In 2013 there were some rookies that broke onto the season seemingly out of nowhere and made a name for themselves. There were others who were drafted with incredible amounts of hype and just didn’t’ live up to it. Which ones will continue to struggle in their sophomore season and which ones will fall victim to the dreaded sophomore slump. Here’s a list of second-year players who will struggle in 2014:

Tavon Austin, Wide Receiver, St. Louis Rams

Tavon Austin just might be one of the best athletes in the entire NFL. But “athlete” isn’t the position he was drafted to play, he’s a wide receiver. Austin was drafted by the St. Louis Rams to be their playmaking wide receiver. However, a wide receiver that has a tendancy of dropping passes will have a hard time making too many plays. Between that and the Rams not completely committing to Austin as a main component in their offense were his biggest problems in 2013. I think both of those problems will remain in 2014, not to mention having underwhelming Sam Bradford as his quarterback still.

Dion Jordan, Defensive End, Miami Dolphins

Dion Jordan was drafted number three overall to be a difference maker on the defensive side of the ball. He was not that in 2013. The Miami Dolphins drafted him into a system that doesn’t fit his skills. Jordan is not physically strong and can’t defend the run very well. His style is tailor made for a 3-4 outside linebacker rather than a 4-3 defensive end. Even when he comes back from his 4-game suspension in 2014, he’ll still be in the wrong system and will continue to struggle.

Marcus Cooper, Cornerback, Kansas City Chiefs

Marcus Cooper was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round and ended up being picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs. There he exceeded all expectations that follow a seventh round pick and played very well for the Chiefs. However, as the season progressed, teams started to exploit his weaknesses and eventually started picking on him. In 2014 I expect him to get less playing time than in 2013 since the Chiefs signed Sean Smith and drafted Phillip Gaines and when he does see the field I expect quarterbacks to be throwing right at him.

Matt Elam, Safety, Baltimore Ravens

Coming out of Florida, Matt Elam was known as a big hitter. Once in the NFL that’s what he turned out to be. But only a big hitter. Elam isn’t exceptionally good at any one thing. He doesn’t have the speed or range to play like Earl Thomas of the Seattle Seahawks or the instincts to play like Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers. If he was on a team with a better option at the safety position and Elam could take more time to play as a backup and learn the position, he would be better off. But with the Baltimore Ravens he’s their starter and he’s being forced to learn on the fly.

Ace Sanders, Wide Receiver, Jacksonville Jaguars

Ace Sanders is one of the smallest wide receivers in the NFL and that really limits what he is able to do. On a Jacksonville Jaguars team without a ton of weapons and losing Justin Blackmon for the entire 2014 season, teams are going to be more focused on stopping Sanders. When he goes over the middle he’s going to be taking a lot more hits as well. I think there’s a good chance he misses some time in 2014 due to injury, but even if he stays healthy all year I think he will struggle due to the loss of Blackmon.