AFC North camp preview: Lamar Jackson needs a WR1

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The Pittsburgh Steelers are going through the motions of a quarterback competition. The Baltimore Ravens are hoping some new playmakers step up for Lamar Jackson. The Cincinnati Bengals are sorting out Joe Burrow’s protection. The Cleveland Browns must make sure their defense isn’t soft ‘n’ squishy where it matters. That’s right folks, it’s time for Walkthrough’s 2022 AFC North Training Camp Previews!

Baltimore Ravens 2022 Training Camp Preview

Heading into Camp: A full cavalry unit of running backs, cornerbacks and others are returning from The Great Injury Catastrophe of 2021. An entire Senior Bowl roster of intriguing draft picks will be battling for opportunities. But we all know what Ravens training camp is really about: Lazy, dumb Lamar Jackson takes.

Camp Battles to Watch:
Clifton Brown reported for the Ravens website that James Proche, a little-used nifty-shifty guy in his first two seasons, had a strong offseason and has developed chemistry with Jackson. Team websites are a great source of information that the coaches/organization want you to hear, so while Proche might be poised for a breakout, the Ravens might also either be challenging David Duvernay and Rashod Bateman (like Proche, perma-prospects who will be forced to earn their scholarships after Marquise Brown’s departure) or pouring ice water on any speculation that they will chase a veteran receiver.

The only reasons the Ravens receiving corps isn’t ranked down near the Bears as one of the league’s worst are: a) draftniks loved all the guys mentioned above coming out of college; b) either Greg Roman or Jackson gets blamed for everything that goes wrong with the Ravens passing game, depending on how you vote in general elections; and c) the Ravens just run the ball a million times and throw to tight ends when things are going well for them.

Also, keep an eye on the tight end depth chart, where fourth-round picks Charlie Kolar (Iowa State) and Isaiah Likely (Coastal Carolina) will battle for the right to back up Mark Andrews and Nick Boyle in an offense that uses its third tight end an awful lot.

Newcomer to Obsess Over: Offensive coordinator Greg Roman had a plan for rookie center Tyler Linderbaum during OTAs. “I told Tyler that it’s my goal to have him lying in bed shaking every night, worried about the next thing, so hopefully, by training camp, he’s not, and then by the season, he’s feeling good.” Linderbaum took to the challenge well by all accounts. Jackson even noted that Linderbaum is “fast as heck for a center,” which is important, because Linderbaum (one of Walkthrough’s favorite 2022 draft prospects) is also small as heck for a center. Anyway, Linderbaum will need to be game-ready for the season opener. And if Roman really wants to make someone lie awake trembling, he should design an intermediate passing game for them.

Circle-It Date: Veterans report on July 26. Jackson will be there, Ravens fans will breathe a sigh of relief, and talk shows will pivot from “will Jackson hold out?” until “Let’s troll some more about Jackson’s value, both on the quarterback marketplace and as a human being.”

Cleveland Browns 2022 Training Camp Preview

Heading into Camp: If you are reading this intro, it means that Mike Tanier left for his European family vacation before the Deshaun Watson situation was resolved. So:

  • If Watson is suspended for a long time: Sorry, Browns. But hooray for some semblance of justice!
  • If Watson is suspended for a short time or not at all: Eh, we live in a post-consequences society and nothing at all matters except self-interest and fleeting pleasures. Heck, I may be at the thermal baths in Budapest as you read this. Go Browns!
  • If everyone is still waiting for a verdict: This is what happens when you allow your arbiter to charge billable hours. Milk ’em, Judge Robinson! Milk ’em dry!

Camp Battles to Watch: The Browns defense, like a Cadbury Creme Egg, is solid on the outside but has a gooey center. Jordan Elliott and former Jaguars prospect Taven Bryan are penciled in as starters at defensive tackle, but rookie Perrion Winfrey (Oklahoma) looked like the second coming of Aaron Donald at the Senior Bowl. Journeyman Sheldon Day and 2021 pre-draft workout warrior Tommy Togiai are also in the mix. If no one steps up (and Watson plays), the 2022 Browns could end up like the 2021 Chargers: just good enough to lose a few critical games because they cannot stop the run.

Newcomer to Obsess Over: C’mon.

Returnee to Obsess Over: The Browns have locked Donovan Peoples-Jones in as a WR2 and now hope that he turns onto one. The fantasy community is excited about Peoples-Jones because of Watson, target share, his handful of splash plays in 2020 and 2021, etc. Walkthrough is skeptical of players destined to “break out” because their team spent all their money and draft picks at other positions.

Peoples-Jones’ biggest competition for targets will come from third-round pick David Bell (Purdue), whose 40-yard dashes were measured by sundial, and tight end David Njoku, who’s bound to turn into Travis Kelce if he’s paid like Travis Kelce, right?

In summary, a 70-catch breakthrough for Peoples-Jones won’t help the Browns much if he’s targeted 130 times and averages 11 yards per reception.

Circle-It Date: Look, we spent the whole offseason waiting for the Browns, Judge Robinson or some cosmic source of justice to do something. We’re gonna skip Browns camp and revisit them come September. You really don’t want to hear the Browns Television Network Broadcast Team stammer and mumble about Watson’s “situation” during a preseason game.

Cincinnati Bengals 2022 Training Camp Preview

Heading into Camp: The Bengals provided us with one of the most unapologetically stupid camp controversies in NFL history last year: Ja’Marr Chase is gonna be a bust because an NFL football is too big for him. Alas, we won’t see or hear much about Chase and Joe Burrow in training camp now that they’re the NFL’s most exciting young pitch-and-catch duo. We’ll have to wait until September to enjoy them. And the Bengals won’t be a reliable source for August silliness anytime in the near future.

Camp Battles to Watch: Guard Jackson Carman was one of the Bengals’ worst offensive linemen last season, though the competition was mighty stiff. The team replaced everyone but Carman and capable left tackle Jonah Williams with veterans this offseason. Carman, a second-year pro, is holding off a push from fourth-round pick Cordell Volson. The Bengals really need both Carman and Volson to step up so they have some depth on the offensive line; several of the pylons who nearly got Burrow creamed for a second straight year in 2021 (Isaiah Prince, Hakeem Adeniji) are still on the bench.

Newcomer to Obsess Over: Alex Cappa and La’el Collins arrived to bring stability to the offensive line, but Ted Karras arrives from New England with extra packets of winnersauce. “He’s a loud leader up front that you want out of your center,” said Burrow during OTAs. “He’s been above and beyond what you could ask for.” Zac Taylor said that “Ted is going to be a coach someday.” It’s a wonder the Patriots let Karras go, since they’re even more desperate for coaches than they are for interior linemen.

Circle-It Date: None. Taylor is a disciple of the Sean McVay don’t play nobody school of preseason workloads, and a battle at left guard only generates so much interest. Feel free to sleep on the Bengals until the season starts. They’ll be sure to keep you awake after that.

Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 Training Camp Preview

Heading into Camp: The Steelers are planning a non-competition between Mitch Trubisky and rookie Kenny Pickett. That means my colleagues and I, by sworn internet oath, must spend the preseason pounding the table and pretending that it will be the greatest miscarriage of justice since  [insert depressing real-world headline from last week here] if Pickett isn’t the Week 1 starter.

Camp Battles to Watch: Trubisky vs. Pickett (with Mason Rudolph nominally still in the mix) is interesting simply because it’s a Steelers quarterback competition. We haven’t seen such a thing in nearly 20 years, don’t really know how much patience Mike Tomlin will have with a non-Roethlisberger, aren’t sure how much more benefit of the doubt to extend to coordinator Matt Canada, and are well aware that any competent quarterback should be able to lead the Steelers to eight or nine wins if T.J. Watt and company help out with 50 sacks. It’s more of a theoretical competition than one where a clear-cut quarterback of the future is likely to emerge. But compared to the Seahawks, it’s like watching Darth Vader duel Obi Wan.

Newcomer to Obsess Over: We named cornerback Levi Wallace as the Steelers’ most underrated player in our ESPN series a few weeks ago. And yes, Wallace played very well during Tre’Davious White’s absence, making him a solid-if-unsexy replacement for Joe Haden. The problem is that the Wallace/Cameron Sutton/Ahkello Witherspoon cornerback trio is built entirely out of third-cornerback/spot starter types. The Steelers need Wallace to go all the way from underrated, under-the-radar free-agent bargain to a guy who can cover Ja’Marr Chase. That’s gonna be a mighty steep climb.

Circle-It Date: Steelers-at-Seahawks, Aug. 13, 7:00 p.m. Two disheartening quarterback controversies. No waiting.





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