The 2023 NFL season may still be a couple months away, but it's not too early to start speculating on how some of the league's top stars will fare during it.
While some established talents will surely begin to fade due to injuries, age and myriad other factors, others will shine. Even some of the league's top players could further raise their ceilings and have career-best showings this coming year.
With that in mind, here are five stars who could deliver their best seasons yet and why they are likely to have such special performances.
A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
A.J. Brown's first season with the Philadelphia Eagles couldn't have gone much better.
The wideout, who was traded to the City of Brotherly Love on the first night of the 2022 NFL draft, proved to be the missing piece in an offense that sorely lacked talented pass-catchers.
The 25-year-old finished the campaign with career-best marks in receptions (88), targets (145), receiving yardage (1,496) and matched his all-time high with 11 touchdown catches.
While this was a special season by any metric—Brown made his second Pro Bowl appearance and earned a second-team All-Pro nod—he should be even better in 2023, especially if the Eagles throw the ball more in the fourth quarter.
There was plenty of meat left on the bone in a Philadelphia offense that tended to grind out wins on the ground, with starting quarterback Jalen Hurts throwing a mere 60 passes in the final 15 minutes of regular-season games last year.
To put that in comparison, Tom Brady led the league with 219 fourth-quarter passing attempts and even Patrick Mahomes' 124 attempts were more than double that of Hurts, who had the fewest fourth-quarter throws of any full-time starter last year.
Other factors including the developmental trajectory of Hurts and fellow receiver DeVonta Smith should also assist Brown in building on his strong 2022 showing with an even better year in 2023.