These NFL players have been standouts during training camp.
The unofficial start to the NFL season kicked off with training camp last month, where all 32 teams returned to action in preparation for the 2022 season.
It’s been an eventful few weeks, filled with competitive position battles, brutal injuries and noteworthy performances.
Whether it’s rookies making an immediate impact or veterans dominating, training camp has brought out some standout performances around the league. While it’s important to temper expectations at this point of the year, it’s hard to ignore the impact some players have had this summer.
Our NFL Wire editors identified the most impressive player from each of the 32 NFL teams during training camp.
PFF has named two former UGA football stars as NFL training camp risers and two former Dawgs as fallers.
Pro Football Focus has named two former Georgia football stars as NFL training camp risers and two former Dawgs as fallers. What Georgia Bulldogs are being named as risers and fallers?
Riser: Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens
George Pickens has turned a lot of heads in training camp. He continues to make plays day after day. The rookie second-round pick is looking like one of the steals of the 2022 NFL draft.
PFF noted the George Pickens hype train is getting pretty extreme.
We’re at the point in Pickens’ ascent that a former player told Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the rookie wideout reminds him of Randy Moss.
Pickens has already made numerous outstanding highlight catches in training camp:
Second-year safety Mark Webb recorded three tackles in limited action last season. Webb is hoping to have a larger role in 2022, but has been hampered by a knee injury.
PFF see Webb as a faller because he has missed important time and is a young player.
Webb, a seventh-round pick last year, looked like he’d find a role in sub packages with the Chargers but has been injured for the second straight training camp.
AP Photo/Kyusung Gong
Hopefully, Webb can return to practice and get reps before the NFL regular season starts.
The Buffalo Bills are expected to be one of the top teams in the NFL this season. McKenzie might be Buffalo’s top target to replace slot receiver Cole Beasley.
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
PFF thinks that McKenzie is the top candidate to take some of Beasley’s 112 targets from last season.
McKenzie looks primed for a much bigger role in 2022 and is atop the Bills’ depth chart at slot wide receiver.
Isaiah McKenzie caught 20 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown last year.
Faller: Baltimore Ravens guard Ben Cleveland
Baltimore Ravens offensive guard Ben Cleveland played in 12 games and started four contests as a rookie last year. Cleveland has not gotten off to a great start in training camp per PFF.
Cleveland began training camp on the non-football injury list after failing to pass his conditioning test. He’s since struggled in camp.
Ben Cleveland still has a chance to start for Baltimore. He will need to be as close to fully healthy as possible to earn that starting role.
Georgia Bulldogs like Mecole Hardman, George Pickens, and Matthew Stafford are making plays in NFL training camp and early preseason action.
Georgia Bulldogs are making plays in NFL training camp and early preseason action. 15 Dawgs were drafted in the 2022 NFL draft. Georgia rookies will make a huge impact across the NFL this season.
In fact, numerous Bulldogs are already making big time plays like one-handed catches, no look passes, and contested catches. George Pickens has made several highlight plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The same goes for Mecole Hardman, who is expected to have a larger role for the Kansas City Chiefs.
What are the top moments from Georgia Bulldogs in training camp and the opening preseason game?
Tough news out of New York as Giants rookie Marcus McKethan has been placed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL during fan fest.
Saturday provided some tough news for a former Tar Heel as New York Giants rookie [autotag]Marcus McKethan[/autotag] has been placed on the injured reserve list after a being carted off in practice.
The 22-year-old tore his anterior cruciate ligament during a Giants’ fan fest scrimmage leading to the UNC football guard to miss his NFL rookie season. Throughout training camp, McKethan had been seeing a majority of his time as the back up to the right guard position as he learned the NFL pace. This big blow tacks on to an already depleted depth chart with the New York Giants now scrambling for a replacement.
McKethan was a fifth-round pick, selected No. 173 overall in the NFL draft as the Giants looked to beef up their offensive line after watching Daniel Jones get sacked 22 times in just 11 games.
As it stands now, McKethan will be getting his NFL experience on the sideline as a student first with a comeback year awaiting his return.
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Stay up to date with all the action from the eighth day of Chargers training camp.
After having the day off, the Chargers are back at it at Jack Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa, CA for Day 8 of training camp.
Training camp can be attended for free to the general public, but if you cannot attend, you will still be kept up to date with all the action.
We will have full coverage of training camp with live updates from practice below, courtesy of media members and fans in attendance.
I think Tillery jumped offsides, but hard to tell when there's no ref call and my current view. Not sure if someone had a false start and then he moved.
Looks like we might finally see the full potential of Donald Parham as a red zone threat this year. He’s been killing it in those situations so far in camp.
Ty Shelby (who looks like an absolute unit out there) beats Storm Norton outside for a would-be sack. Play goes on, J.C. Jackson intercepts Stick's pass after his own tip drill.
It’s no secret that the Buffalo Bills boast one of the most passionate fanbases in the NFL. After all, anyone willing to watch what has historically been mediocre football in sub-zero temperatures knows commitment in a way that few others do.
One of the new additions to the AFC East favorite’s roster — seven-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler Von Miller — is learning that firsthand.
A few weeks ago, near the beginning of training camp, Miller made an offhand comment to the media about the quality of the toilet paper in the player dormitories. He didn’t think much of it at the time.
At least, until the packages started arriving.
The Buffalo faithful came through, sending Miller “boxes on boxes on boxes” of different types of toilet paper and plant-based wipes.
.@VonMiller: "Football fans are great but Bills Mafia is different. I made one comment last week about the toilet paper at training camp and they haven’t stopped mailing me different kinds of toilet paper and plant-based wipes." 😂 #BillsCamppic.twitter.com/oVeFmqZHrc
Miller is coming off the second Super Bowl of his career with the Los Angeles Rams. Bills fans hope his addition to an already talented roster will be enough to push the team over the edge in an ever-increasingly loaded AFC.
They’re certainly doing everything they can to make Miller feel comfortable in western New York, albeit in a fairly unconventional manner.
Looking to bounce back into a starting quarterback role, Mitchell Trubisky is on pace to be Steelers starter day 1.
Former Tar Heel [autotag]Mitchell Trubisky[/autotag] is looking to bounce back into a starting role with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As training camps across the NFL continue, early reports have it that UNC fan favorite Mitchell Trubisky has the early edge in becoming the starting quarterback for the Steelers.
The Steelers, for the first time since 2004, are looking for their next franchise quarterback after Ben Roethlisberger retired this past season. Despite spending a first round draft pick on Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, all signs point to Trubisky leading the huddle this upcoming season with the starting job reportedly being “his to lose.”
Many were shocked when Trubisky went second overall to the Chicago Bears in 2017, and despite the inconsistent play, some believe the lack luster play calling and systems deserve the blame. Trubisky ended up playing four seasons in Chicago, starting 50 out of 51 games, including 12 starts his rookie season.
During Trubisky’s second season in the league he made the pro bowl after leading the Bears to a 12-4 record.
Despite heading into the playoffs as one of the favorite teams, Trubisky and the Bears fell just short 16-15 to the 10-6 Philadelphia Eagles. Regardless of the loss, Trubisky still played decent enough for a win in that game, completing 26 out of 43 passes for 303 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions.
The next two seasons were followed by mediocrity, with fans pointing blame at both Trubisky and former Bears coach Matt Nagy. The Bears and Trubisky split following the 2020 season with the former UNC QB finding a new home in Buffalo, playing back up to Josh Allen.
After one season with the Bills, Trubisky signed a two-year contract with the Steelers looking for a fresh start in an open competition spot for QB. More than likely Pittsburgh will sit Pickett for at least a season, leaving the competition coming down to Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. Despite Rudolph’s three years on the team, the time he did see action he was average at best, tossing 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 17 games.
As it stands, Trubisky has been winning the QB battle in training camp so far, taking first team snaps. This is the Tar Heel’s opportunity to prove he was worth the second overall pick after all.
Josh Allen just earned himself a spot in the “lol you play too much” Hall of Fame
Josh Allen is very easily a top 5 quarterback in the NFL. Depending on who you ask, he might actually be number 1 on that list. Most of those folks are probably Bills fans, but still. Allen is great.
So, yeah. Losing a guy of that caliber? It’ll, of course, sink your season before it even gets started. That’s exactly why Bills fans were all in panic mode after Allen hilariously flopped while being tackled at training camp.
MY MAN WAS LAID OUT. HE WAS AS FLAT AS A 6’5 BOARD. LOOK AT HIM.
He even had teammates calling for the team’s medical staff to come to check him out. You can clearly see Kaiir Elam waving for someone to come take a look at Allen because it looked like something was wrong. And the entire team huddled up around him.
All that only for him to just bounce right back up and act like nothing happened. What a brilliant troll job.
Fans collectively gave Allen the “lol you play too much” online after they all had mild panic attacks.
Take a look at former Wisconsin Badgers in their first few days at NFL training camp:
Every NFL team reported for the first week of training camp earlier this week, and many former Wisconsin Badgers are getting ready to start the new season.
A few Badgers moved to new teams this offseason, including quarterback Russell Wilson to the Broncos and outside linebacker Vince Biegel to the Ravens. There were also quite a few players drafted or signed as undrafted free agents from Wisconsin this year, so it should be an exciting camp for fans to tune into.
Below are some photos of former Wisconsin Badgers in their first few days at NFL training camp:
