Second-year NFL players poised for breakout seasons: Chiefs’ Xavier Worthy, Cowboys’ Tyler Guyton headline

The average NFL career is just over three seasons, according to Statista, which means teams need to see signs of potential by a player they draft, particularly early on in their careers. 

Should a young NFL player not present developmental progress through their first two NFL seasons, there’s a good chance the league will view their career as cooked. Teams around the NFL will likely not view said player as someone worth investing in long term as a result. Patience isn’t in high supply in the league these days because stars typically establish themselves, at a minimum, in their second season, if they didn’t already do so as a rookie.

With that in mind, here are five second-year players poised to break out in the upcoming 2025 season. Not included are those thought to be stars or emerging stars as rookies. This list is composed of selections who could significantly level up and/or rookies who could rise to stardom in Year 2. 

Obvious choices like the following quarterbacks — the Bears‘ Caleb Williams (Ben Johnson), the Patriots‘ Drake Maye (much more coaching and personnel support), the Falcons‘ Michael Penix Jr. (more play time as the established starter) and the Vikings‘ J.J. McCarthy (starting after recovering from a meniscus injury) are not listed here. 

Kansas City Chiefs 10-time Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce is primed to take a backseat in the Chiefs’ passing game for the first time in his Hall of Fame career. He is set to turn 36 years old on Oct. 5 during his 13th NFL season, and he’s fresh off the worst year of his career in 2024, excluding his rookie season. Kelce averaged a career-low 8.5 yards per reception last season, and his 823 yards receiving were his fewest in a season since his rookie year in 2013. 

Kelce also wilted when the lights were brightest for the Chiefs last season, as he combined for only 58 yards receiving on six catches in the AFC Championship game and Super Bowl LIX combined. Speaking of Super Bowl LIX, Kelce — at times — looked disinterested in participating in the scramble drill while quarterback Patrick Mahomes was running for his life to evade the Philadelphia Eagles‘ pass rush.

Enter wide receiver Xavier Worthy, the 28th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Worthy’s 638 yards receiving were the second-most by a Chief in 2024 behind Kelce’s 823, but they were only the fifth-most among the first-round receivers selected in 2024. He’ll evolve into Mahomes’ go-to guy in 2025, which will help catapult the speedster to stardom. 

Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, a 2024 second-round pick, could evolve into a superstar in 2025. Pro Football Focus assigned him the fifth-best defensive grade among linebackers in 2024 at 85.7, and that’s despite Green Bay not truly knowing what it had in Cooper until the end of the season. Cooper started just four of the 14 games he played, which is why he only finished sixth in NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. Despite his lesser playtime, Cooper’s 13 tackles for loss were tied for the 19th-most in the NFL last season. 

Hip and hamstring injuries contributed to Cooper missing three games, thus preventing him from becoming a player casual NFL fans around the country know. Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said Cooper is up to 240 pounds, up significantly from his rookie playing weight of 229 pounds. Cooper should be a staple in the middle of the Packers’ defense, which could result in a big leap in 2025. 

“Now, when you sit with him in that room, I mean he’s locked in and he’s focused and now he knows what he’s doing,” Hafley said on May 12, via Athlon Sports. “Your first rookie year can kinda be like survival mode a little bit, too, so he just needs to be more consistent, he’s gotta stay healthy, and continue to improve. He’s a guy that we’re really excited about because he can do a lot of different things.”

Edge rusher Laiatu Latu, the Indianapolis Colts‘ 15th overall pick, was the first defensive player chosen in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, his rookie year didn’t experience a lift off to stardom, as he totaled four sacks and five tackles for loss while registering just one start. That could change in 2025. 

Indianapolis has a much improved secondary thanks to the free agency signings of safety Camryn Bynum and cornerback Charvarius Ward. Their presence could help juice his numbers. Bynum is one of only four players with at least 300 tackles and seven or more interceptions in the last three seasons along with 49ers All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, Falcons Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates III and Seahawks Pro Bowl safety Julian Love. Ward, a 2023 second-team All-Pro corner, has allowed the NFL’s ninth-lowest completion percentage (53%) across the last three seasons, minimum 150 targets faced. 

The hire of longtime Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo could also result in Latu being aligned in better spots to make plays, as he just oversaw Trey Hendrickson total 17.5 sacks in each of the past two seasons.

Carolina Panthers first-round wide receiver Xavier Legette had a rocky rookie campaign with only 497 yards receiving and four receiving touchdowns on 49 catches. He also dropped eight passes on his 84 targets, a number that was tied for the ninth-most in the league last season. However, Legette wasn’t in a stable offensive ecosystem with the Panthers, who toggled back and forth between 2023 first overall pick Bryce Young and veteran Andy Dalton at the starting quarterback spot throughout the season. 

Legette banking another year working with Young, who got comfortable following his return from his midseason benching, and having 2025 eighth overall pick Tetairoa McMillan to take some of the focus off of him in coverage, could lead to a breakout. 

Offensive tackle Tyler Guyton, the Dallas Cowboys‘ 29th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, had an uphill battle as a rookie. Dallas drafted him to replace a likely future Hall of Fame left tackle in Tyron Smith despite Guyton playing right tackle in college at Oklahoma. That led to an up-and-down year in which he struggled to master life at the opposite spot on the offensive line, which led to frequent penalty issues. 

Guyton had 14 penalties called against him that were accepted, which was tied for the second-most in the entire NFL in 2024. Ill-timed false starts particularly come to mind. However, he has the physical frame (6-foot-7, 322 pounds) to be a solid NFL left tackle. Another year at the position, plus a much more focused offseason, could help Guyton level up to being a solid starter, something that would be a major boon for the Cowboys in 2025.