Quarterback Training Camp Battles

Training Camp is always an intense grind for most players in the NFL that find themselves competing for a roster spot to earn a livelihood. There are plenty of Quarterback Training Camp Battles to keep an eye on every year. The physical and mental challenge of surviving multiple rounds of cuts to make a 53-man roster cannot be stated enough. Even proven star players and veterans are cast back into the rigors of multi-practice days and can find it difficult to adjust to the intensity of fully-padded practices from the lighter offseason workout programs and seven-on-seven scrimmages.

Every position has its battles, but none is more scrutinized than the starting quarterback spot. 2021 has six relevant quarterback battles going in training camps across the league, each with its own unique situation. So let’s dive into the battle for QB1 to figure out who the starter for each of these six teams will be when Week 1 arrives with Quarterback Training Camp Battles.

Chicago Bears (Andy Dalton vs. Justin Fields)

There’s a ton of hype surrounding rookie quarterback Justin Fields, whom the Bears selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Fields was dominant in two seasons at Ohio State, leading the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff and defeating Trevor Lawrence and the Clemson Tigers this past year to advance to the National Championship game. Fields won back-to-back Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year awards and was first in passing yards and passing yards per attempt. However, Andy Dalton should not be written off despite the accolades Fields received during his emergence at Ohio State, as the veteran quarterback is a three-time Pro-Bowl nominee and is coming off of a solid season with Dallas. Dalton went 4-5 in nine games as the Cowboys starter in 2020 and ranked ninth in play-action completion percentage (69.4%) while ranking 22nd in true passer rating (85.8), which was higher than Joe Burrow and Matt Ryan. Reports from camp indicate head coach Matt Nagy is confident rolling with Dalton as the QB1 heading into Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football. Fields could wind up getting the Patrick Mahomes treatment and sit for the entirety of his rookie season if Dalton avoids injury and sustains competent play at the position.

Denver Broncos (Teddy Bridgewater vs. Drew Lock)

Denver has an underrated offensive personnel group, but a lot of the public’s skepticism towards the offense is based on their lack of a dominant quarterback. Drew Lock impressed at the end of his rookie season in 2019, leading the Broncos to a 4-1 record and completing 64.1% of his pass attempts for 1,020 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions. Unfortunately, Lock regressed in his second year as an outright starter but lost wide receiver Courtland Sutton in just the second week of the season. Will Sutton‘s return in 2021, combined with Jerry Jeudy, K.J. Hamler, and Noah Fant‘s presence in the passing game, be enough to elevate Lock’s production in 2021? Denver wasn’t optimistic about this outcome, which is why they traded for Teddy Bridgewater this offseason.  According to Fantasy Football Faceoff’s consistency score, which uses a player’s coefficient of variation (CV) and divides it by the player’s ceiling, fantasy managers can form a better idea about who can consistently produce more points on a week-to-week basis. Bridgewater ranks 14th with a score of 7.9, while Lock enters 2021 ranked 29th with a 4.46 consistency score. Bridgewater also managed to be a top-12 quarterback in 35.7% of his starts in 2020 versus Lock’s 25%, which is another metric supporting Bridgewater’s bid for QB1 in the Mile High City.

The pressure is definitely situated on Lock, as he heads into his third year in Denver while seeing Bridgewater brought in on a one-year, $10 million guaranteed deal. This is a win-win scenario for the Broncos’ front office, as it hopes to elevate the lackluster quarterback play Lock produced in 2020 by either replacing him or motivating him to develop at a faster pace. I expect Bridgewater to win the job in Training Camp based on a multitude of factors, including reduced pressure, his ability to methodically find the open receiver and move the chains, and a sneaky rushing upside displayed during his time as a starter in Carolina.

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Houston Texans (Tyrod Taylor vs. Davis Mills)

Deshaun Watson‘s absence from the Houston Texans franchise creates a ripple effect throughout the rest of the team. How much different will the Texans look under a new general manager, head coach, and quarterback? Will Fuller and Randall Cobb have been replaced by rookie wideout Nico Collins and Anthony Miller, who just recently signed with the team after being traded from the Chicago Bears. While the current roster is less than ideal for winning the AFC South, the Texans could be underrated in terms of fantasy points. However, this depends on the offensive line play and who winds up winning the quarterback battle in training camp under new head coach David Culley.

Tyrod Taylor is a former Pro-Bowl nominee during his first season as the Buffalo Bills starter in 2015, where he made tons of plays with his legs, averaging 5.5 YPC on 104 carries and finding the end zone four times. In 2017, Taylor led the Bills to the postseason to end their 17-year playoff drought with an 8-6 record as a starter, averaging a 62.6 % completion rate to rank 15th amongst all quarterbacks. It’s only due to a cruel twist of fate that Taylor was ousted from the starting quarterback role with the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020, suffering a punctured lung during pre-game treatment from the team’s medical staff. Now that he’s landed in a new situation and signed a one-year, $5.5 million prove-it deal with Houston this offseason, expect Taylor to prove his value once again during training camp against rookie Davis Mills and fourth-year quarterback Jeff Driskel. Driskel has a 1-8 record as a starter and is on his fourth team in four years, while Mills has reportedly struggled with interceptions early on in training camp. Taylor is the obvious choice for the starting quarterback position in Houston and if not for any other reason, will be the QB1 come Week 1 due to signing the highest-paid free-agent contract with the Texans this offseason.

New England Patriots (Mac Jones vs. Cam Newton)

The quarterback competition in New England is one of the more unique battles to follow across the league’s Training Camps due to the contrasting styles displayed by former league MVP Cam Newton and the 15th overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, rookie Mac Jones. Newton was nearly unstoppable as a ball-carrier for the Patriots in 2020 but had an egregiously bad touchdown percentage rate of 2.2%, ranking 34th. Newton was often seen underthrowing and overthrowing his receivers and averaged a sub-par 82 air yards per game, behind Drew Lock, Mitch Trubisky, and Nick Mullens. Newton claims he is much healthier this season but will need to prove it to Bill Belichick, who only cares about one thing. Winning. Enter Mac Jones was a finalist for the prestigious Heisman Trophy while leading the University of Alabama to a decisive national title win over Justin Fields and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Jones threw for 4,500 yards and had an incredible 10:1 TD/INT ratio, totaling 41 touchdowns while completing a whopping 77.4% of his pass attempts. New England invested significant capital in free agency, bringing in two premier tight ends in Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry while adding speed and leadership to the wide receiving corps by signing Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne to pair alongside Jakobi Meyers.

Whoever wins the quarterback battle will have a full complement of weapons and a great defense to back them up, making life a bit easier in the blustery Northeast weather of New England. Considering the reports emerging out of Patriots Training Camp, Jones is increasing his workload and improving his play in full pads. This is a tough one to call but the precision and accuracy Jones is capable of producing are markedly higher than that of Newton’s, which I believe he will maintain through the duration of training camp. Belichick and OC Josh McDaniels will have no choice but to name Jones the starter against the Miami Dolphins when Week 1 arrives.

New Orleans Saints (Taysom Hill vs. Jameis Winston)

The battle on the Bayou rages on in New Orleans. Jameis Winston, a pocket passer who produced a wild 5,000+ yard, 30 touchdown season as the starter for Tampa Bay in 2019, is battling Taysom Hill. Hill is not a traditional pocket passer, but he does possess a unique combination of speed, strength, and size that was effective during his 3-1 record as a starter for the Saints during Drew Brees‘ injury last season. Hill totaled 87 carries and scored eight rushing touchdowns with a 5.5 YPC average, adding another four touchdowns and 928 passing yards with an impressive 72.7% completion rate, albeit in only a four-game sample size. The rushing upside of Hill completely changes the Saints’ offense, whereas Winston’s massive arm and lack of mobility will take head coach Sean Payton‘s offense in a completely different direction. Star running back Alvin Kamara only eclipsed more than three targets once during Hill’s stint as the starter in 2020, alarming fantasy managers about Kamara’s upside if Hill wins the starting role and limits targets and usurps goal-line carries. Due to his heightened athleticism and the growth we saw in the passing game in 2020, I believe Hill beats out Winston to become the starting quarterback at home against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1.

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San Francisco 49ers (Jimmy Garoppolo vs. Trey Lance)

Rumors of Mac Jones to the San Francisco 49ers abounded throughout the draft process. In the end, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan opted to use the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on North Dakota State University quarterback, Trey Lance. During Lance’s sophomore season, he threw 28 touchdowns and zero interceptions through the air for 2,786 yards and logged 169 carries for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns. Standing at 6’4 and 225 pounds, Lance is the ideal fit in Shanahan’s zone-blocking scheme that creates a run-centric offensive approach. He’s extremely young at 21 years old and only played one full collegiate season against lesser competition, which would normally make coaches hesitant.

Recent reports out of the 49ers Training Camp suggest Lance is making strides with his competency of the offense and has delivered several impressive throws in the second-string role. He’s already received first-team reps as a ball-carrier on designed runs, meaning he could be eased into the offense as the quarterback in goal-line or short-yardage situations. Veteran Jimmy Garoppolo went 6-of-11 on Wednesday but has received Shanahan’s support as the team’s starter thus far. During the 49ers Super Bowl run in 2019, Garoppolo threw for nearly 4,000 yards (3,978) and finished the regular season with a 69.1% completion percentage, tied eighth-best alongside Kirk Cousins. San Francisco has one of the best offensive line units in the league and will be able to protect whoever takes snaps under center when they travel to play the Detroit Lions in Week 1. Despite the athleticism and dual-threat ability Lance provides, it’s looking almost certain that Garappolo is entrusted with the offense to begin the 2021 season. Whether he manages to keep the starting job or not is a discussion for a different day.

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