Ten offensive players to keep an eye on were covered in an article earlier in the week. The focus now turns to the other side of the ball.
Every season, a different set of players face a crossroads or have something to prove for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons are related to age, contract or salary cap concerns, injury, poor performance or off-the-field issues.
Ten defensive players to watch during the 2022 NFL season fitting into one of those categories are below.
J.J. Watt, DL, Cardinals
Watt didn't miss a game during his first five NFL seasons when he has the league's most dominant defensive player. In the six seasons since, Watt has played 55 of 97 regular-season games because of a variety of injuries. Watt missed the last 10 regular-season games of 2021 with a shoulder injury requiring surgery that had a six-month rehab prognosis. He returned for the Cardinals' wild card playoff loss to the Rams. The 33-year-old is entering the final year of a two-year, $28 million contract (worth up to $30 million through incentives and salary escalators) he signed with the Cardinals in 2021 after the Texans granted his request to be released.
Bobby Wagner, ILB, Rams
The rebuilding Seahawks released Wagner in March rather than pay him $16.6 million this year on a $20.35 million salary cap number. Wagner is coming off a 2021 season in which he had a career-high 170 tackles while earning his eighth straight Pro Bowl selection and second team All-Pro honors. The Southern California native was intent on coming back home so he joined the Super Bowl LVI champion Rams on a five-year, $50 million contract worth up to $65 million through incentives. By staying in the NFC West, Wagner gets a chance to show the Seahawks they made a mistake in letting him go.
Fletcher Cox, DT, Eagles
Cox endured a frustrating 2021 season. His streak of six straight Pro Bowls came to an end. Cox also clashed with new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon early on over how he was being used and was critical of his defensive scheme. He had 3.5 sacks and 41 quarterback pressures (combined sacks, quarterback hits and quarterback hurries) last season, according to Pro Football Focus. It was Cox's fewest pressures since his rookie season in 2012. The Eagles released Cox in March and promptly brought him back at a slightly reduced rate with a one-year deal worth $14 million. This could be Cox's last year in Philadelphia as the Eagles drafted interior defensive lineman Jordan Davis with the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Danielle Hunter, Edge, Vikings
Hunter is one of the NFL's best pass rushers when healthy, which wasn't much over the last two seasons. He missed all of 2020 with a herniated disc in his neck, and a torn pectoral muscle limited him to seven games in 2021. Hunter's unhappiness with the five-year, $72 million contract extension averaging $14.4 million per year he signed in 2018 led to the Vikings reworking his contract in 2021. The team shifted $7.25 million of Hunter's 2023 compensation up a year so he's making $20 million this season. Hunter had 14.5 sacks in each of his last two healthy seasons (2018 and 2019). If Hunter can stay healthy, he should put himself in position for the lucrative new deal he's wanted for quite some time since 2023 will be his contract year.
Marcus Peters, CB, Ravens
Peters missed last year because he tore an ACL in the days leading up to the 2021 regular-season opener. He was activated from the physically unable to perform list a couple weeks ago. Peters has a league-most 31 interceptions since entering the NFL in 2015. Returning to being one of the NFL's premier ballhawks could be critical to Peters' financial future as 2022 is his contract year. Peters is in the final year of a three-year extension averaging $14 million per year he signed at the end of the 2019 regular season.
Frank Clark, Edge, Chiefs
Clark hasn't been the pass-rushing force the Chiefs expected when he signed a five-year, $104 million contract with $62.305 million in guarantees in connection with his trade from the Seahawks for a 2019 first-round pick and a 2020 second-round pick shortly before the 2019 draft. He has 18.5 sacks during his three seasons with the Chiefs. Originally scheduled to make $19.5 million in 2022, Clark dropped his pay to $6.75 million with an additional $7 million in incentives in order to stay in Kansas City. His $21 million 2023 salary remained intact. Clark has had double-digit sacks twice in his seven-year NFL career, with a career-high 13 in 2019. A third double-digit sack season would really come in handy considering Clark's 2023 salary cap number is $28.675 million.
Eddie Jackson, S, Bears
Jackson hasn't been the same player since the Bears made him the NFL's highest-paid safety with a four-year extension averaging $14,604,250 per year in 2020 almost immediately after the 2019 regular season ended. He hasn't picked off a pass in the last two seasons. Jackson had eight interceptions during his first two years in the NFL. The Bears have been cleaning house under the new regime of general manager and head coach Matt Eberflus. Jackson has 17 games to show them he's worth the $13.1 million he is scheduled to make in 2023 on a $17.09 million cap number.
Deion Jones, ILB, Falcons
Jones wasn't a great fit in the scheme defensive coordinator brought to the Falcons last season. Salary and offseason shoulder surgery derailed Atlanta's attempts to trade Jones. After spending most of training camp on PUP, Jones was slated to begin the season backing up free agent signee Rashaan Evans and Mykal Walker. Jones is now out for at least the first four games of the season after being put on injured reserve. It's pretty clear Jones won't be back in Atlanta for 2023 with a $13,135,174 salary and $18,476,519 cap number. The opportunities for Jones to showcase himself for his next team will likely be few and far between assuming he is taken off IR.
Bradley Chubb, Edge, Broncos
Chubb will be worth a lot more than the $13.926 million fifth-year option he is currently playing under with a return to his 2018 or 2020 form. He led rookies with 12 sacks in 2018. Chubb didn't didn't show any ill effects from the torn left ACL that limited him to four games in 2019 by earning Pro Bowl honors in 2020. Yet 2018's fifth overall pick had a forgettable 2021 season. Slowed by ankle injuries, Chubb was sack-less in the seven games he played.
Jeff Okudah, CB, Lions
Okudah didn't play anything like the third overall pick in the 2020 draft two seasons ago as a rookie. Opposing quarterbacks completed 76% of passes (38 of 50 attempts) against him, according to PFF, before missing the last six games with a groin injury. Okudah only played 48 snaps in 2021 because he tore his left Achilles in the season opener. He earned a spot in Detroit's starting lineup in training camp. How Okudah performs this season will determine whether the Lions pick up his fifth-year option for 2024 next offseason.
