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Indianapolis Colts Top Five Potential Breakout Players for 2009 season
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As we continue this week's categorical look at the Indianapolis Colts' 2009 season, we move on today to the Top 5 breakout players.
And as we do, we offer a caveat . . .
Everyone's idea of breakout players is a little different, it seems.
When I think of the term, I'm thinking of that potential Pro Bowl player, but I'm also thinking about a guy who may not make a mammoth splash on the national scene, perhaps, but who may be ready to help the Colts a lot more than he did a year ago, or to simply get noticed by the observant fan.
A guy, perhaps, such as running back Donald Brown, the Colts' first-round selection in the 2009 NFL Draft. But he's too easy. And besides, in my loosely-defined, gut-feel definition of the term, you're not really a breakout player as a rookie, you're just . . . well, a rookie.
Or a guy such as wide receiver Roy Hall, who has sustained injuries his first two seasons and who has tons of potential. But he's more of a wait-and-see guy. He could break out, but it's just too early to predict.
So, whatever the definition, here's five players who could break out for the Colts in 2009 . . .
5) Pierre Garcon, second season, wide receiver. He gets the nod here over Hall as a potential breakout guy simply because he hasn't sustained injuries at the level of Hall. Garcon was a sixth-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft from Mount Union, and during a season adjusting from life in small-school football to the world of the NFL, he never seemed to lose confidence. He was a big-play receiver at Mount Union and has the potential to be that in the NFL. With eight-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Marvin Harrison released in February, he'll have every opportunity to be a huge factor in the passing game. This isn't a make-or-break year for Garcon by any stretch, but with rookie Austin Collie learning the offense and Hall having been slowed by injuries his first two seasons, there may never be as clear an opportunity for Garcon to prove he deserves a long-term role.
4) Clint Session, third season, linebacker. He started as a rookie, and if the biggest jump players in the NFL make is from their rookie year to their second season, the next-biggest improvement often is in their second seasons starting. Session is a dynamic, big-play linebacker. He'll make a mistake sometimes because of aggressiveness, but he'll make down-and-distance changing plays for the same reason. I don't know that Session has a Pro Bowl in his future, but this is the year we'll find out just how good he can be.
3) Philip Wheeler, second season, linebacker. It may be a reach to assume Wheeler's going to break out. He's not even assured yet of a starting position. But the Colts drafted him in the third round in 2008 and they usually don't take linebackers that high if they don't plan on inserting them into the starting lineup by their second season. Wheeler is a physically impressive player who exceled at times on special teams. He'll be given every chance to win the starting strong-side linebacker role. The gut feeling here is he has a big year and by the end of the season no one will be gnashing teeth over the Colts' linebacker situation.
2) Anthony Gonzalez, third season, wide receiver. This is the easy, obvious choice on this list. With Harrison gone, Gonzalez will move into a starting role on the outside. He wasn't drafted for that role -- he was drafted to play inside ala Brandon Stokley -- but he proved himself capable during his first two seasons. Gonzalez's numbers improved dramatically in 2008 despite starting just two games and he has shown himself to be as good as any receiver on the roster after the catch. He's a tireless worker and an intelligent kid and if he doesn't ever make it to a Pro Bowl, it won't be because of a lack of focus or effort. Again, I don't know that you can expect Gonzalez to be what Harrison was in his prime -- i.e., a potential future Hall of Famer -- but it's safe to assume he'll be more effective next season than Harrison was last season. That could mean a 1,000-yard receiver and a new dynamic in one of the NFL's most productive offenses.
1) Kelvin Hayden, fifth season, cornerback. This may be cheating a bit, because everybody knows about Hayden, but I'm not sure everyone league-wide grasps just how good Hayden may be. He returned an interception for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLI, and started the following season, but he missed six games in the middle of last season so missed that chance for that huge second-year-as-a-starter jump. He now has started 26 regular-season games, and had 12 passes defensed in 10 games last season. He also had three interceptions last season. Unless teams start throwing away from him -- which is probable -- I see those numbers going up and he could turn into one of those game-changing, take-it-the-other-way players that are rare at the position. The Pro Bowl is not out of the question.
OTHER EXAMINER COLTS TOPICS . . .
- Loss of Moore, Mudd would be end of an era
- Ex-Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy meets with Michael Vick
- Re-signing DT Ed Johnson makes DT situation even better
- Top Five Nonissues facing Colts in 2009
- A Look at the Numbers of the Colts 2009 Draft Class
- Peyton Manning Top 10 underrated moments.
- Breaking Down the 2009 Colts Schedule
- Colts Rookie Minicamp
- Top 10 rookie free agents in the Polian era
- On the re-signing of LB Freddy Keiaho
- Too early to quit on Addai
- A recap of the Colts' 2009 NFL Draft
- Colts had to do what they did with RB Dominic Rhodes
- Signing of S Matt Giordano solidifies position
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