10 NFL sophomores primed to break out

— -- The first rule of putting together a list of breakout candidates is recognizing that no player can break out twice. Once you've made a name for yourself on the NFL landscape, you can't do it again the next year. That's why this list of second-year NFL players who we anticipate will emerge this fall won't include any of the top rookies of 2015.

That means no offensive stars like Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Amari Cooper or Todd Gurley. It also means no Marcus Peters, who won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, or Leonard Williams, the Jets' latest front-seven phenom. And while they began last season on the sidelines, even players like Tyler Lockett and David Johnson had established themselves as starters by the end of 2015.

Instead, what you'll find here is a list of players who didn't see much or any action as rookies, whether due to injuries or crowded depth charts. However, we like their chances to shine in full-time roles this fall.

We limited our list to players who started five or fewer games in their first NFL campaigns, and we found a wave of pass-rushers ready to make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks, starting with an alumnus of -- where else? -- the SEC.

1. Preston Smith, OLB/DE, Washington Redskins

Even though the Redskins already had Ryan Kerrigan and Trent Murphy on hand, Washington took Smith out of Mississippi State with the 38th selection in last year's draft. And though Smith started only one game, he still made a huge impact with eight sacks, including three in one game against Philadelphia. (Those are just regular-season numbers; he also sacked Aaron Rodgers for a safety in the playoffs.) He did that all while only playing 508 snaps. For comparison's sake, J.J. Watt led the league with 17.0 sacks last year, and he played 1,005 snaps. Junior Galette will likely be out at least until training camp with the torn Achilles tendon that knocked him out last season, and Murphy is moving to defensive end, so Smith will have plenty of chances to impress his coaches this offseason.

2. Breshad Perriman, WR, Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens made Perriman the 26th pick of the 2015 draft in hopes that the Central Florida product would replace Torrey Smith as their designated deep-ball threat. Instead, Perriman missed his entire rookie campaign after tearing his posterior cruciate ligament and then re-aggravating the injury in September. We're confident, though, that Perriman can still be a star: He was one of the top wide receiver prospects of 2015, according to our Playmaker projections for wide receivers, because of his impressive average of 19.5 yards per catch in college. The Ravens are getting Steve Smith Sr. back and also have 2015 surprise Kamar Aiken on hand, but at this point, Perriman clearly has the most upside of the bunch.

3. Jeremy Langford, RB, Chicago Bears

Langford didn't flash much big-play ability as a rookie, averaging only 3.6 yards on 148 carries. But the fourth-round pick out of Michigan State was consistent, getting hit for no gain or a loss only 16 percent of the time. (The NFL average for running backs last year was more than 20 percent.) He had a great nose for the end zone, with six touchdowns in 17 red zone carries. And he was nearly perfect in short-yardage runs, converting seven of eight carries with 1 or 2 yards to go. He also had 22 receptions, despite coming off the bench behind Matt Forte. With Forte now in New York with the Jets, Langford will be the unquestioned workhorse in Chicago.

4. Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, Cincinnati Bengals

The 21st overall pick out of Texas A&M played only 65 snaps in five games as a rookie, sitting and learning behind the Bengals' starting duo of Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith. Those 65 snaps, though, added up to about one game's worth of action, and in that "game," we didn't chart Ogbuehi with a single blown block. Ogbuehi will be starting at right tackle this season in place of Smith, who signed with Minnesota in free agency. A year from now, Ogbuehi could move to the left side to replace free-agent-to-be Whitworth.

5. Lorenzo Mauldin, OLB, New York Jets

The Louisville product was taken 83rd overall by the Jets last year, and he wasn't expected to play much on a team that already had Calvin Pace and Quinton Coples. And he didn't. Mauldin only saw the field for 253 snaps, less than one-fourth of New York's defensive playing time. But oh, what he did with those snaps: four sacks, eight hits and 14.5 hurries. The Jets cut Coples last November and then didn't bother to re-sign Pace after the season, confident that Mauldin can be their dominant edge rusher in 2016.

6. Dante Fowler Jr., OLB, Jacksonville Jaguars

This is probably a lower ranking than most readers would expect for last year's third overall pick, but our SackSEER projection system wasn't sold on the Florida pass-rusher even before he tore his anterior cruciate ligament a year ago. Fowler had only 14.5 sacks in his three-year career with the Gators, and his combine numbers were mostly below average compared to his peers. We're listing him here because we like Fowler's potential as an all-around linebacker who can also play the run and drop into coverage, though he might never get enough sacks to justify his lofty draft status.

7. Kevin White, WR, Chicago Bears

2015 was a bad year to be a first-round draft pick. White, like Perriman and Fowler, missed his entire rookie season due to injury. At West Virginia, White led the Big 12 in receptions in 2014, then he ran a 4.35-second 40-yard dash at the combine. The Bears made him the seventh pick in the draft, but sadly, a stress fracture in his shin kept him on the bench. We're listing him lower than Perriman because he had a lower projection in our Playmaker Score system. His collegiate numbers were somewhat inflated by the Mountaineers' pass-heavy scheme, and first-round receivers who played through their senior year of college, as White did, have a spotty track record of living up to expectations.

8. Eric Rowe, CB, Philadelphia Eagles

A year ago at this time, people were so busy talking about Byron Maxwell's six-year, $63 million contract with the Eagles that few noticed Rowe, a second-round cornerback out of Utah. Rowe ended up getting more than 500 snaps as a rookie, and based on Sports Info Solutions charting, he had a higher success rate and allowed fewer yards per pass than Maxwell or any of the Eagles' other corners. And now Maxwell is in Miami, E.J. Biggers is with New England and the Eagles are counting on Rowe and Nolan Carroll to be their top corner tandem.

9. Ty Sambrailo, OL, Denver Broncos

The Broncos' second-round pick out of Colorado State started at left tackle for Denver's first three games last season, and he might have been starting in the Super Bowl if he hadn't gotten hurt. Unfortunately, he did get hurt, tearing his labrum against Detroit in Week 3. Sambrailo struggled with pass blocking during his brief trial by fire, but the acquisition of Russell Okung at tackle means Sambrailo will move to guard, where he should be a better fit.

10. Frank Clark, OLB, Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks have led the NFL in scoring defense for four years in a row now, so it's understandable that their front seven is so deep that they had little room for a second-round rookie, even one as athletically gifted as Clark. Despite playing only 333 snaps, though, Clark managed three sacks, seven hits and 18.5 hurries. Bruce Irvin's offseason departure to Oakland should give Clark more of an opportunity to make an impact, though Irvin's vacated position in Seattle's defense is a hybrid role that demands run-stuffing and coverage ability, in addition to pass-rushing skill. That will limit Clark's statistical ceiling somewhat, but he still figures to be a key cog in a defense that is going for its fifth consecutive scoring title.