Seven cities. Seven NFL training camps. Eight teams. Driving enough to become one with the road.
Welcome to the life of an NFL reporter in summertime.
Based in Chicago, I visited the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, with the Arizona Cardinals making an appearance in Indiana for a joint practice.
Matt Verderame’s camp reports: Packers | Vikings | Chiefs | Lions | Bengals | Colts | Bears
For each, I wrote camp reports, but there’s always more going on than can fit into a single piece. So below I emptied my notebook to give you the stories that need to be told before the season.
For the Vikings, spiritual undertones are everywhere
It’s impossible to forget about Khyree Jackson in Minnesota. Jackson, the fourth-round rookie cornerback who was tragically killed in an auto accident in July, is constantly on the minds around the Vikings’ facility in Eagan.
Before and after every training camp practice, former Alabama teammate and fellow rookie Dallas Turner stops at the logo painted on the field in Jackson’s honor. On each trip, he kneels and prays.
“I go to the logo to represent my dawg Khyree Jackson,” Turner says. “I just go there and pray, pray to God first and then just go and talk to him, stuff like that. Get the energy back.”
While he doesn’t have the same ritual as Turner, safety Josh Metellus also has Jackson in his heart. When Jackson’s name was mentioned during our interview, he genuflected and looked to the heavens.
Moving forward, this is going to be a year of growth in Minnesota. With promising rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy out for the season with a torn meniscus, the focus won’t be under center but all around that position. Is the interior offensive line coming together? Is the defense continuing to improve under second-year coordinator Brian Flores? Are there building blocks in the secondary?
If Minnesota can use this season to figure a few things out, it’s a long-term victory and sets up McCarthy for success in his second year with a solid understanding of the playbook.
In Green Bay, nobody is more important than DC Jeff Hafley
Jordan Love and Matt LaFleur are a top-five quarterback-coach combo. But that’s not enough to win the Super Bowl. They also need a quality defense.
Last season, the defense struggled under coordinator Joe Barry, ranking T-20th in yards per play allowed, 17th in yards after catch permitted and 25th on third down. This led to a change, with Jeff Hafley coming over from Boston College.
Hafley has a style more exotic than Barry, who routinely played off-man coverage, allowing for easy yardage underneath. With Hafley, the Packers will run through a larger Rolodex of looks and disguises, creating more headaches.
Offensively, Green Bay looks excellent, with the only real concern being the interior of the line. The Packers could rely on rookie Jordan Morgan, who is being converted from tackle to guard after being drafted in the first round from Arizona.
With a hoard of weapons at Love and LaFleur’s disposal, the Packers will score. But they need a defense that can create a few turnovers, shorten a few drives and contribute a bit more to the cause.
The Chiefs did it again, loading up in the draft
Every dynasty in pro football history has built through the draft, and the Chiefs are no different.
Of their 25 projected starters for Week 1 (special teams included), 19 are draft picks. And it appears Kansas City general manager Brett Veach has another excellent class on his hands, led by the trio of wide receiver Xavier Worthy, left tackle Kingsley Suamataia and safety Jaden Hicks.
Worthy has been electrifying throughout camp and the preseason, showing off 4.2 speed to go with crisp routes. Hicks is a hitter on the back end at 6'1" and 215 pounds, and Suamataia has shown good feet and a strong base.
Of course, none of them have played a meaningful down in the NFL yet. But Worthy and Suamataia are going to start, and Hicks will be the third safety in coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme. All will have a significant impact.
While most teams would have concerns about that many rookies playing key roles on a championship-caliber squad, the Chiefs embrace it, knowing where youngsters have gotten them in the past.
It’s time for the Lions to break thought, but the secondary …
The last time we saw the Lions, they were leading by 17 points in the third quarter of the NFC championship game. Then the bottom fell out.
Seeing Detroit in person this summer, the talent is overwhelming. The Lions have the league’s best offensive line, a top-10 quarterback in Jared Goff, a quartet of weapons in running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Lions score 30 points per game behind offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
The only real question is the secondary, which for a second consecutive year has been revamped. This offseason, GM Brad Holmes traded for corner Carlton Davis III and then drafted Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the first two rounds. Arnold will be expected to start immediately alongside Davis on the perimeter, while do-it-all defensive back Brian Branch will play slot and safety.
Detroit has an argument as the league’s most talented team, something Lions fans have dreamt of for decades. Now it’s time to take the next step—advancing to their first Super Bowl.
The Bengals have a healthy Joe Burrow, but they need Ja’Marr Chase
Cincinnati has a classic good-news, bad-news situation.
The good? Burrow is back and he looks great after a serious elbow injury last season. The bad? Chase wants a new, very expensive contract, and the Bengals are largely allergic to guaranteed money.
Throughout the summer, Burrow has been terrific, but he’s been hampered by having Tee Higgins and little else in the way of real weapons.
Cincinnati lost veteran slot receiver Tyler Boyd in free agency to the Tennessee Titans (and former OC Brian Callahan, who has the head job in Nashville), with that spot taken over by second-year man Andrei Iosivas. While Iosivas has his fans inside the organization, he also caught only 15 passes for 116 yards last year, playing just 26% of offensive snaps.
If Chase’s holdout goes into the season, Cincinnati will have problems. The Bengals don’t have Boyd or running back Joe Mixon anymore, so opponents will be able to sit on Higgins and play single coverage everywhere else.
And don’t think Chase will automatically refuse to miss a game check. His base salary is only $1.055 million this season. Missing a few weeks is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Oh, and the Bengals visit the Chiefs come Week 2.
Still, Chase must understand this isn’t going to force owner Mike Brown’s hand. Nobody is tighter with guaranteed money. Just ask Higgins and defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who both demanded trades this offseason.
Are Shane Steichen and Anthony Richardson the new power couple?
Indianapolis thought it was getting off the ground last year when it selected quarterback Anthony Richardson in the first round, only to see him lost for the year with a shoulder injury after four starts.
Now, with Richardson healthy and the Colts having signed running back Jonathan Taylor and receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to long-term deals, everything is in place to make a run at the Houston Texans in the AFC South.
Watching the offense, it’s clear Steichen has his imprint deep on this group. The Colts run a ton of motion and create easy yardage, both with movement in the run game and utilizing spacing to get high-percentage throws.
Despite being without their starting quarterback for 13 games last season, the Colts finished 14th in yards per play and 10th in points. Factor in Richardson’s return and the addition of second-round receiver Adonai Mitchell, and Indy has reason to believe it could be an elite offense.
While everyone is high on the Texans in the division, and rightfully so, the Colts could spoil the party.
The Cardinals will score, and they’re going to need to
In Westfield, Ind., the Cardinals visited the Colts for a pair of joint practices, the first of which I attended. For both teams, the offensive firepower is there. So are the concerns on defense.
But while Indianapolis’s defensive issues are more confined to the secondary, Arizona’s are across all three levels.
Still, let’s focus on the offense. If Kyler Murray can stay upright for 17 games, Arizona is going to score some points. Despite his shortcomings, Murray is a dynamic, versatile threat who often takes a defender out of coverage because they have to watch him.
On the perimeter, coach Jonathan Gannon has a nice group of young receivers, headlined by rookie first-rounder Marvin Harrison Jr. and second-year man Michael Wilson, who caught 38 passes for 565 yards and three touchdowns in 2023. Then there’s Trey McBride, a former second-round pick who broke out during the latter half of last season. In the Cardinals’ final 10 games, McBride had 66 receptions and 655 yards with three scores.
Caleb Williams is the savior, but only if he remains upright
The Bears are going to be explosive, and they’re going to be a totally different version then we’ve seen from this defense-first (second and third), ground-and-pound franchise.
But that’s only true if Williams has time to deliver the ball.
Watching the Bears for both OTAs and training camp, Williams has the talent. He can throw the ball to any spot on the field from almost any platform. He’s mobile enough, smart and has a rocket for a right arm. He’s ready to light the league on fire.
Still, Chicago has major questions offensively even after adding receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze to pair with DJ Moore. The tackles are 2023 first-round pick Darnell Wright and veteran Braxton Jones, but the real concern is inside. While Teven Jenkins is the left guard, there are competitions at right guard and center.
Although Nate Davis was signed to be a star guard before last season, injuries and lackluster play have brought his spot into question. At center, Coleman Shelton has the best shot, coming over from the Los Angeles Rams after starting 29 games over the past two seasons.
Williams has a chance to make Chicago a must-watch playoff team, but that line must hold up.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NFL Training Camp Tour 2024: What We Learned About Eight Midwest Teams.
