Highlighting the Best Rookie vs. Vet Battles in NFL Training Camps

The NFL is nothing at all like the workplace normal everyday people know, and that's a good thing.

Imagine a strange world in which each spring there's a nationally televised event when your potential replacement is not only selected but also paraded around. He's interviewed, shakes hands with the company president and is even given a uniform right away.

As all that happens, you're at home watching and perhaps munching on Cheetos. So immediately you drift to the kitchen for more comfort food. So much more.

Junk consumption aside, that likely describes how veteran players experience the NFL draft, especially the first few rounds. They're aware of how roster shuffling works and their non-existent job security in a league without guaranteed contracts. But they're still humans, and watching a live-television spectacle that spotlights your possible replacement can't be too pleasant.

It surely wasn't for Cleveland Browns nose tackle Phil Taylor, who will now be on the wrong side of a training-camp battle with Danny Shelton (see above) because of talent, recent injuries and salary-cap realities.

And it wasn't for tight end Mychal Rivera, whose snaps could decrease after the Oakland Raiders took Clive Walford as the second tight end off the board.

Whether it's fighting to get a job, keep a job or earn an increased role, the clawing between rookies and veterans is beginning now as training camps open.

Let's take a look at 10 such battles that could alter rosters in 2015.

Trae Waynes vs. Terence Newman

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Minnesota Vikings cornerback Terence Newman will blow out 37 candles on his birthday cake just prior to the 2015 season. We can only assume Newman’s birthday treat will be just as, um, creative as San Diego Chargers wide receiver Stevie Johnson’s NSFW cake in 2011.

Normally needing that many candles while celebrating your birth would be a disadvantage to a veteran like Newman after his team just invested a first-round pick in Trae Waynes. Any first-round pick is viewed as a future cornerstone at his position. That's especially true when the prospect in question came off the board at 11th overall and easily checks off the size requirements to excel while playing a physical press-coverage style (Waynes is 6’0” and 186 lbs).

But experience and familiarity are valued assets, too. Or in Newman’s case, they’re his most important selling features and why he’ll likely be a Week 1 starter ahead of Waynes.

Newman fits the classic definition of a bridge signing, and the Vikings signed him to a one-year contract this offseason worth $2.5 million. They did that back in March, and at the time they surely knew another cornerback would be targeted early during the draft.

Newman’s role is now to provide temporary veteran comfort in a system he knows well. Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer’s previous career stops include lengthy defensive coordinator stints with the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals, and Newman spent time on both of those rosters.

Aging often means slowing; that’s how time generally works as an athlete. However, Newman was still solid in coverage during the 2014 season while allowing an opposing passer rating of 79.8, per Pro Football Focus. That leads to trust, and when trust is combined with familiarity, coaches start to feel warm and fuzzy.

Job security is a fleeting and usually imaginary thing in the coaching profession. That is partly why Newman worked with the Vikings’ first-team defense during the offseason alongside Xavier Rhodes. Aside from the cozy feeling he gives the head coach, Zimmer’s other motivation with Newman lies in development and wanting to make sure Waynes—his future shutdown corner (ideally and hopefully)—is given the time he needs to become a multifaceted presence.

Throughout the offseason, Minnesota has been bombarding Waynes with new concepts in an effort to groom him as a well-rounded cornerback who can play both in the slot and outside.

“We’re asking him to do a lot at different positions,” Zimmer told Andrew Krammer of 1500ESPN.com. ... “I think he’s starting to understand things better.”

If that understanding is just beginning now—as it is for most rookies who are trying to mentally devour an NFL playbook—then Waynes likely won’t be ready to start by Week 1. That is why Newman was signed as a reliable, if not spectacular, veteran safety net.

La’el Collins vs. Ronald Leary

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La’el Collins’ draft experience was, in a word, interesting. First he was expecting to hear his name during the first round. Then he didn’t hear it during any round.

Collins went undrafted after Louisiana police wanted to speak to him—he wasn't a person of interest or a suspect—following the shooting death of a pregnant woman he knew. Collins was interviewed by police after the draft, and once the character red flags were sufficiently removed, the Dallas Cowboys signed him as an undrafted free agent.

The Cowboys struck gold by paying NFL pennies for a first-round talent. Collins, meanwhile, lost a whole lot of gold.

But there’s another rainbow for him to follow toward a shiny reward, as Collins now has a shot at the starting left guard job. That will mean unseating Ronald Leary—a fine run-blocker on an offensive line that has plenty of those—who has often struggled in pass protection.

In 2014, Leary allowed 27 total pressures, which slotted him 54th out of the 77 guards who played at least 25 percent of their team’s snaps, per PFF. Yet, Todd Archer, the Cowboys beat writer for ESPN, thinks ultimately Leary will prevail.

“He’s better than people think,” Archer wrote. “He can move well enough, and he’s strong.”

Leary is indeed mobile and strong, qualities that make him an efficient run-blocker. Continuity along the offensive line often wins, which gives the 26-year-old another advantage after starting 31 of a possible 32 regular-season games over the past two years.

Tyler Lockett vs. Doug Baldwin

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Some training-camp battles are for employment, and they end with the loser seeking a job elsewhere. Their next NFL outpost could only have an Applebee’s as the primary source of entertainment.

Other battles are for a role, which is common on the offensive side of the ball, with wide receivers, running backs and tight ends trying to earn their share of touches. That brings us to Seattle Seahawks rookie wideout Tyler Lockett and his effort to steal targets from someone.

The Seahawks invested heavily in Lockett’s services, trading four picks to the Washington Redskins before selecting him in the third round at No. 69 overall. Immediately, the 5'10" and 182-pound speed merchant was viewed as a solution for what ails the Seahawks in the return game. During the 2014 season, they ranked 30th in kick-return average (21.0 yards) and 25th in punt-return average (7.0 yards).

Lockett’s grass-sizzling explosiveness can quickly fix that return problem. Powered by his 4.40 speed in the 40-yard dash—which ranked eighth overall at the scouting combine—he averaged 28.5 yards per kick return over his four years at Kansas State and a whopping 19.1 yards per punt return.

But he also left Kansas State as the all-time leading receiver with 3,710 yards through the air. His returner speed translates well offensively when Lockett is put in space. He quickly showcased those skills during offseason workouts and has impressed important people who make team decisions.

“He’s just a real savvy route-runner,” general manager John Schneider said during a press conference (via Seahawks.com). “He’s got a great feel for the zone and sitting down.”

Lockett gained 3.64 yards per route run during his final season at Kansas State, per PFF's College Football Focus, which ranked third among all draft-eligible wide receivers. He could force himself onto the field with that burst, and amid a crowded receiver depth chart, Doug Baldwin may find himself sacrificing some targets.

Baldwin spent 57.6 percent of his snaps lined up as the slot receiver in 2014, per PFF. That’s why as the prototypical shifty speed option in the open field, Lockett will be Baldwin’s backup initially. But if he impresses during training camp, the diminutive receiver could earn a chunk of the slot work.

Tevin Coleman vs. Devonta Freeman

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Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman meets the minimum definition for veteran status. After one NFL season, he gets the veteran label only because he’s not a rookie, and those two titles often represent the only divide as position battles begin.

Right now, Freeman is atop Atlanta’s running back depth chart, but maybe it's only by default.

Freeman comes in a small package, and his stature (5’8” and 206 lbs) leaves questions about an ability to handle a heavy workload. But he has breakaway speed and showed it in 2014 by notching five 15-plus-yard runs on 65 attempts, per PFF.

Freeman will have a role in new Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s zone-blocking scheme—a scheme that’s made Steve Slaton, Alfred Morris, Isaiah Crowell and Terrance West robo-runners. It just might not be the main one.

That could quickly go to Tevin Coleman, who has the ideal running style to function as a one-cut back who can find the crease and plow through to the second level with ease.

The Falcons selected Coleman in the third round to address a rushing offense that averaged only 93.6 yards per game in 2014. While Freeman and Steven Jackson were staggering to that average, Coleman was at Indiana and chugging toward being the nation’s second-best rusher (2,036 yards).

There’s plenty of work to go around and plenty of "hungry" running backs to feed in a Shanahan offense. He showed that during his lone season with the Cleveland Browns when both West and Crowell finished with 600-plus rushing yards.

It’s a matter of who will lead that attack and how roles will be defined. Falcons head coach Dan Quinn told SiriusXM NFL Radio that Freeman and Coleman are “absolutely battling” for the top spot (via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com). Both will likely be key contributors through different paths.

Coleman’s workhorse background could give him the larger slice of Shanahan’s backfield pie after he was given 270 carries to finish off his college football career, and Freeman’s effectiveness as a pass-catcher will lead to more passing-down opportunities.

Clive Walford vs. Mychal Rivera

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Oakland Raiders tight end Mychal Rivera now has a few hurdles to clear as he tries to both move up the NFL ranks at his position and become the first Rivera you think of in his immediate family.

The latter mission probably won't be successful, and the former also just became more difficult because of depth-chart competition after the Raiders selected Clive Walford in April. They thought highly enough of Walford to invest an early third-round pick, making him the second tight end off the board.

So as he develops, Walford could be a complementary piece alongside Rivera, but that might not last long if the position's incumbent keeps doing little with his opportunities.

Rivera was inconsistent during his second NFL season, to put it politely. That also summarizes the entire Raiders offense, but Rivera’s ride was particularly wild. He didn’t top 35 receiving yards in a game until Week 8, and in total he posted 10 games at or below that mark.

Overall, his receiving production increased from 407 yards during the former sixth-round pick’s rookie season, to 534 yards in 2014. But just over 20 percent of his 2014 yardage came in one outlier game (109 yards in Week 14 against the San Francisco 49ers).

He can’t blame a lack of footballs sailing in his direction either. Rivera was targeted 91 times in 2014, and that volume ranked tied for seventh among all tight ends, per PFF. The Raiders went to Rivera often and simply weren’t getting much in return. It was mostly because of his 62.6 percent catch rate that slotted him all the way down to 29th among the 35 tight ends who were on the field for at least half of their team’s snaps, again per PFF.

Enter Walford, who finished with 676 receiving yards and seven touchdowns during his final year with the Miami Hurricanes. During the predraft-evaluation process, he was compared to the Colts’ Dwayne Allen due to impressive speed at his size, which makes Walford a threat down the seam. He posted the fourth-fastest 40-yard dash time at his position during the scouting combine (4.79).

NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein praised Walford’s comfort in traffic and his ability to create his own gains. “He has the physical build and enough quickness to threaten the seam,” Zierlein wrote when assessing the 6’4”, 251-pound 23-year-old. “He turns his head and locates the ball quickly and can make contested catches.”

In his starting lineup projection just prior to training camp, ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson echoed those glowing words, saying Walford’s blend of size and speed will earn him the starting job. “The third-round pick beats out Mychal Rivera because of his field-stretching ability,” Williamson wrote.

The Raiders offense needs to round a corner after averaging a lowly, sputtering 282.2 yards per game in 2014 (32nd). The quickest way to do that? Putting your best playmakers on the field as often as possible.

At tight end, it could soon become clear Walford is the far superior option.

Danny Shelton vs. Phil Taylor

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In 2011, Phil Taylor was basically Danny Shelton, just the version from four years ago.

Like Shelton, Taylor is a mountainous nose tackle. The Cleveland Browns selected him in the first round because of his ability to both extinguish the run and penetrate the pocket as a pass-rusher. But those skills didn’t really materialize at the next level, and now the actual Shelton—the 2015 version and the one who was drafted 12th overall—is threatening to make the old model obsolete.

During Taylor’s rookie season, the Browns still fielded a run defense that was about as imposing as Vincent Adultman closing a business deal. They ranked 30th while allowing 147.4 rushing yards per game. Fast-forward to current times and little progress has been made: The Browns’ run defense ranked dead last in 2015 while surrendering 141.6 yards per game and 4.5 per attempt.

Of course, not all of that is on Taylor’s shoulders. In fact, recently very little of it can be linked directly to him, which is the problem. Over his four NFL seasons, Taylor has missed 20 games, including 11 in 2015. He struggled through knee problems and needed two surgeries, the second of which ended his season in November.

So here’s what that leaves the Browns with: two similarly skilled and built players at the same position, yet one is constantly broken and costs a whole lot more.

Taylor is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is due to be paid nearly $5.5 million in 2015. That is, of course, in a different stratosphere than what Shelton will earn in the first year of his own rookie deal ($435,000 base salary).

The gap there puts Taylor firmly on the roster bubble. He’ll become a redundant piece fast if Shelton proves during training camp that his power used to collect 16.5 tackles for a loss in 2014 for the Washington Huskies will also make him a dominant interior lineman at the next level.

Andrus Peat vs. Zach Strief

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The New Orleans Saints offense has always been centered around a certain kind of power. Mostly, it's the kind that peppers you with football bullets from quarterback Drew Brees' arm. They’ve attempt 650-plus pass attempts in each of the past three seasons, an exceedingly high volume that’s pretty standard when you employ Brees and tight end Jimmy Graham.

But now Graham is gone, and that pass-heavy approach likely is, too.

The Saints traded him to the Seattle Seahawks and received center Max Unger in return along with a first-round pick. Then later during free agency, they retained running back Mark Ingram and added C.J. Spiller to round out a dynamic backfield while shifting the focus of their offensive power.

Also part of that shift was selecting Andrus Peat with one of their two first-round picks, and now the towering 6’7” tackle has an assignment: move Zach Strief down the depth chart.

During the rookie symposium in late June, Peat said throughout this offseason he’s worked almost exclusively behind Strief at right tackle (via Kevin Patra of NFL.com) and hasn’t shuffled inside. That signals the Saints are comfortable with their guard tandem—Tim Lelito and Jahri Evans.

It also tells Peat that right tackle is his only path to immediate playing time. That’s a short-term problem, because right tackles aren’t drafted 13th overall. After some grooming, Peat will move to the left side, likely once current left tackle Terron Armstead’s contract expires following the 2016 season.

Strief is 31 years old and will eventually lose his battle against both Peat and time. It’s just a matter of when, and it’s hard to see that happening right away.

Peat missed the first two weeks of OTAs while waiting for Stanford’s academic year to end (standard procedure under NFL rules). That’s already presented him with an uphill battle against a tackle who was reliably steady in 2014 and allowed only three sacks.

Peat’s time will come in an offense centered around his run-blocking strength and agility. He just might have to wait until 2016.

Cameron Erving vs. John Greco

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The Browns are always interesting, but it's often for the wrong reasons. Recently, their oddness has involved an inflatable swan and sideline texting.

But during the 2015 draft, what seemed like more interesting oddness actually made some long-term sense. With their second of two first-round picks, they called Cameron Erving’s name. He’s a natural center, and Cleveland already has one: Alex Mack.

Securing Erving early in the draft was a move for 2016, however, because that’s when Mack can opt out of his contract to become a free agent. So by extension, that’s when Erving will be needed as a center and not a guard, which is where his NFL career will probably begin.

Erving has had information funneled into his football brain all offseason, with the Browns giving him exposure at three different positions: center, guard and tackle. But offensive coordinator John DeFilippo told Tom Reed of Northeast Ohio Media Group that Erving will likely focus on becoming a technically sound guard during training camp and competing for snaps with John Greco.

Winning playing time ahead of Greco after an offseason of being shuffled throughout the offensive line will be a tough fight. Greco is entering his fifth season with the Browns, and at 30 years old, he may soon enter his decline phase. But he’s not there yet. In 2014, he allowed only two sacks and 20 total pressures while starting all 16 games, per PFF.

Erving will provide critical offensive line depth with his developing versatility, and long term he’ll slide right in if/when Mack moves on. He’ll be a rock somewhere soon, just maybe not Week 1.

Bud Dupree vs. Arthur Moats

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After beginning his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers at right outside linebacker during offseason training, Bud Dupree has since slid over to the left side, according to Alex Marvez of Fox Sports.

That’s where he’ll compete for snaps and a starting job against Arthur Moats. That means the Steelers have a few questions to ponder.

Is pocket pressure the greater priority? Pittsburgh recorded only 33 sacks in 2014 (26th) and lost outside linebacker Jason Worilds to retirement. That's why general manager Kevin Colbert’s crosshairs were firmly on Dupree during the 2015 draft. He created constant chaos at Kentucky while firing off the edge, with 37 tackles for a loss and 23.5 sacks over four seasons.

Or is maintaining a suffocating run defense the more pressing need? The Steelers ranked sixth in 2014 while allowing just a tick over 100 rushing yards per game (100.3), and Moats played a significant role in that effectiveness. As an early-down run-stuffer, he recorded a stop on 6.4 percent of his snaps.

The likely answer to both of those questions is “yes.”

Dupree and Moats will compete during training camp mostly because competition is the heartbeat of August. Every position needs it, and a position battle is especially important for younger players as they adapt to the NFL’s intensity.

But both Moats and Dupree will likely play key roles in rotational capacities. Moats will primarily remain an early-down run defender, while Dupree will be eased in as a pass-rusher who’s also more than comfortable dropping back in coverage, which is what led to the common predraft comparisons to the Patriots’ Jamie Collins, including NFL.com's Lance Zierlein.

In time, Dupree’s 42-inch vertical and 4.56 time in the 40-yard dash are athletic gifts that will produce a fine all-around linebacker. But for now, he’s still a little raw and may need a soft NFL landing.

D.J. Humphries vs. Bobby Massie

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In 2014, the Arizona Cardinals received a harsh education in why it's important to make sure all the bones and muscles that make their quarterbacks move stay in proper working order.

First, Carson Palmer crumbled during Week 10, tearing his ACL for the second time. Arizona had a 9-1 record at the time, and Palmer had thrown 11 touchdowns, with only three interceptions over 224 attempts.

His injury was more freakish in nature, but it still showed how much head coach Bruce Arians’ offense relies on the deep-armed Palmer remaining healthy. The offense functioned respectfully under Drew Stanton and then flatlined when he also suffered a knee injury.

Minimizing the abuse Palmer has to endure will determine whether Arizona can turn an encouraging 11-win season into a longer playoff drive or if they instead regress. That is why a first-round pick was used to reinforce the large bodies that keep other massive bodies away from Palmer, who’s only a season removed from being sacked 41 times.

The Cardinals called D.J. Humphries’ name when they were on the clock at 24th overall, adding him after also landing guard Mike Iupati during the early days of free agency. Long term, Humphries projects as a right tackle, forming a strong tandem with left tackle Jared Veldheer.

Short term, he’s probably depth, because Bobby Massie isn’t going anywhere quite yet.

During minicamp in June, Arians told Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic that Massie has a "firm" hold on the starting job. As he develops, Humphries will be a swing tackle, serving as a backup on both the left and right side.

In 2014, Massie alternated between being solid and serviceable. The good Massie appeared between Weeks 2 and 9, allowing only one sack during that seven-game stretch. Then the bad Massie came up from the deep later in the season, giving up seven sacks over the Cardinals’ final nine games, per PFF (including playoffs).

If the flailing and stumbling Massie shows up too often during the preseason, he’ll open a door for both opposing pass-rushers and Humphries.

But it sounds like Arians wants to give Humphries time to grow and learn before assuming a full-time starting role once Massie’s contract expires following the 2015 season.