9 NFL Training Camp Battles That Fantasy Football Managers Should Keep an Eye On

Training camps are just around the corner in the NFL, which means fantasy draft season is just around the corner as well. Savvy fantasy managers are well aware that the former can have a major impact on the latter.

All across the NFL, camp competitions could have a major impact on the fantasy value of players. There are pecking orders at running back that need to be sorted out. There are unsettled wide receiver situations that need to be, well, settled. And there are quarterback battles that need to be fought.

That's what we're here to do—examine some of the training camp battles across the NFL, look at who fantasy managers should want to win, and them make a call om who actually will.

What you won't see here is mention of rookie quarterbacks Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers), C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans) or Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts). All three were top-five picks in this year's draft, and the likes of Andy Dalton, Davis Mills and Gardner Minshew aren't going to keep them off the field.

Those battles are over before they ever started.

The Candidates: Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., De'Von Achane

Most of the training camp battles at running back across the league probably won't have a clear winner. The days of one back receiving 350-plus touches and the others fighting for scraps are largely gone. Today's NFL is all about committee attacks.

And right now, there isn't a muddier one than the Miami Dolphins.

The Dolphins were 25th in the league in rushing last year and didn't have a player who had 200 carries. But Miami waited until the third round of the draft to bolster its backfield with the undersized De'Von Achane, who is more gadget player than three-down back.

While speaking to reporters at OTAs, Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill said that he expects the 5'9", 188-pounder to make an immediate impact in Miami.

"Man, he's another special player that we added this year," Hill said. "I'm very excited to see what he brings to this offense. So far, he's been looking really good with his speed and the way he's able to catch the ball out of the backfield. So far, I'm very impressed."

In early drafts (especially in dynasty formats), Achane has been the preferred target of fantasy managers. But Raheem Mostert led the Dolphins in rushing last season, averaging almost five yards per carry.

Mostert is 31, and he has struggled to stay healthy in recent years. But he doesn't have the tread on his tires of most backs his age. He also happens to be one of the fastest backs in the league.

If the Dolphins don't add a player like Dalvin Cook, there's likely going to need to be an injury or Achane will have to amaze in camp. Otherwise, we're headed for a full-blown committee in Miami, and Achane could be hard-pressed to get enough snaps to justify his ADP.

Who Managers Should Want to Win the Battle: In a perfect world, Achane would be become a three-down back in a high-octane offense and challenge to be the highest-scoring rookie running back.

Who Will Win the Battle? Barring an injury, Mostert will get the early-down work, while Achane will rotate in on passing downs. Wilson's only real shot at fantasy relevance would lie in earning the goal-line carries, but the smart money should be on Mostert being the best fantasy value of the lot.

The Candidates: Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery

Last year, the Detroit Lions were a respectable 11th in the league in rushing. But head coach Dan Campbell clearly wasn't happy with that, because the Lions gutted their backfield in the offseason.

First, the Lions replaced Jamaal Williams (who led the league in rushing scores last season) with David Montgomery on a three-year, $18 million contract. Then, the Lions used the 12th overall pick on Alabama's Jahmyr Gibbs before shipping D'Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2025 fourth-round pick and a 2023 seventh-round pick swap.

While speaking to reporters, Montgomery said he expects to form an even more dynamic lightning-and-thunder duo with Gibbs than Williams and Swift were for the Lions in 2022.

"I think me and Jah will be electric together," Montgomery said, via the Detroit Free Press. "He's already like an electric player. I don't mind going in there and getting the (tough) yards, but I see myself as a large asset as well. So, putting us two together and defenses having to prepare for the both of us, that'll be hard to do."

However, fantasy managers appear to clearly be favoring the youngster. According to early ADP data at FantasyPros, Gibbs is coming off draft boards over three full rounds before Montgomery, despite the latter's nominal status (at least for now) as Detroit's No. 1 back.

Who Managers Should Want to Win the Battle: Gibbs. He's a more dynamic and electric player who demonstrated a three-down skill set at Alabama. Were he to get 70-plus percent of the backfield touches, Gibbs has legitimate RB1 upside.

Who Will Win the Battle? The thing is, Gibbs may not see 50 percent of the touches. Montgomery is a talented back in his own right with over 1,000 total yards in all four of his NFL seasons. Unless Gibbs is amazing in camp or Montgomery faceplants, this looks headed for a committee where Montgomery gets the majority of the carries, Gibbs gets most of the RB targets and the gap between the two in PPR points is close.

The Candidates: Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Richie James, Rashee Rice

Where most fantasy managers appear to be concerned, this is less a battle than a coronation. After two seasons of occasional flashes, this is the year that Kadarius Toney finally becomes a star.

The hype hasn't just come from fantasy circles, either. While talking to reporters, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he's excited to see what Toney can do with a full offseason in Kansas City under his belt.

"You saw the upside last year with how special of a talent he can be," Mahomes said. "To have him working with Coach Reid and how we practice in training camp, I think he'll have his body in the best shape he can possibly be in to be healthy all season long."

But Toney has all of two touchdowns and 15 missed games over two up-and-down years with the New York Giants and Chiefs. Valdes-Scantling has played five seasons and has never cracked 700 receiving yards. Moore was all kinds of inconsistent as a rookie. And while Rice showed considerable upside at SMU, he's yet another young wideout who has struggled to put it all together consistently.

Then there's Richie James, another ex-Giant. Like most of the Chiefs wideout corps, James hasn't accomplished much to date in the NFL. But he did at least finish his last season in New York with two solid outings over the last three regular-season games.

This is a battle in the truest sense. Anyone who says they know who will win should either be buying Powerball tickets or trying to be more honest.

Who Managers Should Want to Win the Battle: Rice. Most will say Toney here, but between his injury history and continued feud with his old team, it's hard to be confident in a breakout. Rice is an unknown, but he's an unknown with considerable talent.

Who Will Win the Battle? You mean besides Travis Kelce, who should dominate Kansas City's target share? Probably Valdes-Scantling. There are just too many questions surrounding the other wide receivers in Kansas City. At any rate, this will likely be a situation where the ball gets spread around a lot. The odds any Chiefs wideout matches JuJu Smith-Schuster's WR27 finish in PPR points from a year ago aren't good.

The Candidates: Baker Mayfield, Kyle Trask

Either Kyle Trask or Baker Mayfield will have the most unenviable job in the NFL in 2023: replacing Tom Brady as quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Most pundits seem inclined to believe that despite playing for three teams in the past two years, Mayfield's experience affords him an edge in this competition. Mayfield credited last season's stint with the Los Angeles Rams for jump-starting his floundering career, per Belle Fraser of the New York Post.

"I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. It was the first time I had fun playing football in a few years," Mayfield said. "It brought that feeling of having that success and really remembering what it was all about, Kind of hit the reset button for me."

However, Trask made it clear to reporters that he has no intention of just giving the job away. He said he's becoming more and more comfortable in new coordinator Dave Canales' offense.

"I think just with the reps you get, your brain is getting more wired every single day with the concepts and where your eyes need to be," Trask said. "The progress is coming along little by little every day and I'm feeling very comfortable grabbing the gist of the offense. It's been such a huge leap for me, in my opinion, just to get all of the concepts down and playing with more confidence."

Who Managers Should Want to Win the Battle: Honestly? For fantasy purposes, Trask might be the better option. Mayfield has never been a top-20 quarterback in fantasy points per game, and wide receivers like Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. didn't exactly thrive with Mayfield at quarterback.

Who Will Win the Battle? Mayfield. Unless he completely falls apart in camp, his experience is going to win out here. Mayfield has 69 career starts, while Trask has nine NFL pass attempts.

The Candidates: Khalil Herbert, D'Onta Foreman, Roschon Johnson

For a short time, it appeared that Khalil Herbert was going to get his moment in the spotlight. After David Montgomery signed with the Lions in free agency, Herbert seemed poised to be the Chicago Bears' unquestioned lead running back.

That didn't last long. The Bears signed veteran running back D'Onta Foreman soon after Montgomery split, and he said at his introductory presser that he didn't come to the Windy City to play second fiddle to anyone.

"I can't really speak for the coaches and the plan that they have," Foreman said. "I came here to try to be the guy. I think if I didn't come here with that mentality, I would be doing myself a disservice. I think I would be doing the team a disservice."

The Bears also drafted Texas running back Roschon Johnson in the fourth round of the 2023 draft, but this appears to essentially be a two-back race between two players with similar skill sets in Herbert and Foreman.

Who Managers Should Want to Win the Battle: Herbert is the more dynamic runner of the two, averaging a robust 5.7 yards per tote on his 129 carries last season. He has also been the better receiver out of the backfield, although neither back has much of a track record as a pass-catcher.

Who Will Win the Battle? Unless someone gets hurt, no one. Bears general manager Ryan Poles has already indicated that the team plans to use a committee in the backfield. Assuming he stays healthy, Herbert is a good bet to lead Chicago backs in touches, but Foreman is going to get a sizable slice of the pie as well, with Johnson getting a scrap here and there to give Herbert and Foreman a breather.

The Candidates: Rashaad Penny, D'Andre Swift, Kenneth Gainwell

You thought we were done with nightmare fantasy backfields? Sadly, we are not.

Last year, Miles Sanders became the first Philadelphia Eagles running back since LeSean McCoy in 2014 to top 1,000 rushing yards in a season. But then Sanders left for the Carolina Panthers in free agency, throwing the Philly backfield into flux again.

At first, it appeared that Rashaad Penny might get a second chance to show he could be a featured back in the NFL after the Eagles signed the 2018 first-round pick. But during the 2023 draft, the Eagles also swung a deal for Swift, muddying the waters again.

As if that wasn't enough, NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal wrote that holdover Kenneth Gainwell could actually lead the backfield in touches this season.

"The Eagles will likely rotate Rashaad Penny, D'Andre Swift and Kenneth Gainwell in the backfield in an effort to keep them all healthy," he said. "Don't discount Gainwell winding up with the most touches. He's an ascending player who led the team's running backs in snaps in the Super Bowl and is the only one of the trio signed past 2023."

Who Managers Should Want to Win the Battle: Over the final five weeks of the 2021 season, no running back posted more PPR points than Penny. The idea of a healthy Penny tallying 200 carries behind Philly's elite O-line is a dream scenario for fantasy managers. There would be legitimate top-five fantasy upside there.

Who Will Win the Battle? Of course, if frogs had wings, they wouldn't bump their butts when they hop. Penny has been unable to stay healthy, having missed 32 games over the past three seasons alone. This may well start as a three-man committee, but at some point, it's probably going to be Swift and Gainwell splitting touches. The former is substantially more expensive in fantasy drafts, but that may well be managers chasing the flashes of potential Swift showed in Detroit.

The Candidates: Donovan Peoples-Jones, Elijah Moore, David Bell, Marquise Goodwin

There's no question that Amari Cooper is the Cleveland Browns' No. 1 wide receiver. But after that, the pecking order in the receiving corps quickly clouds.

It's a pretty safe bet that Donovan Peoples-Jones will earn a starting spot outside after setting career highs in receptions (61) and yards (839) last season. Youngster David Bell was a non-factor as a rookie last year, hauling in only 24 passes. There are also two new faces in town in veteran Marquise Goodwin and third-year pro Elijah Moore, who flashed as a rookie before falling out of favor with the New York Jets.

Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said the Browns view Moore as an offensive weapon who can be deployed all over the field.

"He has great flexibility, inside and outside flexibility," Van Pelt said, via the Akron Beacon Journal. "He can run individual routes outside and win out there. He can come into the slot and has the twitch to win in the slot as well. He has excellent hands and a good feel for the game. So really a complete receiver that can play both inside and out."

Who Managers Should Want to Win the Battle: Moore. Peoples-Jones' WR39 PPR finish last season was all but certainly his ceiling. Bell didn't show anything last year to indicate that he's going to be a fantasy factor any time soon. And while Goodwin is a capable veteran wideout, his career high in receiving yards (962) came all the way back in 2017.

Who Will Win the Battle? Moore. From Week 7 to Week 12 in 2021, no wide receiver in the AFC tallied more PPR fantasy points than Moore, even though he was on a Jets team not exactly known for stellar quarterback play. With that said, Moore's ADP of WR44 at FantasyPros suggests most fantasy drafters appear to be on board with him as Cleveland's No. 2 wideout. That robs him of much of his fantasy value.

The Candidates: Dameon Pierce, Devin Singletary

In the opinion of most fantasy managers, this "battle" is over. After amassing 939 rushing yards and finishing 27th in PPR points last year, Dameon Pierce has an ADP of RB22 at FantasyPros. However, the Texans did add to the backfield this offseason by signing former Bills running back Devin Singletary, and he isn't going to cede the title of lead back to Pierce without a fight.

"The biggest thing for us is we're going to be feeding off of each other's energy," Singletary told reporters. "Of course, it's a game, it's competition. You've always got to compete, but it's going to be a healthy competition. Making each other better, pushing yourself to each other's best—getting the best out of each other. So, I think that's going to be big."

Down the stretch last year, Pierce was one of the most heavily used backs in the entire NFL. But with a proven veteran back in town in Singletary, Pierce's share of the backfield touches will all but certainly decrease in 2023.

Who Managers Should Want to Win the Battle: For the sake of everyone who already drafted him, we'll say Pierce. But it's worth noting that not only is Singletary a better receiver out of the backfield than Pierce, but he's also one of the NFL's better pass protectors at his position. Oh, and he surpassed 1,000 total yards each of the last two years and averaged more yards per carry (4.6) last season than Pierce (4.3).

Who Will Win the Battle? Unfortunately, this is another situation that appears headed for a full-blown committee, with Pierce the early-down banger and Singletary the passing-down back. The $64,000 question will be which back earns goal-line looks, although given how bad the Texans will likely be this season, there may not be that many of those. That's the bigger issue with Pierce—an early-down back for a team that will regularly face negative game scripts just isn't a good situation. That makes it a bad idea to draft Pierce as a RB2.

The Candidates: Isaiah Hodgins, Darius Slayton, Parris Campbell, Sterling Shepard, Wan'Dale Robinson, Jalin Hyatt

Most pundits expected the New York Giants to be one of the NFL's more aggressive teams in attempting to upgrade at wide receiver in the offseason. The Giants did add a veteran in Parris Campbell, traded for tight end Darren Waller and drafted rookie speedster Jalin Hyatt, but it's not like Big Blue overhauled the position.

That begs the question which (if any) of those wideouts will emerge as Daniel Jones' favorite target. Late in the 2022 season, it was Hodgins, who had a pair of eight-catch games with a score late in the season. Campbell is coming off career highs in catches (63) and yards (623) with the Colts last year. Slayton and Shepard have had their moments, but they have also struggled to stay on the field.

It's a wide-open competition with no clear-cut favorite.

Who Managers Should Want to Win the Battle: Fantasy managers want someone to emerge as a clear No. 1, if only because targets spread all over the 26th-ranked passing attack doesn't make much of a fantasy impact. From Week 15 to Week 17 last year, Hodgins was 16th in PPR points among wideouts. He then caught eight passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in the Giants' playoff win over Minnesota. He seemed to have a rapport with Jones, and that's enough to make him the fantasy favorite.

Who Will Win the Battle? There isn't likely to be a true "winner" here, and if Waller can stay healthy this year, he could easily lead New York's pass-catchers in most statistical categories. But Hodgins is a complete afterthought in fantasy drafts so far this summer, with an ADP of WR71 at FantasyPros. Given his late surge last year, Hodgins is worth a late dart throw.