The 2024 NFL draft class will be entering their sophomore seasons, and we’ve already seen big seasons from players like Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, Jared Verse, and Brian Thomas Jr, but here are six players who have the most to prove in their second seasons.
Six Second-Year NFL Players With The Most To Prove in 2025
6. WR Ja’Lynn Polk, New England Patriots
A second-round pick in 2024, the Patriots are going to need a big year out of Polk. As a rookie, he struggled with drop issues, and he had rumored issues with the coaching staff last season, with the way he was being used. With the Patriots using as much draft capital as they did on Polk, they are going to need Polk to start producing fairly quickly. Second-Year quarterback Drake Maye needs a consistent target on the outside to step up and Polk will have the opportunity to prove that he can.
5. OLB Dallas Turner, Minnesota Vikings
Turner was the third defensive player drafted in 2024 and might’ve had the quietest season of any defender drafted in the first round last year. Turner finished the season with three sacks, which was ninth among all rookie defenders last season. Jared Verse took home rookie of the year, and players like Chop Robinson and Laiatu Latu each flashed and finished with better sack numbers. So, in Turner’s second year in Brian Flores’ defense, Turner could finally live up to his potential, which made him the third drafted defensive player last year.
4. WR Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears
Odunze was the second receiver drafted and a top-ten pick last season behind Marvin Harrison Jr.; ironically, just like Harrison Jr., Odunze had an underwhelming rookie year. His rookie year was surrounded by chaos as Odunze’s offensive coordinator and head coaches were fired midseason. He finished with 734 yards and three touchdowns; however, Odunze has gotten off to a hot start this offseason. His new head coach, Ben Johnson, has complimented Odunze’s skillset and versatility and feels like a big season is ahead for him.
“He is that prototypical X receiver where you can line him up outside the numbers, and if he gets one-on-one with a corner, he is going to win most of his matchups,” Johnson told reporters after a recent training camp practice. “He is a really detailed route runner, and he has a unique skillset we are going to look to capitalize on.”
3. QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
McCarthy has the keys to the Ferrari in Minnesota, and his job is not to mess it up. The Vikings are a ready-made contender after going 14-3 last season behind the arm of now Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold. Minnesota had an opportunity to re-sign Darnold but chose not to in favor of going with McCarthy for this season after having his rookie season wiped away due to a knee injury. Even though he is a second-year player, 2025 is effectively McCarthy’s rookie season.
McCarthy might not be afforded the growing pains that young quarterbacks go through because of the state of the team, which is why McCarthy has a lot to prove in 2025.
2. WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
Harrison Jr. was the first wide receiver drafted last year and might have had the most disappointing rookie season relative to expectations. Harrison Jr. was touted as a can’t-miss wide receiver prospect coming out of Ohio State University, who had NFL pedigree at OSU since he was a freshman. The second year Cardinal finished his rookie season with 885 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
Harrison Jr.’s numbers on the surface aren’t bad, but when you compare them to his peers, Malik Nabers, Ladd McConkey, and Brian Thomas Jr., they were far below each of those receivers’ production. Harrison Jr. put on weight during the offseason and bulked up to be better prepared for his sophomore season. Even though Harrison Jr. has improved physically, the key will be his connection with quarterback Kyler Murray, which will be essential to his second season.
1. QB Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Williams was the number one overall pick in 2024 and probably has the most pressure on him of any NFL player in the league. Williams didn’t have a great rookie year, but it’s not about what he did; it was about how much better his counterparts were than he was. Daniels and Nix, guys who were taken after him, have some of the most impressive seasons by rookie quarterbacks in NFL history.
Williams showed flashes at times about why he was taken first, but it’s fair to question if, in a re-draft, Williams would still be the first quarterback taken. Would he even be the second quarterback taken? It’s fair to question. With Johnson now in the fold as Williams’s head coach, he has been coaching the top pick hard in hopes of a turnaround in his second season.
Main Image: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
