Last year, DeMarcco Hellams went from special teamer with a promising future to summer star to starter, all in the span of less than a year. That kind of meteoric rise for a seventh rounder is incredibly cool to watch, and Hellams earned it by being a far more advanced and talented player than his draft status would suggest. Now he is, at worst, a key reserve and special teams cog for a team with playoff aspirations.
Who will be this year’s Hellams? There is no shortage of candidates among this rookie class, but figuring out which one is most likely to see what kind of leap is a bit trickier.