NFL minicamp Week 2 storylines: How are rookie QBs progressing? Who will be the Giants' WR1?
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NFL Nation, ESPN
Twenty-one NFL teams launch three-day mandatory minicamps over the next week. The rest of the league had theirs last week, with the exceptions of the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles, who chose not to have a minicamp.
A lot of eyes will be on Carolina, Houston and Indianapolis, where the top three quarterbacks taken in the NFL draft will continue to learn on the job. The Panthers’ Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall pick, has ascended to the top of the depth chart. It’s probably only a matter of time before the Texans’ C.J. Stroud and the Colts’ Anthony Richardson do the same.
What do you need to know about this week’s activities? We asked our NFL Nation reporters to tell us the biggest storylines they are watching.
Jump to:
ARI | ATL | BAL | BUF | CAR | CHI
CIN | DEN | GB | HOU | IND
JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | MIN
NE | NO | NYG | PIT | TB
Storyline to watch: Safety Budda Baker‘s offseason debut
Baker, who asked for a trade in April, is expected to report for the Cardinals’ mandatory minicamp, which would be his first time on the field this offseason. It also will be his first time working in coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis’ scheme on the field, so both coaches will get a sense of what Baker, a five-time Pro Bowler, can add to the nascent defense. — Josh Weinfuss
Storyline to watch: Usage of young skill players
Even though tight end Kyle Pitts is not expected to be available, this week will provide a strong indicator of how the Falcons will utilize their young skill-position talent around second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder. It’s still too early to tell anything about the offensive line or defense until training camp, but an idea of personnel packages and who plays where? That’s something that could be gleaned pretty quickly. — Michael Rothstein
Storyline to watch: The level of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s participation
This will mark the first time Beckham will suit up for a practice since suffering a left knee injury during Super Bowl LVI just 16 months ago. All eyes will be on how much Beckham does on the field and his connection with quarterback Lamar Jackson. Beckham, who has been absent from all voluntary offseason workouts since signing a one-year, $15 million deal with Baltimore, said in April: “I feel great now. I’m still in my process of getting ready for September, because we don’t play tomorrow, we don’t play a week from now, a month from now; we play in September, so it’s about getting ready for that, being in the best physical shape I can be, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, all that.” — Jamison Hensley
Storyline to watch: Defensive position battles
The Bills have a couple of key open spots on defense with competitions that could go deep into training camp. The starting job at middle linebacker is up for grabs after five-year starter Tremaine Edmunds signed with the Bears. Top candidates to take over include Terrel Bernard, entering his second season, third-year veteran Tyrel Dodson and rookie Dorian Williams. The other key battle is at No. 2 outside cornerback opposite Tre’Davious White. While 2022 first-round pick Kaiir Elam appeared to be the leader for the job prior to OTAs, there will be a competition for the role. — Alaina Getzenberg
Storyline to watch: Quarterback Bryce Young‘s progress
It seems everything is about the top pick of the draft, but for good reason. How well Young adjusts to the offense will determine how effective he is out of the gate. So far he has handled it brilliantly, running the offense as well as, if not better than, veteran Andy Dalton, which is why he was elevated to the first team last week. He finds ways to get passes into tight windows and seldom makes mistakes. If this continues in mandatory camp, he’ll become further entrenched on the first team. — David Newton
Storyline to watch: Quarterback Justin Fields and receiver DJ Moore‘s connection
Fields, who enters his third season, will have a true WR1 in Moore. We’ve already seen the two establish a connection and build chemistry in OTAs. Players and coaches have lauded Moore’s speed and how dangerous the receiver is as a vertical threat. Fields’ increased comfort level is noticeable, too, especially with his timing. The synergy between Fields and Moore will be key to the Bears’ passing game in 2023. — Courtney Cronin
Storyline to watch: New-look secondary
The Bengals will try to replicate last year’s stout pass defense with new starters at important spots. Safeties Dax Hill and Nick Scott take over for Jessie Bates III and Vonn Bell, respectively, after Bates and Bell left in free agency. Cincinnati gave up the NFL’s lowest opposing completion percentage in 2022. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo will get a good look at the secondary without two of the players who have been crucial to the team’s success the past two seasons.. — Ben Baby
Storyline to watch: Running backs
The Broncos have been happy with Javonte Williams‘ work this offseason as he returns from a season-ending knee injury in Week 4 of 2022. Coach Sean Payton believes Williams will be ready to partially participate at the start of training camp and that Williams is expected to be ready by the start of the regular season. Payton said Samaje Perine, who hasn’t had more than 95 carries in a season since his rookie year in 2017, could work as a No. 1 back if Williams needs more time. The Broncos will keep phone numbers for veteran running backs handy just in case, but minicamp will be the last chance before training camp for others on the roster to show potential. — Jeff Legwold
Storyline to watch: Quarterback Jordan Love on the move
While his throws from the pocket have mostly come out clean and spinning tightly, Love’s spirals sometimes turn into wobblers when he has to throw on the move. That has been especially true when moving to his left during the OTA practices open to reporters. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said he wasn’t concerned, even referencing Peyton Manning not always throwing the tightest spirals, but Love acknowledged it could be an issue, saying, “As a quarterback, it’s never fun to see the ball not spinning exactly how you want it to, so we’re just working through that.” — Rob Demovsky
Storyline to watch: Quarterback C.J. Stroud‘s progression
Stroud ran with the first-team offense for portions of OTAs and flashed his strong arm with throws down the field. Mandatory minicamp shouldn’t be any different, but the focus of those minicamp reps will be on his command of the offense. He’ll miss a few throws; that’s normal for a rookie quarterback. But if he’s decisive with his reads and has good eye placement on where to go with the football, that’s a success, because it’ll show his processing speed is improving. — DJ Bien-Aime
Storyline to watch: Quarterback Anthony Richardson‘s status
The fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft has spent some time under center with the starting offense during OTAs. But as the Colts put the finishing touches on their offseason, do they start to push the envelope a bit? Indianapolis is willing to initially start Gardner Minshew at quarterback when the season begins. But if Richardson is given more opportunities with the starters and passes those tests, the pressure to promote him will mount come training camp. This will be a key week of evaluation for the Colts’ future franchise quarterback. — Stephen Holder
Storyline to watch: More from wide receiver Calvin Ridley
Coach Doug Pederson is having only rookies and some select veterans returning from injuries at the three-day camp. The broken foot Ridley had in 2021 (the last year he played) is healed, but the Jaguars want to take things slow with the receiver so he can be full-go at camp. Getting a few more days can only help Ridley as he continues to learn the offense. — Michael DiRocco
Storyline to watch: Wide receiver depth chart
The Chiefs have a lot of wide receivers in legitimate competition for playing time and roster spots. Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore and rookie Rashee Rice look to be the top four, but there’s room for others to make the team and catch some passes. The real competition begins at training camp, but the Chiefs can begin the process of sorting through their candidates at minicamp. — Adam Teicher
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Storyline to watch: Coordinator Kellen Moore’s offense
Quarterback Justin Herbert has made progress in his recovery from offseason left shoulder surgery, but despite throwing in individual drills during organized team activities, it remains unclear to what extent he’ll be able to participate in mandatory minicamp. Nevertheless, minicamp should provide a glimpse into a revamped offense under first-year coordinator Moore, who is expected to install a scheme that creates more explosive plays and establishes a dependable run game. — Lindsey Thiry
Storyline to watch: Tackle Aaron Donald and a young defense
Donald, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, will navigate a challenge unlike any other he has faced in his previous nine seasons. After an offseason that saw the departures of outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, linebacker Bobby Wagner and cornerback Jalen Ramsey, it will fall mostly on Donald — the only defensive starter with more than three seasons of experience — to teach and set an example for a dizzying list of young pros who must quickly learn the scheme and learn to compete at the highest level. — Lindsey Thiry
Storyline to watch: Brian Flores’ defensive scheme
The Vikings hired Flores to fix a defense that ranked No. 31 in yards allowed last season, but they didn’t buttress him with many personnel upgrades. They bid farewell to six starters and backfilled with one significant veteran replacement (cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.). So the shape, size and scope of their turnaround will largely depend on Flores’ blitz-heavy scheme. Minicamp will provide observers their longest look to date at Flores’ plans. — Kevin Seifert
Storyline to watch: Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s status
The Patriots essentially flipped Jakobi Meyers (now with the Raiders) for Smith-Schuster (signed as a free agent from the Chiefs), but Smith-Schuster has yet to take the field in voluntary OTAs as the team takes it slowly with him health-wise. Smith-Schuster has been around the team this offseason, according to coach Bill Belichick. Everything is geared toward the start of training camp in late July, but seeing Smith-Schuster on the field for at least walkthrough portions of mandatory minicamp practice will be an indication things are progressing as the team hopes. — Mike Reiss
Storyline to watch: Quarterback Derek Carr‘s chemistry with his pass-catchers
Don’t expect much out of receiver Michael Thomas until training camp, but Carr could start to build a rapport with running back Alvin Kamara and tight end Taysom Hill, both of whom were not at OTAs. And while- receiver Chris Olave has been in attendance so far, more time on the field with Carr will be needed if the Saints want to improve from their 19th-ranked offense last year. — Katherine Terrell
Storyline to watch: Wide receiver depth chart
It seemed pretty clear during OTAs that tight end Darren Waller is destined to be the Giants’ No. 1 pass-catcher. The wide receiver position remained murky. Even with Sterling Shepard and Wan’Dale Robinson rehabbing serious knee injuries, there are a lot of names in the mix —Isaiah Hodgins, Parris Campbell, Darius Slayton, Jalin Hyatt, Collin Johnson and Jamison Crowder among them. Minicamp will help sort this jumbled mess out. — Jordan Raanan
Storyline to watch: Quarterback Kenny Pickett‘s progression
In the midst of his first offseason as the entrenched starter, Pickett said the offense was ahead of schedule during OTAs. Minicamp is the next opportunity to make more progress. The Steelers invested heavily in free agency and the draft to give the quarterback the tools to spark a big jump from an offense that showed steady improvement throughout last season. — Brooke Pryor
Storyline to watch: The QB1 battle between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask
The QB competition between Mayfield and Trask will determine the trajectory of a team that borrowed $100 million from the cap in previous years to support Tom Brady. Mayfield, the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, is trying to resurrect his career as a starter. Trask, selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft, is trying to make a quantum leap from QB3 after two years of limited reps behind Brady. — Jenna Laine
