Pest again, back with Season 2 Dynamic Development Trait predictions. Every year the best players in our franchise make the Pro Bowl, win Awards, and some lucky few get the boosts from Dynamic Dev upgrades. I took a deep dive into the limits and the stats to try to predict who are going to get upgrades going into the playoffs and into season 3. Here’s what I came up with:
QB Jacoby Brissett – Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jacoby led the league in passing yards in s2, and though he was only 9th in TDs, his average rank of 5th should put him in a good spot to get a boost to SuperStar dev for s3. Luckily for him, INTs don’t matter.
RB Joe Mixon – Cincinnati Bengals. I gave Mixon the edge over David Johnson due to being a couple years younger. 7th in yards and 8th in TDs, that average rank of 7.5 should put him just under the cusp of what is needed to get SuperStar dev. It wouldn’t shock me if neither of these RBs got a boost though, due to the top ranking players all having XF dev already.
WR Calvin Ridley – Chicago Bears & Nelson Agholor – Piladelphia Eagles. Neither of these guys should be a surprise after the seasons they had. Ridley was 1st in yards and 2nd in TDs, while Agholor was 6th in yards and 1st in TDs. Ridley is a LOCK for SuperStar dev, and chances are pretty good for Agholor to bump to XF. Some honorable mentions: Clifton Boss, Tyreek Hill, and Mecole Hardman. For the sake of the league… PLEASE GOD NO.
TE OJ Howard – Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When your QB leads the league in yards, there are bound to be some receivers in line for dev, and in this case that’s Howard. He finished 2nd in yards among TEs, and 1st in TDs, edging out other top TEs Dawson Knox and Jace Sternberger for a boost to SuperStar dev.
RE Uchenna Nwosu – Arizona Cardinals. In an effort to make Ty cry himself to sleep some more over this trade, I chose Nwosu over Rashan Gary in my prediction for a dynamic dev boost. These two guys were very closely bunched together, tied with average ranks of 4.333. Nwosu finished 5th in Tackles, 2nd in Sacks, and 6th in TFLs among REs which should put him in a good spot for SuperStar dev.
LE John Ray – Minnesota Vikings. Coming in with an average rank of 7.333 is pretty dang good for a Normal dev player. Finishing 8th in Tackles, 12th in Sacks, and 2nd in TFL among LEs makes him a damn near lock for Star development. Star might not be that exciting, but it’s one breakout story away from having an ability or two, so I don’t think Arlen will be upset.
DT Kenny Clark – Green Bay Packers. I wouldn’t be surprised if no DTs got a dynamic boost, but Clark is probably in the best spot if one were to happen this year. He finished 12th in Tackles, 4th in Sacks, and 10th in TFLs among DTs, good for an average rank of 8.667, which is potentially under the cusp of what’s needed to get a boost to SuperStar dev. Honorable mentions Chris Jones and DeForest Buckner are both under 10 in average rank as well, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
ROLB Chase Winovich – New England Patriots & Jayon Brown – Tennessee Titans. These guys both finished within a third of a point of average rank of each other, and both might get boosts to SuperStar dev because of it. The difference in off-ball LB and Edge LB shows in their stat rankings too: Off-ball Brown finished 1st in Tackles, 15th in Sacks, and 4th in TFLs while Pass-rusher Winovich finished 15th in Tackles, 4th in Sacks, and 2nd in TFLs among ROLBs.
MLB Travin Howard – Los Angeles Rams. This is another one of those guys that is an absolute LOCK for a boost. Normal dev Howard finished 7th in Tackles, 11th in INTs, and 4th in TFLs among MLBs, good for an average rank of 7.333. Getting to Star dev will be a nice little consolation prize for Nano, despite his early playoff exit. Honorable mention Blake Cashman of the New York Jets also finished with an average rank under 10.
LOLB Jerome Baker – Miami Dolphins. Baker is gunning for a bump to SuperStar dev with his average ranking of 6.667, which could give Kyle a 2nd SS dev LB as he attempts to bring the laughing stock Dolphins back to relevancy. Finishing 7th in Tackles, 11th in Sacks, and 2nd in TFLs among LOLBs, Baker had a stellar season without abilities, so look for those to improve even further in s3 if he indeed gets the bump.
CB Justin Coleman – Detroit Lions. CB is much harder to predict since the formula [STUPIDLY] doesn’t take INTs into account for these purposes, snubbing guys like Parry Nickerson once again. Finishing 14th in Tackles and 5th in Deflections gives Normal dev Coleman an average rank of 9.5, which should put him under the threshold for getting a boost to Star dev, despite heading into his 29-year old season for s3.
FS Duke Dawson – New England Patriots. One-time CB Dawson is the second Patriot defensive player to make the list, this time for a boost from Normal to Star. I guess sometimes it’s good that your offense sucks and your defense can’t get off the field. Zing. Dawson finished with an average rank of 5.5, coming in 6th in Tackles and 5th in Deflections in s2. The dev boost should solidify him as the Pats’ FS for the rest of the cycle.
SS Jabrill Peppers – New York Giants. SS is another position that wouldn’t surprise me if no one got a boost, as most of the top performers already have SS or XF dev. Peppers is the lone guy amongst the average rank leaders for the position still at Star dev, so chances are decent he will get a boost to SuperStar after finishing with an average rank of 7. He amassed the 12th most Tackles and tied for the 2nd most Deflections among all Strong Safeties after a solid season in the Big Apple.
