By now, you know essentially everything about the on-field play of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Jayden Daniels and the other quality quarterbacks in this divisional round.
Let’s dig deeper.
Here, I’m highlighting the young players who will play important roles in the second round of these NFL playoffs, yet they aren’t necessarily headliners on a regular basis.
Aligning with the eight remaining teams, I’ve chosen eight players here, one from each team. And to be selected, the player either needed to be a rookie or in his second season.
Nnamdi Madubuike leads the Ravens with 59 pressures. He’s their enforcer on the inside. And he’s going to see a lot of Torrence, Buffalo’s second-year right guard.
To date this season — including the wild-card win over the Broncos — Torrence has surrendered 38 pressures on 625 pass-blocking snaps, a respectable number for a young blocker protecting an uber-mobile quarterback like Allen. The nearly 350-pound Torrence has not allowed a sack all season, although some of that is due to Allen’s escapability, and since Week 2, Torrence has only been called for four penalties on more than 1,000 snaps.
Torrence’s stable play is low-key vital for the Bills offense. If he has a strong game against a sturdy Ravens front, it’d be a boon for Buffalo.
It hasn’t solely been about Kyle Hamiltion’s move to free safety — Wiggins’ presence on the outside of Baltimore’s secondary has been a vital component of the club’s defensive turnaround midway through this season.
Teams have targeted the cornerback opposite Wiggins, Brandon Stephens, as the weak link on the Ravens defense to the tune of 71 receptions for 892 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions.
Baltimore knows those targets are coming Stephens’ way, meaning they’ll likely give him help with Hamilton over the top more often than most veteran cornerbacks. That will leave Wiggins in one-on-one situations with Amari Cooper, Keon Coleman and Mack Hollins, Buffalo’s primary outside receivers. How well the rookie from Clemson fares in coverage and at the catch point will be critical in this matchup. Counting the opening-round playoff win, Allen has averaged 9.3 yards per attempt (second in NFL to Jackson) with 16 touchdowns to three interceptions on outside throws this season.
Campbell is one of the few Lions defensive starters who has avoided injury this season, and he has become the quarterback of the defense. On nearly 1,000 snaps, he has only missed 10 tackles, has five pass breakups, and has not allowed a touchdown in his coverage area.
We know Daniels will want to take the easy completion over and over and over again, keeping the Commanders ahead of the sticks. Those check downs and arrow routes to Austin Ekeler are a high-percentage, critical element of Washington’s aerial attack.
Oh yeah and Daniels can really run. Campbell may not present like the prototypical, modern-day quarterback spy at linebacker. Yet he tested at an elite level for the linebacker position at the 2023 combine and changes directions outstandingly for a 6-foot-5, 250-pound second-level defender.
Pay attention to Campbell when the Commanders have the football. How well does he communicate? Is he scraping through blockers to get to those outside runs. Is he wrapping up instantly on checkdowns? Can he fly to those swing passes and limit gains on the perimeter?
Coleman tested through the roof during the pre-draft process and had film littered with nasty, punishing blocks at TCU. That combination led to Washington selecting him in the third round last April, and now he’s found himself as the team’s starter protecting the left side of Daniels in a road divisional-round game.
It wasn’t pretty against the Buccaneers — Coleman gave up six pressures on 44 pass-blocking snaps. It was a different story during the regular season, when he had 12 contests with two or fewer pressures surrendered.
Without Aidan Hutchinson, the Lions aren’t formidable as a pass-rushing unit, but Za’Darius Smith can still bring it around the corner with veteran strength and pass-rush plans. Since joining the Lions, he’s registered a hefty 16.5% pressure rate as an edge rusher.
Will Coleman play beyond his years and give Daniels opportunities to scan the field? If he keeps that pressure total close to two or three, Washington should be in business offensively.
Jared Verse is going to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. Monster. Kobie Turner was the runner-up for that award a season ago. Braden Fiske, the Rams second-round pick in 2024, has also been a menace inside, next to Turner, this season.
Because of the infusion of youthful, exuberant talent in the post-Aaron Donald world for the Rams, it’s easy to lose sight of those not named Verse, Turner or Fiske up front.
I urge you to pay attention to No. 8 on the Rams in this game. Young, a third-round pick out of Tennessee in 2023, pieced together back-to-back seasons to begin his NFL career with 50-plus pressures. That’s no easy task. All he did against veterans Cam Robinson and Brian O’Neill on the edges of Minnesota’s offensive line in the wild-card round was tally eight pressures of Sam Darnold. Young has plenty of explosiveness himself, and he can wrap the corner tightly.
How poetic is this? Trotter Jr. will play a key role for the Eagles in a divisional round playoff game, just like his dad did for years in Philadelphia.
Following the knee-ligament tear to breakout linebacker Nakobe Dean, Trotter Jr. is likely next man up opposite Zack Baun in Philadelphia’s gritty yet talented defense. He only played 104 snaps during the regular season, but thrived in his short audition with 25 tackles, a half-sack and a pass breakup.
Kyren Williams is vital to what the Rams want to do offensively. He had 14 touchdowns during the regular season and 63.2% of Matthew Stafford’s attempts this season have come over the middle. A lot will be asked of Trotter Jr. in this game. How quickly can he reads his keys against Los Angeles’ mostly stretch runs plays? How efficiently does he sift through traffic on his way to Williams? And can he make a play or two in coverage? The rookie linebacker’s play will be vital for Philadelphia.
The Chiefs are super-healthy entering the divisional round. That doesn’t mean Hicks will be removed from the field completely. He’s proven to be too valuable to the defense. On his 330 snaps to date during his rookie season, the former Washington State stud registered three picks, five pass breakups, 29 tackles, and three tackles for loss. He’s been ubiquitous.
Hicks has split time between free safety and an in-the-box defender, and halting Joe Mixon on early downs will be key for the Chiefs in this rematch against Houston. Going into this game, the Texans have converted on just 37.5% of their third-down opportunities, the 21st-best rate in the league. Getting C.J. Stroud into third-and-longs will allow Steve Spagnuolo to dial up his array of blitzes on a susceptible offensive line.
While Justin Reid and Bryan Cook will handle most of the safety duties in this game, don’t be surprised if Hicks is deployed as the extra defensive back on the field because of his intimidating 6-3, 212-pound presence.
Three of the Texans’ five offensive linemen are either first- or second-year NFL players, including Patterson, their steady center. While rookie Blake Fisher could have been included here, or right guard Juice Scruggs, I’m zeroing in on Patterson because of the communication responsibility he’ll have at the pivot when facing not just Chris Jones but Spagnulo’s blitz-happy defense.
During the regular season, Kansas City blitzed the opposition on 35.6% of dropbacks, the fifth-highest rate in football. And they’re complex looks. Patterson — along with Stroud — must be on their “A” game understanding where the pressure may be coming from and deciding who needs to block a Chiefs rusher to give Houston a real chance to efficiently move the football down the field all game.
The second-year pro from Notre Dame needs to get stronger to move people in the run game, no doubt. He’s further ahead as a pass protector because of his lower center of gravity and repeatedly keen positioning. He’s only surrendered 15 pressures on 399 pass-blocking snaps to date.
