We conclude the Breakout Player series with the NFC West today. To see the rest of the NFC check here, here, and here. The NFC West has been called the weakest division in football the past couple of years but the Cardinals put some of that talk to rest with their Super Bowl run and these players could help spark their respective teams into making a run like the Cards did.
Arizona Cardinals- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
Rodgers-Cromartie has everything you look for in a shutdown corner.
Cromartie had a great rookie year capped by an excellent postseason which saw him emerge as the Cards best corner. He picked off four passes in the regular season and then added two more in the playoffs. Coming out of small school Tennessee State, not much was expected of Cromartie but he proved the naysayers wrong. He possess a rare combination of size (6’2) and speed (4.33) and also has great ball skills as evidenced by his performance last season. Cromartie is on his way into becoming an elite shutdown corner, which are few and far between nowadays in the NFL.
Saint Louis Rams- Donnie Avery
As a rookie wide receiver Avery impressed last season. Although it was viewed as a reach when the Rams selected him as the first wide receiver last year in the draft Avery lived up to the hype. His emergence made longtime veteran Torry Holt expendable for the Rams in the off season. He enters the year as the number one target for Marc Bulger, who is looking to rebound after a couple of rough years. The speedy Avery was hurt earlier in camp but now is fully recovered and ready to go for the opener. A 1,000 yard campaign is certainly in reach for the sophomore wide out.
San Francisco 49ers- Josh Morgan
As a sixth round pick last season Morgan was the star of training camp and looked like he was going to make a big impact. Then right before the season he got a staph infection and lost 15 pounds. Morgan returned during the season and had two nice games in a row before getting injured again. Heading into this season Morgan impressed at OTAs. He has also benefited from the Michael Crabtree holdout and will start the season as the starter and will remain one as Crabtree is likely to have no impact this season if any at all. Although the 49ers want to run a run orientated offense when they pass Morgan will be the go to guy.
Seattle Seahawks- John Carlson
Carlson had a very impressive rookie season for the Seahawks as he led the team in receiving. He was the lone bright spot on a Seahawk offense that was decimated by injuries lats year. While that won’t be the case this year with T.J. Houshmandzadeh in town he will be the number two target in the offense. Carlson will be helped greatly by a healthy Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback after having to suffer through Seneca Wallace and Charlie Frye last year. He will also benefit by playing in Greg Knapp’s offense which has been very friendly to tight ends in the past.
