The regular season is over!
While all 32 NFL teams had at least one notable player who fell short of expectations this season, there’s a positive flip side to that: They also each had one player exceed expectations by putting together a Pro Bowl-caliber season out of nowhere.
So without further ado, let’s dive into all 32 NFL teams’ most surprising player of the 2023 NFL Season.
Arizona Cardinals: Jalen Thompson
Thompson has been one of the few bright spots on a rebuilding and talent-devoid Cardinals team that missed Kyler Murray for most of the year.
The fifth-year safety was one of Arizona’s top defensive backs in coverage this year. Last year, he allowed a passer rating of 113.1. That number dropped to 80.3, and he finished with his highest Pro Football Focus grade yet at 71.3.
Atlanta Falcons: Jessie Bates III
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The four-year, $64.02 million deal the Falcons handed Jessie Bates in free agency was universally panned, as he only had one great season under his belt during his run with the Bengals.
Now we see why the Falcons did it. Bates emerged as the MVP of the Atlanta D that unexpectedly morphed into a top-10 group this year. He set new career-highs in interceptions with six en route to his first career Pro Bowl nod.
Baltimore Ravens: Justin Madubuike
Madubuike entered this season with 8.5 career sacks. So yeah, him finishing as the Ravens’ sack leader with 13 certainly wasn’t on anybody’s bingo card.
Madubuike’s breakout year helped the Ravens field a top-five defense in just about every major category, and they finished as the AFC’s top seed as a result.
Buffalo Bills: Terrel Bernard
After seeing minimal usage as a rookie last year, Bernard got an expanded role and made the most of it.
Buffalo’s 2022 third-round pick stepped up in the absences of defensive pillars Matt Milano and Von Miller, providing excellent coverage at linebacker while developing into one of their top pass-rusher — tallying a career-high 6.5 sacks on the year.
Let’s see if he can hit All-Pro status and double-digit sacks in 2024…
Carolina Panthers: Adam Thielen
Almost nothing went right for the Panthers this year, and that makes Adam Thielen’s 2023 season all the more surprising.
Playing on football’s worst team, the 33-year-old turned back the clock to finish with his first 100-catch and 1,000-yard season since 2018. Thielen was Carolina’s only productive pass-catching weapon for rookie QB Bryce Young, but imagine how much uglier it would’ve been if he wasn’t there in the first place.
This old guy has a lot of football left in him, folks.
Chicago Bears: Braxton Jones
Much of the focus on the Bears this season was the improvement in the passing game and the defense as a whole…but second-year offensive tackle Braxton Jones needs some love here as well.
Per PFF, Jones allowed seven sacks a year ago. He cleaned up the pass protection issues this year and allowed just two sacks while developing into one of the league’s premier run-blocking offensive tackles.
Cincinnati Bengals: Jordan Battle
Battle was a workhorse in a rotational role this year, grading out as one of the league’s top run-stopping defensive backs at PFF.
Joe Burrow’s injury doomed the Bengals’ season, but there’s still a lot to like about this group heading into 2024. Among reasons for optimism: Jordan Battle AND fellow rising star Dax Hill forming the new starting safety tandem in Cincy.
Cleveland Browns: Joe Flacco
How about this for a Comeback Player of the Year story?
The banged-up Cleveland Browns signed Flacco to their practice squad in November. Five weeks later, he led them to four wins in five starts — posting four 300-yard outings and 13 touchdowns en route to the AFC’s No. 5 seed.
Not bad for a guy that was mostly occupied getting his kids to school before the Browns came calling. The Super Bowl 47 MVP clearly has a lot left in that 39-year-old arm of his…
Dallas Cowboys: DaRon Bland
Bland stepped up big-time with All-Pro corner Trevon Digs out for most of the year.
He recorded his fifth pick-six of the season in the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving game against Washington. That fifth pick-six, by the way, set a new single-season record. Oh, and he finished as the league’s INTs leader with nine.
Bland’s historically-good ball-hawking season earned him his first career Pro Bowl nod. And to think that Diggs will return next year…
Denver Broncos: Jonathan Cooper
Denver’s defense was hot-and-cold all season long, but the third-year linebacker was consistent from Week 1 til the end of the year.
Cooper burst onto the scene as the Broncos’ top pass-rusher here in 2023, recording a team-leading 8.5 sacks.
Detroit Lions: Sam LaPorta
Nobody had LaPorta producing as a top-five rookie pass-catcher this year, and certainly few thought he’d be miles better than more highly-touted tight ends Michael Mayer and Dalton Kincaid this year.
But LaPorta exploded as a superstar for Dan Campbell’s Lions this year. LaPorta hauled in 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns, leading Detroit to its first division title in 30 years.
Green Bay Packers: Jayden Reed
With Christian Watson and Aaron Jones missing valuable time, the Packers needed someone to step up as Jordan Love’s go-to weapon. Rookie Jayden Reed was happy to answer the call.
Reed led the Pack with 64 receptions for 793 yards and eight touchdowns — allowing Love to piece together a strong breakout year that culminated in an unexpected return to the postseason.
Houston Texans: Tank Dell
A fractured fibula injury unfortunately cut Dell’s season short, but what a first impression the rookie third-round pick made.
Dell racked up 47 receptions for 709 yards and seven touchdowns before his injury, helping Houston unexpectedly emerge as an AFC contender this year. Dell, Nico Collins and CJ Stroud set the league on fire in year one together, and there’s no telling what kind of gear they’ll kick it into next year.
Indianapolis Colts: Samson Ebukam
The Colts signed the ex-49er to a three-year deal in free agency, looking for another star pass-rusher to help DeForest Buckner.
Ebukam more than fulfilled that role, taking over as the Colts’ new defensive MVP and top pass-rusher by recording 9.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Darious Williams
Coming off a breakout 2022 campaign, Tyson Campbell regressed considerably for the Jaguars this year. The reason you didn’t notice? Probably that Darious Williams turned in perhaps his best season to cancel out Campbell’s unexpected decline.
Williams set a new career-high in pass defenses with 19 and yielded only a 63.9 passer rating when targeted.
Kansas City Chiefs: Trent McDuffie
Everyone knows about the dazzling duo in the secondary in L’Jarius Sneed and Justin Reid. But now it’s a terrifying trio, thanks to McDuffie’s rise to stardom.
McDuffie was easily KC’s best defensive back this year, grading out at 82.9 at PFF while tallying three sacks, seven pass defenses and five forced fumbles. Looks like KC may have found its new Tyrann Mathieu here in McDuffie.
Las Vegas Raiders: Robert Spillane
The former Steeler came out of nowhere in his first season with the Raiders and became a vital part of their unexpected success on defense. Spillane easily set new career-highs across the board in sacks and interceptions while providing steady man-to-man coverage as well.
That two-year deal already looks like a massive steal for the Silver and Black. Now they have Spillane, Maxx Crosby AND Tyree Wilson to build the front seven around.
Los Angeles Chargers: Khalil Mack
We certainly thought Mack was past his best-before date heading into this year. But in a lost year for the Chargers, the future Hall of Famer reminded everybody that he’s got a lot of elite football left in him.
Mack finished with a career-high 17 sacks, highlighted of course by that insane six-sack outing in Week 4 against the Raiders. He’s back, folks. He’s very much back.
Los Angeles Rams: Puka Nacua
All this rookie fifth-round pick out of BYU did was lead all rookies in receptions and receiving yards. Not bad for a 177th overall pick.
Nacua finished with 105 catches for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns — leading the Rams to a surprise 10-win season and wild card berth. How do Sean McVay and Les Snead keep getting away with finding late-round gems?
Miami Dolphins: Raheem Mostert
Despite missing two games, Mostert finished with a career-high 1,012 rushing yards, a league-leading 18 rushing scores and also a league-leading 21 total TDs from scrimmage.
Not bad for a 31-year-old that carries an “injury-prone label.” Who saw that coming?
Minnesota Vikings: Ivan Pace Jr.
New DC Brian Flores did a remarkable job turning the Vikings’ helpless defense into a stingy unit this year. And the rise of rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. certainly helped Flores, alright.
Pace flew across the field as a do-it-all playmaker for the Vikings. He was rock-solid in coverage and tallied 2.5 sacks, one interception, two pass defenses and 102 combined tackles.
Just wait and see what he does for an encore in year two…
New England Patriots: Jabrill Peppers
After a “meh” first year with the Pats in 2022, Peppers turned in an All-Pro-caliber season on an otherwise disappointing New England squad.
Peppers hauled in two interceptions and eight pass defenses while yielding a 72.7 passer rating when targeted. As well, PFF had him graded at a remarkable 87.3 on the year. That two-year, $9 million pact he signed last year was a major coup for the Pats front office, huh?
New Orleans Saints: Carl Granderson
Some of New Orleans’ top players didn’t perform this year as hoped, but the likes of Carl Granderson and Paulson Adebo stepped their game up and helped keep this defense afloat all-year long.
In a down year for perennial Pro Bowler Cameron Jordan, Granderson broke out as the Saints’ top pass-rusher — recording a team-leading 8.5 sacks and a career-best 78 tackles.
New York Giants: Deonte Banks
The Giants weren’t able to build off their unexpected postseason run last year, but they can feel good about getting their 2023 first-round pick right.
Rookie corner Deonte Banks was a bright spot in a leaky Giants secondary, recording two interceptions and 11 pass defenses while allowing just a 55.2 completion percentage when targeted.
Consider him the top 2024 breakout candidate for Big Blue in 2024.
New York Jets: Bryce Huff
The Jets’ D did its part in keeping the team together after losing Aaron Rodgers for the year in Week 1. Huff’s unexpected rise to stardom was a key reason why the Jets fielded another elite defense this year.
After compiling just 7.5 sacks over his first three seasons, Huff broke out in year four with a team-leading 10 sacks. Up next, a shiny payday for the pending free agent.
Philadelphia Eagles: Reed Blankenship
The Eagles defense was a disaster in the second half of 2023, but second-year safety Reed Blankenship certainly isn’t at fault. He was one of the unit’s few bright spots, finishing with three interceptions, 11 pass defenses and 113 combined tackles.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Jaylen Warren
Najee Harris was Pittsburgh’s lead back and finished with another 1,000-yard season, yet it didn’t stop Warren from putting together an excellent sophomore campaign on a maddening Steelers offense.
Warren rushed for 784 yards and four TDs. He finished with 1,154 yards of offense, which is especially impressive considering the lackluster QB play Pittsburgh had much of the year.
Raise your hand if you had Harris and Warren forming one of football’s best rushing tandems in 2023? No one? Good. We didn’t either.
San Francisco 49ers: Deommodore Lenoir
Lenoir was never gonna stand out this year with Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Javon Hargrave, Charvarius Ward and Talanoa Hufanga leading the defense, but the third-year corner quietly put together an excellent season on the west coast.
Lenoir had three interceptions and 10 pass defenses while yielding a career-low 75.2 passer rating when targeted, per Pro Football Ref. The site also credited him with only allowing one touchdown in coverage on 981 defensive snaps.
Seattle Seahawks: Boye Mafe
The Seahawks also fell short of building off a surprise playoff appearance last year, but it was encouraging to see young studs like Boye Mafe and Devon Witherspoon grow into superstars.
Mafe, the No. 40 pick of 2022, led the Seahawks with nine sacks and recorded six pass defenses. If Bobby Wagner doesn’t re-sign, Mafe should take over as the new on-field general of Seattle’s defense.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Baker Mayfield
With Tom Brady retiring, the cap-strapped Bucs were supposed to be the worst team in the hapless NFC South. They couldn’t make any splashy offseason additions and had to go bargain hunting, picking up Mayfield on a one-year deal.
All Mayfield did was put together a career year with his new team: A 64.3 completion percentage for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns to lead the Bucs to their third straight division title.
Consider the “bust” label broken, at least for now…
Tennessee Titans: Daniel Brunskill
Not much went right for the Titans in the final year of the Mike Vrabel era, but the veteran guard sure looks like a nice find after signing a two-year pact in 2023 free agency.
Brunskill was a rock on Tennessee’s otherwise woeful o-line, allowing just two sacks and committing only one penalty on 768 snaps, per PFF.
Washington Commanders: Benjamin St. Juste
Washington had the league’s worst scoring defense this year, but St. Juste certainly did his part in trying to keep the ship upright. The Canadian Kid had 17 pass defenses — good for fourth in the league — and yielded an opposing passer rating of 87.3.
Not bad considering he had almost no help in the secondary this year.
Who do you think was the most surprising NFL player this year?
