Greetings from ... well, I'm somewhere out in the middle of the country, humming Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" with a smile on my face.
Yeah, I missed this last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic cut off one-on-one access to players and coaches and rendered the annual training camp tour a pointless exercise. But while the vaccine and testing requirements and Kinexon tracers at each camp make it clear that things aren't all the way "back to normal," I was able to get back on the road this summer and visit a few NFL teams.
This is my favorite time of the NFL year -- a chance to sit and talk with players, coaches and front-office folk about their teams, the league and life in general. Training camp is relaxed, comfortable and informative, and I learn something everywhere I go.
So with four of this year's seven stops in the books, I thought I'd share some of what I've learned so far -- from coaching philosophies to scheme changes to those ever-important fantasy football nuggets that just might help you with your upcoming draft.
Jump to a team:
Bills | Browns
Lions | Steelers
Buffalo Bills
Dates I visited: July 30-31
The first stop on this year's tour was Buffalo, where Sean McDermott, Josh Allen & Co. are dreaming the biggest of dreams. Still stinging from last year's AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs, the Bills bring back basically the same group and expect to contend for a title.
One of the challenges McDermott and his coaches confront is managing those expectations inside of the building -- making sure last season's success doesn't morph into this season's assumptions.
"I think the biggest challenge is to reset every year, stay hungry and never take anything for granted," McDermott said. "This league is year-to-year. You always see teams that are up one year and down the next. We have to make sure that's not us."
An example of how the coaches are delivering that message: Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, in a meeting early in camp, asked every offensive player and coach to stand up.
"If you're a coach and you've ever been fired, sit down," Daboll said, and every coach in the room sat down.
"OK," Daboll continued. "If you're a player and you've ever been cut or traded, sit down." A large group of players sat down.
"If you weren't picked in the first round, sit down," Daboll said, and suddenly the only person in the room still standing was Allen. (The only other first-rounder on Buffalo's offense is backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who sat down with the cut-or-traded group, even though he technically wasn't cut nor traded by the Bears, just not re-signed.)
"Josh," Daboll said. "How many scholarship offers did you get out of high school?"
"None," Allen replied.
"All right," Daboll said. "Let's all remember where we came from."
What's new with the quarterback?
Allen, who just got a new six-year contract extension, says he has three or four specific routes that gave him trouble in 2020 that he's working on in camp -- "in-cuts right to left, shallows left to right, hitches and stops to my left." He's also working on ball security. He has fumbled 31 times in his three NFL seasons and wants to get that number as close to zero as possible this season.
One thing Allen appreciates is that he has had the same offensive coordinator (Daboll) for all four of his NFL seasons. Of the five quarterbacks drafted in the first round in 2018, only Allen and Baltimore's Lamar Jackson can say that. Baker Mayfield, drafted No. 1 overall that year, is already on his fourth head coach. Allen is heading into his fourth year with Daboll and his third year with quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey.
"The rapport that I have with him, the trust that I have in him, it's special," Allen said of Daboll. "I don't know that many quarterbacks or offensive coordinators have that relationship that we do. It's more like friends, buddies than it is coach. He loves me, I love him and we want to see each other succeed. And we rely heavily on each other."
Buffalo fantasy football tips
• The Bills lost wide receiver John Brown and signed Emmanuel Sanders in free agency. While Sanders doesn't have Brown's top-end speed (few do), the Bills see him as a player who can do a greater variety of the things their offense asks its receivers to do. Stefon Diggs is the obvious alpha there, but if you can't draft him in your fantasy league and you want to snag a piece of the Buffalo passing game, Sanders as a cheaper late-round option should be a guy who has a chance to produce more fantasy-helpful numbers than Brown did here.
• Daboll plans to let them compete in camp -- and sure, someone could separate himself from the pack -- but I'd expect the Bills to deploy their running backs about the same way they did in 2020. They felt like Zack Moss (112 regular-season carries) was coming on at the end of the season before he got hurt in the wild-card game against Indianapolis. They think Devin Singletary (156 regular-season carries) is in better shape, body-composition-wise, than he was last year -- they think he was one of the guys hurt by the lack of offseason structure in 2020 -- so it's possible he has more to offer than what we saw in 2020. They added Matt Breida as a speed back, further muddying the picture for fantasy players. If I had to bet on one to emerge, opportunity-wise, I guess I'd say Moss -- especially if Singletary doesn't bounce back the way they hope he will. But the Bills seem to have liked the way they rotated their running backs last season.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Date I visited: Aug. 2
As the Steelers prepare for 2021, is coach Mike Tomlin using the lessons of last season's 11-0 start or those of the disappointing finish?
How about neither?
"I can, if I'm looking to create anxiety for myself or if I want to seek comfort," Tomlin said after Monday's practice. "I choose not to, man. I've been on this job 15 years. It doesn't matter what transpired last year. It doesn't. If I want to feel good, I can say we had a 12-game winner. If I want to feel bad, I can talk about how the season ended. None of it matters. It does not matter to me one iota, to be honest with you."
The Steelers have plenty of 2021 stuff to figure out. There are major question marks at two very important position groups -- the offensive line and in the secondary.
On the O-line, the Steelers likely will have five new starters, sort of. Fourth-year tackle Chukwuma Okorafor moves from the right side to the left, which Colbert says they've long believed would be the better spot for him. Zach Banner and Kevin Dotson, who've never been full-time starters, project as the starting right tackle and left guard, respectively. Veteran Trai Turner, who has been a full-time starter but not in Pittsburgh, replaces David DeCastro at the other guard spot. And center is ostensibly an open competition to replace the retired Maurkice Pouncey, but rookie third-rounder Kendrick Green is the favorite to win it.
"That five, how quick they can come together, is going to be a big, big part of whether we're good," general manager Kevin Colbert told me.
On the back end of the defense, the Steelers know they have Joe Haden at the left cornerback spot. Their hope is that Cameron Sutton, a third-round pick in 2017, can replace Steven Nelson as the starter at the other corner and that they can find a nickel corner from a group that includes Arthur Maulet and Antoine Brooks. If Sutton doesn't convince them he can move outside full-time, however, they know he can play inside and they'll try to see if Maulet, Brooks or James Pierre can play outside. Lots to figure out there, and it's possible Pittsburgh ends up surveying the lists of cornerbacks who get cut from other teams late in the preseason.
Who's Ben's backup?
With Ben Roethlisberger taking a pay cut to return for his 18th season, the Steelers' long-term concerns at the position are put off for a year. At present, the backup group includes Mason Rudolph, Joshua Dobbs and Washington's first-round pick from 2019, Dwayne Haskins, who has looked like the best of the bunch so far in camp.
The Steelers liked Haskins when he was coming out in the draft but, Colbert said, didn't believe he'd be ready to play immediately. Of the three potential backups, Haskins has had the least amount of time in the Steelers' system. But the team still believes he has first-round talent, and the contract to which they signed him was a complete no-lose situation for them.
Could he emerge as the No. 2 quarterback out of camp and eventually be Roethlisberger's successor? Entirely possible. Rudolph, the only Steelers quarterback under contract for 2022, got the start in Thursday night's Hall of Fame game, while Haskins followed him late in the second quarter.
Pittsburgh fantasy football tips
• Yes, go ahead and trust rookie first-round pick Najee Harris to get the opportunity to be a three-down running back right out of the gate. The Steelers plan to get Harris a lot of work in preseason games -- he had eight touches on Thursday night -- though the plan could change if he looks overwhelmed. The group around Harris isn't a whole lot more NFL-proven than he is, and so far by all accounts he has not looked overwhelmed.
"Yeah, he looks like a 1," Tomlin said with a chuckle when I asked. "His talents are his talents, you can see that, but I've been pleased with his work ethic and competitive spirit. He doesn't run away from the action; he runs to the action. He wants the competitive matchups in drill work and he's consistent, and all of that is refreshing."
Coming out of a high-end college program in Alabama, the Steelers believe, helps Harris be ready to handle the NFL right away.
"I was talking to [Steelers safety] Minkah [Fitzpatrick] about it," Tomlin said. "When Minkah was young, the guy at Alabama was [Derrick] Henry. When Minkah was old, he was tackling Najee. When you're in environments like that, it's iron-on-iron in terms of honing competitive skills. So yes, I think it helps him."
• The Steelers are installing a bit of a new offense with Matt Canada promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator following the team's decision to move on from Randy Fichtner. Wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool said the main differences are related to pre-snap motion and pace.
"I would say about 60% of the offense is the same," Claypool said. "Just how we get into that is different, the motions and shifts. And then the names are different, but similar concepts."
Smith-Schuster, who struggled on the free-agent market because teams viewed him as a slot receiver only, has been asking Canada for chances to work on the outside, and he's getting some in camp. He thinks (and hopes) it's possible that continues into the season. "We're going to mix it up a lot, I think," Smith-Schuster said. Claypool said all of the receivers are being asked to learn all of the receiver positions, presumably to aid in all of that mixing up.
• If you're eyeing the Steelers' defense as an option and you're worried about sacks with Bud Dupree leaving, keep an eye on 2020 third-round pick Alex Highsmith, whom Colbert said "looks like a second-year guy ready to take a big jump." The Steelers love Highsmith and need to find out if he can be a 16-game starter on the edge opposite T.J. Watt. "He has to be," Colbert said.
Cleveland Browns
Dates I visited: Aug. 3-4
One of the first things that catches your eye when you show up for the morning walkthrough practice at Browns camp is the number of guys in bare feet or just socks. Flip-flops and shower shoes line the side of the practice field as players go through the paces without them. It's a pretty chill vibe, which is the idea.
"It's basically, 'Don't be in cleats,'" coach Kevin Stefanski explained. "It's either, be in flip-flops or socks or barefoot, I don't really care, or sneakers. The idea is just to slow the pace down. You can say 'walk-through' but guys get competitive and they want to go fast. I just want to make sure we're smart when we're walking through, and that we are truly walking through. Now, some guys have some interesting footwear choices out here, but that's up to them."
They think about details a lot in Cleveland these days. It's tough to ask Stefanski a question to which he hasn't already thought about the answer. After practice Tuesday, I asked him how he and his staff are planning for the impact of the 17th regular-season game on players' bodies and rest schedules, and he said they've talked about it a lot.
"We thought about it as we planned training camp," Stefanski said. "We plan out our regular season, the rhythm of, 'Hey, heavy day here, we may walk through this Thursday,' etc. Because there's a cost to that 17th game, so sports-science-wise, we looked at it and said, 'All right, well, let's find 65 reps in the course of how you plan out your schedule in terms of practice or how you meet.'"
Stefanski didn't rule out the possibility of pulling players out of games if he has a big late lead, but it's easier to control practice reps than to assume the schedule will afford coaches opportunities to cut back game reps for rest purposes.
What's the latest with OBJ?
No, the Browns do not buy into the theory that their offense improved last year because Odell Beckham Jr. got hurt. They believe their offense improved in the second half because the players who were still healthy took that long to learn it. Stefanski said they believed this time last year that their run game would be ahead of their passing game, and sure enough Baker Mayfield and the passing game didn't get going until the second half of the season.
With Beckham looking good in his return from a torn ACL, the Browns have high hopes for what he can bring to the offense. Stefanski said they are bringing Beckham along "appropriately," but not "slowly." He has worked a good bit in practice in individual drills and running routes and catching passes from Mayfield. He has not participated in team drills yet, though Stefanski told me we should expect to see that start happening this coming week. Will Beckham be back for Week 1? They aren't ruling it out.
"Yeah, if the doctors say he's ready, he's ready," Stefanski said. "If they say he's not, he's not. I'm not concerned. He'll be ready when he's ready."
Browns players and decision-makers I asked all say they believe Beckham can still be the brilliant player he once was before all of the injuries, when he made the Pro Bowl from 2014 to '16. And if Beckham can look at all like his old self, there's a role in the offense for him, for sure. Stefanski said Beckham and third-round rookie speedster Anthony Schwartz offer a level of deep speed that KhaDarel Hodge and Donovan Peoples-Jones just don't have in their arsenal. For that reason, if Beckham is healthy and Schwartz catches on quickly, Stefanski will be able to dial up some take-the-top-off plays he really couldn't use in 2020.
"I don't think any one player ever makes or breaks anything," center JC Tretter said. "But just having that weapon on the field, having another playmaker will definitely be an asset to us. That's just another addition to the offense that we didn't really have when we started hitting our stride last year."
Cleveland fantasy football tips
• You know what you have in Jarvis Landry and in Beckham -- if he's healthy. The rookie Schwartz could carve out a role with a big camp, but he might need some time. The receiver who most stands out at practices is Peoples-Jones, who just seems to catch everything thrown his way and make a play or two every day that elicits gasps from fans and teammates alike. Is there room in this offense for a third fantasy-relevant wide receiver? Probably not, considering how strong the run game is and how much Stefanski likes to put multiple tight ends on the field at the same time. But if Beckham does struggle with his health or Landry gets hurt, keep Peoples-Jones in mind as the guy who could benefit with expanded opportunity.
• If you had Nick Chubb or Kareem Hunt on your team last year and you liked what they gave you, you're in luck, because I don't see the roles changing. Stefanski calls them a 1A and 1B tandem, with Chubb as the 1A.
"Oh yeah, and Kareem knows that too, which is great," Stefanski said. "Can you imagine if they hated each other?"
It's a great situation that allows the Browns to continue to deploy them in ways that maximize their productivity and chances to stay healthy. Obviously, should one of them get injured, the other would likely see a boost in fantasy usefulness, as Hunt did last season when Chubb was out. But the offensive line is the same and the run game is a big part of what the Browns want to do. Chubb is a legit first-round pick, and Hunt is probably a legit RB2 in a lot of leagues. I tried to get Stefanski to give me something to differentiate them, even asking him directly if he liked one or the other better at the goal line. He thought about it but said no.
"Not really," he said. "Nick's obviously more powerful, but Kareem jumped over people last year, so it's hard for me to say he's not a good goal-line back."
• There's a lot to like about the Browns' tight ends, but if Stefanski has his way I doubt any of them would emerge as a regular enough pass-catching option to help you a ton in fantasy. Between Austin Hooper, David Njoku, Harrison Bryant and others, the Browns have a group of guys they believe complement one another and allow them to continue to deploy two-tight-end and even three-tight-end sets as much as any team in the league. That's good if you have one of the backs. Not as good if you're looking for a starting fantasy tight end in Cleveland.
Detroit Lions
Dates I visited: Aug. 5-6
Determined to leave no portion of the U.S. side of the shore of Lake Erie unexplored, I motored up to the Motor City to check in on the under-new-management Lions. Most people don't expect them to win a lot of games in Year 1 under new general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell and with new quarterback Jared Goff, and the Lions realize this. They recognize that they're at the beginning of a building process.
That said, there's a sense that the people in positions of leadership have something in common -- namely chips on their respective shoulders. Holmes was an out-of-nowhere GM candidate the Lions plucked from the Rams, where he was college scouting director. Campbell was the Saints' tight ends coach, a former Dolphins interim head coach who'd been pining for another shot at the big job. Neither got a ton of interviews, and each knows he has something to prove.
Ditto Goff, whom Holmes knows from his days in the Rams' front office. Holmes told me Goff had a chip on his shoulder when he entered Cal because he thought he should be getting the same kind of hype as some of the other big QBs coming out of high school, and that Goff had a chip on his shoulder entering 2017 after a rough rookie season after which some had labeled him a bust. And after the way the past two years went in L.A., Holmes thinks Goff has a chip on his shoulder once again. In the past, Holmes said, when Goff has had a chip on his shoulder, he has had success.
"The guy's been a playoff-caliber quarterback that has a winning record," Holmes said. "That can't be overlooked."
The other thing that is different for Goff here is the level of responsibility the Lions and offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn are giving him. In Los Angeles, Goff's role was to be an extension of Sean McVay's coaching staff. McVay would stay in his ear via the helmet speaker as long as the rules allowed, helping direct Goff's calls at the line of scrimmage based on what he was seeing from the sideline. In Detroit, Goff will take on a lot more ownership of the offense, and players and coaches say the extra confidence that comes with that is evident with Goff so far in camp.
If Goff flops, the Lions certainly will be in the quarterback market next offseason as they look for a long-term answer. But if he plays the way they think he can play, he'll at the very least buy them time and in the best-case scenario could position himself for a strong second act as the Lions' quarterback of the future.
Detroit fantasy football tips
• To put it as nicely as possible, there is plenty of opportunity in the Lions' wide receiver corps. Oft-injured Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman probably default right now as the nominal "starters" assuming they can stay healthy. Quintez Cephus returns for his second year. Kalif Raymond has a chance at a slot role. But I am telling you, there is one receiver in Lions camp everyone is talking about, and it is fourth-round rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Yes, he is the brother of Packers receiver Equanimeous St. Brown. Yes, there is another brother named Osiris. But Amon-Ra, the rookie fourth-round pick out of USC, is matching up daily against 2020 first-round pick Jeff Okudah in practice, and the two are engaging in some highly entertaining battles. Some of the words Lions coaches and execs are using to describe St. Brown include "toughness," "route-savvy" and "professionalism." St. Brown has no shortage of confidence. After a recent meeting with Dennis Rodman he decided to dye his hair platinum in honor of The Worm's frequent hair color changes. He has a work ethic. He catches 202 balls a day from a JUGS machine after practice. Why 202? Because his father was once told by a football-playing friend of his that 200 was the right number, and the father thought his children (whom he named after Egyptian gods) should do a little extra.
I don't know exactly how the Lions' receiver situation is going to shake out. Neither do they. It is wide open. But the rookie out of USC is showing a lot in camp and has as good a chance as anyone in the receiver room to play a major role in 2021.
• All of that said, if you wanted to bet that tight end T.J. Hockenson would lead the Lions in receiving in 2021, I would have a hard time taking the opposite side of that bet. There's a clear trust between Goff and Hockenson in practice drills.
• Lynn, a former running back, is the offensive coordinator. I have talked to Lynn several times over the years about his philosophy on how to deploy running backs, and he always says his inspiration was the way the Panthers used to deploy DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart a decade or so ago. He likes to use two backs. Now, when Lynn was coach of the Chargers, that didn't stop Melvin Gordon or Austin Ekeler from being very fantasy-relevant.
So, if you like D'Andre Swift and want to draft him figuring he's 2018 Gordon or 2020 Ekeler in this Lions offense, go right ahead. If the Lions' offense has a strength, it's on the line, and they might well be able to put together a solid run game. But they also did sign veteran Jamaal Williams, and Lynn is definitely looking to see who can establish himself as the third or fourth back on the depth chart. Seventh-round rookie Jermar Jefferson? Undrafted rookie Dedrick Mills? Could be either, or neither, or both. One thing that's not in doubt is Swift's goals.
"I just want to be an all-around back," Swift told me. "Not being taken off the field for anything. Pass protection, making sure I'm catching everything out there, finishing runs, downhill, getting vertical, just making sure I'm fast and explosive and can stay in there all season."