2023 NFL training camps will be in full swing by the end of the week. There are plenty of storylines leading up to the season, and this week’s Top Ten Tuesday highlights ten of the top NFL storylines to track during the summer.
10. Health of the Saints
The NFC South looks extremely wide open this season. The Panthers had a solid roster foundation in place that added No. 1 pick Bryce Young at quarterback. The Falcons have some good things going with a tough, run-heavy identity. And a proud Bucs team that won the Super Bowl with Tom Brady a few seasons ago is looking to get back to playing consistent defense at a high level.
I’m keeping a close eye on how the Saints come together with Derek Carr at quarterback, though. The key for New Orleans might be staying healthy, as former All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas has basically had the past two seasons wiped out due to injury. Star running back Alvin Kamara is facing a likely suspension. The offensive line must stay healthy and protect Carr. And Dennis Allen’s veteran defense has upside in his second year as the head coach if guys like Marshon Lattimore can stay available.
Overall, the Saints can be surprise Super Bowl contenders if Carr, with a chip on his shoulder, immediately plays at a Pro Bowl level and the older roster can stay healthy.
9. Lions prep for the opener
We’ve already had some good news for the Lions to begin camp, as free-agent safety acquisition C.J. Gardner-Johnson appears to be OK after a scare on a non-contact knee injury in yesterday’s practice. CJGJ is one of many notable additions for Detroit this offseason, as they also added Jahmyr Gibbs, Jack Campbell, Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch, Hendon Hooker, and Brodric Martin in the first three rounds of the draft—as well as David Montgomery, Cameron Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley, and Marvin Jones Jr. during free agency.
The Lions ended last regular season with an upset win at Lambeau Field in Aaron Rodgers’ final game with the Packers, knocking Green Bay out of the playoffs while finishing above .500. Dan Campbell’s squad will now open the regular season at Arrowhead against the defending champion Chiefs, so camp and the preseason will be a lot about prepping for that daunting task.
I’m especially keeping an eye on Gibbs and LaPorta during camp, as they’ll add more explosiveness on offense. Gibbs is already drawing comparisons to Christian McCaffrey and Marshall Faulk, and LaPorta just feels like a fit as an underneath target in Ben Johnson’s offense with underrated quarterback Jared Goff at the controls. Then there’s also catch-machine Amon-Ra St. Brown, blazing-fast second-year player Jameson Williams (suspended six games), and recent acquisition Denzel Mims also at receiver.
8. Jordan Love
With Rodgers out, the attention and pressure turn to former first-round pick Jordan Love as the next quarterback for the Packers. Green Bay went seamlessly from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers at the most important position in sports, and Love has high expectations—but his coaches and teammates sound like they believe he’s ready to take over.
The assumption is that the Packers will play to their defense—an under-the-radar unit led by stud cornerback Jaire Alexander—and run the ball with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon while Love gets his feet wet early in the season. But training camp will be about turning it loose for Love as he looks to make it three magical quarterback runs in a row for the historic franchise.
7. Chiefs wide receivers
Kadarius Toney will unfortunately miss most if not all the summer with a knee injury, but the hope is he’s back for the start of the regular season on September 7. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is probably locked into a solid role as at least as situational deep threat, but there’s a question about the playing time at wide receiver for Kansas City.
Second-round rookie Rashee Rice; second-year players Skyy Moore and Justyn Ross; Justin Watson, who made plays for Mahomes last season; veteran Richie James, who is getting early rave reviews this summer; and even 2021 fifth-rounder Cornell Powell are all players to watch to see who can gain the most trust from Mahomes in 2023. I’ll be watching preseason playing time closely, as KC likes to have their starters get good work in.
Ultimately, the group might just be a major spread-the-wealth situation at wide receiver—which, remember, Andy Reid has had a ton of success with throughout his time with the Eagles and Chiefs—while Travis Kelce does his usual WR1 type numbers at tight end.
6. Titans offensive line
Derrick Henry still went for over 1,500 rushing yards, which might have masked that the Titans had some serious offensive line issues last year. The left side of the offensive line was revamped this offseason, with Tennessee signing former Eagles first-round pick Andre Dillard to play left tackle and drafting Peter Skoronski in the first round to play left guard. However, they ultimately might be more of a boost in pass protection than in the run game, so we’ll see where that leaves Henry under new offensive coordinator Tim Kelly.
The Titans added veteran receiver DeAndre Hopkins to boost what looked like one of the thinnest receiving groups in football, and his presence should also take pressure off the run game. Mike Vrabel always gets his teams to compete, but the upside of his club will probably come down to how well the offensive line plays to allow them to run the ball and protect Ryan Tannehill.
5. 49ers quarterbacks
I believe that at full health Brock Purdy will undoubtedly be the starting quarterback for the 49ers, and it seems to be trending that way. But fellow third overall picks Sam Darnold and Trey Lance both figure to get plenty of reps in Kyle Shanahan’s offense this summer and during preseason games. Darnold already had some interesting comments about playing in the San Fran offense:
QB Sam Darnold on why he chose to sign with 49ers: "Guys are open"https://t.co/0rPbAIIQ7z pic.twitter.com/xotRZXfVFr
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) July 15, 2023
Ultimately, the backup job for the Niners can be a valuable one with the number of injuries the team has dealt with at the position over the years. So, we’ll be watching all three of likely starter Purdy and the competing Darnold and Lance leading up to the season opener.
4. Rookie quarterbacks
It would be a surprise if Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud aren’t starting for the Panthers and Texans on Day 1, but their progress is still something to monitor in the coming weeks. Second-round rookie Will Levis will compete with 2022 third-rounder Malik Willis for the backup job with the Titans, which should give an indication of where both players are at behind Ryan Tannehill.
But the player I’m watching most is No. 4 pick Anthony Richardson out of Florida. The uber athletic quarterback will compete with Gardner Minshew to start Week 1 for the Colts, and the team must thread the needle of when to play Richardson—perhaps he could use some time sitting and watching after limited college experience, but he can also improve by being out there and learning on the fly.
Especially long-term, fourth-round pick Stetson Bennett is someone to keep a close eye on with the Rams. The slight stature—despite a lowkey rocket arm—might’ve caused the back-to-back national champion at Georgia to go lower than he should’ve in the draft.
3. Patriots offense
With the (arguably crazy) talk of moving on from Bill Belichick after the season, the Patriots might be the most intriguing team overall in 2023. The defense can be an elite unit, but we’ll see how much losing veteran safety Devin McCourty to retirement hurts the group. Rookie linebacker Marte Mapu can quickly become a difference-maker with the versatility and athleticism he showed at Sacramento State.
But the offense is the big story. After a somewhat disastrous 2022 campaign under Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, former Penn State and Texans head coach Bill O’Brien is back in New England as the team’s offensive coordinator. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Gesicki give the Pats more pieces to work with as Mac Jones looks to get back on track in his third NFL season.
Jones gets a ton of criticism, and he did not play well in a tough situation last year; but he showed major flashes as a rookie. I still think more “juice” might be needed for the Patriots, but the Jones-O’Brien partnership is one that can move the ball and help keep Belichick’s squad competitive even in a crowded division and conference.
2. Jets on Hard Knocks
With a very late announcement and discontent in the aftermath, the Jets protested about as much as possible to being on Hard Knocks, and it sounds like players and coach might not cooperate much with the HBO and NFL Films cameras being in the building and on the practice field.
Still, we’ll get some insight on how things are going with Robert Saleh’s team, which adds future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers after 18 seasons with the Packers. The recovery of second-year running back Breece Hall coming off a torn ACL is a top storyline, as is the rise of second-year receiver Garrett Wilson—already getting Davante Adams comparisons—to potential star status.
This is obviously a critical season for the Jets, and the stakes are even higher with Hard Knocks in town.
1. Running backs
Although the Giants and Saquon Barkley agreed to a revised one-year contract before training camp, the running back position is apparently on the verge of revolt due to unhappiness with the way many teams are valuing the position in contract talks. Some of the top players even held a Zoom call discussing the situation, and they reportedly discussed the possibility of making injuries appear worse than they are.
Barkley showed up for the start of camp with nearly $1 million in incentives—so that might not be “holding the line.” But you can’t blame Barkley for wanting to play, compete with his teammates, and try to win as a team. Josh Jacobs is set to hold out from the Raiders, and there’s a chance it lasts into the season.
Then there are guys like Austin Ekeler (though his putting on for fantasy players might make it unlikely for him to out sit games if he’s able to play) and Jonathan Taylor (entering a contract year), among others, that could make this a very interesting stretch for running backs.