It’s here…it’s here…NFL football 2026 finally is here. After the frenetic free agency period and the chaotic and somewhat surprising NFL Draft, we know it’s here because the players are finally on the field.
Sure the training camp brings out the interviews where the players talk nice. But there are also the drills, the fights, and the nuances we attempt to gleam from the practices. The pre-season will display the second and thirds with a brief glimpse of the first teamers, but we can see schemes and get a glimpse of how new coaches and coordinators are going about their tasks.
It’s the second week of training camp and the start of preseason. Position battles and player watches are starting to heat up. So, let’s get on with it and start with the ever so fascinating AFC division.
AFC EAST
Buffalo Bills
Bills enter with a new coach, Joe Brady, who was the former offensive coordinator. While the main priority is finding a left guard that will keep quarterback Josh Allen upright, the most interesting player to watch is Keon Coleman.
Will Coleman turn into a fantasy asset and a reliable weapon for Allen? Per Ourlads.com depth chart, Coleman is currently listed behind new acquisition D.J. Moore for the left side. Watch for the snaps of Moore v Coleman.
2025 Stats-Coleman
Played in 13 games with 16.2% target share (59 targets), 66.3% snap share and a 71.9% route participation. Coleman was a first read target 24.4% of the time and he finished the season with a 6.8% drop rate.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins will also enter the season with a new head coach, Jeff Hafley, new offensive coordinator, Bobby Slowik and a new quarterback Malik Willis throwing to what is arguably the most confusing wide receiver room in the league.
Gone are Tyreek Hill, who only played in four games last season but accounted for a 24.8% target share and Jaylen Waddle whose 100 targets were on the receiving end of a 23.3% target share.
What we have now is a preseason watch for:
- Jalen Tolbert
- Malik Washington
- Tutu Atwell
- Caleb Douglas
- Kevin Coleman Jr.
- Chris Bell
- Jalen Reagor
- Tahj Washington
- Theo Wease Jr.
None of whom have differentiated themselves so far. The watch continues.
New England Patriots
Let’s face it this training camp and preseason is all about Drake Maye and A.J. Brown. Will they or won’t they make a meaningful connection? So far, it started slow but appears to be ramping up.
2025 Stats-Maye
__Maye __just barely lost the MVP race to Matthew Stafford last season. Brown is playing with a quarterback who finished his season with a 72% completion percentage, passed for 31 touchdowns, averaged 8.9 yards per attempt and was seventh in time to throw at 2.82 seconds. On paper it looks promising. Training camp watch is obsessively documenting the trajectory.
New York Jets
This is one of the few times that the defense will be highlighted here. Last season the Jets managed to finish the season without a single interception.
The most interesting training camp battle might just be between Nashon Wright and Azareye’h Thomas. Wright does have the flex of collecting five interceptions last season. Which was five more than the entire Jets team…so there’s that.
AFC West
This might be the only division that remained relatively unscathed on the coaching front. Yes, the Las Vegas Raiders got their man, and the Los Angeles Chargers pulled in Mike McDaniel, both potential upgrades, but this division is all about the health of their quarterbacks.
Denver Broncos
Quarterback Bo Nix has a new weapon in Waddle but just how healthy is Nix. Nix suffered a broken right ankle in January. After his first surgery he then had a “clean up” procedure done in April. Nix has continually stated he is “good to go”.
The watch is centered around Nix’s mobility and his connection with Waddle.
Kansas City Chiefs
And yet another quarterback who suffered an injury. Patrick Mahomes suffered an ACL and LCL injury in December. Mahomes has been cleared for training camp.
The Chiefs training watch is centered around the connection between Mahomes and Travis Kelce, because realistically Kelce with returning coordinator Eric Bieniemy may be Mahomes best receiving option.
Las Vegas Raiders
Raiders got their coach, Klint Kubiak, got their quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, got their__ center__ and now we begin to see if they get their team winning. Kirk Cousins is named starting quarterback. Does this mean we will get to see Mendoza during preseason? Mendoza started training camp taking reps with the thirds and has now taken some reps with the second team.
Training camp and preseason is about the maturation of Mendoza. Secondly, will Cousins throw to anyone other than Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer and Ashton Jeanty, asking for my fantasy football team.
Los Angeles Chargers
This is all about new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and the offense he will install in LA. As laid out in the StormCloud, “ McDaniel’s genius has always been separating how fast the offense plays and how fast players have to think.”
In addition the main priority of the preseason and training camp is keeping Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater injury free, it’s unlikely we will see significant glimpses of Justin Herbert. But watch Trey Lance’s acclimation into the McDaniel system for clues on how Herbert will run the offense.
AFC North
Three of the four teams in this division have new head coaches and new offensive coordinators.
Baltimore Ravens
New head coach, Jesse Minter,new offensive coordinator, Declan Doyle, and no Tyler Linderbaum. The preseason is all about who and how they will protect quarterback Lamar Jackson. And while wide receiver Zay Flowers just got paid, all eyes are on Rashod Bateman.
Last season Bateman played in 13 games. He was on the receiving end of 39 targets but only hauled in 19 receptions on an 11.7% target share and a 79.8% route participation. His drop rate was 10.39% and he finished with a 40% contested catch rate.
So, the real question is will Elijah Sarratt overtake Bateman for the LWR position?
Cincinnati Bengals
The only team in the North that kept their head coach…smh. While there is little question this will be a dominant offense if they can keep Joe Burrow healthy, the preseason is all about the defense.
Last season the defenses’ 35 sacks ranked 22nd while their 33.4% pressure rate was 24th. Their defensive leader Trey Hendrickson played in only seven games but managed to get four sacks which was tied for the third most on the team. Hendrickson has gone to division rival Baltimore.
Enter Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe. They also acquired Cashius Howell in the 2026 NFL Draft, who is currently slotted behind Myles Murphy. This preseason is all about if this newly revamped defense will be an asset to the offense or the reason Burrow and company will need 33.3 points per game (their average the last three games of last season, they were 12th in scoring averaging 24.4 points per game).
Cleveland Browns
This is the quarterback battle royale for training camp and preseason (even if it matters little who wins). Deshawn Watson versus Shedeur Sanders versus Dillon Gabriel. New head coach Todd Monken is in no hurry to announce a starter so the competition will linger through training camp and preseason.
Pittsburgh Steelers
New head coach Mike McCarthy is once again saddled with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The real question is how long will this reunion remain blissful. Rodgers has newly acquired Michael Pittman to team up with volatile D.K. Metcalf.
Since this is Rodgers last season, the real preseason watch is who will step in as QB2? The battle appears to be between Mason Rudolph versus Will Howard versus Drew Allar.
AFC South
Houston Texans
Quarterback C.J. Stroud ended last season miserably. Arguably backup quarterback Davis Mills kept the Texans in the playoff run, when Stroud was sidelined with a concussion.
The Texans picked up Stroud’s fifth year option…but the real question this preseason is can the offense keep up with this defense?
While a Stroud watch is unlikely as he probably won’t be playing in their preseason games, if Mills shows up and shows out the question will persist even before Stroud gets on the field.
Indianapolis Colts
Gone is Pittman and Alex Pierce got paid. But the question is who will be throwing him the ball. Quarterback Daniel Jones is returning from a torn Achilles, and while he and the Colts were on fire the first half of the season, the later part was a disappointment.
Now their backup plan appears to include Anthony Richardson who has vocally requested to be traded and Riley Leonard who has been running with the second team.
Leonard played in five games last season. He had 67 pass attempts with a 58.2% completion percentage.
Richardson played in two games and had two passing attempts for a 50% completion percentage.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Liam Coen had the Jaguars in the playoffs last year and that was without Travis Hunter. Now Hunter is back but running back Travis Etienne is gone. The Jaguars currently have a running back room that is six deep:
- Bhaysul Tuten
- Chris Rodriguez
- LeQuint Allen Jr.
- Ameer Abdullah
- DeeJay Dallas
- J’Mari Taylor
While Tuten is listed as RB1, Rodriguez is RB2 and Allen RB3, it doesn’t appear that any of those roles are set in stone.
Tennessee Titans
New head coach, Robert Saleh, new offensive coordinator, Brian Diaboll, a second year quarterback and offensive weapons familiar with the offensive coordinator’s schemes. This has all the makings of something very good.
Training camp and preseason are the time to see how offensive coordinator, Diaboll plans to utilize WanDale Robinson. The offense has been upgraded with the additions of Robinson and rookie Carnell Tate.
How Diaboll plans to resurrect his image with this offense is the preseason watch.
Training Camp and Preseason
While most of training camp and the preseason games are played without the main pieces seeing substantial time on the field, it is a glance into trends, schemes and the talent pool each team possesses.
Watch closely.