Key Position Battles to Watch in Training Camp

The dog days of summer are about to begin in Spartanburg as the Carolina Panthers are set to open up training camp on Wednesday morning on the campus of Wofford College.

As always, there are a few position battles that will be highlighted throughout training camp, so here are three to keep your eyes on.

Quarterback - Baker Mayfield vs Sam Darnold

This is the one everyone will have their eyes on and rightfully so.

The assumption from the outside is that this is Mayfield's job, but GM Scott Fitterer called it an "open competition" heading into training camp. With such little time to learn the offense and the Panthers still having to pay Darnold $18 million, the job is not going to be handed over to Mayfield. He's going to have to go out and earn it.

The way I see it is, you can't go back to Darnold once you've turned on him. He doesn't have the same confidence that Mayfield boasts and if he loses the starting job out of camp, I don't know if he would perform well at all if the Panthers eventually turn to him. I do, however, think you can start with Darnold and if things get rough, you can turn to Mayfield without any concern.

At the end of the day, the quarterback who looks the best in August should be the one that wins this starting job. Darnold will have a bit of an advantage having been in the offense for several months now but Mayfield is determined to win the job and face his former team in Week 1.

Projected winner: Baker Mayfield

Center - Pat Elflein vs Bradley Bozeman

Elflein will be in the middle of two position battles as he will also be competing for a starting spot at left guard against Brady Christensen. With the lack of success he had at guard last year, we'll just focus on this battle at center which is where he played his best football.

A couple of offensive players, including Christian McCaffrey, spoke highly of Elflein during the spring stating how much of a leadership role he has taken on. As for the newcomer, Bradley Bozeman, he brings instant credibility and toughness to the offensive line. Last year with the Ravens, he allowed just three sacks and committed just one penalty in 1,125 offensive snaps. This battle will be tighter than many think.

Projected winner: Bradley Bozeman

SAM - Cory Littleton vs Frankie Luvu

Earlier this offseason, I pegged Frankie Luvu as the starter, even after the Cory Littleton signing. Luvu made a big impact every time he was on the field and has earned the right to see more snaps at linebacker. That said, Luvu hasn't played significant defensive snaps in his career whereas Littleton has. Ultimately, I think we'll see these two split the reps 50/50 the deeper we get into the season, but I'll lean toward the more experienced backer here.

Projected winner: Cory Littleton

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