Stargazing: Pro Football Hall of Fame crystal ball

No wide receiver has been drafted No. 1 overall since Keyshawn Johnson in 1996, but Alabama's reigning Biletnikoff Award winner may be in position to accomplish that next April. Jeudy blends elite route-running ability with enough speed and elusiveness to generate Odell Beckham Jr. comparisons . An outside receiver prospect, Jeudy made a major leap in 2018, posting 1,315 yards and 14 touchdowns for a team that often rested starters late in games. The 6-foot-1 junior-to-be may well beat his quarterback, the more hyped Tua Tagovailoa, to the 2020 draft stage.

One of the greatest quarterback recruits in modern college football history, Lawrence is already being hailed as a possible savior for an NFL team come 2021. The Clemson prodigy turned last season's national championship game into a showcase, dropping his fifth 300-plus-yard game and finishing off a 30-TD, four-INT freshman year. Rarely have NFL front offices seen a quarterback two years away from being draft-eligible reveal himself like this. The hype surrounding the 6-foot-5 passer could reach unprecedented levels; think early-1980s John Elway on a better team with a modern news cycle.

Kyler Murray or Nick Bosa would be the chalkier pick to represent the 2019 draft on this list, but the former is off-the-charts unique (and thus hard to project), and the latter has suffered multiple injuries over the past year. Oliver drew "Aaron Donald Lite" predictions coming out of Houston, and while the Cougars often asked him to play nose tackle, the No. 9 overall pick still racked up 53 tackles for loss — more than Ndamukong Suh or Jadeveon Clowney in college. The Bills will use Oliver as a three-technique tackle. The new role will maximize his chances at out-of-the-gate stardom.

With the Browns taking Denzel Ward over Chubb at No. 5 overall last year, the Broncos backed into a talent that would have gone higher in less star-studded drafts. Immediately installed as Von Miller's larger sidekick, the Broncos' right outside linebacker collected 12 sacks -- third-most by a rookie this century -- and brought support Miller had lacked since DeMarcus Ware's post-Super Bowl 50 injuries. Miller's presence, coupled with Vic Fangio's arrival, figures to help Chubb face more favorable matchups than he would were he asked to be a team's alpha pass rusher.

McCaffrey made substantial progression between his rookie and second seasons, becoming a true do-it-all back. He finished 2018 with 1,965 yards from scrimmage (which included 5.0 yards per carry -- 1.2 north of his rookie-year average) and 13 touchdowns, and it will go down as one of the better non-Pro Bowl seasons in NFL history. The second-generation NFL skill player has the perfect toolbox for the modern NFL. At just 23 and teaming with the NFL's most dominant running quarterback, McCaffrey is blessed with promising early-career circumstances. 

The Steelers have successfully moved on from Plaxico Burress, Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders. Antonio Brown is better than each, but none of Pittsburgh's procession of accomplished No. 2 wideouts showed what Smith-Schuster did last season. The 22-year-old Pro Bowler compiled 1,426 yards receiving last season — the most productive non-Brown year in Steelers history. Although Brown undoubtedly contributed to Smith-Schuster's success by drawing top coverage assignments, the new Steelers WR1 got to this production place far quicker than the last one did. 

The two NFL analytics behemoths disagreed on Mayfield's rookie year, with Pro Football Focus' 84.5 grade its second-highest for a rookie passer over the past 13 years and Football Outsiders' Mayfield QBR figure (53.9) lower than Nick Mullens' or Joe Flacco's. But Mayfield emerged from his rookie year as the leader of the 2018 QB crop. The second half of his debut season, the post-Hue Jackson portion, showed the cocky, 6-foot signal-caller has the potential to take the Browns to places they haven't been since the Ravens hijacked their old franchise. 

Jones was not a first-round pick and, through three seasons, does not boast a Pro Bowl invite. But the Chiefs defensive tackle delivered a dominant 2018 season, one that saw the consistent matchup-winning ability he showed during his first two seasons translate to the sack column. Jones somehow managed 15.5 sacks — a top-20 figure this century for defensive linemen — without making the Pro Bowl. The Chiefs are pivoting to a 4-3 scheme in 2019, and this should leave Jones more opportunities to wreck opposing teams' play designs.

Early tight end success often proves elusive, with the position having a steep learning curve from college to the NFL level. A product of the University of Iowa, "Tight End U," Kittle became one of the rare exceptions. His 1,892 receiving yards through two seasons are second in NFL history (behind Mike Ditka) for tight ends, and the 2017 fifth-round pick was not exactly working with the kind of quarterbacks Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham had. With Jimmy Garoppolo back in the fold, Kittle is in the right situation to show his tight end-record 1,377 yards in 2018 were no fluke.

The only pure safety to earn first-team All-Pro recognition as a rookie since 1970, James established an early course for Canton. After sliding in the 2018 first round, James produced a 105-tackle, 3.5-sack, three-interception rookie campaign and added another young impact talent to a sneaky-strong Chargers defense. The Florida State alum played all over the field as a rookie, lining up at both safety spots, slot cornerback and at multiple linebacker positions. Voters being wise to James' chess piece-style role this early in his career points to greater recognition moving forward.

The Colts' rapid rebuild required an immediate emergence from a linebacker out of Division I-FCS South Carolina State. Leonard delivered a statistically virtuoso performance as a rookie, the outside linebacker becoming the 21st century's first player to register more than 160 tackles and at least five sacks. (Leonard registered seven sacks and also forced four fumbles, illuminating his potential.) Leonard is the first off-ball 'backer since Patrick Willis (2007) to earn first-team All-Pro acclaim as a rookie. 

Their drafts from 2013-17 failing to produce much, the Colts struggled to build around Andrew Luck for years. But in 2018, they struck gold. Viewed as a rock-solid, pro-ready lineman (in an era when that is quite rare) coming out of Notre Dame, Nelson became only the second guard to be named first-team All-Pro as a rookie (following fellow Golden Domer Zack Martin) since the AFL-NFL merger. Luck was sacked 41 times in 2016 and just 18 in 2018, a year when Nelson and Darius Leonard joined Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers as the only rookie teammates to be named First-Team All-Pros.

For where Prescott was drafted (No. 135 overall in 2016), the Cowboys landed an all-time gem. Prescott's traditional passing numbers are not great (no more than 23 touchdown passes in any of his first three seasons), and he depends heavily on Ezekiel Elliott, but it is impossible to declare Prescott incapable of being a future Hall of Famer. The 2016 Offensive Rookie of the Year has two top-five QBR seasons, piloted the Cowboys to a playoff win and lost a narrow duel with Aaron Rodgers despite a 302-yard, three-TD-pass performance. This season will be pivotal to Prescott's trajectory.

Jalen Ramsey has been viewed as the player who could reshape a stagnant cornerback market, but Lattimore may end up as that guy. The Saints struggled defensively during the mid-2010s, but Lattimore's arrival in 2017 coincided with their turnaround. Pro Football Focus graded Lattimore as a top-20 corner in each of his first two seasons, and he became New Orleans' top cover man from the jump. The Saints' viability as a contender after the past two seasons' catastrophic conclusions will require high-end play from the Ohio State alum.

The test case for Sean McVay's brilliance, Goff strung together two Pro Bowl seasons after a woeful seven-game rookie audition leading a historically bad Rams offense. The 2016 No. 1 overall pick was an MVP candidate early in 2018, taking another sizable leap in McVay's offense from the climb he completed in a Rams-resurrecting 2017. There are questions about how much of this is Goff and how much McVay is responsible for, and Super Bowl LIII only magnified those, but almost no quarterback is in as great a situation as Goff. As such, tremendous growth potential exists.

One of the most electric players to take regular snaps in many years, Watson has revitalized the Texans. He threw 19 touchdown passes in seven games as a rookie before tearing his ACL. While that rate was unsustainable, Watson delivered a flashy encore by accounting for 31 TDs (five rushing) despite being outfitted with probably the NFL's worst offensive line last season. Watson is not in the same kind of situation as Goff, Prescott or Mayfield, but the former national champion quarterback has a high individual ceiling entering his third season. 

After years of shaky drafts, the Browns began to turn it around with the 2017 No. 1 overall pick. Garrett is one of the most freakishly talented defensive ends in NFL history, and his athleticism began to translate to production last season. The 6-foot-4 pass rusher collected 13.5 sacks — second most in Browns history — and posted 29 quarterback hits (fifth in 2018). Cleveland's versatile right end is entering only his age-23 season and with Sheldon Richardson and Olivier Vernon set to join him in 2019, he stands to be an even bigger problem for offensive lines.

The Giants took justifiable flak for passing on Sam Darnold to land the do-it-all Penn State back, but Barkley joined Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James as the only rookies to surpass 2,000 yards from scrimmage. (Barkley's 721 receiving yards were considerably more than that of the other club members.) After demolishing the eye test in his Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign, Barkley is the Giants' unquestioned centerpiece. 

Kamara has the perfect skill set for the NFL entering the 2020s. Viewed as a successor to Reggie Bush and Darren Sproles in Saints pass-catching back lore, Kamara showed his ceiling is higher. The multipurpose back, whose tackle-shedding ability should not be overlooked despite his frame, pieced together consecutive 1,500-plus yards from scrimmage in his first two seasons. Kamara's 1,535 receiving yards through two seasons are the most in NFL history for a running back.

Wentz staying healthy during his 2017 breakout season would have secured him a runaway MVP honor; his 33 touchdown passes in less than 13 full games still ranked second at season's end. There are not many examples of MVP-caliber seasons from quarterbacks hailing from non-Division I-FBS schools, and while the Eagles went just 5-6 with post-ACL-rehab Wentz in 2018, he improved his completion percentage by nearly 10 points (69.6) from the MVP-level slate and increased his yards per attempt (7.5). The Eagles extension puts Wentz in position to build a Hall of Fame-caliber resume.

One of the reasons for Chargers Super Bowl optimism in 2019: their elite edge-rushing tandem. Melvin Ingram is on a "Hall of Very Good" track, but Bosa can aim higher. The oldest of this generation's NFL Bosas has 28.5 sacks in 35 games (and 12 of those came as a 3-4 defensive end during his rookie year) and boasts an unmatched pass-rush win rate (21 percent, per Pro Football Focus) since entering the league. As a pure edge rusher in the Bolts' current 4-3 scheme, Bosa has a chance to be one of this era's defining sack artists. 

Although the Patrick Peterson-Chris Harris-Richard Sherman era still has juice left, Ramsey leads the next class of cornerbacks coming for their perch. The Jaguars' physical cover man played a key role in an ascent that left them one correctly officiated Myles Jack fumble recovery from Super Bowl LII. While Jacksonville's Blake Bortles plan predictably blew up, Ramsey (two Pro Bowls, 2017 All-Pro) anchors what remains a top-tier defense. North Florida is the place to look when scanning for the next Hall of Fame-caliber corner.

Over their first three seasons, no player in NFL history came within 30 receptions of what Thomas produced (321) since 2016 (and only three players in their first three seasons posted more yards than the Saints WR1 has). Although his outlook could change when Drew Brees retires, Thomas has set himself up to be one of the best wideouts in a pass-happy era. Improving on his yardage totals in each of his first three seasons, the most recent ending in All-Pro acclaim, Thomas is on track to build a Canton-level resume in New Orleans.

A strong case can be made that Elliott means more to his team than any active running back. The Cowboys' centerpiece player won rushing titles in his only two full seasons (and even those were 15-gamers) by a combined 445 yards. While Elliott is the best pure running back in the game, the Cowboys involved him more in their passing attack in 2018 (77 receptions — 19 more than his first two seasons combined). Sustainability questions should linger, but Elliott dominating the next few seasons in similar fashion will have him a near lock for Canton.

His sample size is not on the level of many of his elite contemporaries, but the Chiefs quarterback set himself apart after one season as a starter. The second player to throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdown passes, Mahomes brings an all-around terrifying skill set to the table. And the 23-year-old prodigy holding the keys to an Andy Reid offense will allow him to stay at a high level and, gasp, develop further. The reigning MVP's 2018 elevated his Year 2-and-beyond potential to a loftier place than just about any player in NFL history.