AP Photo

With the 2011 season nearing the end of its first quarter, several stories have taken shape: The Bills and Lions at 3-0, playoff teams from a season ago struggling and, one that's close to my heart as a talent evaluator, players emerging for breakout years.

It's easy to look at former first-round picks and say, "This guy is in for a big year." But when you go deeper in the draft, things are tougher to predict. That goes for me the same as it does for teams.

In coming up with my 10 players in line for breakout years, I used the following standards:

The player must be 25 or younger
Cannot be a first-round pick
This is his first season as a full-time starter -- hasn't started more than eight games in a season
The player might have lacked experience or been unable to play because of injury

I'll also include where each of these players...

Read Full Article »

Related Topics: NFL, top 10