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.
Atlanta Falcons: Running Back
New offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan brings his zone-blocking scheme with him to Atlanta. Using this scheme, Shanahan has had plenty of 1,000-yard seasons from running backs.
Incumbent Steven Jackson was released early in the offseason, opening up the position to competition. The top two candidates are Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman.
As a rookie fourth-round pick, Freeman ran the ball 65 yards for 248 yards and one touchdown (an average of 3.8 yards per carry) and caught 30 passes for 225 yards and one touchdown.
Coleman was selected in the third round of this year’s draft after rushing for 2,036 yards as a junior at Indiana.
Unlikely to earn the starting job is current third-string running back Antone Smith. However, he averaged 6.3 yards per carry and 17.1 yards per catch last year and scored five touchdowns. Keep an eye on this explosive playmaker.
Both Freeman and Coleman are good fits in Shanahan’s scheme. It is likely that the Falcons will split the carries between the two, but someone is going to have to be the starter.
Carolina Panthers: Right Defensive End
Greg Hardy used to play right defensive end for the Panthers in their 4-3 defense, but the team moved on from him this offseason.
Replacing Hardy will either be Wes Horton, Kony Ealy, Frank Alexander or Mario Addison. That is a lot of names, but the Panthers are letting all of their defensive ends get a shot at the starting job opposite Charles Johnson.
When Hardy was suspended last season, Horton earned the starting nod. He played mostly on early downs as a run defender, which he did well. However, he offered very little as a pass rusher.
Ealy was a second-round pick in 2013 who saw 368 snaps as a rookie, recording 12 tackles and four sacks. He improved as the season went on and recorded a sack in each of the last three regular season games.
The biggest unknown in the position battle is Alexander. This is because he was suspended 12 games last year for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy and ended up playing only 24 snaps (all in week 17). He has upside, but essentially didn’t play in 2014.
Statistically, Addison was the best in 2014 with 6.5 sacks, including 2.5 against Detroit in week two and another 1.5 in the next two games.
Carolina has plenty of options at right defensive end and with the other three starters on the defensive line being above-average players, there won’t be much pressure on the new starter.
New Orleans Saints: Inside Linebacker
New Orleans completely remodeled their entire team––especially the defense––this offseason, leaving competition at multiple spots.
No spot on defense is this more evident than inside linebacker. Curtis Lofton led the team with 144 tackles and was released, Dannell Ellerbe was acquired in a trade and Stephone Anthony was selected in the first round. Ellerbe and Anthony will be competing for a starting job with incumbent David Hawthorne.
Hawthorne has been a starter in New Orleans for three years since joining the team in free agency. Last year he played in 12 games and recorded 83 tackles, three sacks and one interception.
In Miami last year, Ellerbe managed only 18 snaps before suffering a season-ending injury. He played very well in Baltimore in 2012, but struggled with Miami in 2013.
Selected with the first-round pick acquired in the Jimmy Graham trade, Anthony was the first inside linebacker taken in the draft and had 75 tackles as a senior at Clemson.
Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan loves to run a hybrid, blitz-heavy defense. The inside linebackers are the glue of a defense like this, so the Saints need two players to step up and perform well.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Free Safety
The Buccaneers’ defense has been plagued by poor safety play for the last few seasons. The team tried to fix things by signing free agent Dashon Goldson to a huge contract, but that may have actually made things worse.
Goldson was traded away this offseason and Bradley McDougald looks entrenched as the starter at strong safety, leaving a competition at free safety. The top candidates are Major Wright, Chris Conte and D.J. Swearinger.
Both Wright and Conte have an advantage over Swearinger, having previously played in the Buccaneers’ defensive scheme. Wright played in Tampa Bay last year and was with head coach Lovie Smith in Chicago before that. Conte also played for Smith in Chicago. Swearinger was claimed off waivers in May after the 2013 second-round pick refused to play special teams in Houston.
In 2013, all three of the candidates ranked at the bottom of Pro Football Focus’ safety rankings. Wright was dead last at number 86, Conte was 82nd and Swearinger was the best of the bunch at 71st. Last year, both Wright and Conte improved their ranking, but Swearinger didn’t.
Neither Wright, Conte or Swearinger are going to be Pro Bowl safeties, but the Buccaneers are hoping for a solid year from one of the three.
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