It's not even the end of September, and some prominent players throughout the NFL are in grave danger of losing their starting spots.
Teams need results, and even if the pressure intensifies throughout the season, games three and 15 count the same in the record column.
There are plenty of viable candidates, but here are three names that could find themselves on the bench in the near future.
3 players in danger of getting benched in the near future
DeMario "Pop" Douglas (WR) - New England Patriots
The New England Patriots' most glaring weakness on paper is their wide receiver room. Stefon Diggs, coming off a torn ACL, is the club's de facto WR1, and their most reliable week-to-week option is former sixth-round pick Kayshon Bouttee.
The X-factor of the room was Pop Douglas, who many local beat writers raved about this summer and has shown past explosiveness as an option out of the slot. So far, he's looked more like a ghost than a young breakout star.
On the campaign, Douglas has reeled in just three of his eight targets for a whopping six yards. For those counting at home, that's just four more receiving yards than his quarterback, Drake Maye.
After playing just 15 snaps in Miami, Douglas' standing within the offense is rapidly deteriorating. Rookies Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III could soon elevate up the depth chart, leaving Douglas out of game scripts entirely.
Bryce Young (QB) - Carolina Panthers
The roller coaster ride of the Bryce Young era in Carolina continues with a rapid descent back to square one. The former first overall pick made serious strides after his initial benching last year, but that distorted the progress of the alleged franchise signal-caller.
Even throughout that ten-game sample, Young only had a passer rating hovering around 90 and struggled with sporadic accuracy. The arrow was pointing up, sure, but the level of play from Young prior was so abysmal that this brief stretch of competence was slightly exasperated.
Through two games in 2025, Young has already shown signs of regression. Between getting blown out in Jacksonville and refusing to capitalize on Arizona's incompetence, the continued lack of results will ultimately force coach Dave Canales' hand.
Omorion Hampton (RB) - Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers' impressive start to the season has masked their inability to run the football. Jim Harbaugh's squad is currently 26th in total yards on the ground and has the worst expected points average per rush in the league.
First-year back Omorion Hampton has struggled to get out of the blocks, sporting just a 3.1 yards per carry on his first 23 attempts. It was never an expectation that the 22nd overall selection in May would be prime Walter Payton to start his career, but the inefficiency is holding back a potential Super Bowl contender.
Najee Harris had more touches than Hampton on Monday, and with the latter causing a fumble late in the contest, the disparity in snap count might continue to diminish. It's not to say Hampton won't be successful as a pro, but with the Chargers pushing for a divisional crown, they might need to turn to the veteran option initially to provide needed stability to the rushing attack.