Position battles at 2019 NFL training camp for every single team
With training camp in full swing for all 32 teams and just a week left for the Hall of Fame game between the Falcons and Broncos, I wanted to take a look at the biggest position battles going on for every team throughout practice and a lot of times most of the preseason. Some of these may be very close two-man races for a specific spot, others include several candidates looking to crack the starting lineup.
Some of them may be better when it comes to quarterbacks, while others are about offensive guards putting in the work upfront. However you want to turn it, these are what I think the toughest battles going on right now and only competition will determine the winners.
Arizona Cardinals – Center
Key competitors: A.Q. Shipley vs. Mason Cole vs. Lamont Gaillard
You could argue between the Texans and Cardinals here, but when you look at all the injuries and reshuffling along with it, Arizona might have had the worst offensive line of the 2018 season. It all started before they even kicked off the preseason when center A.Q. Shipley was lost for the year with a torn ACL. The rest of their starting five missed a combined 22 games and they were banged up constantly.
Despite being knocked out for a year, the Cardinals extended Shipley for a year with his contract worth 2 million dollars. In his place, they started rookie Mason Cole out of Michigan, who actually was the only constant upfront for them. He spent most of his time at left tackle in college, but some hip tightness and overall skill-set made a move inside the right choice.
Now the Cards are forced to make a decision between the guy they paid ahead of last year and a guy coming into his second year since the guard spots look pretty locked in with a healthy Justin Pugh and J.R. Sweezy being brought in. However, to throw a bit of a wildcard into the mix, I also really like their sixth-round pick from this year’s draft in Georgia’s Lamont Gaillard. He was a first-team All-SEC selection as the centerpiece of a bruising Bulldog rushing attack and even though he is darkhorse in this competition, I would not rule him out totally.
Atlanta Falcons – Offensive guards
Key competitors: James Carpenter vs. Jamon Brown vs. Chris Lindstrom
It is no secret that the Falcons made it their quest to improve in the trenches, investing a lot of money and draft capital in the O-line. In free agency, they paid a total of 48 million dollars over the next three years to James Carpenter, Jamon Brown and Ty Sambrailo. However, they would not be done, as they stayed put at 14th overall in the draft to select Boston College guard Chris Lindstrom and then traded back up into the end of the first round to grab Washington tackle Kaleb McGary in exchange for both their picks on day two.
So when you consider that they gave left tackle Jake Matthews a big five-year contract last offseason and Alex Mack is still under contract through 2020, they will certainly have a lot of money allocated into the seven guys they carry on gameday and whoever doesn’t crack the starting lineup will earn plenty of money for sitting on the bench. That brings me to the competition we will see happening at training camp.
I think Sambrailo could give McGary a pretty good fight because the first-rounder is still learning how to use his hands properly and will have some bad reps early on, but in the end, this will probably come down to where they drafted him. The same thing should be true for Lindstrom, who I actually think could be a really physical player right away and I had as my top-rated guard. However, he won’t be handed that job and at least for the second spot (probably at left guard), there could be a tight battle between the two recently signed veterans.
Baltimore Ravens – RUSH linebacker
Key competitors: Tim Williams vs. Tyus Bowser vs. Jaylon Ferguson vs. Shane Ray
Depending on which scheme your team is running and how they tag their personnel, you can call that position differently, but when talking about the Ravens, this is the spot Terrell Suggs filled for them during these last 16 years since the team drafted him. Either way, it’s that second outside linebacker spot to go Matthew Judon, who has established himself as one of the top edge defenders in the league.
Tim Williams was once considered a first-round pick, but after Baltimore selected him in the third round in 2017, he didn’t really show much his rookie year. Last season he recorded two sacks as part of a deep rotation, but he will have to take another big step going into his season if he wants to be a contributor one of the best defenses in the league. Bowser was actually drafted a round earlier as kind of a do-it-all linebacker and he has shown some flashes, but he was on the field for only 16 percent of their defensive snaps last season.
Ferguson is another small-school prospect the Ravens got on day two, who actually broke Suggs’ NCAA record for most career sacks. And finally, Ray was brought in late in free agency, as a guy who had high expectations in Denver, but never really broke through and is now looking to redirect his career. The Ravens also signed one of their former players in Pernell McPhee, but he fits better at SAM to me and might line up inside on sub-packages for them. So there is talent and great competition in that room among that group.
Buffalo Bills – No. 2 cornerback
Key competitors: Levi Wallace vs Kevin Johnson, and E.J. Gaines
I expect the Bills to have one of the top defenses in the league in 2019 once again after they quietly finished second in yards allowed last season. The front-seven is loaded with young, talented players who are not talked about enough. Yet, the secondary also has one of better safety duos and one of the premiere off-corners in Tre’Davious White. Now it is time to find him a running mate to repeat as the league’s toughest pass defense.
Taron Johnson is expected to be their starting nickel, where he did a solid job as a rookie in 11 games before having surgery as he had been dealing with lingering injuries throughout the year. Number three safety Rafael Bush was also used in the slot at times, especially when Johnson was out, primarily covering bigger bodies inside. However, there is certainly some competition for that number two job on the perimeter.
Levi Wallace was second among corners for Buffalo with just 40 percent of the defensive snaps, starting the final seven games of last season as a rookie, and finished only behind Denzel Ward among first-year corners. Buffalo also brought in a former first-round pick from the Texans in Kevin, who did look like a bust in Houston for most of his time, but should benefit from their zone-heavy scheme, where his fluid hips will be an asset. And not to forget, E.J. Gaines was their week-one starter in 2017 and returned after a year in Cleveland.