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7 offensive players who won't bounce back in 2016

Getty / Otto Greule Jr / theScore

Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns, and spent the last 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast."

Things change very quickly in the NFL. For one thing, football is such a physically demanding sport that playing with the slightest of injuries or "losing a step" because of age can be the difference between having a good season and a not-so-great one. Plus, teams change coaches and schemes all the time, and that can have a major effect on a player's productivity during the course of a campaign. Finally, an NFL season is just 16 games, a very small sample size when analyzing a player's effect on the game.

Unfortunately, not everyone bounces back in this brutal game. Below are seven offensive players that are unlikely to bounce back from their down season.

Related: 7 offensive players who will bounce back in 2016

Ereck Flowers, Giants

The lines have blurred between what is needed to play right tackle versus left tackle in the NFL, and Flowers was playing injured by all accounts during much of his rookie season. But this guy isn't an NFL left tackle and really belongs at right tackle as a prototypical mauler. The problem is, even if New York is on board with this thinking, there isn't an option currently available to allow Flowers to move to the right side. Therefore, expect the Giants once again to have one of the worst sets of offensive tackles in the NFL in 2016.

Jimmy Graham, Seahawks

Graham did fantastic things with Drew Brees in New Orleans. He was truly one of the most difficult players in football to cover and brought a dimension to the tight end position that few could compare with in the history of the position. But Graham struggled to fit in with the Seahawks, albeit in a short stint, and tore his patellar tendon in November.

Reports indicate Graham will be ready for the start of the regular season, but these injuries have not been kind to football players (see Victor Cruz). There is just too much going against Graham right now to think we will see the force that played for the Saints making a difference in Seattle, at least for 2016.

Jeremy Hill, Bengals

Hill had one more rushing attempt in 2015 compared to the 2014 season, but he averaged a yard-and-a-half less on his 223 carries and was unable to break the 800-yard barrier.

This isn't to say Hill won't continue to have an important role in Cincinnati's power running game or that the Bengals should be looking for his replacement, but last year showed us that he is who he is at this point of his career. That might be rough to say about a 23-year-old, but Hill isn't an elite talent, showed very little breakaway ability last season and isn't a big contributor in the passing game. Plus, Cincinnati just locked up Giovanni Bernard and probably realizes Bernard is the better and more important player. Hill should be second fiddle.

DeMarco Murray, Titans

Murray is really the poster boy for this article. The scheme fit in Philadelphia last year was a terrible one for Murray, but he also lacked any semblance of explosiveness or elusiveness in Chip Kelly's scheme. Surely the Titans' downhill approach to running is a much better fit for Murray's skill set, but this looks like a running back that was all used up in 2014 when Dallas handed it to him until the wheels fell off. Now, the wheels might very well be off.

Greg Robinson, Rams

Robinson was the second overall pick in the 2014 draft and like many of the offensive tackles picked in that area of the draft of late, Robinson has failed to live up to his billing since joining the league.

Coming from a very run-heavy offense at Auburn, everyone knew that his pass protection would take some time to come around. But because he has many freaky athletic traits for such a huge man, the pass protection looked like it would come before long. Well, it hasn't and Robinson also has not been a world-beater in the run game either.

This is a pivotal season in the 24-year-old's career. Obviously he is still young and might turn the corner to excellence, but so far, Robinson looks like a mediocre player. In fact, it wouldn't be surprising if Rob Havenstein, the Rams' second-round pick in 2015 and Los Angeles' starting right tackle, is the better player in 2016.

Tony Romo, Cowboys

Romo is still an excellent quarterback. In fact, he is one of the most underappreciated signal-callers of this generation. Most teams in the league would kill to have this guy as their long-term starter. From 2007 to 2014, he was excellent and consistently productive.

Romo broke his collarbone in Week 2 of last year and only appeared in two of Dallas' final 14 contests. The Cowboys' offense withered without him.

Romo plays behind the league's best offensive line and appears to be healthy right now, but he did have a procedure that shaved down or removed a piece of his collarbone and has a disturbing history of back issues as well as other ailments. Never the biggest or most physical quarterback, at 36-years-old, Romo's body may no longer be equipped to play this game.

Jason Witten, Cowboys

This article was not designed to pick on foundation pieces of the Dallas passing game and, like Romo, there is no questioning Witten's greatness. In fact, from a historical perspective, Witten's accomplishments for his position surpass what Romo has done.

But it might be time for this great Cowboy to ride off into the sunset. Many great tight ends like Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez are able to use the tricks of the trade to be effective red-zone options and chain movers once their great movement skills erode, and Witten has done that for some time. But he is no longer a big threat to defenses.

Even as a blocker, Witten fell off from the high bar he has historically set. It was rather surprising that Dallas didn't use an early pick on a tight end to groom and to learn from Witten, but the Cowboys were not short on draft day needs, so that might explain it.

Honorable Mentions: Duane Brown, Victor Cruz, Nick Foles, Melvin Gordon, Rueben Randle, Mark Sanchez, Kenny Stills

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