10 second-year players who need to step it up

The pressure to perform in the NFL is further amplified when significant draft capital is involved.

That puts the onus on a number of high 2023 draft picks to improve this season. Paste BN Sports' Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz presents 10 second-year players who need to step it up in 2024. That list includes, but is not exclusive to, the following players:

➤ Bryce Young, QB, Carolina Panthers: This choice is also the most obvious. Young's debut season was so disastrous that it prompted an organizational overhaul.

➤ Will Levis, QB, Tennessee Titans: Much like Young, Levis was saddled with plenty of limitations as a rookie, leaving questions about whether his volatile showings could be properly evaluated.

➤ Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: Perhaps no former first-rounder needs a mulligan after last season more than Johnston, the No. 21 pick who was plagued by a series of costly drops.

➤ Tyree Wilson, DE, Las Vegas Raiders: Pairing defensive tackle Christian Wilkins with defensive end Maxx Crosby gives the Silver and Black one of the NFL's most formidable duos up front. But how much better would this front four be if its recent top-10 pick lived up to his billing?

➤ Mazi Smith, DT, Dallas Cowboys: After partaking in just 28.4% of the Cowboys' defensive snaps last season, Smith was hardly the tone-setting presence Dallas had hoped for.

Previously on 'Hard Knocks': Inside combine interviews, teeing up Saquon Barkley exit

The second episode of this new version of the hit HBO show featuring the New York Giants continued to delve into Saquon Barkley's exit and took a close look at the team's interviews with draft prospects at the NFL scouting combine.

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