The NFL’s 2024 sleeper stars: from Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to Joe Burrow
Khalil Mack, Los Angeles Chargers
Mack has been a superstar since he first stepped foot in the league. But at age 33, the future Hall of Famer has been asked to reinvent his game this season. As pass rushers finish their careers, their reps tend to be limited. They become pass-rush specialists, deployed solely on the field to crush opposing quarterbacks. Call it the Von Miller Path.
Last season, Mack was more of a specialist. He finished the season with 17 sacks, but there were signs that a decline was coming, that he would be thrust into a pass-rush-only role as the Chargers tried to squeeze the last drops out of his career. Instead, they made Mack the foundation of the league’s top defense.
Under Brandon Staley, who was fired near the end of last season, the Chargers fielded a weak defense that failed to slow the run. New defensive coordinator Jessie Minter revamped the Chargers’ structure this season, building the top defense in the NFL on an EPA-per-play basis with no significant additions in the offseason, and turning the Chargers from a sieve against the run to the competition. stingiest unit.
Stopping the flight costs everyone. This year, no defense has been as airtight and well-coordinated as the Chargers. And Mack has been the cornerstone. Once the league’s premier pass rusher, he has now become more of a rundown firecracker. The Chargers have moved him closer to the line of scrimmage, limiting some of his impact as an edge rusher on early downs to strengthen the defense as a whole.
Mack delivered. He has embraced the grind of hitting inside and led all edge defenders in run stops this year. And while adjustments to his lineup have limited the number of opportunities he has to chase down quarterbacks, he has still posted 31 total pressures and 4.5 sacks through nine weeks.
Two years ago, Disney paid $100 million to acquire Fox’s Buck and Aikman. At the time, Monday Night Football was in a slump, with the network bouncing from one ill-conceived box to another. In the NFL broadcast rankings, ESPN’s Monday offering had moved from flagship production to national embarrassment.
Buck and Aikman were hired to restore credibility and address the network’s concerns that the league would move its Monday night package elsewhere — while preserving ESPN’s spot in the Super Bowl rotation. It was a home game.
Buck has long been synonymous with his dry (OK, dull) tone. But now, 35 years into his career, he is shaking with excitement. Aikman, who fell down the pecking order as an in-game analyst after Tony Romo and Greg Olsen burst onto the scene, has rediscovered his fastball and quickly responded to matchups and trends that will decide a game. Above all, they let the game speak for itself, with just enough extracurricular fun to keep your attention during boring parts.
Now that the pair are at the height of their powers, ESPN’s production has taken pole position in the broadcast war. Romo’s caffeinated, ill-prepared energy on CBS can irritate no matter how hard Jim Nantz tries to keep things under control. With Olsen demoted to Fox’s second team, the game’s top analyst has been pulled from primetime matchups, severing his partnership with the incomparable Kevin Burkhardt. As a newcomer, Tom Brady is still, to be kind, finding his voice. At Amazon, Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit have the chemistry of a pair of spouses thrown together by their significant others at a party. I promise you’ll like it. You have a lot in common!
Nearly all announcers are replaceable – and the MNF crew has been fortunate to call some of the best and closest games this season. But the truly great announcing duos have a way of making every game seem great. Buck and Aikman achieved their goal this year.
The commanders’ line of attack
The commanders attack has shattered records this season. Much of the credit should go to Jayden Daniels and his clever offensive scheme, but the team’s o-line was a revelation. Entering the season, they looked like a bottom-five unit. Halfway through the year they get closer to the top five. Center Tyler Biadasz and right guard Sam Cosmi have been the difference makers, but the group is making waves as a collective.
No offense in the league demands more from their line than Washington. They run the most idiosyncratic offense in the NFL to provide a system tailored to Daniels’ strengths. It puts a heavy burden on the line, especially in the run game, where they are asked to pull and move to crush defensive fronts at the fastest pace in the league.
There are also some tricks to hide the line in the passing game. Defenses around the league continue to find new, creative ways to weaken offensive lines in pass protection. But the commanders hit a group – even while turning their left tackle! – which can take on any wackadoo look. And when they do offer protection, Daniels is athletic and intelligent enough to save the group.
Washington’s offense is electric. Daniels may be the main reason, but the New pigs are right behind.
Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
This season, things have been bleak for the Raiders on offense. They’ve cycled and shot through woeful quarterbacks three key figures this week. But one player has offered a glimmer of hope for the future: their rookie tight end, Bowers.
Typically, it takes three years for a tight end to gain a foothold in the league. You need to learn the intricacies of the blocking mechanics in the run game And the nuances of the passing game are a lot to deal with, especially given the divide between college and NFL systems. Early on, a tight end usually flashes his upside without the kind of down-to-earth consistency that separates the good tight end from the best in the league.
Not Bowers. His game immediately transferred from college to the pros. He is already approaching 600 receiving yards in nine games, with 10.2 yards per reception. As a pass catcher, no tight end has ever had a quicker start to their career.
There is such a profound, simple power in Bowers’ combination of length, speed and strength. He has run over defenders every week. In one-on-one matchups, he increases scoring against opposing linebackers and guards. The defense has tried to free up additional resources to slow him down, but even some of the league’s top players… corners with man coverage have struggled to keep pace. Then there is the after-the-catch work, in which Bowers’ dynamics shine. Nine weeks later, he is the only tight end in the league with more than 300 yards after the catch.
The Raiders roster is a mess. But in Bowers they have something special.
The Chiefs’ interior offensive line
As KC’s offense has shifted to a ground-and-pound approach, the focal point of the offense has shifted to their offensive line. Make no mistake, the Chiefs are still going as Patrick Mahomes goes. But the shift from a vertical attack on the field to one based on methodically moving the chains has increased the burden on the offensive line.
It’s rare for an offensive line to feature two All-Pro caliber players. It’s even rarer to have those two players concentrated in one place. The chefs did that three – and they are standing next to each other. Left guard Joe Thuney and center Creed Humphrey have been the best players at their positions in the league this season, while right guard Trey Smith is on track to become one of the highest-paid players at his position when his contract expires this offseason. .
The interior line crushes opponents in the run game and sets up a brick wall for Mahomes in pass protection. As a trio they have had a pressure rate of 2.7%, by far the lowest of any player in the league. Thuney has only been pressured seven times all season and hasn’t allowed anyone in Mahomes’ zip code since week three. If it weren’t for Humphrey, who has only had four pressures all year, Thuney would walk away with best interior lineman honors.
The Chiefs line is still vulnerable at the two tackle spots. But the interior has allowed the team to enter the era of ball control, producing results to maintain their unbeaten start.
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Burrow, one of the biggest names in the NFL, has clearly not been a sleeper star throughout his career. But the fact that he’s playing the best all-around ball of his career this season has gone a bit unnoticed because of the Bengals’ 4-5 start. After limping out of the gate against the Patriots in week one, Cincy’s offense has caught fire. Without putrid defensive performances, the team would be neck-and-neck with the Ravens and Steelers at the top of the AFC North – and Burrow would be knocking on the MVP door.
As of week two, the Bengals offense ranks sixth in the NFL and continues to rise in the rankings. Individually, Burrow is now third in the league RBDSM compositethe best individual measure of quarterback play, behind only Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels.
As a passer, Burrow continues to evolve. The years of clubbing the Bengals are a thing of the past; The team’s explosive pace of play has fallen away this year, and even those deep passes were hard work, relying on Burrow off-schedule for Ja’Marr Chase to create something out of nothing.
Instead, Burrow has become a model of efficiency. At this stage of his career he has seen every defence; he knows where the bodies will be, and when. That intuitive understanding has led to the lowest turnover-worthy play rate of his career and the quarterback abandoning his addiction to chunk plays.
With a weak defense, a non-existent run game and a lack of easy answers in the passing game, the Bengals need Burrow to be perfect to stay competitive. So far, he has kept his end of the deal.