Ah, NFL training camps. Blistering hot days. Undrafted free agents shining in third-team drills. Fisticuffs on the fourth day of consecutive practices. Preseason snap count discourse. Can't you just feel the excitement in the air?
Training camps are just about a week away for most teams. Each enters camp with important questions to answer: positional battles up and down the depth chart, a first look at injured players attempting to recover for the season, and plenty of rookies going through their first real paces as members of the National Football League.
I tried to distill the biggest and most important storylines in those four categories below. The sort of stuff that could have a real impact once the regular season kicks off on Sept. 9 up until the Super Bowl on Valentine's Day. Let's get into it, starting with Houston's busy offseason.
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Questions | Battles
Injuries | Rookies
Five unanswered questions that could be answered
Did the Texans do enough along the offensive line?
The Texans knew they needed to improve the offensive line and threw bodies at the problem accordingly. Houston traded for Browns guard Wyatt Teller, signed offensive tackle Braden Smith and drafted Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge at the end of the first round. But despite their efforts, the final form of the starting five is still unclear.
Second-year player Aireontae Ersery will start at left tackle, while right guard Ed Ingram is entrenched at his position. That forces Teller, a career right guard, to flop to the left, where he hasn't taken significant snaps since his rookie year in Cleveland. Rutledge was also a career right guard in college. He took snaps during the predraft process and is the leading candidate to kick over to center, where incumbent Jake Andrews is still rostered. That battle isn't the only one we're likely to see on Houston's front, as Smith is coming off neck surgery and must fend off incumbent Trent Brown, who stepped in as a starting right tackle last season.
We can say with certainty that the Texans will have depth along their offensive line. Even after trading away players such as Juice Scruggs and Tytus Howard, the total bulk of their additions (fourth-round pick Febechi Nwaiwu was a Day 3 darling of mine) outweighs the losses. But given the positional shuffling underway, there's still reasonable doubt in the clear improvement of the starting five. Houston needs a lot to break well for them: Teller switching sides and staying healthy, Rutledge learning the center spot, Smith getting healthy for camp and holding it down at right tackle, Ersery taking a step forward at left tackle.
Camp will give us our first answers, as we find out who actually wins which of the open positions.
What does the Eagles' offense look like?
Two mainstays of the Eagles' recent Super Bowl runs are noticeably absent from their 2026 offense. One is very apparent: wide receiver A.J. Brown. From 2022 to 2025, no NFL receiver had a greater share of his team's receiving yards than Brown (32.6%), and only two (Tyreek Hill and Puka Nacua) had more yards per route run. Brown was particularly valuable to quarterback Jalen Hurts as a safety valve against man coverage. Simply put, to remove him is to remove a keystone of the Eagles' offense.
With Brown goes Jeff Stoutland, the team's offensive line coach since 2013. He's a less evident absence, but perhaps a more impactful one. The Eagles' offensive line was the best in the league during their championship runs, but last season's group suffered mightily with injury and will have a lot asked of them in new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion's under-center, play-action, motion-heavy system. This is the sort of modern offense that doesn't immediately and obviously jell with Hurts' strengths, as reporting has covered his commitment to more static offensive systems.
Regardless of how highly Hurts ranks among league quarterbacks, there's no question that Brown and the O-line were massive factors to the Eagles' offensive success under Nick Sirianni. Enormous pressure is on the shoulders of Mannion, who doesn't have much experience but did coach in Green Bay, where he helped Matt LaFleur wonderfully adjust the Sean McVay scheme for both Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love. Pressure is also on Hurts and Nick Sirianni to help Mannion blend that offense with a Philadelphia system that has largely worked across multiple seasons and multiple offensive coordinators.
Trickle-down pressure lands on players such as wide receiver DeVonta Smith and running back Saquon Barkley, too. There's a huge mystery right now in Philadelphia.
How does coordinator Davis Webb change the Broncos?
Denver was perhaps a Bo Nix ankle injury away from making the Super Bowl last season, and they hardly lost any star talent in the offseason: defensive tackle John Franklin-Myers out, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in. (Edge rusher Jonathon Cooper's arrests notwithstanding.)
They did endure a change at offensive coordinator ... but not the way it usually happens. Webb was promoted from QB coach to offensive coordinator and given control of the headset, while last year's playcaller -- coach Sean Payton -- remains with the team. This is a peculiar spot for Webb, as he's calling plays with one of the best playcallers of the 21st century lurking just over his shoulder. But the Broncos wanted to become faster operationally, and Webb taking over the headset should serve that effort.
It will be interesting to see how well the Broncos' offense hums during training camp. The whole point of August practice is to iron out the wrinkles of formations, motions, verbiage and adjustments. Webb's comfort running the offense might be impeded by Nix's absence, as it's still not certain that the third-year quarterback will be full go for training camp.
No matter how much Nix he gets this summer, Webb needs a strong start to the regular season. If the Broncos' offense feels lesser through September and into October, don't be surprised if Payton reclaims playcalling responsibilities.
Is the Bengals' defense ready to meet expectations?
Questions abound on all three levels of Cincinnati's defense. Linebacker was a big problem in 2025, as the rookie starting duo of Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter was a liability on both run and pass downs. The Bengals' theory is that a huge improvement along the interior defensive line (named Dexter Lawrence II) will make the sophomore linebackers' lives much easier. But Knight and Carter were sixth and seventh, respectively, in missed tackle rate among off-ball linebackers last season. They must get better as tacklers and coverage players independent of Lawrence's help.
Lawrence also needs to prove he can return to his elite form pre-2024 elbow injury. And the Bengals have made several bets at edge rusher: on free agent signing Boye Mafe taking a starter's load of snaps instead of a rotational role, on historically small and short-armed Cashius Howell and on any Year 2 development from second-year player Shemar Stewart.
Perhaps the only trustworthy talent in Cincinnati is on the secondary, where both DJ Turner II and Dax Hill enjoyed breakout 2025 seasons at cornerback, and where free agent safety Bryan Cook should shore up the third level of the defense. Turner and Hill are both seeking extensions, but the Bengals' lack of contract movement seems to indicate they want to see another year from their only reliable performers in 2025's struggling unit. If Turner remains unsigned when training camp begins, there might once again be holdout drama in Cincinnati.
The Bengals don't need this defense to be elite. But they need multiple things to break right to be average at all three levels.
What sort of first-team reps does Fernando Mendoza get, and what does he do with them?
All the reporting out of Las Vegas is that new coach Klint Kubiak and the Raiders want to take Mendoza's development slowly. Part-owner Tom Brady has been a big proponent of that, as he benefited from sitting and learning when he was a rookie.
So that's the plan, with a well-versed veteran in Kirk Cousins able to start the season. But if the priority above all else is Mendoza's development, then he'll get plenty of first-team reps to build his chemistry with his eventual starting receivers. While Mendoza didn't play in a pro-style offense in college, he began his prep for Kubiak's offense months before the draft. He was also a particularly sharp college quarterback, which should make the mental load less of an issue for him than it is for most rookies.
The Raiders have done well to keep early expectations for Mendoza tempered. But that doesn't mean they'll sit him no matter the August evidence. If Mendoza is shredding during camp and adept in the meeting rooms behind closed doors, then sitting him will only delay the inevitable hiccups and growing pains all young players must endure whether their first start comes in Week 1 or Week 11.
I expect Mendoza to see less than 50% of the first-team reps in the first week of camp, but that number could increase by the end of August. He'll have a fair shot to win the Week 1 starting job. And if he doesn't, the Raiders have done an excellent job laying the groundwork to claim that starting Cousins was the plan all along.
Five training camp battles to watch
Jets cornerback
The Jets very famously had zero interceptions last season. That record might stand forever, as it takes a preposterously bad run of luck to never snag one errant pass or tipped ball. Still, the Jets poured veteran talent into their roster to stiffen up coach Aaron Glenn's defensive unit in Year 2.
At cornerback, the midseason trade of Sauce Gardner has been answered with a few options. Rookie Azareye'h Thomas, a third-rounder in 2025, was the first man up for the vacated snaps. He looked good for a few games before a shoulder injury ended his season. Thomas will be first in line for starting reps opposite veteran Brandon Stephens, but he faces stiff competition.
Nahshon Wright, a breakout star with the Bears who was responsible for more takeaways than any other player last season, signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Jets to try and repeat his stellar 2025 production. D'Angelo Ponds, a breakout star of the 2025 college football season with the national champion Hoosiers, also figures to fight for some outside snaps despite his traditional slot size -- Glenn himself was an undersized but effective outside corner when he played in the NFL.
This feels like a true three-way battle, and the Jets desperately need a clear winner.
Chargers tight end
The Chargers will play multiple tight end sets plenty over the course of the season, but who starts at tight end remains unclear. General manager Joe Hortiz signed ex-Raven Charlie Kolar to a three-year, $24.3 million deal -- a substantial payday for a primary blocker with 31 career catches. That's fewer catches than 2025 fifth-round rookie Oronde Gadsden had (49) in his first season as a pro, when he unseated Tyler Conklin and Will Dissly as the primary snap-getter at the position.
But Gadsden must show improvements as a blocker in Year 2 to keep his job as the clear No. 1. Complicating the room is the late-summer addition of veteran tight end David Njoku on a one-year, incentive-laden contract. Njoku is the most balanced of the three players, and though the 30-year-old's best football is likely behind him, he's still a more-than-adequate starter who can win the primary job while Gadsden and Kolar rotate behind him.
A three-headed monster at tight end sounds just fine ... until defenses exploit playcalling tendencies revealed by which tight end(s) is on the field. The Chargers will use all three players, but they would love for one to clearly emerge as a three-down player over the course of August.
Falcons quarterback
This battle could have easily gone in the "injuries to watch" segment, as the competition between free agent addition Tua Tagovailoa and incumbent Michael Penix Jr. won't be a battle at all if Penix can't get on the field for training camp. The third-year pro is recovering from ACL surgery in November, and while he threw at OTAs and mandatory minicamp, he has yet to participate in 11-on-11s. So long as he clears the expected bar, he will fully participate in training camp and herald the battle between him and Tagovailoa for the starting gig.
Penix and Tagovailoa are remarkably different players. Penix has easy velocity but scattershot accuracy; Tagovailoa has pinpoint placement but struggles to drive the ball. The history of Kevin Stefanski's offenses lean toward Tagovailoa's strengths, but Penix is the one who actually has a chance of developing into a long-term starter. (We've likely seen the ceiling of Tagovailoa's play, which was quite high in Miami.)
I'm expecting Tagovailoa to win this job for Week 1, though his regular-season performance might not guarantee him 17 starts. Still, this seems like a true competition ... relative to some other camps in which the QB competition seems more nominal (see: Vikings).
Jaguars wide receiver
All three of the following Jaguars will see plenty of targets this season: Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers and Parker Washington. In fact, let's get wild and throw in a fourth: Travis Hunter. In what order those targets get distributed ... your guess is as good as mine.
The Jaguars' second-year front office and coaching staff have invested most in Meyers, for whom they traded fourth- and sixth-round picks at the deadline last season. Meyers was extended midseason at a solid three-year, $60 million figure. This is notable because Thomas was drafted by the old brass, and Washington has not been extended even as he approaches the final year of his contract.
So Meyers' role is the most secure, even if he doesn't end up the leading target-getter. Down the stretch last season that player was Washington, who has the easy separation and middle-of-the-field toughness that seems to pair well with quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Washington is more of a traditional slot option, so he could lose snaps to the Jaguars' incoming commitment to multi-tight end sets, as the drafting of tight end Nate Boerkircher in Round 2 seems to indicate.
And then there's Thomas, a first-round selection who exploded as a rookie but faded dramatically in his first year under Liam Coen. Thomas was reportedly shining in OTAs as a deep threat, so he might end up an every-down starter even if he isn't the same target funnel he was in 2024.
This is less a battle for a starting job and more a battle for positioning in the target hierarchy, but Thomas is the one to watch in training camp. If he looks healed from whatever odd affliction torpedoed his game last season, he's by far the most dynamic playmaker of the three primary options.
49ers secondary
The 49ers are once again built like a contending team, though this season seems like a steeper hill to climb than before with the Seahawks and the Rams as the two best teams in the division (and in the league at large). The offense is loaded with aging stars, while the defense -- one of the league's youngest and most inconsistent last season -- needs to quickly ascend under another new defensive coordinator in Raheem Morris.
The returns of linebacker Fred Warner and edge rusher Nick Bosa will help, but the 49ers need more consistent play at safety. Third-year man Malik Mustapha is a quick study and explosive hitter, but the spot opposite him has been plagued by late coverage and bad tackling. Ji'Ayir Brown, last season's starter, will fight with 2025 fifth-rounder Marques Sigle and veteran addition Ashtyn Davis for the deep safety role. Morris played lots of single-high in Atlanta thanks to the presence of star centerfielder Jessie Bates III. If Morris wants to run anything like that in San Francisco, he needs an emergence from someone on this depth chart.
The 49ers made no major additions at safety in part because of their focus on cornerback, where third-year man Renardo Green has shown plenty of talent but been inconsistent. The 49ers spent a fourth-round pick on Ephesians Prysock and added splashy veteran Jack Jones to contend for snaps behind Green. With a couple of big camp performances, the 49ers' secondary could complete what should be a resurgent defense in 2026.
Five injuries to monitor
Malik Nabers, WR, New York Giants
No injury has made more offseason headlines than Nabers'. The Giants' star receiver tore his right ACL in Week 4 of the 2025 season and underwent surgery to repair the ligament, as well as the damage to his meniscus, a month later. But this past spring, Nabers had to undergo a second procedure on the same knee -- a sign that his recovery was likely not going well.
During mandatory minicamp, new coach John Harbaugh called the injury "not a simple knee" and said the goal was for Nabers to "get out there sometime in training camp." But any sort of delay in training camp could indicate a more complicated recovery than anticipated.
Nabers was a highly impactful rookie: 109 catches on 170 targets for 1,204 yards in only 15 games. His evident ascent to the Giants' No. 1 receiver role was a contributing factor in the team's willingness to let Wan'Dale Robinson leave in free agency after a strong 2025 season. For depth, the Giants have added tons of veteran dart throws -- Calvin Austin III, Darnell Mooney, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Braxton Berrios and even Odell Beckham Jr. -- in the hope that someone will be able to fill Robinson's snaps. If Nabers has to miss regular-season time, the Giants' receiving core might be one of the oldest and least effective in the league.
Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
There's lots of optimism in Kansas City, where Mahomes seems to be recovering from a torn ACL and LCL as well as anyone could have hoped. The recovery target since his December injury has always been the Week 1 opener, and all signs point to Mahomes being ready for that date. Good news for him is that Kansas City's opening game is on Monday, Sept. 14 -- as late as an opening game can be.
But will Mahomes participate immediately in training camp? Or how about in preseason, where old-school coach Andy Reid typically plays his starters for at least some time? There certainly is urgency to get Mahomes on the field after the Chiefs missed the playoffs in 2025, a failure previously thought impossible in the Mahomes era. But it's not like the scheme is new or there are any major new pass-catchers. There isn't a huge need for Mahomes to get out there and build team chemistry quickly.
Expect the Chiefs to be as slow as they can afford to be with Mahomes. But if all reports are to be believed, he will take a full practice sooner rather than later.
Tank Dell, WR, Houston Texans
Remember Dell? Last we saw him, he was making splash plays against the Chiefs in December 2024. But on Houston's first play of the second half, Dell was hit in the back of the end zone after an incredible 30-yard touchdown catch. He suffered a dislocated kneecap, torn ACL, torn MCL, torn LCL and damage to his meniscus, missing the entire 2025 season as a result.
General manager Nick Caserio said training camp seems like a "reasonable time frame" for Dell's return. To that end, videos of Dell cutting and running routes have trickled onto social media. Dell wants to go, and understandably so. Not only has he not played football in over a year, but the Texans also invested heavily in wide receiver in his absence. In the 2025 draft, they spent second- (Jayden Higgins) and third-round picks (Jaylin Noel) at the position.
Dell was seeing about 70% of the snaps per game in 2024, serving as the No. 3 to Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs in an 11-personnel-heavy offense. In coordinator Nick Caley's system, which runs more tight ends and fullbacks, Dell would see his snap participation decrease before we even consider any decline from his long absence. But because he has blazing speed, he can still be an impact player in a rotational role -- whether as a field stretcher or as a returner on special teams. Any significant snaps from Dell, should they accompany a Year 2 breakout from Higgins or Noel, will give the Texans a suddenly deep and diverse wide receivers room.
George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
Kittle tore an Achilles in San Francisco's wild-card win over the Eagles. To be exact, 191 days before this article was published. If he plays in the 49ers' season opener -- a Thursday game against the Rams in Melbourne, Australia -- he will be 242 days removed from the Achilles tear.
But that's the plan. Kittle said in June that "when I had the surgery, [Dr. Neal] ElAttrache told me, 'I think if you do everything the right way, you have a chance [to return in Week 1].'... we're on track, we're ahead of schedule." This would be a remarkably speedy recovery from an Achilles tear, though not all tears are created equal. Still, there is a difference between returning from an Achilles tear and returning to form after an Achilles tear. The effects of this injury tend to linger in the form of limited speed and explosiveness.
Kittle will turn 33 in October, and while he hasn't suffered many major injuries as a pro, he has gotten dinged up quite a lot. Tight end isn't a position that demands quick and explosive movements, but Kittle has been the preeminent big-play tight end since he entered the league. His 13.5 yards per reception leads all tight ends over the past four seasons, but the 11.0 yards per reception he posted last season was the lowest mark of his career by a significant margin. Whether Kittle plays in Week 1, Week 8 or anywhere between, his game will bear close scrutiny.
Brian Branch/Kerby Joseph, S, Detroit Lions
A little two-fer here. The Lions' starting safety duo was a driving force behind their deep postseason run in 2023 and has remained one of the league's best tandems. But now both have serious availability concerns for a huge 2026 season in Detroit.
Branch's situation is more cut and dry. Branch tore an Achilles in early December against the Cowboys. Coach Dan Campbell was unwilling to put a timeline on Branch's recovery in June but said "there's no setbacks with him. ... He's doing a good job. He's putting in the work, but until we really get closer, I hate to start throwing a timetable on him." Despite Campbell's ambiguity, this sounds like a player unlikely to make an early appearance as training camps kick off. Any activity from Branch during practice in August would offer a huge sign that his return is imminent, but defensive backs can't mess around with Achilles tears. The Lions will go slow with Branch.
Joseph is a trickier situation. A chronic knee issue kept him out of the final 11 games of the 2025 season. He was absent from OTAs earlier this summer, so it's uncertain just how close he is to returning to the field. Also uncertain is how many snaps he can take when he returns. If Joseph's knee remains a pain management issue for the remainder of his career, then the Lions might struggle to play him for 100% of snaps in a 17-game season. Of course, fitting Joseph into a rotation would have been easier before the other starting safety, Branch, was also slated to miss time.
Detroit might spend all of camp onboarding two new starting safeties. And they're filling big shoes -- Branch and Joseph were listed as top-10 safeties in Jeremy Fowler's annual poll of NFL coaches and executives.
Five rookies to watch
CJ Allen, LB, Indianapolis Colts
The Colts traded multiyear starting linebacker Zaire Franklin last season in an effort to get younger, cheaper and better in coverage. Allen is certainly two of the three, as the second-round pick is just 21 years old and joins coordinator Lou Anarumo's defense after multiple seasons as the starting middle linebacker for Kirby Smart's defense in Georgia. That's nothing to sneeze at.
We've seen Day 2 linebackers step in and start right away (Carson Schwesinger just won Defensive Rookie of the Year as the 33rd overall pick). But that's not guaranteed for Allen. Anarumo's defense tends to be complex, and Allen won't have the benefit of an established veteran to run beside -- Akeem Davis-Gaither is the most experienced linebacker on the roster. Longtime safety Nick Cross left to Washington in free agency as well, leaving a big leadership void in the center of the defense. All of this puts much more on a rookie than you might hope, so Allen's quick onboarding during training camp is a must for the Colts' defense to have success in 2026.
Zachariah Branch, WR, Atlanta Falcons
There has been a coaching change in Atlanta, but there won't be a change in the outlets through whom this passing game runs. Wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. got massive extensions this offseason; running back Bijan Robinson, one of the league's best receiving backs, is right behind them. Those three have been, and will remain, Atlanta's leading target-getters.
But the Kevin Stefanski/Tommy Rees offense likes to throw screens and quick hitters to its receivers, and neither London nor Pitts are great yards-after-catch options. Branch was a tricky scout, as his 5-foot-10, 180-pound size is far too small to make him an every-down player in the NFL. But he can shine in a catered role that doesn't have too much volume and gives him plenty of space. That's the job available to him, should he show out in camp above veteran additions Olamide Zaccheaus and Jahan Dotson.
Logan Jones, C, Chicago Bears
I could have thrown the Bears' center role into the position battles section, but we'll tag it here instead. The surprise retirement of center Drew Dalman, who had signed a top-of-market extension in 2025, left Chicago in a tricky spot this offseason. Its line from left guard to right tackle was the strength of the offense last season, both in quality of play and overall health. Suddenly, the Bears were scrambling for a new pivot and quickly filled the gap with a trade for ex-Patriot Garrett Bradbury.
Bradbury is not a permanent starter, however, so Chicago made Jones the first-drafted center, taking him in Round 2. Jones is cut from the Dalman cloth: not physically dominant but smart and quick on his feet. Of course, the Johnson offense is brutally complex, which could make asking a rookie center to manage protections and run adjustments right away a recipe for disaster. Jones will likely unseat Bradbury at some point in the season. How well he performs in training camp will be the first sign of just how ready he is.
Josiah Trotter, LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
A massive make-or-break year awaits Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers' coach, now in his fifth season, failed to make the postseason for the first time last season. His team's success has largely come on the back of great offenses, while the defense has lagged behind. The Buccaneers were 18th in defensive DVOA last season, 16th the year before that and 14th before that. As a defensive head coach, Bowles' unit must be better.
After the retirement of franchise legend Lavonte David, veteran signing Alex Anzalone and Trotter must step into huge shoes in the center of the defense. Trotter is a fast and physical hitter, while Anzalone's range has been limited as he approaches his age-32 season. The Bucs had huge coverage issues at linebacker last season, and Trotter was more of a blitzer than a dropper at Missouri. If he earns a full-time role next to Anzalone, it'll be because of strides he makes in coverage during training camp.
Jaishawn Barham, LB, Dallas Cowboys
An intriguing defensive shift is underway in Dallas, as new coordinator Christian Parker brings a Vic Fangio-inspired system to a roster that has endured a brutal coaching carousel. Dallas has had four defensive coordinators in the past four years: Dan Quinn, Mike Zimmer, Matt Eberflus and now Parker. That car wash, along with some bad injury luck and draft misses (and the trade of Micah Parsons) has left the Cowboys' defense thin on young and exciting talent.
Barham might change that. He started his career in college as an inside linebacker before kicking to the edge in his final season with Michigan. Dallas plans to move the third-round pick back to stack linebacker, where plenty of snaps are up for grabs in a thin room that features Dee Winters and DeMarvion Overshown. But because Barham has experience rushing the passer, he can fill the Zack Baun/Jihaad Campbell role in Dallas -- an integral spot in the Eagles' defense that Parker helped coach for the past two seasons. How often the Cowboys give Barham snaps in training camp -- and where exactly he lines up -- will be a sign of how the first-year coordinator intends to call defense in 2026.