Just as franchises have a clean slate for the 2023 NFL season, players do, too. Several have already made big statements to start the season.
After a strong Week 1 showing, can Mac Jones rebound from a down 2022 season and return to his 2021 form? Could stars such as Matthew Stafford, Joey Bosa and Odell Beckham Jr. be on track to have a big year after an injury-plagued season?
We asked our NFL Nation reporters to pick 32 bounce-back candidates for this season, explain what happened last season and what's in store in 2023. Each player mentioned has shown in the past he can play at a high level, and our list includes a few young players who were drafted high.
Let's start with a Buffalo Bills wide receiver expected to play a larger role in 2023.
Jump to:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI | CIN
CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF
SEA | TB | TEN | WSH
AFC EAST
Buffalo Bills
WR Gabe Davis
Davis suffered a high ankle sprain in practice before Week 2 of last season, and both he and general manager Brandon Beane have spoken about the impact the injury had on the rest of his season. He finished with 48 receptions for 836 yards and seven touchdowns, but also a league-leading nine drops.
Coach Sean McDermott said the Bills need a No. 2 option of some variety to open up for QB Josh Allen. "Whether it's a wide receiver, tight end, back, whatever it is," McDermott said, "we need that and probably didn't get it as much as we would have liked to [vs. the Jets.]" Davis caught two passes on four targets for 32 yards in the season opener Monday night. -- Alaina Getzenberg
Miami Dolphins
Howard was a Pro Bowler in 2022, but even he would say it wasn't his best season, because he played hurt. He grabbed one interception after having five in 2021 and 10 in 2020. His passes defended total also dropped from 20 (2020) and 16 (2021) to 12 (2022). With the injuries to the Dolphins' other corners, Howard missing time would've been an unmitigated disaster for their secondary. He has a better supporting cast this year and is fully healthy, so he should snap back to form in 2023. -- Marcel Louis-Jacques
New England Patriots
QB Mac Jones
After playing in the Pro Bowl as a rookie as an injury replacement, Jones slipped in 2022 (down from 22 touchdown passes to 14) under a new offensive system and coaching staff. But there are early signs he's bouncing back under new coordinator Bill O'Brien after a Week 1 performance in which he was 35-of-54 for 316 yards with three touchdown passes and one interception.
While the interception was a costly pick-six and Jones was hard on himself for not coming through in the fourth quarter, teammates lifted him up. "Mac balled out," veteran RB Ezekiel Elliott said. "The lights were on, and he was on." -- Mike Reiss
New York Jets
RT Mekhi Becton
Becton surprised many by winning a starting job in training camp after missing all but one game in 2021 and 2022 due to two surgeries on his right knee. The 2020 first-round pick reported to camp at 350 pounds (he was as much as 400) and regained his stamina, allowing his talent to shine through. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Becton has "come a long way. I'm really proud of him. The way that Mekhi has grown ... has been really spectacular."
Becton's pass block win rate (70.6%) for Week 1 wasn't great, but it was his first complete game since his rookie season. If healthy, Becton has a chance to be special. -- Rich Cimini
AFC NORTH
Baltimore Ravens
WR Odell Beckham Jr.
After being sidelined for the entire 2022 season with a torn left ACL suffered in Super Bowl LVI with the Rams, Beckham is back in the NFL and serving as the Ravens' No. 1 wide receiver as far as participation. Beckham was on the field for 59 snaps (92%), which topped all Baltimore receivers. But he didn't put up big numbers in his Ravens debut, catching two passes for 37 yards, though Beckham did draw two pass interference penalties that totaled 43 yards.
"He makes my job a lot easier," QB Lamar Jackson said. "Put it anywhere in his perimeter and he's going to make something happen." When healthy, Beckham can be a game-changer, as he's eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark five times in his career. -- Jamison Hensley
Cincinnati Bengals
A knee injury didn't help Williams in his effort to secure the left tackle spot. He ranked 55th out of 64 players in pass block win rate as a tackle last season. He didn't have a great game in Week 1 in his debut at right tackle, posting a 72.2% pass block win rate. But he'll be looking to show NFL teams he can be a quality starting tackle as he enters the final year of his rookie contract. -- Ben Baby
Cleveland Browns
Delpit struggled through the first half of last season after coming off a right Achilles injury. But down the stretch, he quietly began to surge. After the Browns' bye week, he had 56 tackles and three interceptions. He carried that momentum over with a dominating performance against the Bengals in Week 1. Delpit gave up just 18 yards receiving on eight targets defended to go along with a team-high eight tackles, a sign that he could be primed to take a big step forward in a contract year. -- Jake Trotter
Pittsburgh Steelers
In what he and the Steelers hope was an aberration, Johnson didn't score a single touchdown last season. But he should find ways to shake double coverages and get back on the board with the addition of Allen Robinson II and the continued emergence of second-year receiver George Pickens. Johnson spent the offseason working with QB Kenny Pickett, accelerating their connection.
"He's come in with a real hard-working attitude this camp," offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. "I think he and Kenny have done the things that we all wanted to see happen much faster last year, which really doesn't happen fast." Complicating that, though, is a left hamstring injury Johnson sustained in Week 1. The Steelers will likely be without Johnson for Monday night's game against Cleveland. -- Brooke Pryor
AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans
WR Robert Woods
Woods had a career-low 527 receiving yards, averaging 31 yards per game for the Titans in 2022. In Week 1 against the Ravens, he had 57 yards on six receptions. If he can continue to mirror that performance, he is on pace to surpass his career low from last season and perhaps approach his form in 2020, when he had 90 receptions for 936 yards and six touchdowns while playing for the Rams. -- DJ Bien-Aime
Indianapolis Colts
It's been two years of surgeries and fighting through lower-leg pain for Leonard, but during his regular-season debut on Sunday, he looked as quick and nimble as he has at any point since 2021. Leonard, who had eight tackles, has a ways to go to return to the game-changing plays of the past. But that has as much to do with his role in the current scheme as his physical abilities. He played 60 snaps Sunday, his most in a game since Week 18 of the 2021 season. -- Stephen Holder
Jacksonville Jaguars
LB Devin Lloyd
The No. 27 overall pick in last year's draft started off hot, winning Defensive Rookie of the Month for September, but struggled for much of the season afterward. He had issues lining up correctly and missing assignments and got benched from the starting lineup twice. He said this year his mind is clearer and that is allowing him to play faster, which showed in the opener (three tackles and a fumble recovery). -- Michael DiRocco
Tennessee Titans
The 2022 first-round pick finished with only 33 receptions for 444 yards and one touchdown after various injuries kept him out of six games in 2022. Burks focused on his conditioning during the offseason, and the result was a more confident, comfortable player entering his second season.
Although he suffered a sprained LCL in his left knee during training camp, Burks returned to practice after missing 12 days and posted two receptions for 18 yards in the season-opening loss to the Saints. "He's big, he's fast, and he's making plays," QB Ryan Tannehill said of Burks. "So, you pair him with D-Hop [DeAndre Hopkins] and we have a really good one-two punch." -- Turron Davenport
AFC WEST
Denver Broncos
Williams' recovery after suffering multiple ligament tears in his right knee last season was one of the brightest spots of the Broncos' offseason. He played 28 snaps without a brace on the surgically repaired knee in the Broncos' Week 1 loss to the Raiders. He rushed for 52 yards on his 13 carries and caught four passes.
The Broncos will monitor his workload but are more than pleased with how things are going with Williams, who ran for 903 yards and four touchdowns in 2021. Williams and Samaje Perine are expected to handle the bulk of the duties in the run game moving forward. "It's crazy, you can't help but feel good to see him out there, see what he's doing and all the work he put in,'' WR Courtland Sutton said. "But if you know Javonte, you can't really be surprised." -- Jeff Legwold
Kansas City Chiefs
Wharton was not effective in the season opener -- he had a pass rush win rate of zero. But he missed most of last season with a torn ACL in his left knee, and the fact he was back in the lineup at all was a win for him. He should improve as the season goes on and will get plenty of opportunities to be the Chiefs' bounce-back candidate as they look for support alongside Chris Jones. -- Adam Teicher
Las Vegas Raiders
Coming off a 103-catch Pro Bowl season in 2021, Renfrow had career lows in catches (36), receiving yards (330), receiving TDs (two) and games (10) last season. Coach Josh McDaniels has said Renfrow will be a big part of the Raiders' plans moving forward, but is not getting targeted a single time and playing a career-tying-low 13 snaps in the opener at Denver a harbinger, or just a jumping-off point for bigger and better things? With No. 2 WR Jakobi Meyers in the NFL's concussion protocol, expect the latter. -- Paul Gutierrez
Los Angeles Chargers
OLB Joey Bosa
A groin injury torpedoed Bosa's 2022 campaign, limiting him to 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in five games -- career worst in each of those four categories. Bosa got off to a quiet start in the season opener against Miami, making one tackle without a sack or tackle for loss while finishing with a 21.1% win rate on 39 pass rush snaps.
With his track record as one of the elite disruptors in the game when healthy, Bosa is putting extra pressure on himself to finally lead the Chargers on a long playoff run. "As I get older, the opportunities [to win] get smaller and smaller," he said on Aug. 31. -- Daniel Greenspan
NFC EAST
Dallas Cowboys
Gallup caught 39 passes for 424 yards and four touchdowns last season after returning from a torn ACL in his left knee late in 2021. He might have been healthy, but he said mentally, he never fully trusted his knee. He said he was 100% fit physically and mentally this offseason, however. Although Gallup had just one catch for 10 yards on two targets in the season opener, coach Mike McCarthy has mentioned the Cowboys plan to move him around the formation more and not just run "go" routes all the time. With WRs Brandin Cooks and CeeDee Lamb, the chances might not be bountiful, but Gallup can still be a major part of the offense for QB Dak Prescott. -- Todd Archer
New York Giants
OLB Azeez Ojulari
The dangerous edge rusher has 13.5 sacks in 25 games over his first three seasons. That's solid, as he is averaging 0.54 sacks per game. But injuries have been an issue, as Ojulari missed 10 of 17 games last season due to a variety of injuries (hamstring, calf, ankle), limiting his sack total to 5.5. When healthy (he was limited in practice due to a hamstring injury), Ojulari can do some major damage -- like potentially racking up double-digit sacks for the first time in his career. -- Jordan Raanan
Philadelphia Eagles
WR Quez Watkins
Watkins had 33 catches for 354 yards last season -- a sharp drop-off from 2021, when he caught 43 balls for 647 yards. That was due, in part, to limited opportunities following the addition of A.J. Brown, but some of it was performance-driven. Watkins acknowledged his confidence took a hit after he suffered a Grade 2 shoulder sprain in early December.
There are a number of mouths to feed in a Philadelphia passing attack that includes Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert. Watkins' bounce-back could be reflected statistically, but it's more about coming up with big catches in critical moments -- an area he fell short in last season. -- Tim McManus
Washington Commanders
DE Chase Young
Young missed 14 games last season while recovering from a torn ACL and ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee. He played the final three games but did not record a sack. Before his injury in 2021, he had recorded nine sacks in his first 24 games, with 7.5 coming as a rookie in 2020. He missed the season opener with a neck injury (stinger).
Young looked quicker off the snap before his neck injury -- and had cut down on some of the stutter-stepping that led to ineffective rushes in 2021 -- fueling optimism that he could regain the form that once made him the Defensive Rookie of the Year. -- John Keim
NFC NORTH
Chicago Bears
No one should be more motivated to rebound from a lackluster 2022 than Claypool, who is in a contract year. The Bears gave up what effectively became a first-round pick (No. 32 overall) for the wide receiver last season, yet he caught only 14 passes for 140 yards in seven games after he was traded from Pittsburgh. Claypool is a fiery competitor, and he had the benefit of an entire offseason to learn Chicago's offense. Talent has never been an issue with the former second-rounder -- as evidenced by the 62 receptions for 873 yards and nine touchdowns he had as a rookie in 2020 -- but the start he got off to this season (two targets against Green Bay that resulted in no catches) leaves a lot to be desired. -- Courtney Cronin
Detroit Lions
The pass-rusher was limited to four starts in six games last season while dealing with a severe groin injury. He was named one of the Lions' team captains this year, however, as he has returned to full strength. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said they never forgot about him as they're looking to get him back to his 2021 form, where he broke out with a career-best 7.5 sacks and 65 tackles in 17 games. Harris started in Week 1 against the Chiefs, finishing with two tackles. -- Eric Woodyard
Green Bay Packers
What a start to the season for Savage. He led the Packers in Week 1 with 10 tackles, including a big stick for a 7-yard loss, in the opener against the Bears. It's exactly the kind of bounce-back the Packers were looking for from the former first-round pick after a 2022 season that saw him get benched for a short stint.
"We all know kind of the ups and downs that he had last season," coach Matt LaFleur said. "... He's off to a really good start and we anticipate and expect it to keep on going that way." -- Rob Demovsky
Minnesota Vikings
Evans' promising rookie season was cut short by three trips into the concussion protocol. He started only two games and managed just 159 total defensive snaps. But after an offseason focused on improving his tackling technique and seeking out a new helmet and mouthpiece to protect himself, Evans returned to the starting lineup and played a career-high 62 snaps in Week 1.
"There were some plays throughout camp I think back to, and he popped back up and was ready to go on the next play," coach Kevin O'Connell said. "I think it is a testament to his mindset in the offseason." -- Kevin Seifert
NFC SOUTH
Atlanta Falcons
TE Kyle Pitts
The No. 8 pick in the 2021 draft is coming off an injury-plagued season (right knee) in which he had 28 receptions for 356 yards and two touchdowns. Pitts showed more of his rookie-year potential in Week 1, particularly on a 34-yard reception in double coverage in the second half. While he didn't have a ton of production -- three targets, two catches for 44 yards -- he looked like the player he was as a rookie when he caught 68 passes for 1,026 yards en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.
Pitts' 34-yarder on Sunday was one coach Arthur Smith said Pitts needed -- along with the team -- as he continues to progress through steps following his injury. And some of his production from Sunday is skewed because a 26-yard catch was wiped out by a penalty. So there's reason to believe in Pitts for 2023. -- Michael Rothstein
Carolina Panthers
Chinn was limited to one sack, one quarterback hit and 70 tackles last season -- after having more than 100 tackles and five QB hits in each of his first two seasons -- after the Panthers moved him off the line of scrimmage. Getting him back closer to the line and more involved has been an emphasis in switching to the 3-4 scheme where Chinn will play big nickel, safety and linebacker. His impact might be as big as any single player's to this defense. -- David Newton
New Orleans Saints
Lattimore missed 10 games due to a kidney injury last season, the most of his career. Multiple Saints players and coaches mentioned he was having one of the best training camps of his career, and if Week 1 was any indication, they were right. Lattimore has already equaled his pass breakups (four) and interceptions (one) from 2022, and the four-time Pro Bowler has a chance to set some personal records if he stays healthy and keeps up the pace. -- Katherine Terrell
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
RT Luke Goedeke
Goedeke played inside as a left guard for the first time during his rookie 2022 season, starting eight total games. He was OK as a run-blocker, but his 80.1% pass block win rate ranked among the worst in the NFL. He surrendered five sacks and struggled to the point that he was benched after eight starts in favor of Nick Leverett. Now, Goedeke has moved to right tackle, which was his position in college and is considered a more natural fit for him. -- Jenna Laine
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals
Injuries decimated Moore's 2022 season, limiting him to just eight games, 41 receptions and 414 yards in what was expected to be a breakout sophomore campaign. The promise was there, but the availability wasn't. Moore has said in the past that he knows he has a reputation for not staying healthy.
This season, the Cardinals' plan is to use him more in the vertical passing game to take advantage of his speed. He caught three targets in Week 1 for 33 yards and had two carries for 12 yards. -- Josh Weinfuss
Los Angeles Rams
Stafford is coming off a season in which he played just nine games due to a spinal cord contusion, and in those games, he threw 10 touchdown passes and eight interceptions and finished with a QBR of 52.3, nearly 17 points below the 69.2 he registered in the Rams' Super Bowl-winning season of 2021. The quarterback said he now feels healthy, and in Week 1 against the Seahawks, coach Sean McVay said Stafford checked "all the boxes" with his play.
He didn't have WR Cooper Kupp in the season opener (and won't for at least the next three games), but he completed 24 of 38 passes for 334 yards. -- Sarah Barshop
San Francisco 49ers
After a promising start to his rookie season, Jackson ended 2022 with just three sacks and was a healthy scratch down the stretch. He spent his offseason adding weight to better handle the rigors of playing every down with the goal of becoming the starting edge complement opposite Nick Bosa. The early returns are good, as Jackson matched his sack total from last season in Week 1. With Bosa, Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead next to him, he should have no shortage of one-on-one pass rush opportunities. -- Nick Wagoner
Seattle Seahawks
ILB Jordyn Brooks
Brooks is trying to bounce back from a bad injury, a torn ACL in his right knee he suffered on Jan. 1. He's already off to a good start, making it back for Week 1 despite being less than eight and a half months removed from getting hurt. He played 52 snaps in the opener, made 12 tackles, and, according to coach Pete Carroll, "did probably his best job in coverage that he's done." Brooks has been a tackling machine, finishing second in the NFL in 2021 with 184 tackles. -- Brady Henderson