Derrick Henry, Bo Nix among 9 NFL players I still believe in despite slow starts in 2025

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Three weeks into the season, opinions are beginning to coalesce, but we’re still far too early in the campaign to start calling out busts.

An NFL season is a roller coaster. A team that didn’t score a first-quarter touchdown for seven games can streak to a Super Bowl. Players left for dead by the public can turn around campaigns and become pivotal parts of playoff teams.

It’s a 17-game season. Opinions we have in September will look vastly different come Thanksgiving, particularly when it comes to talented players who have struggled out of the gate. Whether it’s because of surrounding play or bad luck, it’s foolhardy to write them off so soon.

Here are nine players that I believe can turn things around in 2025 after getting off to slow starts.

What a brutal start to the season for the Bengals’ workhorse running back. Brown has generated 93 yards on 47 carries (2 yards per) with a singular score.

The big issue for Brown is the complete lack of blocking. Brown has -54 yards before contact, per Next Gen Stats. Negative 54! That does not happen. The next-closest player is Dylan Sampson with -22. Brown averages -1.2 yards before contact per carry. The dude can’t sniff the line of scrimmage before getting hit. His 147 yards after contact rank 12th among running backs.

With just six missed tackles forced, Brown needs to be better at bouncing off defenders, as he did a year ago when he ranked 15th in the league with 54. Given the state of the Bengals’ offense, it’s easy to give up on the running game, but with Jake Browning under center, Cincy can’t afford to abandon Brown. Neither should we.

For obvious reasons, most of the players on this list are young and still finding their way in the NFL. Henry’s struggles are of a different variety.

For transparency, I should mention that Henry wasn’t even on my radar for this list until the Monday night debacle, when he fumbled for the third time in three games. For such a sure-handed runner, the issue is stark. He only fumbled three times in 325 carries last season. So, the fork-in-the-road question is whether we believe the 31-year-old back’s downward spiral starts with fumble issues. I won’t go there.

Henry is still averaging 3.73 yards after contact and still has speed to run away in space. His five runs of 15-plus yards are tied for first through three games, per PFF. I’m more concerned with the Ravens forgetting about Henry for stretches, like Monday’s two-carry third quarter.

The King has been questioned in the past. Remember last year, when he opened the season a bit slowly, and many were fretting about his age and carry history, then he romped over defenses for 1,921 yards? I still believe the maniacal competitor is closer to that than washed because of a few fumbles.

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