NFL training camp 2024: 3 key position battles to keep a careful eye on
With NFL teams beginning their training camps in 2024, let's dive into three position battles to keep an eye on.
As NFL teams dive into their training camps, position battles across the league will pop up. It will be truly interesting to follow some of the more notable ones, as each position battle does indeed need a winner. There are a good bit of QB battles across the NFL, and there are obviously some non-QB battles out there as well.
Let's briefly highlight three key position battles as the 2024 NFL training camps get underway.
NFL training camp 2024: 3 key position battles to keep a careful eye on
Denver Broncos - Quarterback
The Denver Broncos will figure to have Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham, and Zach Wilson all take first-team reps for the offense during training camp. Now yes, you may argue that this is not truly going to be a QB competition, as the Broncos did use the 12th overall pick on Bo Nix in the 2024 NFL Draft. Why would the Broncos start anyone but Nix come Week 1?
Well, until it doesn't happen, it is firmly possible that both Stidham and Wilson end up looking better than Nix during camp. It might sound ridiculous, but it can happen. This might force Sean Payton to make a move he was not expecting - naming someone other than Nix the starter for Week 1 of the 2024 NFL Season.
Buffalo Bills - Wide Receiver
The Buffalo Bills are now without Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, so there are a ton of new faces in the team's WR room that figure to battle it out with their teammates for some reps catching passes from Josh Allen, who threw nearly 20 interceptions during the 2023 NFL Season.
Keon Coleman was a second-round draft pick by Buffalo in the 2024 NFL Draft, and the team also signed Curtis Samuel in free agency. Will there be another player to emerge out of this room? For Allen, his development was clearly assisted by having Diggs for the 2020-2023 seasons. Will a different receiver emerge as his "new" Stefon Diggs?
If not, Allen could be in for a bit of a shockingly rough season in 2024.
New England Patriots - Quarterback
Right now, Jacoby Brissett seems to be the clear front-runner in New England, but this is one of those situations where some may argue that it does not do rookie QB Drake Maye any well sitting on the bench. While Maye might need a bit of work before he is deemed NFL-ready, what better way is there for a player to adapt to the NFL than to actually get playing time?
I don't entirely buy that Jacoby Brissett is a lock to start Week 1, and there are arguments that Drake Maye has the highest ceiling of any QB to come out of the 2024 NFL Draft. His game was commonly compared to Justin Herbert's in the pre-draft process.