Three NFL Offensive Players Undergoing Breakout Seasons in 2025
Every year, expectations are high in the NFL. With the 90-man training camp rosters getting trimmed down to 53 for all 32 NFL teams, the difference between excellence to mediocrity and mediocrity to incompetence equates to the difference between being on an NFL roster and being unemployed. Many times, it can be seen that players who are on the roster bubble end up making names for themselves on active rosters, and even role players making names for themselves as starters. In this article, we’ll be looking at three offensive players who have made names for themselves this season, breaking out and excelling as some of the best players this season.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Certainly, expectations were high on this young man after getting drafted with the 20th overall pick in 2023. Though his rookie year was a bit of a letdown, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was still fighting for playing time with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett both outsnapping him. His second season was more promising, leading all Seattle receivers in snaps as well as becoming a member of the 100 reception, 1,000-yard receiving club. Therefore, one could argue that his breakout season was in 2024, but they would be wrong. Last season saw Smith-Njigba finish 12th in the NFL in receiving yards and 21st in receiving yards per game. This season, the 23-year-old leads all players in both of those categories and has quickly cemented himself into the discussion among the best wide receivers in the league.
Drake Maye
In only his second season, Drake Maye has cemented himself as an MVP candidate. The Huntersville, North Carolina native leads the league in passing yards and completion percentage while maintaining a top-five passer rating. If Maye keeps on winning games like he’s been doing, then the Patriots will win the AFC East, a division that hasn’t been won by a team other than the Bills since 2019. The Patriots entered the season at +550 odds to win the AFC East and now have a pretty good chance to earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs thanks to Maye.
Javonte Williams
Unlike the others on this list, Javonte Williams didn’t excel for the team that drafted him, but found a new home on a different team. Williams was the third running back taken in the 2021 NFL Draft, falling to the second round, where the Broncos traded up to the 35th pick to take him. After finishing a respectable rookie season with over 1,200 scrimmage yards and seven total touchdowns while splitting time with Melvin Gordon, it appeared that he was ready to step in as the lead back in 2022. Unfortunately for Williams, he tore his ACL in Week Four, which led to a long recovery back to full strength. In his final two seasons in Denver, he couldn’t replicate the production from his rookie season, averaging just 39 rushing yards per game at a 3.6 yards per carry and only scoring nine times from scrimmage while touching the ball 455 times. Since coming to Dallas, the former Tar Heel has rejuvenated his career, projected for 1,375 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns for a top-three offense in the entire NFL.
