The number of rookies who don’t bother waiting for their true breakout season seems to increase annually. The latest example, perhaps, is Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud. Or, maybe Texans edge Will Anderson Jr. Or Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Maybe Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson. Oh, and probably Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua.

You get the point.

The 2023 rookie class made its mark, to be sure — and we’ve yet to hear everything from the entire group. With that in mind, let’s look at a few second-year players who could have breakout seasons (health willing) in 2024.

Quarterback

Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (Round 2, No. 33)

Frankly, a few guys have an argument here. Aidan O’Connell is in a fight with Gardner Minshew II for the Las Vegas job. If he wins that, do not be surprised if he (once again) outperforms expectations — O’Connell was one of the most undervalued prospects in the 2023 class. I’m also not ready to give up on Bryce Young, and I’m excited to see Anthony Richardson for more than a month.

However, the breakout pick is Levis. He was a really tough evaluation coming out of Kentucky due to a toe injury he suffered in 2022, but his downfield accuracy (and confidence) was much better in 2021. That’s what we saw last season with Tennessee.

During Levis’ nine-game run as starter, 21.5 percent of his completions went for more than 20 yards — a tick better than Stroud’s number (20.5 across the entire season). Being consistently accurate at every level of the field is the next step for Levis, and it’s attainable with more healthy reps.

Running back

Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans (Round 3, No. 81)

Gibbs, Robinson and De’Von Achane all enjoyed big rookie seasons. Had it not been for a major ACL injury, Baltimore’s Keaton Mitchell (currently on the PUP list) would have joined them.

Spears was on the fringe, too, rushing for 453 yards on 100 attempts. He tied with Gibbs for second among rookies (behind Robinson) with 52 catches for 385 yards and another score. Replacing Derrick Henry with one human doesn’t happen. But even though Spears will have help from Tony Pollard, don’t be surprised if he’s the new star in Nashville by season’s end.

Also keep an eye out for Chicago’s Roschon Johnson and Seattle’s Zach Charbonnet.

Wide receiver

Tank Dell, Houston Texans (Round 3, No. 69)

Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers (Round 2, No. 50)

Josh Downs, Indianapolis Colts (Round 3, No. 79) 

A broken fibula limited Dell to 11 games last season — and even so, it still might be cheating to include him here. The former Houston Cougars dynamo racked up 2.22 yards per route last season, third among rookies behind only Nacua and Rashee Rice. Despite his small frame (5-foot-8, 165 pounds), Dell is a force underneath and better in the air than people think (six contested catches last year).

Reed (64 catches, 793 yards, eight TDs) was one of the most unsung contributors to Jordan Love’s breakout season, and Downs, another undersized speedster, was arguably Richardson’s favorite target in Indianapolis prior to the QB’s injury. (Downs could miss the start of the regular season with a high ankle sprain.) Also don’t be shocked if Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba (who missed a lot of time in college) steps up and reminds people who he is out west this season.

Those players, Nacua, Rice, Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison make for an outstanding WR class just by themselves.

Tight end

Luke Musgrave, Green Bay Packers (Round 2, No. 42)

Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers (Round 3, No. 78)

The 2023 tight end class was hailed as potentially historic, and it’s hard to hate on the production. LaPorta set a rookie TE receptions record, and Bills rookie Dalton Kincaid would’ve been the runaway top first-year tight end in any other season but 2023.

Oddly enough, though, the top two breakout candidates for 2024 play for the same team.

Musgrave is the favorite after putting up 34 catches for 352 yards and a touchdown in an injury-shortened, 11-game season. Kraft, his classmate and teammate, isn’t far behind. He played the full season, finishing with three fewer catches, three more yards and one more touchdown than Musgrave.

Both are terrific athletes — especially Musgrave, who flirted with 4.4 speed in college at 6-6, 250.

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Offensive line

Sidy Sow, New England Patriots (Round 4, No. 117)

Darnell Wright, Chicago Bears (Round 1, No. 10)

Joe Tippmann, New York Jets (Round 2, No. 43) 

Matthew Bergeron, Atlanta Falcons (Round 2, No. 38) 

Peter Skoronski, Tennessee Titans (Round 1, No. 11)

Sow, a hyper-versatile and athletic big man, was one of my favorite Day 3 picks from the 2023 draft. The 6-4, 325-pounder was a left guard/tackle at Eastern Michigan, then shifted to right guard as a rookie. It wasn’t always pretty, but Sow had some big-time flashes in 13 starts.

Tippmann (who had some snap issues early in camp) and Wright both showed their potential in the run game last season and should continue to improve, while Bergeron got a full year’s worth of starts at right guard for the first time in his life. One of the most athletic linemen in the 2023 class, Bergeron was a right/left tackle only in college and could make a big jump as part of a very solid Atlanta front.

Skoronski, an outstanding college tackle, had his move inside to guard stunted by an early-season injury. If he can stay healthy, the Titans’ offensive line — which also added Alabama OT JC Latham in this year’s draft — might surprise people.

Defensive line

Tuli Tuipulotu, Los Angeles Chargers (Round 2, No. 54) 

Keeanu Benton, Pittsburgh Steelers (Round 2, No. 49)

Calijah Kancey, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Round 1, No. 19)

Karl Brooks, Green Bay Packers (Round 6, No. 179)

As with Dell, it’s probably a bit unfair to include Tuipulotu here — he had a really good rookie season (as did several rookie linemen, including Anderson, Jalen Carter, Byron Young and Kobie Turner). However, the quick and smart 6-3, 260-pounder now gets to work with Jesse Minter in an offshoot of the Ravens’ system. Look for the Chargers to heap more on his plate and unlock more than we’ve seen. He could be a star in that defense.

Benton has dropped weight and appears in line for more work after a very efficient rookie year. His combination of punch and foot speed could provide a serious, versatile upgrade inside for the Steelers.

If Kancey can stay healthy for a full season and shore up his run discipline next to Vita Vea, Tampa Bay’s interior could be the best in the NFL.

Brooks, another Day 3 favorite from 2023, made the absolute most of a rotational role at multiple spots for Green Bay (four sacks, 25 pressures in just 256 reps — also, don’t forget about Lukas Van Ness) and, like Benton, has the athletic versatility to be a terror for slower linemen. Arizona edge BJ Ojulari also was on this list before he went down with a knee injury early in training camp, a tough blow for a promising youngster.

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Linebacker

Jack Campbell, Detroit Lions (Round 1, No. 18) 

SirVocea Dennis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Round 5, No. 153) 

Otis Reese IV, Tennessee Titans (UDFA)

Campbell’s rookie season got complicated when Detroit asked him to move out of the stack and into an edge role for a brief stretch. His play over the second half and into the playoffs, though, was very good. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him get the green dot as defensive play caller, even with veteran LB Alex Anzalone on the roster.

Dennis didn’t play much last season, but the 2023 fifth-rounder is in line for more work with Devin White now in Philadelphia. Dennis was a long, explosive general nuisance inside at Pitt (12 TFL, seven sacks as a senior) and has the type of effort/instinct combination Todd Bowles covets.

The best rookie linebacker in 2023 was Vikings undrafted free agent Ivan Pace Jr. But another UDFA, Reese showed real promise and serious play speed for a handful of games late last season. He could be an answer inside for the Titans this season.

Defensive back

Christian Gonzalez, New England Patriots (Round 1, No. 17)

Brian Branch, Detroit Lions (Round 2, No. 45)

Jordan Battle, Cincinnati Bengals (Round 3, No. 95)

Tyrique Stevenson, Chicago Bears (Round 2, No. 56) 

Gonzalez had a great first month last season before his year ended because of a shoulder injury. The best mover among corners in the ’23 class, Gonzalez (4.38-second 40-yard dash, 41-inch vertical, 32-inch arms) could be a bright spot early for Jerod Mayo.

Branch is another player who might have outperformed this list, but he did lose several games to injury last season. More importantly, Detroit plans to further expand his role in 2024 — the Lions believe he’s a future Pro Bowler. Cincinnati could say the same about Battle, another ex-Alabama safety who looks like a potential perennial stud.

Other candidates include Joey Porter Jr. and Christian Izien. Stevenson, though, had some outstanding stretches last year in Chicago and should only improve opposite Jaylon Johnson.

(Top photos of Will Levis, left, and Keeanu Benton: Matthew Maxey, Mark Alberti / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

NEW YORK — Aaron Judge wanted a change. One of the most feared hitters in the majors, the New York Yankees center fielder had struggled through the first several weeks of the season. By the end of April, he was hitting just .207.

“I wasn’t doing too hot,” he recently said.

So, Judge — who, like many players, often tinkers with his swing — committed to what appeared to be a significant adjustment.

On May 5, he walked to the plate to face Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal with two outs in the first inning. Instead of assuming his usual open batting stance — with his left foot angled toward the third baseman — he switched things up. He slightly closed his stance, pointing his foot more toward the pitcher. He also stood a little straighter.

It worked like a charm. In a 1-1 count, Skubal tried to whip a 97-mph heater down and in to Judge. But he left it over the plate, and Judge crushed it for a solo home run nearly into the bleachers in right-center field at Yankee Stadium.

Judge finished the game 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Since then, he’s retaken his place as the best hitter in baseball. Going into Monday’s road game with the Chicago White Sox, he was leading in two of three Triple Crown categories, posting an American League-best 42 home runs and 106 RBIs. His .328 batting average, however, was second-best to the Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt, who was hitting .347. Judge’s 217 wRC+ — a catch-all metric that measures a player’s overall value — was also the best and more than 30 points higher than his closest competition, teammate Juan Soto, who was at 186.

He was also sitting on 299 career home runs. He’s on pace to be the fastest player to 300.

Judge said the change helped him with several things.

First, he said, it made him feel more comfortable. Second, it allowed him to be more effective against sliders and away pitches in general. Through May 4, Judge was batting just .154 with a .333 slugging percentage vs. sliders. After May 5, he’s hit .348 vs. them while slugging .812.

“Just staying on the away pitch a little better,” he said. “A lot of teams, they love to throw slider away, slider away and then show heaters inside and then slider away — the same thing. Just if I start a little closed or a little more straight up, which is what I usually like to do, I can kind of stay on those a little better.”

He added that it helped his front foot land more consistently where he wanted — pointing almost directly at the pitcher.

“I always want to get back to square when I land,” he said. “But sometimes if I’m starting way out there, sometimes I feel like I never got back to being square, so that pitch away felt even farther. So if I start more square, you have a better chance to stay on some balls.”

Of course, the change wasn’t a one-time adjustment. This season, Judge has at various times stood even more square to the pitcher and he’s occasionally adjusted how tall he stands, all in the name of finding the right balance.

First baseman Anthony Rizzo — one of the best-hitting first basemen in the game since he debuted in 2011 — said he noticed the change in Judge’s batting stance when it happened and said a hitter’s legs can be a key to his success. In workouts before spring training, Yankees players told each other that they wanted to put a season-long emphasis on closely watching each other’s at-bats and helping correct flaws as they arise.

“Hitting is very hard,” Rizzo said. “But I think as long as you have your core foundation and you’re being on time, I don’t think it matters where you start. … It’s a feel thing.”

Judge’s swing has looked more direct since the change, manager Aaron Boone said.

“In a way, it’s just simplified it for him,” Boone said, “and made him really efficient in what he’s doing in the (batter’s) box. Along with that, we’ve seen great swing decisions. He’s real calm up there in how he takes pitches, having an understanding of what he’s looking for and not trying to do too much with it. He knows he doesn’t have to swing harder or add more. He slows it down very well, and I think the stance and the position he’s in — from my standpoint and from my looking at him — allows him to be more efficient.”

Hitting coach James Rowson said it’s not uncommon for even the best players in the game to make significant adjustments in search of feeling more comfortable at the plate.

“I don’t think it’s strange,” Rowson said. “I think if you took 100 hitters, you’re going to see them make adjustments, just because of how something is feeling. It doesn’t mean that’s where you’re going to stay. You could stay there. You could go back. I think as long as he’s getting to that point right now that he’s talking about where he feels like he’s in a good position to make a good move, that’s where we want to be. Sometimes you make those adjustments in order to regain that feeling.”

Lately, Judge has had less of a chance to put his change to work. Teams have once again taken to giving Judge the Barry Bonds treatment — purposely pitching around him or intentionally walking him rather than allowing him to beat them. This season, he’s tied with the Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez for the most intentional walks in the game at 13. They also did it to him toward the end of the 2022 season when he set an American League record with 62 home runs.

Still, Judge said he felt good about the move, and that more may come as he continues to search for comfort at the plate.

“There’s certain things that you have to stick the course with and you know things will turn (around),” he said. “But these are the little things where you just watch your tape and analyze your game and little things can stick out and it’s like, well, let me see if this will work.”

A reporter then suggested to Judge that the move had, in fact, seemed to work.

He smiled.

“So far.”

(Top photo of Aaron Judge: Gregory Fisher / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

PARIS — The atmosphere of the mixed zone for track and field, on the bottom floor of Stade de France, felt like a locker room and a pizza kitchen sharing a space. Hot and stanky enough to sweat while merely standing. Waiting became like a cruel prank. And Rai Benjamin, the clutch anchor leg who secured gold for the U.S. men’s 4×400 relay team, was taking forever.

Suddenly, my phone was vibrating like a massage gun. This has happened many times before. I knew exactly what it was without looking. So I didn’t look.

On this assignment, I was a track and field reporter, which is the definition of hectic at the Olympics. Benjamin was my focus. Not whatever had this stream of notifications coming my way. But the longer the relay team took to come out, the harder to avoid taking the bait. Eventually, I caved and stole a glance. The most recent notification was a text.

“GET THIS MAN SOME HELP”

Still no relay team. Still getting messages. Still sweating like an extra in an antebellum film.

All right, Steph Curry. You win.

I turned the game on just in time to see the shot heard ’round the world. I knew it was going in as soon as he launched. Being in the building wasn’t necessary to witness what was happening. It was an all-too-familiar vibe coming through the screen.

The actual shot — the punctuating 3-pointer in Saturday’s gold-medal victory over France, his 17th three in two games on a mere 26 attempts — was absent novelty. The best shooter in the world getting hot is about as normal as “Freed From Desire” being played at a sporting event in Paris. (Warning: Clicking that link will expose you to a song with the addictive properties of a kid’s commercial.) And Team USA winning a gold medal isn’t exactly breaking news.

Yet, this moment was whisking across the globe like a fabled spirit. The global superstar rendered a global performance. The world, through the lens of Paris — fittingly known as the City of Art, the City of Light, and the City of Love — beheld the Joy of Curry.

All I could do was smile at the fortune of the Paris crowd two trains and 11 metro stops away from me at Bercy Arena, and the unaffiliated around the world drawn to basketball by the prestige of the Olympics. They can now claim the privilege of a uniquely American adventure.

Because Curry — when he finally arrived in Paris three days earlier, per Anthony Edwards — provided the latest presentation of Curry’s lasting legacy. It’s larger than him being the game’s greatest shooter. It’s even bigger than four world championships and two NBA MVPs.

His greatest legacy, a long-known principle to Warriors and Davidson fans and devoted Curry followers, is the experience of him itself. Curry’s greatness isn’t truly understood until it’s felt. It can’t be fully grasped until it’s beheld.

SPLASH AFTER SPLASH AFTER SPLASH AFTER SPLASH! 💦

Steph Curry couldn’t miss in the final minutes! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/jM8xnR80Tx

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— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) August 11, 2024

In this virality era where everything is recorded and aggregated, nothing gets missed, and impressive things are consumed to the point of mundane, Curry manages to be a had-to-be-there thing. The confluence of his talent and skills, his dichotomic personality of arrogance and humility, his work ethic, his limitations and his story produce its own kind of magic. It’s unique enough to maintain its entertainment value despite the frequency.

Now put that on the Olympic stage, against the French national team, featuring the future of basketball in Victor Wembanyama, in a close game, in Paris, with the gold medal on the line.

The magnitude of this one was different.

Seismic enough to wow LeBron and KD. Watching those three hug in the same uniform, scream at each other with unbridled unity, had all the warmth and feels at the end of a Tom Hanks film.

Makes you realize the waste in all those years of pitting them against each other, in which the athletes themselves participated. Makes you shake your head at the people who then and still looked for ways to diminish Curry in the name of another star. (And vice versa).

No. 1: Comparison is the thief of joy, so the tribalistic obsession with rankings only robbed them of one of basketball’s purest pleasures. It’s borderline ungrateful to watch Curry and LeBron James and Kevin Durant play and not be impacted by the privilege of the opportunity. No. 2: They were ALWAYS going to end up here, rivals turned to homies, competitors who become brothers. They’re all in such an exclusive group, they’d be lonely if they didn’t eventually come to embrace the few who can relate to their level. The way these guys are built, the way they think about the game, the love fest we witnessed during these Olympics was inevitable. And the dividing lines between their kingdoms were destined to look silly once the kings embraced.

Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Anthony Edwards and Kevin Durant of Team USA celebrate on the podium during the Men’s basketball medal ceremony at Bercy Arena on August 10, 2024 in Paris, France. (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

That’s another layer to this ultimate moment — just how much this means to Curry. Everything about him is Team USA. All of the feels and intangibles of the honor coupled with how his game translates. Dell Curry, and then Davidson coach Bob McKillop, groomed him with so many of the aspects that maximize the experience of USA Basketball. The selflessness. The camaraderie. The brotherhood of hoopers. The sportsmanship. The appreciation for putting on the jersey and playing against those with their own national pride. Curry has been indoctrinated this way his whole life.

I remember finally getting an answer from him about the Rio Olympics. He’d slipped on the sweat of Donatas Motiejūnas in the first round of the 2016 Western Conference playoffs and sprained his knee. He missed the next four games, but even when he returned he was compromised. Toward the end of the playoff run, he finally had to acknowledge his reality as the Warriors pushed forward in the playoffs: The offseason would be devoted to healing that knee. He was so dejected just saying it out loud.

He was injured in 2012, though a long shot to make the team. He was injured in 2016. He opted out of the quarantined Tokyo Games in the aftermath of the pandemic (which pushed the games back a year) and a grueling season with the Warriors. He was 0-for-3 on one of the most important perks of his rise to stardom.

So you can imagine how much he valued being there, and still being great enough at 36 to produce so spectacularly.

And the other part clearly important to him, sentimental even, is doing it with James and Durant. Doing it with the young stars to whom he gets the honor of passing the torch.

Curry has had a completely full career. He’s had incredible games and bad ones. Stellar moments and embarrassing ones. The highest glory and the heartbreak that never leaves. Huge wins and massive losses. You’ll never meet another NBA player who appreciates all of it more than Curry. They’re all rites of passage into the fraternity of NBA superstars. And as the kid who grew up around them, following his sharp-shooting father, Curry values that honor incredibly.

This is all that was missing, an Olympic gold, the Team USA experience.

So delivering as teammates of all-time greats, players he’s battled against for so many years, is greater than any shot he made. Greater than gold he now adorns.

He was with LeBron for this one. With KD. With Devin Booker and Jrue Holiday. With Carmelo Anthony. With Ty Lue and Erik Spoelstra, who for years sought to prey on his weaknesses. His entire biological family was with him for this international soiree. The chantilly on top: Curry was alongside Steve Kerr, his championship coach, with his basketball brother Draymond Green in the crowd, to which Curry yelled “Don’t worry ’bout me!” This was a significant moment for a significant figure.

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But, to answer many of the texts I received: Yes, I am in Paris. No, I was not there there. That was fine by me, too.

I’d just watched Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone run a 47.71 split on the second leg of the women’s 4×400 relay — the world record in the women’s 400 meters is 47.60 — and it was so fast and smooth everyone else on the track felt like stop animation. I’d earlier witnessed the greatest men’s 100-meter race of my lifetime, maybe ever, as Noah Lyles won by .005 seconds. That’s how long it takes a butterfly to flap its wings 10 times. I watched Cole Hocker shock the world in the men’s 1500-meter race. I watched Sha’Carri Richardson pierce the rain and stare down the runner-up as she paced her for gold.

That’s the beauty of the Olympics. It’s two weeks of had-to-be-there moments across multiple sports. Curry provided one of the most seismic ones, but not the only one. The Olympiads are chock full of legends.

Speaking of which, here comes Rai Benjamin. Finally.

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Merci, Paris: We needed these Olympics

 (Top photo of Stephen Curry: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)