looking at seven guys I have a strong feeling will be better than they were from a year ago for various reasons.
Let's start with one over in my neck of the woods when it comes to the game's critical third phase...
7. Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo
Younghoe Koo has spent the bulk of his NFL career out of Georgia Southern with the Atlanta Falcons. While he did initially have his struggles out of the gate with the Los Angeles Chargers, he had been incredibly sure-footed the last several years in Atlanta. However, inconsistencies and injuries led to him having his worst year with the Dirty Birds last year. He only made 73.5 percent of his field goals.
For a guy who has made 87.1 percent of his kicks since coming to Atlanta in 2019, we have to believe he will be back to good this season. My guess is the Falcons' offense will be better than it was a year ago, allowing Koo more opportunities to make easier field-goal attempts than last year. He may not have the longest leg, but Koo has proven to be very accurate from inside of 50 yards in his career.
Atlanta may have brought in competition in Lenny Kreig, but he is more of a developmental project.
6. Tennessee Titans cornerback L'Jarius Sneed
While it was great to see L'Jarius Sneed get paid, he did not have the first season he wanted at all coming over to the Tennessee Titans. The former star cornerback of the Kansas City Chiefs was dealt over to the Titans after being slapped with the franchise tag. Tennessee ended up being the worst team in the NFL. A quad injury limited him to only five games played for the Titans last year.
With it being Brian Callahan's second season as head coach, I am sure he will be much better at his job this time around. Given that the Titans have a new franchise quarterback in No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, as well as the guy who took him in new general manager Mike Borgonzi, there is a newfound sense of optimism in Nashville. My guess if if Sneed plays three times as many games, he will be fine.
The former fourth-round pick out of Louisiana Tech has too much pride to mail it in after getting paid.
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr.
Injuries slowed Antoine Winfield Jr. down a bit last year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The former second-round pick out of Minnesota has been a Pro Bowler, an All-Pro and a Super Bowl champion in his five years with the Buccaneers. While he has missed some time in his NFL playing career before, he missed nearly half of Tampa Bay's games a year ago. If he stays healthy, he should bounce back.
I look at Winfield being a very important player on the Buccaneers for this year and going forward. They are trying their best to hold off Atlanta and Carolina in division, while New Orleans tries to find itself under a new regime. Since I expect that Todd Bowles will have even more say on defense this year, I would argue that we could be looking at one of the better seasons Winfield has played so far.
His NFL pedigree leads me to believe that as long as he stays healthy, Winfield will always be a guy.
4. San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey
From a pure talent perspective, Christian McCaffrey is the best player I will talk about on this list. Like Antoine Winfield Jr., he has obvious NFL pedigree from his famous father. While I do think that he will be the one to get the San Francisco 49ers back into contention, last year was not his first season where he failed to play half of his team's games. McCaffrey missed time when he was with Carolina.
Shockingly enough, McCaffrey is still on the good side of 30. While it remains to be seen how much longer he plans on playing in the NFL, especially at the running back season, I have a feeling he has one or two more great years left in the tank in his borderline hall-of-fame career. Again, San Francisco needs him to be a workhorse because I am not sure Brock Purdy has it in him to carry the entire team.
I may be down on San Francisco in the NFC West race this year, but they always know how to rally.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence
For better or worse, this is the year where Trevor Lawrence needs to make it happen. The former No. 1 overall pick out of Clemson is now entering year five as the face of the Jacksonville Jaguars franchise. He has dealt with injuries, coaching turmoil and everything under the sun that comes with playing professional football in North Florida. Coming in to save his career is head coach Liam Coen.
While I am quite dubious on Coen being panacea for the Black and Teal, I do know that his quarterbacks do typically play better under his guidance. Then again, did we not say the same things about Doug Pederson when he was the team's head coach? Jacksonville should have one of the better receiving corps in football. It will be up to Lawrence to prove he can elevate the team's talent.
If all goes according to plan, he could be pushing for a Pro Bowl and a second trip to the postseason.
2. Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco
I am bullish on running back Isiah Pacheco having a big bounce-back year for the Kansas City Chiefs. This will be year four for him out of Rutgers, meaning this will be a contract year for him. While he missed most of last season with a fracture fibula, I like his chances of being the running back Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs offense leans on. I think it will work out quite wonderfully for him.
Since Pacheco has never made great money before, you know, as a former seventh-round pick out of Rutgers and all, I would venture to guess he will do everything in his power to play as many games as possible for the 2025 Chiefs. In a way, I fear he may price himself out of Kansas City with a monster season in a contract year. The point I am trying to make is he is a serious bounce-back candidate.
If he approaches 1,000 yards rushing once again, someone will pay him big on a second contract.
1. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott
For so many reasons, Dak Prescott is my pick to click in this exercise. Injuries and a long-overdue coaching change culminated in a very frustrating season for Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. Now that Prescott is fully healthy again, I would not be the least bit shocked if he played at Pro Bowl level again and guided this team into the playoffs. Brian Schottenheimer is hoping that will be the case...
Schottenheimer may be a questionable promotion from within candidate for the Cowboys, but knows offense and the entire roster. Now that Prescott is healthy, as is No. 1 wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, look for the Cowboys offense to really take flight this season. The fact they were able to trade for George Pickens in a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers has me getting dangerously high on this team.
Dallas will almost certainly disappoint in the playoffs, should they qualify, but Prescott will be back!