How are you celebrating the start of NFL training camp? One of the ways I like to is by attempting to determine which veterans need a strong summer session to either boost their reputation, beat out a hungry rookie or, maybe, just earn a much-needed bag next offseason.
This list wasn't easy to formulate, because frankly this is the NFL, where about 75% of the league needs to prove itself on a yearly basis. So, there really is an excess of players who could use an impressive camp. I've meticulously narrowed down the list to five veterans.
WR Rashod Batmean (Ravens)
It's become an annual tradition among football analysts -- hype Bateman in the offseason then see the former first-round pick underperform relative to his natural abilities during the regular season. Now, sure, injuries have created roadblocks for Bateman since he was selected by the Ravens in 2021, yet he was fully healthy last season and caught one touchdown. Didn't even reach 35 receptions in Baltimore's newly coordinated offense threw the most passes to date in his NFL career (457).
Bateman is playing on a new deal -- he inked a two-year extension in late April for a mere $12.8 million precisely when the receiver market has exploded -- so this suggestion isn't that he's in danger of being cut at the conclusion of camp.
It's to suggest he could be fighting for a high volume of targets for the last time in Baltimore this season. It's not as if the Ravens revamped the receiver room -- they only used a fourth-round pick on Devontez Walker -- but Mark Andrews begins the season healthy and Zay Flowers enters Year 2 with a full head of steam after an at-times dynamic rookie campaign.
And Bateman's 2025 salary of close to $4M fully guaranteeing next March 18. He'll need to finally prove he was worth the No. 27 overall pick this season, and it all starts for Bateman in camp.
RB A.J. Dillon (Packers)
Dillon has unequivocally trended in the wrong direction since his rookie season, as his yards-per-carry average has dropped from 5.3 in 2020 all the way to 3.4 yards last season, when he should be cruising in the prime of his professional career.
And it's not as if the decreasing yards-per-rush figure was more about the Packers diminishing offensive line over the past three seasons. Both Dillon's yards-after-contact number and forced missed tackle rate have dipped in each of the past three years since his tiny 55-carry sample as a rookie.
Enter Josh Jacobs to a reworked Packers backfield and third-round selection Marshawn Lloyd, who isn't quite as thick and inherently powerful as Dillon but runs with impressive side-to-side wiggle and minimal hesitation hitting the hole. Dillon very well could be playing for a roster spot this summer in Green Bay. In fact, I'd go as far to say that Dillon has to be clearly more efficient in camp and the preseason to sneak onto the initial 53-man before the start of the regular season.
OG Kenyon Green (Texans)
The Texans picked Green in the Top 20 in 2022 and have only seen him on the field for one season, as a serious shoulder injury in the final preseason camp last August ended his second campaign in the NFL before it technically started.
Back to that rookie year -- Green struggled mightily at guard. Dealing with power, pass-rush moves, stunts, acceleration off the line -- you name it. And the Texans are clearly ready for liftoff. With offensive lines being a weak-link system, meaning one liability can sink the entire group, there'll likely be a shorter leash for Green than the average first-round pick from three drafts ago who wasn't able to grow on the field in his second season due to injury.
Plus, the Texans picked Notre Dame's Blake Fisher in the second round in April. I, personally, wasn't the biggest fan of his on film, but that type of investment at Green's position should serve as a clear warning to the former Texas A&M star.
WR Calvin Austin III (Steelers)
The Steelers lately have a stellar history of hitting on non-Round 1 wideouts. You know the names. Austin was a fourth-round selection in 2022 to assert himself as the vertical weapon who'd routinely remove the lid on the opposing defense given his 4.32 speed and 39-inch vertical explosiveness.
A foot injury kept him off the field as a rookie -- those Year 1 injuries are so challenging to overcome -- and, healthy in 2023, he only had 17 catches and didn't even hit 11 yards per grab. And now, the Steelers have third-round pick Roman Wilson on board along with journeyman like Scotty Miller vying for WR3 (and beyond) roles in the new either Russell Wilson-led or Justin Fields-led offense.
Austin will have to demonstrate his blazing speed can translate in a more high-volume role. Austin's size/speed combo make him an ideal gadget option too. Some explosive plays on jet sweeps and reverses would go along way for the former Memphis star to solidify himself in Pittsburgh.
OG Anthony Bradford/Laken Tomlinson (Seahawks)
Choosing both of the penciled-in starters for the Seahawks here, because third-round pick Christian Haynes is coming for one of their jobs. To me, Haynes was the best pure guard in the 2024 draft class -- meaning, he's not a collegiate tackle sliding inside in the pros. His 40-yard dash and vertical were both above the 90th percentile among guards at the combine since 1999 and his film at UConn was squeaky clean.
Bradford was a 2023 selection out of LSU, and is actually younger than Haynes. In his rookie season with the Seahawks, Bradford only showed minor flashes of being ready to deal with NFL defensive linemen on a regular basis. Tomlinson is the consummate pro, he's well into his 30s now and played over 1,000 snaps the past two seasons for the Jets. Those facts about him make me believe Seattle will want him on the roster regardless of how this summer goes.
But the new coaching staff won't shy away from inserting Haynes into the starting lineup if he's one of the five best blockers on the team. So Bradford must demonstrate he's grown, and Tomlinson will want to remind the Seahawks he still has it in the twilight of his career.
