From Worst to First: Can These Rising NFC Players Reverse Their Team’s Fortunes in 2013?

After years of being the weaker conference, there's no arguing that the NFC is by far the stronger from top to bottom than the AFC. That means that each battle for divisional supremacy will be even tougher, as nearly every NFC team has a least a shot at winning their division this season.

For the teams that finished in last place last season, they'll need key contributions from their younger players if they want to keep pace in the NFC. Who will they be looking to to take their teams to the next level?

Philadelphia Eagles

As training camps get underway in 32 cities across the country, few stories will be more intriguing than the new, fast paced offense that Chip Kelly will be installing in Philadelphia. But while the success of that offense will be important to the Eagles' final record in 2013, the success the defense has switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 will be equally as important.

Two key players in that transition will be defensive lineman Fletcher Cox and linebacker Mychal Kendricks. Both second year players will be switching positions in their second seasons, and while for many players that might spell trouble the moves may actually prove to be quite beneficial. Cox had a solid season at defensive tackle in 2012, but he should excel playing at end in the 3-4. Kendricks has great athleticism but struggled when he got matched up against offensive tackles last year. Playing as more of a coverage-focused middle linebacker will suit him much better. The NFC East is as wide open as any division, and a strong defense could very well propel the Eagles to first place by the end of the season.

Detroit Lions

If you surveyed casual NFL fans and asked them for a list of the top defensive lines in the league, it's pretty likely you'd hear the Detroit Lions brought up more often than not. With such studs at defensive tackle, it's easy to see how they'd get that sort of a reputation. Unfortunately for the Lions, that hasn't exactly translated into results. They ranked 20^th in the league last season with 34 sacks, and both Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch will be absent from the defensive end spot in 2013.

That puts a ton of pressure on rookie defensive end Ziggy Ansah. Drafted for his tremendous athleticism and upside as opposed to showing an expansive collection of pass rush moves, the Lions have to be hoping that a summer of OTAs and training camp can at least get Ansah moving towards becoming an NFL-caliber pass rusher. A strong rush from the edge would go a long way in helping the defense matching the standards of what should be a high-flying offense. If Ansah can't develop as a pass rusher this season, however, it could be another long season for Detroit.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Few words will strike more worry into the hearts and minds of Buccaneers' fans leading up to this season than “sophomore slump”. Considering the solid seasons nearly all of their rookies had in 2012, it's obvious why that would be a devastating turn of events in 2013. However, it's clear that more than anyone else, Doug Martin needs to have a stellar second season if the Buccaneers hope to win the NFC South.

The fact of the matter is that while the team isn't ready to fully declare the Josh Freeman experiment a failure, it'll be a huge surprise if Freeman is vastly improved in 2013. And while the defense should see an improvement thanks to the addition of Darrelle Revis, that won't matter too much of the offense can't score points. It may be asking too much to look for Martin to rack up 250 yards in a single game again, but there's no doubt that he'll be the one carrying the offense again in 2013. If he doesn't replicate or improve upon his 1400 rushing yards from his rookie season, the Bucs could be in big trouble.

Arizona Cardinals

It's not every team that can expect to get a solid contribution from their fourth round pick as early as week one. But provided that Alex Okafor can handle the transition from defensive end to outside linebacker, that's exactly what the Cardinals will be expecting.

With 54 tackles and 12 sacks during his final season as a Longhorn, Okafor was a steal in the fourth round and should be a plug and play starter on an already talented Cardinals defense. He figures to play outside in a linebacking corps that will be without backer Daryl Washington for the first portion of the season due to suspension. Its tough to imagine the Cardinals getting anywhere close to winning the division in 2013, but if they want to show improvement they'll need Okafor to make up for the loss of Washington's pass rushing presence.