NFL’s 6 biggest position battles as minicamp opens

Here are the fights to watch around the NFL.

The road to the NFL regular season is underway. Tuesday, June 4 marks the start of mandatory minicamps around the league, and while optional camps have been going for the past few weeks, this marks the first time we’ll begin hearing in earnest about some of the biggest camp battles.

Whether it’s rookies coming in and trying to earn a starting job, or free agents shaking up the depth chart there are some fascinating contests to keep an eye on.

Sam Darnold vs. J.J. McCarthy for Vikings

Naturally this is the marquee camp battle to watch around the league. The Vikings hand was forced to find a franchise quarterback in the draft after Kirk Cousins left for Atlanta, and McCarthy was the natural fit to be the heir apparent.

It marked the first time the team had taken a QB in the first round since Teddy Bridgewater in 2014, and stunningly the first time Minnesota had selected a quarterback in the Top 10 since Tommy Kramer in 1977. Expectations for McCarthy are big, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be handed the job.

The Vikings still believe they can be competitive right now, and McCarthy has always been projected as being a guy who needs a little bit of time. Sam Darnold has the ability to be a caretaker QB for a season, but the team won’t close the door on starting their rookie immediately if he comes out and shines.

Truth be told, we simply don’t know what McCarthy will bring to the table in a situation where his training wheels are taken off. The organization has tremendous faith he’ll develop as a passer further than he was able to show in Michigan, and if that’s true we could see one heck of a battle for the starting job in Minnesota.

Brock Bowers vs. Michael Mayer for Raiders

Seeing the Raiders select Brock Bowers with their 13th overall pick was stunning. Not because Bowers wasn’t worth the pick — in fact, at that spot he was a bit of a steal, but it was more because Las Vegas already had an incredible young tight end in Michael Mayer.

All signs point to the Raiders running plenty of two-TE, 12 personnel in Antonio Pierce’s first full season as head coach, but there will still be a pecking order here. Now in back-to-back drafts the organization has walked away with the No. 1 tight end, and it’ll be fascinating to see how this all meshes together, and what that says about the direction of the offense.

Bowers is more of a pass catching threat with tough YAC abilities, but he’s not a top-end blocker. Meanwhile Mayer is a plus-level blocker, gifted at making hard yard catches, but he’s not a field stretcher in the same way Bowers is. The two players should mesh together quite well, but it’ll be interesting to see which traits Pierce values more for single TE sets.

Jacoby Brissett vs. Drake Maye for Patriots

As it stands right now Jacoby Brissett is penciled in to be the starter in New England, but it doesn’t feel like that will last very long. Drake Maye was my QB1 in the 2024 NFL Draft class, a sentiment echoed by many others — and far too much has been made of his need to develop as a QB.

There are rough edges to round out to be sure, but this is hardly a compete overhaul. It all depends on how competitive Jerrod Mayo wants to be immediately, or whether he’s fine with a developmental season to truly make a run for it in 2025.

Brissett is a very good QB. Far better than he’s given credit for. But he’s not the future face of the franchise the way Maye is. That is what will make this fascinating to watch.

Bo Nix vs. Jarrett Stidham vs. Zach Wilson for Broncos

Trying to predict Sean Payton’s whims at quarterback is a fool’s errand. If there’s one thing we know about Payton is that he’s not afraid of ruffling feather if he thinks it means more wins. It’s here where the QB battle could get really interesting.

The assumption is that Nix will be the starter, which is fair — but don’t sleep on either of the other QBs to make a play for the starting job. This is especially true if Nix comes out of the gate slow, or looks like he needs more time to develop. The truth is that both Stidham and Wilson have better arm strength than the No. 12 overall pick, who was a serious reach at that spot — which could influence how things go.

It might not be logical, but there’s something in my gut that tells me Payton is going to fall in love with Zach Wilson’s physical traits. Payton also has the kind of ego that would crave being the catalyst for a Wilson redemption arc. This is a guy who still have all the physical traits of a franchise QB, albeit he was shattered by bad structure around him in New York.

Jonathon Brooks vs. Chuba Hubbard vs. Miles Sanders for Panthers

Hardly the kind of exciting, marquee matchup people are craving outside of the Carolinas — but it’s still one to watch. The Panthers have been struggling to find a consistent running game since making the bold move to trade away Christian McCaffrey, but new head coach Dave Canales has been talking endlessly about not only his commitment to the run, but how much he likes rookie Jonathan Brooks.

Brooks was taken in the second round of the NFL Draft as the first running back off the board, and his do-everything potential as a pass catcher in the backfield, as well as a home-run gap finder has been compared to fellow Longhorn Jamaal Charles.

Hubbar represents the Panthers’ short-yardage back, which might make this battle more about Brooks vs. Sanders for the starting job. It’ll be one to watch for sure as camp progresses.

The entire CB2 battle in Philadelphia

Darius Slay is a lock to be CB1 for the Eagles, but the team’s need to get more help in the secondary has led to an absolutely fascinating battle for the CB2 spot. Overnight the Eagles seemingly have more potential options than they need.

The assumption is that James Bradberry will be cut before the season begins, but even then there’s still a multi-way battle between rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, as well as the possibility that someone like Kelee Ringo or Jalyx Hunt could really surprise.

This is absolutely Mitchell’s job to lose, but there’s also a chance the Eagles choose to pivot him to the nickel spot — which has become ubiquitous in the NFL, and hardly a demotion as it used to be seen.

It will be really interesting to see how the camp battle at CB plays out for the Eagles with all their young talent at the position.