The Biggest IDP Training Camp Battles of 2023

Photo: Imagn Images

Training camps are underway across the National Football League. From Arizona to Washington, teams are preparing in earnest for the 2023 regular season, which is about a month and a half away.

For some teams, camp is a relatively simple affair. For example, the Philadelphia Eagles have a pretty good idea of who will line up where. It's just a matter of smoothing the rough edges, getting into game shape, and preparing for the season opener against the New England Patriots on September 10.

However, for quite a few teams, there remains much more work to get done. Some are breaking in new quarterbacks. Others are instituting new schemes on offense or defense. And others still have position battles to sort through to determine starters on that latter side of the ball.

Of course, it's that last batch who are of most interest to IDP managers. Getting your hands on a player who winds up a three-down starter at linebacker can be a massive value. Conversely, spending a draft pick on a player who winds up watching games from the sidelines is never fun.

With that in mind, we're going to take a look at some of the more impactful IDP training camp battles, list the candidates vying for coveted spot(s) in the lineup, delve a bit into what the teams and players themselves are saying and then make an educated guess as to who will be starting when Week 1 rolls around.

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This is by no means an exhaustive list of the IDP-relevant training camp battles being waged across the NFL. For a comprehensive look at how every NFL team's defense is shaking out, be sure to check out John Norton's excellent Eyes of the Guru series here at Footballguys.

Buffalo Bills Middle Linebacker

The Candidates: Tyrel Dodson, A.J. Klein, Terrel Bernard, Dorian Williams (R)

With the departure of Tremaine Edmunds in free agency, the Bills have a massive hole in the middle of the defense. There's been no indication that the Bills plan to move Matt Milano inside, so that leaves four players vying to replace Edmunds in the middle of the defense. And per Zach Dimmitt of Bills Central, Buffalo linebacker coach Bobby Babich said the team isn't going to rush to make a decision.

"Making sure that our defense can function through the way the Mike linebacker gets us into a defense, potentially sets a front, sets this, sets that so we can operate at a high level," he said. "That's the hardest thing. "I think what will happen naturally is there will be a conclusion at some point – I don't think it's worth setting a date. I don't think that's advantageous for anybody. I think the decision on who will be the day one starter in September, it'll come when it comes."

Projected Winner: Bernard. It was Dodson who replaced Edmunds inside last season when the latter was hurt, and Klein is a grizzled veteran with 144 games played. But the Bills thought enough of Bernard to draft him on Day in 2022, and the 6-foot-1, 224-pounder has experience playing the middle from his time at Baylor. He's a more dynamic player than Dodson, although if Williams shines in camp and the preseason, he might be able to sneak his way into the conversation as well.

Carolina Panthers Safety

The Candidates: Jeremy Chinn, Vonn Bell, Xavier Woods, Eric Rowe

This is less about who will "start" for the Panthers and more about who will start where. After adding Vonn Bell and Eric Rowe in free agency, the Panthers have four safeties all capable of playing multiple roles—and a new defensive coordinator in Ejiro Evero, known for moving his safeties around. Per ESPN's David Newton, linebackers coach Peter Hansen said the team's versatility at safety will allow the Panthers to use Chinn all over the defensive formation.

"We see him as a superhero,'' Hansen said. "We just don't know which cape he'll wear from day to day. Height, weight, speed ... and then we see him actually do things on the field, and you're like, ‘Whoa! I didn't think he could do that."

Projected Winner: Chinn, Bell, and Woods—in that order. Linebacker coaches talking up Chinn have the IDP community over the moon about Chinn's prospects of box snaps and gaudy tackle numbers. But the reality could be a little different—Chinn could play anything from quasi-linebacker to safety to in the slot—roles he has all filled in the past. Bell and Woods should be more traditional (and interchangeable) safeties, while Chinn plays all over the formation, and Rowe sees some time in subpackages. Chinn is easily the most valuable IDP in the Panthers secondary, but if he sees substantial snaps in the slot, he may not be the top-five option some pundits predict.

Kansas City Chiefs Linebacker

The Candidates: Drue Tranquill, Willie Gay Jr, Leo Chenal

Willie Gay Jr put up 88 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 2022, and the team drafted Wisconsin's Leo Chenal in the third round of the 2022 draft. But apparently, the Chiefs wanted an upgrade at the position because they signed Drue Tranquill in free agency fresh off a career-high 146 total tackles with the Chargers last year. Per John Dillon of the team's website, Tranquill is already drawing praise from defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on how quickly he is picking up the new scheme in Kansas City.

"I've had a bunch of free agents come to systems in the years I've been here, and sometimes it takes a little while for guys to get comfortable with their surroundings [and] with their teammates," Spagnuolo explained. "Drue [Tranquill], it's like he stepped right in, and he's been here for three years in terms of communicating with his teammates, what he did off the field, how much of a pro he is. He's had a great influence on not just the linebacker room but the defense in general."

Projected Winner: Tranquill, barring a disaster. Tranquill wasn't great in coverage last year, allowing a passer rating against north of 100 for the third time in four seasons. But even on a bad day, he's a rangier option than Gay and Chenal, who are both better suited to roles as two-down run-stuffers. Nick Bolton is the unquestioned king of the linebackers in Kansas City this year, but Tranquill will be the second linebacker on the field in the nickel—and that means IDP value.