Five offensive players with the most to prove in 2017

The life of an NFL player brings with it an enormous amount of pressure to succeed. Whether it’s fighting for a roster spot or holding the hopes of a franchise in their hands, players are constantly under the microscope to prove themselves. So who has the most to prove in 2017?

There are a number of candidates that could fall into this category for various reasons. Matt Ryan has to prove that the Falcons will not succumb to the Super Bowl hangover. Adrian Peterson will look to rebound from a lost season and prove he hasn’t lost a step. Alex Smith must prove he is still worthy of the starting job with 10th overall pick Patrick Mahomes waiting in the wings.

Despite the pressure on those players, these five players have the most to prove going into 2017.

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Todd Gurley

Gurley burst onto the scene his rookie year in 2015. He rushed 229 times for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns. All this in only 13 games. The breakout season earned him Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and extremely high expectations heading into his sophomore year.

It all went downhill from there, and no, not his running style. Gurley’s vision regressed in his second season and so did his production. Gurley managed just 885 yards on 278 carries in a full 16-game season. He scored just six times in 2016.

In his rookie season, Gurley surpassed 100 yards rushing in five games. This included a stretch of four games where Gurley went over 125 yards rushing. In 2016, zero. His highest rushing total of the year was 85 yards, which would be good for eighth best in his rookie campaign.

The Rams issues are certainly not limited to Gurley. However, the 10th overall pick in the 2015 Draft has to rebound from his subpar 2016 season in order for the Rams to entertain moving out of the sub-.500 club. With Jared Goff taking the reigns full time, there is more pressure than ever on Gurley to carry the load.

Dak Prescott

When Tony Romo went down with a back injury in the preseason, the hopes of Cowboys’ fans everywhere vanished. For all intents and purposes, the season was over. However, no one told quarterback Dak Prescott, the fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State.

Prescott far exceeded everyone’s expectations, because quite frankly, there were none. If things went the way they should have, no one would have known of Prescott. But this is the NFL, and most things don’t go according to plan. Prescott was thrust into action and never flinch.

Prescott led the Cowboys to a 13-3 record, something Romo only managed once in his 12-year career. The rookie completed just under 68 percent of his passes for 3,667 yards. His 23 touchdowns to only four interceptions garnered Prescott serious MVP consideration throughout the year.

In the end, it was the same story for the Cowboys. After earning a playoff birth and the number one seed in the NFC, the Cowboys were bounced in the divisional round against the Green Bay Packers.

As if there were any doubt before, Romo’s retirement in the offseason cemented Prescott as the leader of the franchise. The hopes and aspirations rest squarely on the shoulders of the second-year pro. Fans will look for Prescott to take the Cowboys somewhere they haven’t been in over two decades. All the while, he will have to prove the Cowboys right for moving on from Romo.

Martavis Bryant

Bryant’s trouble off the field has stunted what could be an impressive career at this point playing with Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. A fourth-round pick out of Clemson in 2014, Bryant caught 26 balls for 540 yards and eight touchdowns in 10 games his rookie year.

Bryant missed the first five games (four as a result of a suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy) of the 2015 season but played in the remaining 11 games. He scored six times and caught 50 passes for 765 yards. However, in March of 2016, as he prepared for his third season, Bryant was once again suspended for violating the leagues’ substance-abuse policy. The NFL handed down a one-year suspension and he missed the entire 2016 campaign.

The talented receiver was conditionally reinstated earlier in the offseason and knows it’s a long road back to where he was.

“It’s still going to take time,” Bryant said via ESPN. “With the work put in, the chemistry will come back. All I know is with trust comes consistency. As long as I handle my business, the rest should come back. I’m not going to stress over that. I’m just going to continue to do what I’m doing.”

The right attitude is only the beginning for Bryant who will look to return to his pre-suspension form. For his career, Bryant has a 17.3 yards per catch average, and with 15 touchdowns in 21 games, he is another big play threat for an already explosive offense. With that being said, Bryant will have to prove himself to his coaches and teammates and earn his way back onto the playing field in 2017.

Cam Newton

The Panthers and Newton reach extraordinary new heights in 2015 en route to a Super Bowl appearance. Newton was outstanding from start to finish during their 15-1 regular season. In that year, Newton tossed 35 touchdowns to only 10 interceptions. He added 636 yards on the ground on 132 rushing attempts. He scored 10 times with his legs on his way to MVP honors.

After posting a passer rating of over 105 in the divisional and championship round, Newton underwhelmed in the Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos. He completed just 18-of-41 passes, throwing one interception and no touchdowns. Newton’s signature play of the game was his failure to jump on a loose ball late in the 24-10 loss to the Broncos.

The Super Bowl hangover was in full effect as the Panthers and Newton stumbled out of the gate in 2016, going 1-5 to start the season. They would finish the year at 6-10 and well out of the playoff picture, dead last in the NFC South. Newton was nowhere close to his MVP form of the previous year, throwing just 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He scored only five times on the ground and rush for just 359 yards.

After watching their division rival, the Atlanta Falcons, make it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2016, it is on Newton to reclaim the thrown for the Panthers. Newton must prove to everyone outside of the Carolinas that his MVP season was not a fluke and that he can get the Panthers back on top of the NFC South.

Kirk Cousins

The fourth-round pick in 2012 was an afterthought in light of the Redskins drafting Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick earlier in that draft. However, in the wake of Griffin’s injury and inability to stay healthy, Cousins seized the starting job for the Redskins.

In his first full year as a starter, Cousins led the Redskins to a 9-7 record and a division crown. Cousins threw 29 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions on the year. He led them to five wins in the last six games, three wins against division rivals, to clinch the division. The season ended with a loss to the Packers on Wildcard Weekend.

Unable to come to a contract extension, the Redskins tagged Cousins for $20 million fully-guaranteed. Cousins followed up his 2015 season by throwing 606 times for 4,917 yards and 25 touchdowns. The team finished 8-6-1 and fell one game short of the playoffs. When Cousins and the Redskins couldn’t agree on an extension after the season, they tagged him for the second year in-a-row.

Cousins has continually bet on himself and won. The Redskins reluctance to sign Cousins to an appropriate extension seems strange seeing as they have trotted out the likes of Rex Grossman and Jason Campbell in recent years. For the third year in-a-row, Cousins will have to prove to the Redskins, and any potential suitor, that he is a franchise quarterback, worthy of a long term deal. Only this time, he will have to do it without DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, his top two receivers.

– Ian Glendon is the Managing Editor for cover32/Patriots and covers the NFL and New England Patriots. Like and follow on Follow @iglen31 Follow @cover32_NE and Facebook.

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