Predicting This Year's Biggest Training Camp Surprises

Can you feel it? The crispness in the air?

Of course not. It's barely August. The dog days of summer.

However, fall is getting closer. And fall means football.

To that end, training camps have opened across the National Football League. For some players, camp is a formality—a chance to get in shape before the preseason and then regular season begin.

It's a pretty safe bet that when the Seattle Seahawks take the field in Week 1, Russell Wilson will be the quarterback. J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans probably isn't getting demoted, regardless of how the next few weeks play out for the defensive end.

However, as we saw with Wilson a few years ago, when he came out of nowhere to win the starting job as a rookie, training camp can also feature its share of surprises. Young players stealing starting gigs. Old pros rediscovering the Fountain of Youth.

With that mind, here's a look at the biggest surprises set to come from training camps across the NFL in 2015.

Except they won't be surprises to you. Because, you know, I just told you and everything.

Sam Bradford Will Be Ready to Roll in Week 1

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Granted, many won't call this is a surprise. After all, when the Philadelphia Eagles traded Nick Foles and a second-round pick to the St. Louis Rams for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft, they weren't gunning for a backup.

However, given Sam Bradford's lengthy injury history (a history that includes missing more than half of 2013 and all of 2014 with two ACL tears), anything that involves him actually being on the field is a tad shocking.

Head coach Chip Kelly told Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com that the Eagles did their due diligence with Bradford, and he believes there's no more risk involved with trading for Bradford than any other player.

"Everybody gets hurt in this game," Kelly said. "I don't know any quarterback that hasn't missed time. ... Our research in terms of dealing with guys with two ACLs, there's a 10 to 12 percent chance of re-injury. That's an 88 to 90 percent chance that they're going to be successful."

That research may be wildly optimistic (especially with Bradford, who has missed time with a legion of injuries dating back to his college days at Oklahoma), but it only underscores an important point.

Kelly, who has firmly established himself as the head honcho in Philly, wants this to work. Badly. Kelly has remade the team in his image, and Bradford is supposed to be the centerpiece.

Sure, Mark Sanchez played fairly well in relief of an injured Foles last year, and during OTAs, Kelly announced Bradford would be rehabbing from surgery, leading to talk of competition under center for the Eagles.

If Bradford, as expected, is ready for camp, that competition will be over before it starts—and Bradford will be the winner.

For as long as that lasts.

Hey, maybe the Eagles are right. After all, where injuries are concerned, the only kind of luck Bradford's had as a pro is bad.

Maybe it's time he caught a break.

OK—poor choice of words.

Tyrod Taylor Will Win the Job Under Center in Buffalo

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Speaking of quarterbacks...

Well, sort of.

2015 will go down in many circles as the Year of the Uninspiring Quarterback Battle. The Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Houston Texans all feature camp fights that aren't exactly heavyweight title bouts.

The same holds true in Western New York, where Matt Cassel and EJ Manuel were supposed to vie for the right to start for Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills.

The problem is that someone forgot to tell supposed afterthought Tyrod Taylor.

Well, with Manuel a huge disappointment to this point in his career and ESPN's Mike Rodak reporting that Cassel looked like—well—Matt Cassel during OTAs, no one's laughing at the notion of Taylor starting now.

In fact, ex-teammate Terrence Brooks told Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News he feels Taylor is plenty capable of winning the job for the Bills:

"

He’s a very versatile quarterback. The kid can run. He can definitely sling the ball around. He’s one of my favorite quarterbacks – I loved playing with Tyrod. He always gave us a good look. Whenever we faced a good running quarterback, he always got us prepared. Most of the time, he was doing it better than they did.

He was definitely a guy who could’ve been a starter. But he was behind Joe Flacco, a really good guy, too. If we ever needed Tyrod, I was pretty sure he could step up to the job and do it.

"

Mind you, none of this is to say Taylor is suddenly going to blossom into a quality NFL starter or that he's Buffalo's quarterback of the future.

However, given whom he has to "beat" in camp, it isn't that hard to imagine Taylor as the Bills' quarterback of the present.

Terrelle Pryor Will Stick with the Cleveland Browns

John Minchillo/Associated Press

When former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor latched on recently with the Cleveland Browns and it was announced he would move to wide receiver, the idea was greeted mostly with dismissive shrugs and eye-rolls across the league.

Pryor has hardly been a world-beater as a pro. And the Browns? Well, they're the Browns.

However, Cleveland head coach Mike Pettine recently insisted to Kevin Jones of the team's website that the Pryor experiment is more than just a shot in the dark:

"

He's just an explosive athlete and that's what the NFL's all about. I never wanted to feel like we had a system, that I was a system coach, that this position has to be this, or this height, this weight, this speed, and kind of get locked into it. Give us all explosive athletes we can find and it's on us as coaches to be creative.

"

Pryor, who resisted a position switch for years, also appears to be taking things seriously, working out with Randy Moss, Mike Evans and even exiled Browns wideout Josh Gordon in an effort to hone his craft.

That practice appears to be paying off, at least in the short term. According to Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland, Pryor shined in his first day as a receiver when Browns camp opened in Berea:

"

After his first practice at Browns training camp, during which Pryor did not record a dropped pass and looked like a natural at a position he has not played competitively at any level, the idea of the freakishly talented Pryor making an almost unprecedented transition so late in his athletic career didn’t seem, well, so outlandish.

"

Is Pryor a long shot at receiver? Yes. But he's also 6'4" and wildly athletic—two qualities that are missing from the Browns depth chart at the position.

That's just two. There are more, which affords Pryor likely the best shot he's ever going to get to revive his NFL career.

And for a Browns team that's hardly set under center, don't think for a second that Pryor's experience (limited and rocky though it may be) as a starter at quarterback in the NFL didn't at least occur to Pettine.

As a matter of fact, Cleveland's best quarterback right now might be the player it's trying to move to wideout.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2015 Cleveland Browns!

The Dallas Cowboys' Starting Running Back Will Be...Chris Johnson

Ronald C. Modra/Sports Imagery/Getty Images

Since the Dallas Cowboys allowed running back DeMarco Murray (who led the NFL with 1,845 rushing yards last year) to walk in free agency, there's been speculation galore regarding who would start in the backfield in Big D in 2015.

Could Joseph Randle sustain his per-touch success if given a larger workload? Could Darren McFadden both stay healthy and be effective instead of one or the other? Could former 2,000-yard rusher Chris Johnson recapture past glories on his third team in as many years?

Wait, what?

Of course, Johnson isn't even presently a member of the Cowboys (or any team, for that matter). Back in May, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told David Helman of the team's website that adding another back wasn't a priority:

"

We haven’t visited with Chris, and we can’t talk about him because he’s a free agent. But right now we’re looking at the guys that we have on our roster. He is somebody that is on a short list of ours that we think could ultimately come in and do some good things for us if we asked him to. But I wouldn’t say it’s a priority right now.

"

It appears that may have changed. As Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweeted earlier this week, the Cowboys and Johnson's agent have been in contact as training camp gets underway.

Yes, Johnson failed to top 1,000 yards on the ground last year for the first time in his career. He's not the player who eclipsed two grand on the ground in 2009 anymore. An offseason arrest does not inspire the warm-and-fuzzies.

The problem is—neither does a Dallas backfield featuring Randle and McFadden.

Add in that Jerry Jones has no problem signing players with checkered off-field pasts and likes big names, and Johnson and Dallas are relatively easy dots to connect.

And the moment he lands in town, Johnson will be the favorite to start.

Ryan Davis Will Have the Jaguars Saying 'Dante Who?'

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.

For the Jacksonville Jaguars, draft day appears to be one of those days.

The Jaguars' run of bad luck and/or bad decisions in the first round the past five seasons has been nothing short of astounding. That run rolled right into 2015, as No. 3 overall pick Dante Fowler Jr. made it all of one day into rookie camp before tearing his ACL.

However, lost in the tears over Fowler's misfortune was a fact that went more or less unnoticed on another bad Jaguars team last year.

After having one of the league's worst pass rushes for years, the Jaguars finished inside the NFL's top 10 in sacks a season ago. Yes, head coach Gus Bradley deserves a large amount of the credit for that.

So does third-year defensive end Ryan Davis.

There wasn't a more efficient pass-rusher on the team last year than Davis, who exploded for 6.5 sacks in fewer than 100 snaps after tallying all of one in his first two seasons, according to Pro Football Focus.

Davis told Phillip Heilman of the Florida Times-Union that he's well-aware Fowler's injury opens the door to more playing time in 2015:

"

Dante was going to be a great help for us, but I knew what my role on this team was going to be. My mind-set has always been to elevate my level of play every year. I’m going to come in and be in great shape, and from the mental aspect, my expectation is to come out and be better than last year.

"

There was a reason why the Jaguars drafted Fowler. Bradley's pass rush hinges on the "Leo" weak-side end. Chris Clemons, who manned that spot most of last year, was the second-worst 4-3 end in the entire league, per Pro Football Focus.

The plan was for a passing of the torch in 2015, and if Davis can step up, that passing will still occur.

It just won't be to the person they thought.

Joique Bell Will Be Surprised and Disappointed

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Despite missing all of OTAs with a balky knee and Achilles, Detroit Lions running back Joique Bell wasn't shy when telling Kyle Meinke of MLive.com about his expectations for 2015 after a career season a year ago:

"

I'm going to rush for over 1,200 yards. That's the minimum. If I do less than that, I'll be surprised. I'll be disappointed. Anything more than that, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

My first year here I rushed for a few hundred (yards). Second year, close to (700). Then last year, almost 900. So this next year, I'm just going to jump the gun and say 1,200. That's the minimum.

"

Well, prepare to make with the surprise and disappointment.

Yes, Bell was a godsend for the Lions in 2014, gaining over 1,100 total yards after being thrust into an every-down role thanks to Reggie Bush's inability to stay on the field.

However, Bell also averaged fewer than four yards a carry—for the second consecutive season.

Also, it isn't Bush whom Bell will compete with for carries this year. It's rookie Ameer Abdullah, whom Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press recently tabbed as a player to watch as training camp gets underway in Allen Park:

"

Rookie running back Ameer Abdullah will be at the center of two high-profile battles. Abdullah will duke it out with incumbent Joique Bell for the No. 1 running back job and slug it out on special teams with incumbent Jeremy Ross for the top returner job. Abdullah has looked fast, shown good hands and the ability to change direction well as a runner.

"

This isn't to say that Bell isn't a capable NFL back.

It's simply to say it isn't going to take Abdullah long to show he's a better one.

Tyler Lockett Will Lock Down a Starting Job

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

If there's one thing you can be sure of where the Seattle Seahawks and training camp are concerned, it's that nothing is for certain.

Just ask Matt Flynn, who went from prized free-agent acquisition to clipboard holder back in 2012 thanks to a certain rookie quarterback from Wisconsin (via North Carolina State).

Head coach Pete Carroll doesn't stand on ceremony or seniority. If you can play, you'll play.

And it doesn't take a long look at the Seahawks depth chart to see a spot where a youngster shooting up the ranks would really be that big of a surprise.

The Seahawks improved Russell Wilson's targets in the passing game with the addition of tight end Jimmy Graham, but the wide receiver corps remains a group short on sizzle. Steak too, for that matter.

Doug Baldwin is OK—but that's about it. Chris Matthews was nearly Super Bowl MVP (had the Seahawks not, well, we won't get into that), but it was one game. Ricardo Lockette. Jermaine Kearse. If you're familiar with those names, congrats.

You're either a Seahawks fan or a serious one because household names they aren't.

Seattle added to that mix of mediocrity in the 2015 NFL draft, selecting Kansas State's Tyler Lockett in the third round.

It was a pick that NFL Network's Mike Mayock immediately met with his approval: "Absolutely love this kid. He can play inside and outside. The only knock on him is his size. Lockett is also one of the best punt return men in the country. He is a perfect player for Seattle; a playmaker on both offense and special teams."

Yes, Lockett is small for an outside receiver. So is Steve Smith of the Baltimore Ravens. Smith has played 15 seasons, and I dare you to call him short.

DeSean Jackson of the Washington Redskins? 5'10".

Just like Lockett.

The Seahawks traded up in the draft to snare Lockett, who reeled in 187 passes over his last two years with the Wildcats.

If he justifies that move in camp, he'll move up the pecking order at the position quickly.

More Shakeup in San Francisco

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

It's been a fun offseason for the San Francisco 49ers. As ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez recently wrote, the number of player losses the team has suffered in 2015 falls somewhere between staggering and "aw, c'mon!"

"

Is there a way to put a number on what the losses of five players to retirement: linebackers Patrick Willis and Chris Borland, defensive lineman Justin Smith, safety Bubba Ventrone and right tackle Anthony Davis -- at least six more key players to free agency: running back Frank Gore, left guard Mike Iupati, linebacker Dan Skuta, cornerbacks Chris Culliver and Perrish Cox and receiver Michael Crabtree, and the trade of punter Andy Lee mean to San Francisco 49ers?

"

Well, yes—there is. Gutierrez cited an ESPN Stats & Info finding that indicated 37 percent of the team's player snaps from a year ago are gone.

And now, even the replacements are starting to run into trouble.

Second-year tailback Carlos Hyde, who was expected to open camp as the unquestioned starter for the 49ers, opened camp on the sideline.

Granted, the calf injury that landed Hyde on the non-football injury list isn't believed to be serious, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Indeed, Hyde spent all of one day on that list before being activated.

But given the pianos that have been falling in the Bay Area all offseason, you'll have to forgive fans of the team if they're a bit jumpy.

However, when one door closes, another opens, and every day that Hyde spends watching or nursing his sore calf is another rookie Mike Davis or veteran Kendall Hunter can spend impressing new head coach Jim Tomsula.

In fact, Tomsula told Joe Fann of the team's website that he's already been impressed by what he's seen from Hunter.

"He’s coming along great," Tomsula said. "I think we all have strong feelings for Kendall…but we definitely have a rep count on him. You’ve got to keep him corralled, but he’s moving around really quick."

Hyde's four yards a carry last year as a rookie doesn't scream "coronation" as the team's bell cow.

And unless he gets his act together and stays on the field in short order, Hyde could just as easily find himself the second (or even third) option in a backfield committee.

Zac Stacy Will Win the Jets' Starting Job

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Now for a training camp surprise featuring the New York Jets.

No, not that Geno Smith will play well.

Let's not get nuts.

Quarterback isn't the only issue the Jets face on offense. New head coach Todd Bowles also has to figure out one of the NFL's most crowded backfield situations.

As things stand on Sunday, Chris Ivory, who led the Jets with 821 yards on the ground a year ago, appears the odds-on favorite to open the season as the team's lead back.

Bilal Powell is a third-down back. Stevan Ridley has the best resume of any Jets back, but he also has no return date after tearing his ACL last year.

However, things got murkier when the Jets quietly acquired Zac Stacy during the 2015 NFL draft. Stacy actually opened the 2014 season as the lead back for the St. Louis Rams, only to lose the job to rookie Tre Mason—who then lost it to rookie Todd Gurley (or he will).

Yes, Stacy is no All-Pro. He's averaged 3.9 yards per carry in each of his two NFL seasons. But he did pick up almost 1,000 yards as a rookie and has (to this point in his career at least) proved more durable than the perpetually dinged-up Ivory.

Of course, given all those backs, Stacy could just as easily be cut, but the fact remains Bowles has no loyalty to Ivory.

Looks like a short leash in the Big Apple as well.

RG3 Gets the Hook in DC

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

OK, I'll grant you that if every one of these "surprises" comes true, the NFL won't exactly be shaken to its foundation.

We'll leave that to Tom Brady and a federal judge.

The fact is, Russell Wilson-level stunners just don't come down the pike every year in the National Football League. A few high-priced veterans may find themselves out of work a la Junior Galette of the New Orleans Saints (who already found work in the nation's capital), but the odds of moves so big that jaws hit the floor happening just aren't good.

If stunning is what you want, then the closest we're apt to come is the end of the Robert Griffin III era in Washington before the season even starts.

And would that even be that big of a shock?

After all, it seems Griffin and head coach Jay Gruden have been at odds since the moment the latter arrived in town. Griffin isn't a good fit for Gruden's system. Gruden knows it, but as Liz Clarke of the Washington Post reported, he doesn't seem overly inclined to do anything about it:

"

Griffin never looked at ease in Gruden’s system, which recast the once dynamic playmaker as primarily a pocket passer. Though injury derailed his learning curve in Year 3, Griffin looked tentative before dislocating his ankle in Week 2 and tentative after fully recovering. And he paid dearly for that indecision, sacked 33 times.

[...]

Based on Gruden’s remarks during training camp, the second-year head coach is banking on the belief that Griffin will improve simply by being in the same offense, surrounded by familiar receivers, for two consecutive years.

That may not be enough.

Though, after three leg injuries, Griffin isn’t the lights-out sprinter he was at Baylor, he’s clearly most comfortable given the option of making plays with his feet. So it may be that Gruden needs to add more play action to his offensive script. Leverage what Griffin does best, in other words, rather than reinvent him.

"

Yes, the Redskins picked up Griffin's fifth-year option, but there was little risk in doing so—it's guaranteed only in the event of injury.

Factor in that owner Daniel Snyder's formerly rabid support of Griffin has cooled, and it's far from beyond reason to presume a lousy camp (and a good one for Kirk Cousins or Colt McCoy) could get Griffin the hook.

And then Gruden will get the hook after another terrible season, and the merry-go-round will start anew.

Relax, Washington fans. It could be worse.

It could be Cleveland.