The 10 NFL training camp overreactions we’re starting to believe

It gets late awfully early in NFL training camp. Sure, we still have over a month to go before Week 1 rolls around, and 30 of 32 teams have yet to play a single preseason game. But as we reach the end of camp's second week, breakout candidates and potential problem spots are beginning to emerge — and it gets harder and harder to write either of them off as a fluke.

The early days of camp are worth taking with a heaping helping of salt. Now, though, the pads have come on, and everyone's gotten a decent number of reps under their belt. As such, we can take the most recent developments a little more seriously, including these 10 overreactions that might not seem like overreactions much longer.

It's going to be a bumpy transition for Jalen Hurts and Eagles offense

Going up against Vic Fangio and what figures to be one of the very best defenses in the NFL every day surely doesn't make the process any easier, nor does injuries to Devonta Smith, Makai Lemon and Lane Johnson. And to be sure, it hasn't been all bad: Hurts has had a couple of good days recently as he attempts to master new OC Sean Mannion's offense.

But the overall tenor of Eagles coverage so far in camp is that it's been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Hurts and Co., while the Philly defense wins far more often than it loses. Combine that with how much is being asked of Hurts in this change — from a willingness to work under center to a willingness to throw over the middle of the field — and it seems pretty clear that this will be a work in progress that stretches well into the regular season.

Of course, when you've got Fangio around, you have some margin for error, and there's no longer an AJ Brown to pour gasoline on the fire. But Eagles fans would do well to temper expectations and exercise patience.

The Chiefs hit a home run with Peter Woods draft pick

The vibes on offense haven't been quite as strong, with injuries to seemingly every significant member of the team's receiving corps. As this retooled defense looks to bounce back under Steve Spagnuolo, though, it's looking like Kansas City got one of the steals of the first round of the draft in Woods.

Woods entered his final year at Clemson as a potential top-10 pick, only to fall all the way to No. 29 after the Tigers defense regressed as a whole. But the jaw-dropping combination of size and speed that attracted scouts in the first place has been on full display so far in camp, as he's consistently beating the guy across from him — including, on more than one occasion, All-Pro center Creed Humphrey. There are still questions for K.C. to answer on that side of the ball, but given his pedigree and what he's shown so far, Woods should hit the ground running.

JJ McCarthy lost Vikings QB battle before it even began

As much as Kevin O'Connell and the Vikings tried to insist that this was a truly open competition between McCarthy and Kyler Murray, let's be serious: It was always clear who Minnesota wanted to win this job. And that's played out over the first couple weeks of camp, with Murray now up to "roughly two-thirds" of the first-team reps.

Contrary to what some corners of Minnesota's fan base thinks, this isn't a sign that McCarthy has been done wrong. He was flatly unready to be an NFL starter last season, and the Vikings are too good to wait for him to (maybe) catch up — especially not when a far more proven commodity in Murray became available for the league minimum. But the way that KOC has handled things so far in camp proves that the onus was always on McCarthy to earn a fair shot, and he simply hasn't done that with consistent play.

The Cowboys defense could be ready to take a big leap

It was already easy to talk yourself into meaningful improvement from Dallas' defense in 2026, from a new coordinator in Christian Parker to a full season of Quinnen Williams to the acquisition of Rashan Gary and the return of DeMarvion Overshown. But now that the Cowboys' rookie class has actually taken the field and shown what they can do, it's time to reconsider just how good this team can be.

No. 11 overall pick Caleb Downs is the obvious headliner, as one of the best college players in the country last season is already drawing rave reviews for his smarts, versatility and toughness. But third-round pick Jaishawn Barham's emergence at off-ball linebacker is a potentially game-changing development given Dallas' need at that spot. If Downs, Barham and free agent corner Cobie Durant can turn the early buzz into consistent production, this defense has all it needs to be at least respectable — and respectable is the bar when your offense is this dynamic.

Jeremiyah Love really might be stuck in a committee

So we're really doing this, huh? Arizona's preseason depth chart has Love second string, sandwiched between starter Tyler Allgeier and veteran James Conner. Preseason depth charts are usually not worth the paper they're (digitally) printed on, but given all the noise coming out of Cardinals camp about how the team wants to ease the No. 3 overall pick into his rookie season, it sure seems like touches will be distributed pretty evenly.

Which is understandable enough in a vacuum; as explosive as Love was at Notre Dame, it's still a big jump to the pro ranks, and Arizona obviously wants to keep its young talent as fresh as possible. But this was always the concern with taking a running back that high — you simply don't have that many years to work with, and if Love is something like a part-time player in his first season, the clock is already ticking.

DJ Moore is the WR1 that Josh Allen has been looking for

It seemed questionable at best when the Bills paid a WR1 price this offseason to acquire Moore from the Chicago Bears — despite the fact that Moore hadn't actually looked like a WR1 in two or three years. So far in camp, though, it's looking like this could be Stefon Diggs 2.0, as Moore is reportedly roasting anyone Buffalo puts across from him.

Is it time to reevaluate this deal already? Was the decline in Moore's play last year more to do with not meshing with Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams' occasional erraticism? Will playing with Josh Allen help bring out his best more often, as it did with Diggs (at least for a while)? He's still just 29, so the talent shouldn't be in question, and he was a very good receiver as recently as two years ago. If he regains that form, it could transform Buffalo's offense.

Abdul Carter is about to become one of the NFL's best pass rushers

Carter's four sacks as a rookie might not portend future, let alone imminent, superstardom. But all you have to do is throw on the tape or peek under the hood to see a breakout waiting to happen: The former Penn State star was electric getting after the passer, racking up pressure rates that suggest far more sacks will be coming in 2026 and beyond.

And he seems to be taking well to this new Giants coaching staff, consistently shining in camp and drawing some truly hyperbolic praise from coaches, teammates and media members. This is the sort of talent we thought Carter was coming out of college, and it appears to all be coming together for him ahead of year two. If he keeps his head on straight and New York's secondary takes at least one or two steps forward, the sky is the limit, and a future DPOY candidate may be born.

The Matthew Golden breakout is here a year late

Speaking of year-two breakouts! All anybody wants to talk about at Packers camp so far (well, beyond the question of how this defense is going to cover for Micah Parsons' absence) is the play of Golden, who was largely a non-factor as a rookie but has been given a golden opportunity with the departures of Dontayvion Wicks and Romeo Doubs.

Green Bay letting those two veterans walk felt like a vote of confidence in Golden's ability to take a step forward and become the player the team expected when it took him in the first round in 2025. So far, he's paying that confidence off in a big way, and appears primed for a major role in this offense alongside Christian Watson and Jayden Reed. The depth behind that trio is worrisome, so Golden needs to become a well-rounded target for Jordan Love in a hurry.

Ja'Kobi Lane is the missing piece for the new-look Ravens offense

Just one more wide receiver, I promise. All due respect to Zay Flowers, the Ravens have been looking for a true outside ball-winner for pretty much Lamar Jackson's entire career to date, with any number of once-promising players failing to pan out. That track record would seem to suggest that caution should be applied to Lane's performance in camp so far, but ... well, when you do stuff like this, caution goes out the window.

Lane's also gotten praise for making the routine plays, too, consistently getting open against Baltimore's top cover corners and showing more reliability than he displayed at times in college. Declan Doyle is attempting to modernize this Ravens offense and bring some of the Ben Johnson intermediate passing to Baltimore; having another weapon like this would make that transition a whole lot smoother.

It's time to be worried about the Bears defense

It feels strange for Chicago to not be tied up in knots worrying about its quarterback situation, and yet Caleb Williams, Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland appear to be all systems go. The real concern is on the other side of the ball, where an injury to former Seahawks safety Coby Bryant is thrusting first-round pick Dillon Thieneman into the spotlight a bit sooner than expected.

Thieneman has found himself on the wrong end of some offensive highlights during camp, which has only upped the concern level. That's probably an unfair and incomplete picture, and there's a lot to like in Thieneman's game. But Bryant's injury has really just underscored how fragile the Bears' entire defensive ecosystem really is, with question marks all along the defensive line and at CB2. It would be nice to hear this unit start to even the score a bit as camp progresses if Chicago wants to make a Super Bowl run.

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