Every year during training camp, there are players who start to pick up hype from their performances in practice. The flames are fanned by bite-sized highlight clips from fans in the stands and team media, plus praise from teammates and coaches during a time of year when 90 percent of the news is positive.
Sometimes the hype is real, like in 2022 ahead of 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk’s breakout season. Sometimes the regular season provides a dose of reality, like it did with WR Allen Robinson and the Rams that same year. It’ll be interesting to revisit this article in two or three months to see which players had substance behind their hype.
Here are the 10 biggest stars of training camp so far:
Giants WR Malik Nabers
All three of the receivers selected in the top ten of the draft this past April — Nabers, Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. and Bears WR Rome Odunze — have had strong performances in training camp so far. Nabers has been at another level, though. Some of it might be playing in the bright lights in New York, some of it is that Nabers is a much bigger personality than Harrison. Regardless, he’s been one of the Giants’ top performers in camp.
Nabers has cooked just about everyone to line up across from him with his blend of speed and route-running chops. He’s gotten behind the defense regularly and at times the biggest limitation to his production has been inaccuracy from QB Daniel Jones. Even then, he’s also shown a flair for the contested catch to come down with the ball anyway. He backed it up in joint practices against the Lions as well, catching 17 of 18 balls thrown his way per stats kept by the beat reporters.
Calling Nabers the Giants’ best player on offense wouldn’t be fair to LT Andrew Thomas right now, who is an outstanding player in his own right and one of the best left tackles in football. But people with the team have invoked the Odell Beckham Jr. comparison a few times already. If Nabers keeps up this pace in the regular season, he’s going to be one of the biggest stars in the NFL.
Lions WR Jameson Williams
Williams has had the benefit of a full offseason with no impingements on his availability for the first time in his professional career, and he seems to be reaping the benefits. The Lions have been glowing when talking about Williams during camp so far, praising not only his high-end speed but his growth into a more complete receiver.
“It’s rare linear speed, but also he’s got quickness, he’s got run-after-catch ability, and his hands have improved significantly since when he first got here,” Lions OC Ben Johnson said. “Maybe earlier on I’d have been a little more concerned about throws inside the hashes or inside the numbers with him, but it’s gotten to the point where you don’t bat an eye giving him those types of throws now, where he’s coming back and meeting the football in the air. So he’s really grown, and it’s been fun to watch him flourish.”
Lions HC Dan Campbell isn’t a coach who compulsively fluffs his own players, and the change in tone from him when discussing Williams this summer has been notable. There’s a legitimate opportunity for Williams to seize a starting role and establish himself as another weapon Detroit’s opponents have to worry about.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts
This is a big year for the Eagles and Hurts after the late-season collapse in 2023 led HC Nick Sirianni to wipe the slate clean with brand new coordinator hires on both offense and defense. It seemed like the NFL started to get the book on how to defend Hurts and his performance sagged at the end of last year. New OC Kellen Moore is supposed to help make the team more dynamic and save Sirianni’s job, as well as help patch up the strained working relationship between Hurts and Sirianni.
The early reports are promising. The Eagles have amassed an outstanding group of skill position players with RB Saquon Barkley joining WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and TE Dallas Goedert. Hurts has not thrown an interception in training camp yet and that hasn’t been because he’s just dinking and dunking. He’s throwing the ball all over the yard to his standout weapons.
Hurts has been in the MVP conversation each of the past two years before fading down the stretch, whether it was an injury in 2022 or the team-wide struggles in 2023. If the Eagles keep up the strong vibes from camp, Hurts will be knocking on that same door again.
Buccaneers WR Jalen McMillan
McMillan has flown under the radar for the past several months, first being overshadowed at Washington by Odunze and Patriots second-round WR Ja’Lynn Polk. Both players went over 1,000 yards receiving last fall while McMillan battled some injuries. McMillan actually arrived at Washington as the highest-ranked recruit out of the three but slid to the end of the third round and was the last of the three to be drafted.
He’s wasted zero time impressing the Bucs, however. McMillan’s pro readiness was one of the first things the coaching staff praised and he’s done a good job at learning all three receiver positions to increase his chances of getting on the field. Once camp started, McMillan formed a quick rapport with starting QB Baker Mayfield, and he’s been one of the top performers in camp for Tampa Bay. He’s still behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin on the depth chart but based on the early signs, the Buccaneers might just have a long-term option behind those two veteran stalwarts.
Packers WR Romeo Doubs
Doubs is no stranger to camp hype, as he’s been one of the stars of training camp for the Packers since being drafted in the fourth round out of Nevada in 2022. He seems to have taken things to another level in his third season, however. Doubs has drawn rave reviews from the coaching staff who have praised his progress as he enters his third season. On the field, Doubs has dominated his reps, including winning nearly all of his one-on-ones against former second-team All-Pro CB Jaire Alexander — who dominated Doubs as a rookie and let him know about it.
Green Bay has a young receiving corps and Doubs has felt like an afterthought at times behind guys like Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and even super-sleeper Dontayvion Wicks. But he’s having the best camp of all of those guys so far and if he keeps it up into the regular season, he’ll be the Packers’ No. 1 receiver.
Chargers WR Ladd McConkey
Los Angeles started nearly from scratch with their receiving corps this offseason after cutting Mike Williams and trading Keenan Allen. They signed DJ Chark to go with Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnston and used their second-round pick on McConkey. So far, McConkey has been the clear standout of the bunch.
The former Georgia receiver seems carbon-copied out of the same book that brought the NFL Wes Welker, Danny Amendola and Hunter Renfrow, with perhaps the most frat-tastic name in the NFL. But McConkey has outstanding athleticism. He ran a sub-4.4-second 40-yard dash and blazed less than four seconds in the three-cone drill. So far during camp, he’s been a tough cover with killer route running and good hands. Replacing Allen would be a tough assignment for any rookie but McConkey is off to a competent start.
Saints DE Chase Young
Young was looking questionable for training camp due to a procedure he needed to correct a herniated disc this offseason after signing with the Saints. He exceeded expectations in his rehab, though, and was healthy and ready to go basically at the start of camp. So far he’s been exactly the kind of player the Saints thought they were getting. Young has been a handful for opposing tackles during camp — though New Orleans’ tackle situation isn’t exactly stellar either. Talent has never been a question for the former No. 2 pick, health and motivation have been. He’s checking both boxes right now for the Saints.
Bengals RT Amarius Mims
Plan A for the Bengals was for veteran OT Trent Brown to start at right tackle until Mims, a first-rounder this past April, was ready to start. Mims has every physical tool you could want in a tackle but had just eight starts to his name coming out of Georgia, so Cincinnati wanted to give him the luxury of time on the bench to develop.
Well with Brown sidelined to begin camp, Mims got the starting reps at right tackle. Turns out the rookie might be more NFL-ready than the Bengals believed. Mims has been a rock during camp and the Bengals’ defensive line is no joke even without DE Trey Hendrickson practicing yet. There’s serious momentum building for Mims to be the Day 1 starter at right tackle when the Bengals kick things off in Week 1.
Colts DE Laiatu Latu
One of the biggest injuries of training camp so far has been Colts DE Samson Ebukam going down with a season-ending torn Achilles. However, the bad news was counterbalanced by a surge from Latu during camp. Things clicked for the rookie and Colts beat reporters have described him as a “game wrecker” in recent practices. Latu was viewed as a pro-ready prospect with an advanced library of pass-rushing moves and an innate feel for the position. The first defender drafted this April seems poised to hit the ground running this season.
Texans CB Derek Stingley Jr.
Stingley was great last season but based on the early reports from Texans training camp, he’s taken things up another notch. Houston might have the best receiving corps in the league, with top-heavy talent and depth throughout. Stingley has won most of his matchups, however, and picked off QB C.J. Stroud several times.
Derek Stingley Jr will be the best CB in Texans history when his career is over. pic.twitter.com/Mt2DMkvsMQ
— Jacob (@Stroud4AllPro) August 8, 2024
Most of the time practice is geared heavily towards receivers (which is partially why there are so many receivers on this breakout list), so that adds another layer of credibility to Stingley’s performance. Talent has never been the question for the former No. 3 pick of the draft, so as long as he can stay healthy, he could be headed for a monster year for Houston.
