Predicting the Winners of the Philadelphia Eagles' Biggest Training Camp Battles

Training camp is less than two weeks away for the Philadelphia Eagles, and business is about to pick up. As soon as practice opens, position battles will begin in earnest, as every day could be the difference between winning and losing a starting job.

Do you think we're going to sit around and wait to watch how it plays out? No way. We're making predictions and placing our bets on who will come out on top in some of the biggest competitions of the summer.

Noticeably absent from our list are wide receiver and interior linebacker, where players are certainly jockeying for playing time. That being said, those positions will likely operate on rotations of sorts, with everybody sharing a piece of the pie rather than one guy logging all the snaps and the other glued to the bench.

These are the five spots where, for the most part, there will likely be one clearly defined winner and a loser based on playing time. Who's it gonna be?

Quarterback

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Sam Bradford vs. Mark Sanchez

The Eagles traded Nick Foles and draft compensation to the St. Louis Rams to acquire Bradford and are paying him nearly $13 million, according to Spotrac. You wouldn't expect there to be a quarterback competition in that situation.

Then again, Bradford is recovering from a torn ACL, his second in as many seasons, and wasn't practicing fully as of June. Plus, head coach Chip Kelly prefers that players earn their spots on the depth chart and rarely hands newcomers their spots.

That being said, it's Bradford's job to lose more than it is Sanchez's to win. If Bradford struggles to shake off the rust or pick up Kelly's offense, it's possible that Sanchez will be the Week 1 starter for the Eagles. But the most talented passer in Philadelphia is Bradford, so I'm guessing he'll pull it together in time for September.

Winner: Bradford

Tight End

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Brent Celek vs. Zach Ertz

Is there truly a competition at tight end?

In the past, Kelly has been hesitant to remove Celek from the starting lineup, largely because of his superior blocking capabilities. Celek is one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL, not to mention a credible threat in the passing attack.

Ertz is incredibly talented, though, particularly as a receiver. The 2013 second-round draft pick has 1,000-yard potential and could become the next perennial Pro Bowler at tight end.

Plus, as Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation wrote, Ertz has been working hard to improve as a blocker, which could be the final straw for Celek.

Still, it would be shocking if Ertz went from average blocker to Celek's level in one offseason. More likely, a rotation will continue, with Celek playing on running downs and Ertz coming into obvious passing situations. And that means Celek will be the starter.

Winner: Celek

Right Guard

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Matt Tobin vs. Andrew Gardner vs. John Moffitt

Perhaps the most wide-open position battle at camp this summer is at right guard, where there appears to be a three-man race for the job.

Tobin got the first crack at the spot in 2014 when Todd Herremans went on injured reserve. Despite a strong preseason, Tobin struggled—possibly hampered by an ankle injury—and gave way to Gardner for the remainder of the year. Gardner played at roughly replacement level—solid but with his fair share of miscues.

The Eagles also signed Moffitt out of retirement this spring. The 2011 third-round pick has been away from football for over a year, and his track record isn't so great. However, he enters a situation where he could certainly play his way into the starting lineup.

Based on the time they've spent building him up the past few seasons, the Eagles would probably like to see Tobin come out on top. And if the third-year player is healthy, his odds seem favorable, as he flashed starting potential last summer.

Winner: Tobin

Cornerback

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Nolan Carroll vs. Eric Rowe

Obviously, Byron Maxwell is set to hold down the fort at cornerback on one half of the field. The opposite side, however, is up for grabs.

Carroll enters camp as the surprising front-runner for the job, having worked with the first-team defense throughout the spring. Kelly praised Carroll for an "unbelievable" offseason, per Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com, although the seventh-year veteran didn't exactly look like the solution when he replaced Bradley Fletcher in Week 17 against the New York Giants.

Don't count Rowe out either. As mentioned before, Kelly doesn't usually hand guys their spots, especially rookies, so don't take the second-round pick's current position on the depth chart as a sign that he's not ready. If the Utah product outperforms Carroll this summer, the No. 2 cornerback job could be his.

Ultimately, that's what should happen. While it's certainly possible he's improved, there's plenty of tape on Carroll, none of it overly impressive. And while Rowe—a converted safety with one college season at corner under his belt—very well may not be ready, he's the more talented of the two. In an upset of sorts, the rookie will get the nod.

Winner: Rowe

Safety

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Walter Thurmond vs. The Field

In all honesty, it's uncertain how much of a competition there will be at safety, if any at all. It seems Thurmond already has it wrapped up by default.

If Earl Wolff could ever get healthy, he might be able to put up a fight. Unfortunately, as of June, Wolff couldn't shake the effects of mini-microfracture surgery last November. Even if the 2013 fifth-round selection is on the field when camp opens, there are doubts about his preparedness to play.

There are a handful of other warm bodies who could challenge, such as Jaylen Watkins, Jerome Couplin or, who knows, maybe Ed Reynolds.

That being said, the Eagles are paying Thurmond over $3 million this season, according to Spotrac, so presumably they'd like to have him on the field. Seeing as the converted cornerback has been lining up exclusively as the first-team safety for a while now, it seems that's where he'll be come September.

Winner: Thurmond