Position battles at 2019 NFL training camp for every single team

Jacksonville Jaguars – Entire receiver depth chart

Key competitors: Marquise Lee vs. Dede Westbrook vs. Keelan Cole vs. D.J. Chark vs. Terrelle Pryor

So before I go into any details on this competition, let me make this clear – I’m a big believer in the Jaguars rebounding this year with a competent quarterback. The defense has all the pieces to be elite once again with those two All-Pro caliber corners and a pass rush that just keeps on adding, while Nick Foles is a major upgrade under center and they should have one of the most bruising, hit-you-in-the-mouth type rushing games. What I really can’t figure out on this team is how the receiver depth chart will look like when week one rolls around. Marquise Lee would seem to be the top guy after the team decided to let the two Allen’s go in favor of betting on the guy who they signed to a four-year, 38-million dollar deal coming off his rookie contract. However, Lee missed all of 2018 and two guys really shined in his absence – Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole.

Dede was a Heisman Trophy finalist at Oklahoma and went for over 700 yards with lackluster QB play, while Cole had some spectacular catches and showed big-play potential himself. Another guy they are pretty high on is D.J. Chark, who was one of the rising prospects in last year’s draft as a smooth pass-catcher and the ability to make defenders miss with the ball in his hands.

And finally, I am interested to see what Terrelle Pryor has left in the tank. Three years ago he was a 1000-yard receiver on a bad Browns offense in his first year after transitioning from quarterback. It has been frustrating to watch since then, but there is definitely still the athleticism and size that could make him one of those big-bodied targets Nick Foles likes to throw to.

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Houston Texans – Offensive tackles

Key competitors: Julie’n Davenport vs. Matt Kalil vs. Tytus Howard vs. Max Scharping

Let’s not sugarcoat this – that entire Texans O-line was a mess last season. They did have some success running the ball and drawing up play-action off that, but that also had a lot to do with Deshaun Watson’s mobility and Lamar Miller having an under-the-radar season. When they did need to drop back and give Watson time to survey the field, they completely fell apart, allowing a league-high 62 sacks and 126 QB hits.

The two spots that I think they are happy with and settled on are Nick Martin at center and Senio Kelemete at left guard. Outside of that everything should be up for grabs. Julie’n Davenport came into the league as a developmental prospect with athletic upside, but he was thrown right into the fire and has really struggled, ranking 77th out of 85 qualified tackles last season.

Matt Kalil on the other hand once was the fourth overall pick, but never lived up to the hype and is now on his third team in three years. That leads us to the two rookies – Tytus Howard was a reach in the first round as another small-school project, after the Eagles traded a spot ahead of them to select Andre Dillard, and Max Scharping I liked as well, but he felt like another pick that came too early considering his inconsistent footwork and hand placement. Overall I just don’t really like this group and I thought they hurt themselves when trying to address those spots, especially since the Texans need help up front now, which means no time to develop.

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Indianapolis Colts – No. 2 receiver

Key competitors: Devin Funchess vs. Deion Cain vs. Parris Campbell

Unlike most of these position battles where I mention specific spots and tags on offense and defense, this is more about who will be the secondary target in the passing game to T.Y. Hilton. I wrote an entire article on why the Colts are set up for success back in November and it starts with Andrew Luck and that wall they have built to protect him.

They should turn into one of the top rushing offenses because of the personnel on the O-line and with Jack Doyle coming back, Luck has some dependable targets. However, I’m not quite sure who their number two receiver will be. Indy signed Devin Funchess, who is a big, athletic target, but he never really established himself as a go-to weapon in Carolina and could be more a red-zone target for this team.

My sleeper in this race is Deion Cain, who I thought was a steal for them in the sixth round of last year’s draft. I had him just outside my top 100, thinking he could develop into an excellent number two and the reports on him out of camp were great before tearing an ACL. And the third guy in this race is probably the favorite right now. Parris Campbell was a 1000-yard receiver and team captain for Ohio State last year. He impressed a lot of people at the combine with his premiere athleticism, but at this point, he is rather limited to gadget plays, screen passes and crossing routes. Still, his skill-set should be an asset for that offense.

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Kansas City Chiefs – No. 2 running back

Key competitors: Carlos Hyde vs. Darrel Williams vs. Darwin Thompson vs. James Williams

The Chiefs return the league’s MVP and one of the most explosive offenses in the league, especially with the news on Tyreek Hill being eligible to play. While I have already explained how I am worried about the fact that they lost one of the top centers in the league, the one position that will really look different to the start of 2018 is running back.

Kareem Hunt was immediately let go following the release of that video of him and it was a mix of Spencer Ware, Damien Williams and a couple of other guys. Yet, towards the end of the season, Williams got the main share of the workload and he should be their featured back this season. With that being said, I am not willing to say that battle for the number two back has been decided yet.

Sure, Kansas City signed former second-round pick Carlos Hyde quickly as free agency opened, but after some early flashes in San Francisco, no team has wanted to make him their lead guy long-term. The Browns moved off him too late as he was outplayed badly by rookie Nick Chubb and in Jacksonville, he averaged just 3.3 yards per carry while not reaching the end-zone once.

Darrel Williams was the RB2 for LSU in 2017 and got 11 of his 13 in the season finale for KC, meaning he should be more of a special teams contributor. This leads me to my two rookies. Darwin Thompson I thought was one of those draft diamonds after averaging a stupid 5+ yards after contact last season at Utah State and James Williams caught 83 passes at Washington State with some unique moves in the open field.