Its a never ending cycle of footballs mother nature, with a constant new wave of young talented prospects lining up for their shot at greatness year after year. Meanwhile, the savvy veterans of the league try to maintain the patterns that got them to the point their at in their successful career, while trying to stay a leg up on their newest competition. We continue eDrafts coverage of training camp battles with the NFC North’s new school versus old school competition.
Detroit Lions
Brandon Pettigrew/Joeseph Fauria vs Eric Ebron: Its seems like an obvious one to start the list, but the tight end situation in Detroit is certainly something that will be on full display throughout offseason workouts. The Lions surprised the world when they opted not to address their secondary, but instead grab another skill player on the offensive side of the ball. What made the selection so complicated was the fact that the team already has not one, but two viable tight ends on the roster. Fauria is a young, up and coming player, whose play has his stock headed in the right direction. He has shown the progression to believe he can succeed in the NFL, and surly has to be part of the teams long term plans.
Pettigrew, a former first-round pick, hasn’t lived up to the billing of a top-25 selection, but has been steady and solid throughout his career thus far. Solid enough to earn a contract extension of four-years worth 18 millions dollars, eight-million of that being guaranteed money. So where does Ebron fit in? The ultra-athletic tight end could turn into the chess-piece of the passing game being moved all over the field, while the other two continue to line up in the traditional in-line blocker role.
Green Bay Packers
Andrew Quarles vs Richard Rogers: The people have spoken and they want more tight ends (and cowbell). Andrew Quarles has a big inside track on the rookie Rogers, with his time and familiarity under the Green Bay Packers system, and with the timing and chemistry with Aaron Rodgers. However, the third-round pick from California who was a surprise selection by many, has generated a lot of buzz after just a few handfuls of practice.
Rodgers is a big target with an explosion out of his cuts, and seems to have caught the eye of many, including Aaron Rodgers. This is all a good thing for the rookie tight-end who could form a dangerous Rodgers-to-Rodgers connection if he can baet out Quarles for the starting job. With Aaron a graduate from the same college heres a tip; keep singing that California fight song and A-Rod will keep looking your way.
Minnesota Vikings
Matt Cassel vs Teddy Bridgewater: No matter the situation, when a team selects a quarterback in the first-round, expectations for him to start right away are hotter than deep frier grease at a truck stop. No when expected Bridgewater to fall the way he did on draft day, but the Minnesota Vikings were there to scoop him up when he did. Now, its a two way battle for the position under center, between nine-year veteran Matt Cassel and the Vikings newest rookie signal caller.
Resigning Cassel was one of their biggest priorities during the off-season, mainly to make sure they had a veteran who could soak up Norv Turner’s newest playbook efficiently and didn’t have to learn the nuances of the league. No question Bridgewater is in the Vikings long term plans, but throwing him in the fire too quickly could hinder his confidence, while keeping a guy who could help the team win games now on the bench. Saying that, if Bridgewater shows the mental capacity to run the offense, combined with the play we’ve seen from him on tape, then he will be the best man for the job and should start for the Vikings.
Was that one too obvious? Third-round defensive end Scott Crichton will try to chew his way into the starting rotation behind big bad veterans like Everson Griffen and Brian Robison. The high-motored prospect is sure to show flashes of big-play ability, but can he show the consistency to be an every down player and get to the top of the rotation?
Chicago Bears
Chris Conte vs Brock Vereen : The Chicago Bears secondary was a big weakness for the defense last season, but it was the safety position specifically that hindered the unit. While the team used their first-round pick on stellar cornerback Kyle Fuller, the safety position wasn’t acknowledged until the fourth-round with Brock Vereen. Vereen was quietly regraded as a quality secondary player with experience at inside and outside cornerback, along with both safeties positions.
Gophers head coach Jerry Kill said Vereen was the smartest player he’s ever coached and expects him to have a successful career for the Bears. He’ll have to start by beating out Chris Conte who enters his fourth-year with the Bears and started 14 games last season.