With the 2023 NFL regular season behind us, it’s the ideal time to reflect on each team’s biggest disappointment of the season.
While there were plenty of surprises, other players simply didn’t play up to their potential or usual standards this year. With that, let’s dive into every NFL team’s most disappointing player of 2023.
Arizona Cardinals: Marquise Brown
Hollywood certainly chose a bad time to have a lackluster season — in his contract year, no less.
With DeAndre Hopkins gone, the path was there for Brown to emerge as a true WR1. It didn’t happen. Sophomore tight end Trey McBride took over as Arizona’s top offensive weapon, and rookie Michael Wilson was oftentimes a more reliable receiver than Brown — who probably cost himself a lot of money in 2024 free agency.
Atlanta Falcons: Kyle Pitts
Unlike last year, the fourth overall pick of 2021 managed to stay healthy in 2023…yet his production didn’t improve whatsoever.
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Pitts had one receiving touchdown through his first 12 games of 2023. Over his first eight games, Pitts had one game of at least 50 receiving yards. We know that the Falcons had a woeful QB room this year, but it didn’t stop Drake London from putting up excellent numbers again.
Baltimore Ravens: Ronnie Stanley
We’re admittedly nitpicking here since the Ravens finished as the AFC’s top seed. Still, Pro Bowl offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley did not play up to his usual standards in another injury-ravaged season.
Per Pro Football Focus, Stanley set career highs in sacks allowed and penalties committed. We know he’s struggled to stay healthy and all, but PFF’s metrics show the former superstar basically performed as a replaceable-level player this year.
Buffalo Bills: Micah Hyde
Hyde and Jordan Poyer have long been viewed as the best safety tandem in football, but it’s evident this year that Hyde is well past his best-before date.
Hyde was absolutely picked apart by opposing QBs in coverage. Per Pro Football Reference, Hyde surrendered personal worsts in completion percentage when targeted and passer rating when targeted since he joined Buffalo.
And as evidenced by his low pass defense and INT totals, Hyde isn’t exactly making up for his shortcomings in coverage with big-time plays anymore…
Carolina Panthers: Bryce Young
Not that Young deserves all the blame…but considering what Carolina gave up to get him? Yeah, they deserved and understandably expected way better.
The first overall pick of 2023 didn’t have his first 300-yard game since Week 16 against Green Bay. That same contest marked only Young’s second game with multiple passing touchdowns, too.
Young’s struggles prompted the team to fire head coach Frank Reich after a 1-10 start. Young was supposed to be NFL-ready and elevate the Carolina offense upon arrival, but he certainly wasn’t ready for the big boys league this year.
Chicago Bears: Tremaine Edmunds
The Bears signed the ex-Bills star to a four-year deal worth $72 million in free agency, hoping he’d help improve the league’s worst scoring D from a year ago.
Chicago didn’t seem to notice that Edmunds was largely the beneficiary of playing on a star-studded Bills D. As well, didn’t they ever think that $72 million was too much for an off-ball linebacker?
Edmunds was ripped apart by opposing QBs in coverage, and PFF graded him as an “average-level” player this year. Not sure about you, but that doesn’t sound like a $72 million player.
Cincinnati Bengals: Tee Higgins
Like Hollywood Brown, Higgins failed to perform up to standards in his contract year. The big-bodied wideout was too often a non-factor for the Bengals this year, even going seven straight games at one point without a TD.
Factor in the inconsistent play with injuries that caused him to miss time and Higgins fell well short of a third straight 70-catch and 1,000-yard season. If this was it for him as a Bengal, he certainly didn’t go out on a pretty note.
Cleveland Browns: Deshaun Watson
It’s another case of nitpicking here since the Browns exceeded expectations and finished as the AFC’s top wild card team.
Sorry, but it’s embarrassing for Deshaun Watson that he was statistically outplayed by 38-year-old Joe Flacco this year. Watson had just 1,115 passing yards, seven touchdowns, four picks and an 84.3 QB rating in the six games he played before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
$230 million guaranteed for a guy who was outplayed by Jacoby Brissett a year ago and by Flacco in 2023? Is it too late for the Browns to admit their mistake and get out of this contract
Dallas Cowboys: Michael Gallup
In a make-or-break year for Gallup, the 27-year-old turned in, well, a “broken” year.
All of Dallas’ other pricy and big-named players produced in the regular season. Gallup, finally healthy for the first time in three years, has pieced together the least-productive season of his career. He was merely the No. 4 pass-catcher in Big D this year, and Brandin Cooks’ arrival leaves Jerry Jones with an easy decision to cut or trade Gallup in the offseason.
Denver Broncos: Jerry Jeudy
Russell Wilson had a nice bounce-back year in Mile High City…at least statistically speaking. However, 2020 first-round pick Jerry Jeudy played a surprisingly minimal role in helping Wilson resurge this year.
Too often a non-factor, Jeudy didn’t have his first receiving TD until his seventh game. A giant letdown of a year for a guy who had his best season a year ago. The Broncos have him under contract for one more year, but it’s obvious that a trade in the offseason would benefit both parties.
Detroit Lions: Jameson Williams
Will 2022 first-round pick Jameson Williams ever put it all together? He has quickly become an afterthought in Motor City, with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam Laporta, David Montgomery, Jahmyr Gibbs and Josh Reynolds enjoying more prominent roles on the offense.
Feels like Williams gets you that one explosive play every few weeks, then you don’t hear from him for a while. At least, that was the case this year.
Green Bay Packers: Jaire Alexander
Injuries sidelined Alexander for most of the year, yes. But when on the field, he was inexplicably more of a liability then a reliability in the Packer secondary.
The All-Pro corner yielded career highs in completion percentage allowed and passer rating allowed when targeted, per Pro Football Ref. A longtime darling at Pro Football Focus, Alexander also turned in his worst PFF grade this year.
Houston Texans: Dameon Pierce
Pierce was an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate last year after recording 939 rushing yards and four touchdowns despite missing four games. What did he do for an encore? Ahem…become a victim of the well-documented “sophomore slump.”
Free agent pickup Devin Singletary emerged as the Texans’ new RB1. Who’da thought CJ Stroud would enjoy so much success as a rookie with Pierce playing a very minimal role in the offense?
Indianapolis Colts: Alec Pierce
Hard to pick one, because the Colts completely exceeded expectations in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. But we suppose second-year wideout Alec Pierce underwhelmed this season, following a promising 2022 campaign on a lousy Colts team.
Rookie third-round pick Josh Downs, not Pierce, emerged as Indy’s No. 2 receiver behind Michael Pittman Jr.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Tyson Campbell
Campbell looked like a rising star after a 2022 breakout season that helped Jacksonville to the AFC South. The physical ball-hawking corner, however, has been one of several notable underachievers in Duval County this season.
Campbell yielded only a 78.0 passer rating last year…but that number jumped up by nearly 50 points this year. His PFF grade also dropped by roughly 20 points…all in just one year.
Kansas City Chiefs: Jawaan Taylor
After letting Pro Bowl offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. leave, the Chiefs signed ex-Jaguar Jawaan Taylor to a four-year pact worth a whopping $80 million.
Taylor was downright awful, to put it mildly, finishing as the runaway leader in penalties committed for the regular season. He was barely graded above 50 by PFF and allowed five-plus sacks for the fifth straight year to begin his career.
Las Vegas Raiders: Tyree Wilson
Few rookies were more disappointing this year than the No. 7 pick out of Texas Tech. Wilson was supposed to be NFL-ready but hardly made an impact on a Raiders’ defense that was among the bigger surprises of 2023.
Wilson played less than half of the Raiders’ defensive snaps and was graded below 50 by PFF for the year. Time to turn the page and look to 2024. This was anything but a memorable first season for him.
Los Angeles Chargers: Austin Ekeler
Good thing the Bolts never gave Ekeler that extension this offseason…
Injuries to Justin Herbert, Mike Willams, Keenan Allen and the absence of star center Corey Linsley didn’t help matters, sure. But after scoring 38 total touchdowns over the last two years, Ekeler suddenly stopped producing in the red zone — and his rushing numbers fell off significantly after back-to-back 900-yard campaigns.
Los Angeles Rams: Joe Noteboom
The Rams made an unexpected return to the postseason this year, so it’s hard to find any real “disappointments” on the roster. That said, the usually rock-solid Joe Noteboom was a weak link on the Rams’ revamped o-line this year.
LA’s o-line enjoyed a great bounce-back year in 2023, but Noteboom wasn’t a factor in it. The Rams should probably try to get out of his contract this offseason and find a younger, cheaper and simply better alternative.
Miami Dolphins: Xavien Howard
It’s easy to overlook the shortcomings on Miami’s defense this year thanks to their explosive and highlight-reel offense. But 2023 truly has been a forgettable year for the four-time Pro Bowl corner, who’s taken a backseat to Jalen Ramsey as Miami’s new superstar corner.
The renowned ball-hawker put up a low stat line for his usual standards and also graded as a replaceable-level player at PFF.
Minnesota Vikings: Alexander Mattison
Minny released four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook, believing Alexander Mattison would be able to take over as the new RB1. Boy, were they wrong.
Mattison failed to give the Minny ground game any spark, and it forced the team to trade for ex-Rams standout Cam Akers before the deadline. After Akers suffered a season-ending injury, the
Vikings gave second-year back Ty Chandler an expanded role — and he wound up outperforming Mattison down the stretch.
New England Patriots: Mac Jones
Jones was benched not once, not twice, not thrice, but FOUR times in favor of Bailey Zappe this season. Jones lost nine of his 11 starts and had 10 touchdowns against 12 picks before Zappe took over as the starter in Week 13.
Adios, Mac. There will always be 2021…
New Orleans Saints: Derek Carr
After his release from the Raiders, Carr signed a four-year deal with New Orleans worth $150 million. Playing in football’s worst division and on a roster loaded with weapons, Carr was in a good spot to put up career numbers.
Carr instead put up his worst numbers since 2017. He had to leave three games with injuries and mostly made headlines for screaming at his receivers and offensive linemen during games instead of accepting blame.
New York Giants: Darren Waller
Daniel Jones would have qualified here if he didn’t miss all but six games this year. Then again, Jones would have fared better if Waller played up to his potential this year.
Acquired from the Raiders in an offseason blockbuster trade, the two-time 1,000-yard pass-catcher struggled to get much going in the Giants’ offense. He’s supposed to be a dynamic red zone weapon, yet he didn’t record his first TD until Week 7.
And so, the Giants’ search for a legitimate game-changing pass-catcher continues…
New York Jets: Allen Lazard
Before landing Aaron Rodgers, the Jets signed the ex-Packers wideout to a four-year deal worth $44 million. Lazard was coming off a career year in 2022, but 2023 was easily his worst year since becoming a regular in 2019.
It didn’t help that Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 1, sure. But it’s not ideal when running back Breece Hall and Tyler Conklin are way ahead of you on the team receiving leaderboard.
There’s always 2024, Mr. Lazard.
Philadelphia Eagles: James Bradberry
After earning a Second-Team All-Pro nod last year, Bradberry signed a three-year extension with the Eagles worth $38 million.
Bradberry somehow went from hero to zero in less than a year. He allowed a passer rating north of 100 this year after yielding a 51.6 passer rating a year ago. His sudden decline contributed to the Eagles’ secondary regressing into one of football’s worst this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Kenny Pickett
The pieces were there for the 2022 first-round pick to enjoy a breakout year. Instead, this was Pickett’s stat line before his ankle injury: 2,070 yards, six touchdowns and four picks in 12 games.
While Pickett was sidelined, the Steelers offense finally began to explode with Mason — which by the way doesn’t look good on the former by the way.
San Francisco 49ers: Javon Kinlaw
We are splitting hairs here, because the 49ers finished as the NFC’s No. 1 seed thanks to elite production from all of their stars.
But 2020 first-rounder and defensive linemen Javon Kinlaw certainly didn’t produce in a make-or-break year, and the 49ers have an easy call to let him walk to free agency. I mean, two straight years with a PFF grade below 50 just won’t cut it.
Seattle Seahawks: Jamal Adams
Adams’ play on the field has been woeful, but it goes well beyond him getting burned in coverage time and time again. He was made inactive for Week 15 against the Eagles, with Pete Carroll even sending him home.
Adams also went after a reporter’s wife on Twitter because he didn’t appreciate the criticism, which by the way was totally justified. Woof, did the Adams trade quickly become a disaster for Seattle.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Devin White
Also in a contract year, the 2020 playoff hero continued his underwhelming and lackluster play here in 2023. And the Bucs have an easy choice to part ways this upcoming offseason.
Once again, nowhere close to the career-high nine sacks he posted in the Bucs’ Super Bowl championship season.
Tennessee Titans: Treylon Burks
After an injury-riddled and inconsistent rookie year, Burks hasn’t fared any better in year two. I mean, Chris Moore, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine and No. 2 RB Tyjae Spears were more productive receivers than Burks.
2024 is shaping up to be a make-or-break year for Burks, folks.
Washington Commanders: Daron Payne
The Commanders went from the No. 7 scoring defense to the most unwatchable in football this year by a country mile. The usually-ferocious pass-rush was nowhere to be seen this year, and it starts with Daron Payne.
Last offseason, Payne signed a four-year extension worth $90 million after posting a career-best 11.5 sacks. Coming off his first Pro Bowl nod, Payne instead has followed it up with perhaps his worst and by far his most unproductive season.
Try again next year, Daron.
Who do you think was the most disappointing NFL player of 2023?
