NFL Training Camp Surprises We Can't Ignore Entering Preseason Week 2

Training camp notes can be valuable within context, but we often see camp studs come and go in the NFL. Their presence is more of a function of the 24-hour news cycle demanding new content than the league actually developing surprise impact players from the bottom of rosters.

After one week of the preseason, we've been able to separate whom coaching staffs truly trust. While a beat writer may think a defensive back stands out, if he's on the squad's third- or fourth-team defense, his participation on a 53-man roster in September should be questioned.

We looked through the NFL to find players who were non-first-round rookies, non-splash free agents or were traded this offseason for late-round picks. We chose guys who earned significant playing time and succeeded on the field.

We'll break down the top seven players who have surprised us from the start of camp through Week 1 of the preseason as they make a push to be legitimate factors for their respective teams heading into the second week of warm-up games.

Tajae Sharpe, WR, Tennessee Titans

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The Tennessee Titans might have the worst receiving unit in the NFL right now, but fifth-round rookie Tajae Sharpe has made his impact this summer.

After trading away 2015 second-round pick Dorial Green-Beckham, the Titans now have Sharpe, aging veteran Andre Johnson, 2016 signing Rishard Matthews, 2012 first-round pick Kendall Wright, 2015 signing Harry Douglas, 2013 second-round pick Justin Hunter and 2015 seventh-round pick Tre McBride fighting for roster spots heading into Week 2 of the preseason.

The team made a statement by starting Sharpe in the preseason Week 1 game against the San Diego Chargers and throwing him a 31-yard bomb on the first drive, reflecting Titans Insider Terry McCormick's report that he was going to be a Week 1 starter as a Day 3 receiver, far from the norm in today's NFL.

He left the game with a possible concussion, ending his day after just two receptions, but Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com echoed head coach Mike Mularkey's statement that Sharpe is not in the league's concussion protocol.

At the University of Massachusetts, a recently established FBS program, Sharpe was able to haul in 277 receptions for 3,486 yards and 16 touchdowns, but it would have been a stretch for anyone to have claimed he would be an impact rookie back in April. Now, due to the shuffling and lack of talent in Tennessee's receiving corps, he's been pushed into the front lines.

There's a good chance that Sharpe pops up on a bunch of fantasy sleeper lists as we get deeper into August, so his performance in the next few preseason games will be interesting to watch. By all accounts, the Titans, who ran for nearly 300 yards against the Chargers, will be built off their run game offensively.

DeMarco Murray, RB, Tennessee Titans

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Based on his Week 1 performance, you'd think DeMarco Murray is back to his former All-Pro self. The running back was a force with the Dallas Cowboys, playing behind the best offensive line in the NFL when he was the league's rushing leader in 2014, but line play was also used as a crutch in evaluations of Murray's time in Philadelphia.

His 2016 season will be the test of who he truly is. Tennessee's offensive line, which just added first-round tackle Jack Conklin, is a happy medium between the Cowboys' dominant line and the Eagles' car crash of an interior line. Against the Chargers last week, Murray looked like he could easily be the comeback player of the season, averaging 17.7 yards per carry, including a 71-yard run.

The Titans have been mocked for calling their offense "exotic smashmouth" this offseason, but if you're judging based off of preseason success, all indications are that this is true. At the same time, though, Murray's one-game sample of rebound success could have been a function of a bad San Diego run defense.

On 10 carries, second-round rookie running back Derrick Henry was able to post 71 yards on the ground. Third running back Bishop Sankey, another former second-round pick, took three carries for 52 yards. In total, the team was able to post 288 yards on the ground in a three-score win over a team that finished with a 1-7 record on the road last season.

Murray is a classic case of a player you should highlight and keep in mind as a potential breakout candidate, but a larger preseason sample is needed before committing to him.

Emmanuel Ogbah, DL, Cleveland Browns

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Emmanuel Ogbah, a second-round rookie from Oklahoma State, was supposed to be an edge defender coming out of the draft, but an injury to Desmond Bryant has forced him to play end in Cleveland's 3-4 defense.

The Browns were thin enough on the defensive line to draft nose tackle Danny Shelton in the first round in 2015, Xavier Cooper in the third round in 2015 and Carl Nassib—another base end convert who was a college edge defender—in the third round in 2016. The team needed Ogbah to step up in his new role, and he's done so thus far.

In the first week of the preseason against the Green Bay Packers, Ogbah posted a team-leading six tackles, including a sack and two tackles for a loss.

As a 6'4", 275-pounder, his body type is in between that of a 3-4 outside linebacker and a 3-4 defensive end, and his progression at 3-4 end may hinder his ability to transition back to linebacker down the line. However, he's flashed enough potential already to start second-guessing if having his hand in the dirt isn't his best option in the NFL.

Per Andrew Gribble of ClevelandBrowns.com, Ogbah finished second on the team in reps earned against the Packers, which aligns with the theory that the team is getting him as many looks as possible at a new position.

As long as he can continue this forward momentum, he should be a major factor in the team's 2016 campaign.

Christine Michael, RB, Seattle Seahawks

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The Seattle Seahawks have a hole at running back. Their former starter, Marshawn Lynch, retired during the Super Bowl last season, and their No. 2 back from 2015, undrafted second-year player Thomas Rawls, is still recovering from a season-ending injury.

While the Seahawks spent three draft picks on tailbacks this year—third-round pick C.J. Prosise, fifth-round pick Alex Collins and seventh-round pick Zac Brooks—it was 2013 second-round pick Christine Michael who stole the show in preseason Week 1 at the position.

In the last 12 months, he's been traded from Seattle, cut from the Cowboys, cut from the Washington Redskins' practice squad and then re-signed with Seattle. He's a player who had all of the talent coming out of Texas A&M, but it seems like focus has always been what held him back on the field.

Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin put Michael in his doghouse at College Station, a place even Johnny Manziel never found himself. If Michael is more focused after being told to hit the road three times in less than a year, which is what his seven-carry, 44-yard night against the Kansas City Chiefs would suggest, then he's a potential Week 1 starter, no matter the health status of Rawls.

In training camp, Michael earned his pole position among Seahawks backs, and he's proven his coaches right against a first-team defense so far, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.

Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants

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Sterling Shepard (left)

Sterling Shepard's best role isn't as a featured No. 1 receiver, but he has the potential to be a Pro Bowl-caliber No. 2 target. In many ways, the 5'10" rookie is a clone of Randall Cobb, who has been great as a complement to the likes of Jordy Nelson but struggled a bit in 2015 as the Packers' top receiver with Nelson injured for the season.

Luckily, Shepard is paired next to Odell Beckham Jr., who said Shepard is "going to be a big-time player," according to ESPN.com's Jordan Raanan. The idea of that pair of receivers, who are so good in the short area of the field, is going to be a headache for any defensive coordinator trying to cover those two in the red zone.

In Shepard's first preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, he only made one reception, but he made it count. On a 3rd-and-6 out of the slot, he was able to pull in a diving grab on the sideline for 24 yards.

Shepard needed the right offensive system and personnel around him to reach his full potential, but on Day 2 of the draft, he fell in the perfect spot. Since then, he's checked every box along the way, and he may be a sleeper candidate for Rookie of the Year honors.

Trevor Siemian, QB, Denver Broncos

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The Denver Broncos have the most fascinating quarterback position in the sport. After losing Peyton Manning, who was injured, then benched, then moved up from the bench in Week 17, and Brock Osweiler, who apparently took the organization's side-stepping personally, the Broncos' top returning quarterback from their Super Bowl roster is Trevor Siemian, a 2015 seventh-round pick from Northwestern.

This offseason, there were rumors of a potential trade for the San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kaepernick, per Mike Klis of 9News. The Broncos executed a trade with the Eagles for Mark Sanchez and traded up in the first round to bring in Paxton Lynch of Memphis.

Whenever a veteran is added along with a first-round pick at the quarterback position, it's assumed the team is planning on starting the veteran for the first month or so in the season and eventually transitioning to the promising young player.

That's why it was a shock when Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post reported that head coach Gary Kubiak wasn't counting out Siemian, who had never thrown a regular-season pass and looked mediocre in his preseason reps, from taking the reins over for the potential title contender.

All of the news from camp suggested there were split reps with the first-team offense, either between Sanchez and Siemian or the trio in totality, proving Kubiak's statement correct. In Week 1 of the preseason, Sanchez looked like his old self, throwing one touchdown along with an interception. Siemian completed seven of 12 passes with the second team, and Lynch completed six passes on 10 dropbacks, including three sacks, with the third team.

Day 3 second-year players rarely get an opportunity to be a factor in a franchise's season, let alone start at the most important position in the sport. Like it or not, Siemian is getting reps like a QB in competition for the starting job in Denver, and he's someone to keep an eye on for the remainder of this summer.

Josh Ferguson, RB, Indianapolis Colts

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Frank Gore finished 39th in the NFL among qualifying runners in terms of yards per carry in 2015. While the Indianapolis Colts had a poor line last season, that number generally reflects Gore's talent. This is problematic, as the Colts don't have an established second back on the team.

They brought in Robert Turbin and Jordan Todman as low-level veteran free agents, but the back emerging from the pack behind Gore is an undrafted free agent. Josh Ferguson of Illinois wasn't selected in April's draft, but he was able to run for 2,586 yards in his Big Ten career against some of the best run defenses in college football.

In preseason Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills, he took eight carries for three yards, but the Colts posted 23 carries for just 30 yards total on the ground for the night in a 19-18 win. While Ferguson's numbers don't suggest regular-season success, his team-leading rush-attempt numbers would insinuate that he's going to be the team's top back behind Gore.

According to Kevin Bowen of Colts.com, owner Jim Irsay stated that Ferguson had "a chance to be special" all the way back in June. With Gore being a non-factor on third downs, it's reasonable to expect Ferguson to play the role of pass-catcher out of the backfield in those situations, as he was able to haul in 168 receptions with the Fighting Illini.

He needs to prove his value over those veteran backs during the home stretch of the preseason. However, with no one truly shining in Week 1, his status on Indianapolis' projected depth chart shouldn't have been adjusted after his three-yard effort.