5 NFL Players Who Could Shed the 'Bust' Label in 2024 Season

The 2024 NFL season represents a chance at redemption for a slew of young players who have gotten off to poor starts to their professional careers.

Whether they've dealt with injuries, been slow to develop, were buried on the depth chart or simply weren't a schematic fit, these players—fairly or not—have already started earning the "bust" label for their poor play out of the gate.

Many of these young talents will have a real shot at shedding that moniker in 2024.

Some have received a much-needed fresh start after joining new teams via trades or free agency. Others finally look healthy after extended stretches on injured reserve. A few should benefit from the departure of veterans who previously limited their playing time, while others could thrive alongside talented new teammates who will help them raise their own game.

With that in mind, here are five players with a great chance to leave the bust label behind and break out in 2024.

Nakobe Dean was hailed as one of the best value pickups of the entire 2022 draft when he slipped to the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round. His selection hasn't returned much on the investment quite yet, however, as the linebacker rarely played as a rookie and spent most of his potential breakout 2023 season on the IR.

While Dean fell on draft day due to injury concerns—including a pectoral muscle setback he was nursing at the time—he was available for all 17 games in his first season. He was mostly limited to special teams appearances, though, and wound up participating in a mere 3 percent of Philadelphia's defensive snaps.

The departures of T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White ahead of the 2022 season opened the door for Dean to take on a much larger linebacking role as a sophomore, but foot injuries kept the 23-year-old sidelined for 12 games in 2023.

Dean did flash when he was available last year. He recorded 30 tackles and a half-sack in the five games he appeared in, earning impressively high marks from Pro Football Focus for his run defense and tackling abilities.

The Eagles will need Dean to continue bringing those skills to the table while rounding out the rest of his game if they are going to return to form following a dismal end to last year's campaign.

With Vic Fangio taking over as defensive coordinator and Bobby King now overseeing a linebacker unit that rated among the NFL's worst last year, Dean could thrive as Philadelphia's starting off-ball linebacker. Health will play a big role, but if he can just stay on the field, Dean should make enough strides in 2024 to become a critical contributor.

Caleb Farley hasn't come close to living up to the lofty expectations that came with his selection at No. 22 overall in the 2021 draft.

A big, 6'2" cornerback with good speed and ball skills, Farley was expected to be a defining piece in Tennessee's secondary once healthy and with a little more experience. Injuries have completely stalled his development, however, as Farley has seen action in a mere 12 games over the last three seasons combined.

The Titans were aware that Farley's selection would come with considerable risk. He missed an entire season at Virginia Tech with a torn ACL and dealt with back issues that limited his playing time with the Hokies. Both of those ailments have since cropped up again during his professional career.

After his rookie campaign was marred by back problems and another torn ACL, Farley recovered in time for the start of the 2022 season only to have his sophomore campaign cut short by a herniated disk.

Further back trouble kept him off the field for the entirety of 2023, leaving 2024—the final year of Farley's rookie deal—as arguably his last shot of making it in the NFL.

Tennessee is hopeful that Farley will make the most of this opportunity. According to Jim Wyatt of the team's official website, general manager Ran Carthon has had conversations with Farley and understands how hard the 25-year-old is working to get and stay healthy.

Given his size and skills, perhaps all Farley needs to do to right the ship is stay on the field. While the Titans won't need the fourth-year veteran to start after acquiring both L'Jarius Sneed and Chidobe Awuzie this offseason, they could use him as a depth option behind the two proven starters.

If Farley serves as a quality backup and is available for close to a full season, there's a good chance he'll secure a second contract in free agency this coming offseason.

The Carolina Panthers' decision to go all-in for Bryce Young quickly began to look like a mistake last season.

After the franchise paid the Chicago Bears' ransom to move up to No. 1 overall—which cost Carolina the Nos. 9 and 61 overall picks in 2023 in addition to a 2024 first-rounder (which wound up being the top overall selection), a second-rounder in 2025 and rising star wideout DJ Moore—Young fell flat as a rookie.

The Alabama product struggled to get anything going in his first NFL season, completing just 59.8 percent of his throws for 2,877 yards and 11 touchdowns across 16 starts. He recorded 10 interceptions and was sacked a whopping 62 times while leading the Panthers to a league-worst 2-14 record.

Carolina wasn't expected to be a playoff contender, but it certainly didn't help that C.J. Stroud—the player selected just after Young at No. 2 overall—rapidly developed into a franchise-caliber quarterback while guiding the Houston Texans to a shocking playoff victory in his debut campaign.

It would be hard to imagine a worse start for a top overall pick, but there are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Young's career. The Panthers have a new coaching staff in place following the midseason firing of Frank Reich, with head coach Dave Canales and offensive coordinator Brad Idzik fully focused on developing the Alabama product into a star.

Canales has said he plans to construct an offense tailored around the young signal-caller and won't need a "big plan" to fix the prospect. The team improved the protection around Young by signing Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt and also bolstered his pass-catching core by trading for Diontae Johnson.

More work will be done in the upcoming draft to round out a roster that arguably had more glaring holes than any other during the 2023 season.

Even rival general managers believe that the 22-year-old still has a bright future, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Jason Licht recently telling ESPN's David Newton: "It's still too early to tell [if the Panthers made a mistake drafting Young]. It wouldn't surprise me, as good as Bryce was in college, if he rebounds and has a helluva year this year."

Carolina may not be a Super Bowl contender yet, but the strides the team made this offseason should put it much closer to relevance. If Young leads the way during a bounce-back second season, no one can consider him a bust.

The New England Patriots offense has been a disaster since the departure of Tom Brady. While quarterback woes have been the crux of these issues, a clear lack of quality receiving talent and a poor coaching staff severely hamstrung New England's chances to be competitive on that side of the ball.

That could change in 2024 thanks to a new regime headed up by head coach Jerod Mayo and a potential franchise quarterback selection at No. 3 overall in the upcoming draft. These adjustments could result in wideout Tyquan Thornton, a disappointing second-round pick for the Patriots two years ago, turning his career around.

While Thornton looked like he could help New England immediately thanks to his electric playmaking skills he displayed at Baylor, his initial pro season got off to a slow start due to injuries that kept him off the field for the first month.

Thornton still showed some potential as a rookie but largely failed to move the needle with 22 catches on 45 targets for 247 yards and two touchdowns.

Rather than build on that performance, Thornton further struggled with health and regressed to catch 13 of his 23 targets for 91 yards in nine games last year. That pitiful showing, especially with a clear lack of talented pass-catchers to contend with for reps, has the 23-year-old looking like a bust heading into a pivotal third season.

Don't write Thornton off just yet, however, as the Patriots offense may find a spark now that Mac Jones has been traded and the offense is no longer being orchestrated by Bill O'Brien—who struggled in the offensive coordinator role last year—and Matt Patricia, who was out of his depth calling plays during Thornton's rookie season.

Alex Van Pelt—a promising talent who spent the last four years as the Cleveland Browns' offensive coordinator and coaching staff—is set to handle the offensive play-calling duties in Foxborough. His presence, coupled with a new quarterback, could make the Pats' aerial attack far more dangerous than it has been over the last half-decade.

If Thornton stays on the field and reaches his potential, the Patriots may not need as much help in the receiver's room as it seems.

Coming out of Clemson four years ago, Isaiah Simmons was billed as a positionless defensive talent capable of lining up just about anywhere on the field. That versatility and utility led to his being selected No. 8 overall by the Arizona Cardinals, but he failed to distinguish himself in any role and was unceremoniously traded to the New York Giants for a mere seventh-round pick prior to the start of the 2023 season.

That fresh start didn't benefit Simmons much. While he kept his streak of being available for every game alive, he contributed career lows in tackles (50) and sacks (one) while seeing the field for only 33 percent of Big Blue's defensive snaps.

He was primarily used as a special teamer (logging a career-high 224 snaps in that area) by the G-Men, but Simmons could see more defensive utilization in 2024 following the departure of Wink Martindale and subsequent installation of Shane Bowen as New York's defensive coordinator.

The Giants clearly have some plans for Simmons after they brought him back on a cheap, $2 million "prove-it" deal at the beginning of April. The team listed Simmons as both a safety and linebacker when announcing the move, perhaps an indication of how Bowen will deploy the 25-year-old this coming campaign.

With the ability to rush the passer, drop back in coverage, create big plays—Simmons has 15 tackles for a loss, 8.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, five interceptions, three fumble recoveries and two defensive touchdowns to his name in 67 career games—and stay healthy, there should be plenty of opportunity for Simmons to rehabilitate his career in 2024.

It may not be right away and it may even take an injury to open up significantly more playing time, but Simmons should eventually find success within Bowen's system and have his best season yet in 2024.