At many positions, teams already know who is going to be the starter and who will be the backup. Every team has a few positions where there are still question marks, with multiple players battling for playing time. As teams progress through their offseason programs, these battles will be settled and a starter will be named.
Chicago Bears: Inside Linebacker
New head coach John Fox hired Vic Fangio to be his defensive coordinator, which means the Bears will be transitioning to a 3-4 defense after running a 4-3 defense for years.
With this transition, the biggest question marks appear to be at inside linebacker, where four players are fighting for the two starting jobs.
Mason Foster is the most proven of the bunch, have recorded 343 tackles over the last four seasons in Tampa Bay. He joined the Bears as a free agent on a cheap one-year contract in free agency. However, he has never played in a 3-4 defense.
A second-round pick of Chicago in 2013, Jon Bostic has started 17 games in two seasons, recording a total of 141 tackles though his performance has been plagued by inconsistencies.
Despite being an undrafted free agent in 2014, Christian Jones ended up starting five games for the Bears and finished the year with 69 tackles.
The last candidate is 2012 first-round pick Shea McClellin, who has been a disappointment so far in his career. He has moved around between multiple positions in his career and has just 80 tackles in three seasons.
Fangio goes from having one of the best inside linebacker combinations in the league (Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman) with the 49ers to what will likely be one of the worst.
Detroit Lions: Running Back
Early in the offseason, Detroit released Reggie Bush, their starting running back from the last two seasons. With him gone, the starting job is up for grabs.
When the Lions parted ways with Bush, the obvious replacement was Joique Bell, who had been the backup for a few years. He has posted seasons of 414, 650 and 860 rushing yards along with 52, 53 and 34 receptions, in the last three years respectively. The 28-year old has averaged 3.9 yards per carry the last two years.
In the second round of the draft, Detroit selected running back Ameer Abdullah who posted three seasons over 1,000 rushing yards at Nebraska and is also a threat as a receiver.
Detroit will likely utilize three running backs again this year, meaning 2013 sixth-round pick Theo Riddick will see time as a pass catcher. He had more receptions (34) than rushing attempts (20) last year.
With Bell missing time with injuries in the early practices and Abdullah impressing with Bell sidelined, this competition has heated up.
Green Bay Packers: Inside Linebacker
How bad was the Packers’ inside linebacker situation in 2014? Well, they moved their All-Pro pass rusher Clay Matthews inside to try and fix the problem.
At this point, it seems likely that the Packers are going to use Matthews in some sort of inside linebacker role again this year, with him moving to the outside in obvious passing situations.
The top three candidates to play inside linebacker other than Matthews are Sam Barrington, Jake Ryan and Carl Bradford.
Barrington has the most experience of the three, having started seven games in the regular season last year and then another two playoff games. He totaled 53 tackles for the 2014 season.
Both Ryan and Bradford haven’t seen the field. Ryan is a rookie who was taken in the fourth round and Bradford went in the fourth round in 2014, but didn’t play a single snap as a rookie.
Green Bay entered the offseason with a need at inside linebacker, but not much has changed from the end of 2014.
Minnesota Vikings: Right Guard
The Vikings had to play through some offensive line struggles last season, which weren’t helped my multiple injuries on the line.
With the line healthy again, there is just one position where the starter isn’t already determined and that is right guard.
The starter from the last three seasons, Brandon Fusco, has been moved over to left guard this offseason in an effort to help struggling left tackle Matt Kalil.
By moving Fusco to the left side of the line, fourth-round pick T.J. Clemmings would be able to stay on the right side of the line as he transitions to guard after playing right tackle in college. However, Clemmings isn’t guaranteed the starting spot.
Veteran Joe Berger, 2014 fifth-round pick David Yankey and 2015 sixth-round pick Tyrus Thompson all have their sights set on the starting job.
This is an open competition for Minnesota, but the top two candidates for the job appear be Clemmings and Berger.
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