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Except that now Lynch is done. At least in Denver. There may be other teams out there who want to give him a shot, but it’s hard to see him jumping anyone on a depth chart — assuming he’s claimed.

I don't understand the phrase in bold above. I looked up 'jump'. The closest I can get is 'to attack', but I don't feel it can fit for this context.

What does "jumping anyone on a depth chart" mean?

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I interpret it to mean surpass. Jump is commonly used to describe some kind of rise or increase:

jump
b. To rise suddenly in position or rank: jumped over two others with more seniority.
(TFD)

Wikipedia gives

In sports, a depth chart is used to show the placements of the starting players and the secondary players. Generally a starting player will be listed first or on top while a back-up will be listed below. Depth charts also tend to resemble the actual position locations of certain players.

The article is saying that Lynch is unlikely to surpass anyone on a depth chart. I believe it's implying that he would not be able to get a starting role. He would be back-up player.

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  • Is this usage of jump easily understood by native speakers? I feel it's hard to get that idea. Maybe, it's a lot easier for me if it put something like: jump over anyone ...
    – dan
    Commented Sep 3, 2018 at 7:54
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    Yes, I believe it should be easily understood by native speakers. However, I did find it a little odd. I would expect jumping over or possibly leapfrogging, but that's just my opinion. I believe it's certainly understandable. It's probably hard for you to get because it is a figurative usage of jump. And there are many different usages. That's why I liked "leapfrog" or "jump over". Imagine three men standing in a line: A, B, and C. Then B jumps over A. Now, the line becomes B, A, C. This is the kind of rearrangement of the order of the players that's implied.
    – Em.
    Commented Sep 3, 2018 at 8:04

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