The Green Bay Packers are riding on some high hopes in 2015.  Las Vegas has them favored to win Super Bowl 50, they're coming off of what should have been a championship game appearance last season and they have the reigning MVP and arguably the best quarterback in the game in Aaron Rodgers.  All offensive starters are returning and, with another year together, could produce even better numbers than they did in 2014.  The defense has added some young talent via the draft and head coach Mike McCarthy is spending more time with areas of the team other than just the offense.

It seems to be a recipe for improvement and one vital element of that gain is going to be just how much improvement some of the younger players can show year over year.  Green Bay currently has the eight-youngest roster in the NFL.  Of the other seven teams, only two of them made the postseason last year:  the Seattle Seahawks and Cincinnati Bengals.  Under general manager Ted Thompson, the Packers have remained one of the younger teams in the league, but have also continued to achieve high success.  That has been because of careful talent selection and the improvement from players in their rookie years to years two and three.  So who is primed to be that breakout player for the Packers in 2015?  

Before we answer that question, let's look at the past few seasons and some examples of players who were able to do just that.

On the current roster, several names come to mind.  Receiver Jordy Nelson was drafted in 2008 and by the playoff run in 2010, he turned himself into one of Rodgers' favorite targets.  A year later in 2011, Nelson was on the receiving end of several long touchdown passes from Rodgers enroute to a record-setting season for the Packers offense.  Defensive lineman Mike Daniels was a fourth-round pick in the 2012 draft and while he contributed as a rookie, Daniels took a huge step forward last year in his second and third seasons.  After posting two sacks in year one, Daniels had six-and-a-half in 2013 and five-and-a-half in 2014.  He has also become one of the vocal leaders,  not just on the defense, but for the entire team.  Running back Eddie Lacy had another 1,100 yard rushing season last year and emerged as a pass-catching threat, posting four touchdown catches.  Those are just a few.

Give credit to the Packers coaching staff, who are entrusted to get the most out of these young players.  On this week's Pulse of the Pack podcast, I singled our cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt, Jr. as one that deserves a lot of credit for the work he has done in the past in developing two undrafted free agents into solid starters:  Tramon Williams and Sam Shields.  Shields will start again for the Packers this season.  He has also helped bring along Casey Hayward, who should push for a starting spot and Micah Hyde, who continues to develop into a solid role player on defense.  The Packers drafted two cornerbacks with their first two picks this year and Whitt once again will have his work cut out for him.  Offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett successfully transitioned from running backs coach to wide receivers coach and has helped mentor Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams through their first few years.  

There were three players that I saw as most likely to step up this year:  Adams, tight end Richard Rodgers and defensive lineman Datone Jones.  Those of you who follow my writings and the few Pulse shows that I've done have heard me talk a lot about the 46-yard touchdown catch and run Adams had against the Cowboys in last year's divisional playoffs.  It was the type of play that most rookies don't make and it was exactly that play that prompted the Packers to draft Adams in the second round in 2014.  

Rodgers has heaped praise on Adams this offseason, saying he has superstar potential.  Those aren't words the quarterback throws around loosely and since he's the one throwing the ball Adams' way, we can expect to see Rodgers targeting the former Fresno State standout quite a bit this year.  Some may say it's easy to break out when you have Aaron Rodgers throwing you the ball, but fans who have followed this offense for a while know that there are many options for Rodgers and he has not been shy to say that he doesn't look for guys who don't have his trust on the field.  Adams quickly built that trust and rapport with Rodgers has year and saw many opportunities as the season moved along.

I mentioned Jones earlier and it's his contributions this season that may end up being most important.  On a defense that struggled to stop the run early last season and that had to move their best player to another position to help, they're looking for improvement in most every area.  Jones enters his third season and still has high expectations as a former first-rounder.  He showed some flashes last season, but needs to become a part of the rotation up front that the team can count on consistently.  

As for the other Rodgers, Richard, he stands a good chance at elevating his game from a year ago.  The Rodgers-to-Rodgers combo is going to certainly help the tight end see more targets and catches this season.  The Packers will likely insert Richard into the starting lineup and integrate more of the tight end into the offense.  The younger Rodgers proved very valuable later in the season and had an incredible touchdown catch of his own against the Cowboys in the playoffs.  (After all of those struggles against Dallas in the 90's, it's nice to see the Packers get a playoff win against them and also spring two young players into their second seasons!)

Of these three, I'm going with Adams to break out most in 2015.  His existing role in the offense and the confidence he has already instilled in Rodgers is the best recipe for more success over last year.  Add in that Nelson is still very capable and a newly-signed and energized Randall Cobb and you have three options that will be giving opposing defenses fits.  The swagger and big-play potential that Adams already possesses thrown in with a full year under his belt offer the most potential to add to the Packers success this year.  Whether the defense can take that vital step forward or not could become less relevant if Adams can push the offense to even bigger heights, and there's no reason why he shouldn't.