From Ward's supporting cast to Dart's style of play, these second-year players could shape the NFL landscape in 2026
By Jared Dubin May 21, 2026 at 11:34 am ET • 8 min read 
Keytron Jordan, CBS Sports We spent so much time earlier this year thinking and talking and writing about the 2026 NFL Draft. It makes sense, given that for most of the offseason, we didn't know who would be drafted where or how they would affect their new teams. Even now that they've been drafted, we've only had a short while to figure out who fits best and what we should expect from them as rookies.
But that doesn't mean we should just push the 2025 draft class aside. The players selected just last year will have a significant impact on their teams in 2026, for obvious reasons.
In the space below, we're going to look at 15 players taken fairly early in the draft, detail the biggest questions facing them in Year 2 and examine what the answers might mean for their respective teams.
Did the Titans get Cam Ward enough help?
Cam Ward TEN • QB • #1 CMP%59.8YDs3169TD15INT7YD/Att5.87 View Profile Ward had one of the worst supporting casts in the NFL last season. His pass-catchers couldn't get open and struggled to actually catch the ball when they did. The offensive line was seemingly broken for most of the year.
Tennessee addressed the first part of that equation by signing Wan'Dale Robinson and drafting Carnell Tate with the No. 4 overall pick. But did the Titans do enough on the offensive line to make sure Ward has enough time to find his targets down the field? We'll find out in September.
Can Travis Hunter stay healthy? How much does he play both ways?
Travis Hunter JAC • CB • #12 TAR45REC28REC YDS298REC TD1 View Profile Hunter lasted only seven weeks before suffering a non-contact knee injury that knocked him out for the rest of his rookie season. Given his size and workload, there will always be questions about whether he can hold up long term.
But there are also questions about where he'll actually play on a down-to-down and week-to-week basis. Before he got hurt, the Jaguars started shifting his usage to make him more of a wide receiver than a cornerback, according to Pro Football Focus.
Travis Hunter's 2025 usage
WeekOff %Def %TgtRecYdsTklPBU163.6%9.4%863310259.2%62.3%632221352.9%68.3%212160Total59%47%16107691455.9%13.6%534220567.2%39.1%336421677.6%40.0%741520787.0%20.0%14810101Total73%27%291822262But entering this season, the Jags have Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers and Parker Washington at receiver and not quite as much strong depth in the defensive backfield. Will his snaps now lean more toward the defensive side of the ball? And if so, how much will he actually contribute as a receiver?
Can Abdul Carter convert his pressures into sacks?
Abdul Carter NYG • DE • #3 TKL43QBHIT23TFL7.0Sk4.0FF2 View Profile Carter finished 12th in the NFL with 66 pressures, according to Tru Media. He also ranked 46th in pressure rate out of 271 players who rushed the passer 100 times or more. But because Carter converted just four of his pressures into sacks, he checked in 211th among that group in sack-to-pressure ratio.
That's not something you'd expect to continue for someone who showed such a strong ability to get near the quarterback. Can he finish the job more often in Year 2?
Can Will Campbell stick at tackle? How much of his backslide was injury related?
Will Campbell NE • OT • #66 View Profile For most of his rookie season, Campbell was a solid if relatively unspectacular left tackle. He checked in 39th out of 85 qualified tackles in PFF's pass-blocking grades from Weeks 1 through 12.
But after suffering a knee injury that kept him out for about a month, Campbell struggled badly. He finished dead last out of 81 qualified tackles in pass-blocking grade and allowed 15 pressures in four games. His short arms meant people were skeptical of his ability to stick at tackle, and the struggles down the stretch exacerbated those concerns.
We'll find out quickly how much of those struggles were injury-related and how much were about him perhaps needing to play another position.
How much of Ashton Jeanty's rookie season do you blame on the bad situation?
Ashton Jeanty LV • RB • #2 Att266Yds975TD5FL1 View Profile Jeanty averaged just 3.7 yards per carry as a rookie, with a 41% rushing success rate. He caught 55 passes but finished 56th among 66 running backs who ran at least 100 routes in yards per target.
Like Ward, Jeanty experienced a terrible situation during his rookie season, working behind a decrepit offensive line in perhaps the worst offensive environment in the league. With Klint Kubiak, Tyler Linderbaum and more in the fold, things should be better this year. Can Jeanty's production follow?
Can Tetairoa McMillan make the Year 2 leap?
Tetairoa McMillan CAR • WR • #4 TAR122REC70REC YDs1014REC TD7 View Profile McMillan had a terrific rookie season, catching 70 passes for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns. He finished the year with a very solid 1.86 yards per route run average, which was 32nd in the NFL. Generally, star receivers get about 2.00 yards per route.
Can McMillan take a step forward in Year 2 and become one of those true stars?
Can Colston Loveland or Luther Burden III be Caleb Williams' No. 1 target?
Luther Burden III CHI • WR • #10 TAR60REC47REC YDs652REC TD2 View Profile Speaking of guys who topped 2.00 yards per route run, Burden cleared it with relative ease at an incredible 2.71, fourth in the NFL. But he did so on a very small sample of routes. Can he keep that production up as a full-time receiver?
Colston Loveland CHI • TE • #84 TAR82REC58REC YDs713REC TD6 View Profile Loveland, meanwhile, finished sixth among tight ends in yards per route and looked like a breakout star over the second half of the campaign. Can either one of these players step up as Caleb Williams' top target now that DJ Moore is out of town?
What does Mykel Williams look like coming back from injury?
Mykel Williams SF • DE • #98 G9TKL20TFL4.0QBHIT3SK1.0 View Profile Williams played a pretty decent helping of snaps (66%) prior to his season-ending knee injury. But he recorded just one sack, four tackles for loss and three quarterback hits.
In 2026, Williams will play opposite Nick Bosa, who is also returning from a knee injury, and should have an opportunity to make plays in one-on-one situations. Will he capitalize once he returns to full health? He wasn't particularly productive in college, but a lot of that was about the scheme at Georgia. He'll have a chance to do more under Raheem Morris.
Can Shemar Stewart tap into his athleticism and actually produce?
Shemar Stewart CIN • DE • #97 G8TKL11QBHIT4TFL2.0SK1.0 View Profile Stewart is an explosive athlete who struggled to produce in college but got drafted in the first round anyway because of his outrageous tools. He struggled with injuries during his rookie year and also wasn't particularly productive when he was on the field.
The Bengals need him to take a significant step forward and be a quality edge rusher, especially with Trey Hendrickson out the door.
Can Emeka Egbuka emerge as the No. 1 receiver?
Emeka Egbuka TB • WR • #2 TAR127REC63REC YDs938REC TD6 View Profile Egbuka got off to a scorching start, catching 25 passes for 445 yards and five touchdowns in his first five games. Over his final 12 games, he caught "just" 38 balls for 493 yards and one score.
He'll be counted on as Baker Mayfield's top target this year with Mike Evans decamping for San Francisco. He wasn't ever the top target at Ohio State. Can he be one in the pros?
Can Matthew Golden produce at a high level?
Matthew Golden GB • WR TAR44REC29REC YDs361REC TD0 View Profile Golden played just 53% of the Packers' snaps during his rookie season and caught only 29 passes for 361 scoreless yards. After the Packers traded Dontayvion Wicks and allowed Romeo Doubs to sign with the Patriots in free agency, it seems like Golden should be consistently locked into three-receiver sets with Christian Watson and Jayden Reed.
The Packers are going to need him to be much more consistently productive than he was last year or even in college (with the exception of a stretch toward the end of his time at Texas). Can he step up and be that guy?
Can Omarion Hampton be a star in Mike McDaniel's offense?
Omarion Hampton LAC • RB • #8 Att124Yds545TD4 View Profile Hampton was seemingly heating up in the middle of last season when he suffered an ankle injury that knocked him out for more than two months. And he was producing behind a banged-up offensive line and in a system that made everything very condensed near the line of scrimmage.
With Mike McDaniel's skill at scheming players into open space, can Hampton take advantage of the opportunity and put up the kind of season that some of the Dolphins' backs did under L.A.'s new offensive coordinator?
Can Jaxson Dart rein it in? And can he produce inside structure?
Jaxson Dart NYG • QB • #6 CMP%63.7YDs2272TD15INT5YD/Att6.7 View Profile Dart had an impressive rookie season, completing 63.7% of his passes at an average of 6.7 yards per attempt, with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for 487 yards and nine scores. But he left several games due to injury and played with a reckless physical style that frankly isn't sustainable.
Being more willing to play inside the structure of the offense will help him stay on the field, but will he be as productive a passer and runner if he does that? He was better as a rookie when the play broke down, using his athleticism to extend the play by either running or finding someone in the scramble drill.
Will Jesse Minter (and Anthony Weaver) unlock more from Malaki Starks?
Malaki Starks BAL • SAF • #24 G17TKL84SOLO49PD4INT2 View Profile Starks suited up for 17 games for the Ravens, starting 15 of them and playing 94% of the snaps. He had a solid debut season, too, racking up 84 tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit, two interceptions and four passes defensed.
With Jesse Minter coming in as the new head coach and having shown an ability to get the best out of defensive backs, it's worth asking whether Starks can take a step forward and become a star in his second season.
Can TreVeyon Henderson be the bell-cow back?
TreVeyon Henderson NE • RB • #32 Att180Yds911TD9FL1 View Profile Henderson had an incredible midseason run as the featured back while Rhamondre Stevenson was out with an injury, but once Stevenson returned, the Pats still showed a preference for the older, bigger back in most situations.
Heading into Year 2 as the more explosive player, Henderson needs to show that he can hold up as a pass protector so that he can get on the field more often, rack up more carries and hopefully, more explosive runs.
Can Tyler Shough show he's a franchise quarterback?
Tyler Shough NO • QB • #6 CMP%67.6YDs2384TD10INT6YD/Att7.29 View Profile Shough finished second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting after completing 67.6% of his passes at an average of 7.3 yards per attempt, with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He was even better over the final four games and looked like he was starting to put things together under Kellen Moore.
With the Saints adding multiple pieces to the offense, he'll have a chance to show his promising stretch run was a sign of things to come. Can he take advantage of the improved situation?
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