NFL Confidential: What Are Execs, Scouts Watching In Training Camp?

We’re only in the opening days of NFL training camp. However, there are plenty of things observers around the league are keeping their eyes on as we’re getting a peek at how teams might look in the 2026 season. So, we asked scouts and executives around the NFL what they’re focused on as teams are starting to put on the pads in practice. While most are focused on on-field matters, there was one off-field story that’s emerged that some around the league are keeping tabs on. Here’s more on what NFL scouts and executives are following during the opening week of training camp. Eric D. Williams: A couple league sources I spoke with said they’re keeping a close watch on the contract impasse between Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield and the front office. Mayfield publicly voiced his displeasure, saying he feels disrespected and undervalued by Tampa Bay’s contract offer sheet and that he deserves to be paid like a franchise quarterback. The 31-year-old Mayfield is entering the final season of a three-year, $100 million deal. However, the Bucs lost seven of their last nine games last season, missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Mayfield’s 27 interceptions over the last two seasons are second to only Geno Smith (32) over that time frame. But since Mayfield’s arrival, he’s led Tampa Bay to NFC South division titles in two of the last three seasons he served as the team’s starter, including throwing for 4,500 passing yards and 41 touchdowns in 2024. “It’s interesting that Tampa Bay and Mayfield have not been able to agree on an extension and Baker came out saying he feels disrespected,” an NFL contract negotiator told me. “When I worked in NFL front offices, we never wanted a player in our locker room feeling like the team was getting over on them, especially at the quarterback position.” However, a longtime NFL scout intimately involved in evaluating Mayfield as a prospect coming out of Oklahoma wasn’t surprised by Mayfield’s prideful stance. “Mayfield is being disrespected by the Bucs? What a crock,” the longtime NFL scout told me. “He’s lucky they saved his career. He’s got a big ego and needs to get real. In the NFL, they only give you what you prove.” Ralph Vacchiano: Trading away a No. 1 receiver for future draft picks isn’t a good formula for making a team better. But somehow, that might be exactly what the Philadelphia Eagles did when they traded away A.J. Brown. At least that’s what the Eagles are hoping. They’ll spend the summer making sure that Brown has been adequately replaced. “You can’t argue that the deal made them better on the field. He was their most talented receiver,” one NFL executive told me. “But we all saw that something looked off with them last year. They were always out of sync, [with] no chemistry. Their body language made them look almost unhappy at times. And nobody was more out of sync or unhappy looking than A.J. Brown. “Dealing him shows they thought he was the problem. If they were right, maybe they are going to be better without him.” Of course, as one scout told me, “even if it’s addition by subtraction, they still have to replace him on the field,” and this summer will show how they plan to do that. DeVonta Smith, who topped 1,000 receiving yards in three of the last four seasons, will slide seamlessly into Brown’s old No. 1 role. But beyond him, it could be an open competition with first-round pick Makai Lemon and the recently acquired duo of Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown. “They’re deep enough to run their offense,” the scout told me. “But it remains to be seen if any of them are as good as Brown used to be.” *** Vacchiano: Jaxson Dart re-energized the New York Giants with his promising rookie. Now the NFL is waiting to see if John Harbaugh can turn him into a star. “There’s a lot to like about that kid,” one NFL executive told me, “I think given what he had around him last year, his rookie year was even better than his numbers. He clearly can run. And he was pretty efficient as a passer. “What you need to see is whether he can take the next step. Having [receiver Malik] Nabers healthy would be a big part of that, no doubt. But he’s still got a ways to go to prove he can be their guy for the next 10 years. He’s not a star yet.” Actually, in some ways, the 23-year-old is already a star, which made one opposing coach worry a little. Dart was everywhere in the offseason, enjoying the trappings of celebrity. He was also a fixture on social media. And he got into a public rift with teammate Abdul Carter — and angered more than a few people in the front office, not to mention parts of the fan base — when he introduced the president at a political rally without informing the team. “Being a franchise quarterback is about more than play on the field,” the NFL assistant told me. “It’s about being the face of the franchise. It’s about leading a team and projecting the right image. “I think that will be Harbaugh’s biggest challenge with him — helping him mature. The kid is a star and he knows it. And he seems to love that part of it. That’s fine. But at the end of the day, everyone — the front office, the coaches, teammates, fans … everyone — they all need to see that the work comes first. “That’s how you lead best: By example.” *** Greg Auman: We had a good sense of this before the draft even, but 2026 looks to have as quiet a class of rookie quarterbacks as the NFL has seen in a long time. The Las Vegas Raiders will take it slow with Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick, letting veteran Kirk Cousins open the year as their starter, and we’ve seen the Arizona Cardinals give Jacoby Brissett a nice bump as their 2026 starter, which makes it less likely to see much of third-round pick Carson Beck. NFL fans have come to expect a steady dose of rookie quarterbacks every year — in the last 15 seasons, there have been at least 40 touchdown passes thrown by rookies in all but one season. That was 2022, when no quarterbacks went in the top half of the first round and the rookie class totaled just 29. Mendoza might end up being a fine NFL quarterback, but we might not see much of it this year, and it could take an injury for any other rookies to get real snaps in games this season. Las Vegas gave up an NFL-high 64 sacks last year, and while they’ll be improved after bringing in center Tyler Linderbaum, they want Mendoza to be ready when he takes the field. The lack of rookies with clear paths to playing is also a function of teams knowing the 2027 draft will be loaded with promising quarterbacks — perhaps in line with the elite 2024 class, which had 97 touchdown passes between Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams, among others. But don’t worry — 2026 won’t be the worst year for rookie quarterbacks. In 2007, even with a No. 1overall pick in JaMarcus Russell, rookies combined for just 16 touchdown passes, and the all-time low was in 2000, when all the rookie quarterbacks combined for four touchdown passes all season. *** Williams: During the World Cup, NFL players made a plea on social media for the NFL to make grass fields mandatory for all NFL stadiums. Players pointed to NFL stadiums that usually have artificial turf converting to grass fields for the World Cup soccer games as evidence that the same thing can be done on NFL game days. Players believe practicing and playing on grass curbs injuries and is better for the longevity of players’ careers. However, NFL owners are still not fully on board. Currently, 15 NFL stadiums have grass fields. The NFLPA conducted a player survey, with the results stating that 92% of players prefer grass fields. “The thing I’m hot about right now is that NFL owners refuse to look at uniform grass logistics for all 32 teams and take care of the players,” a league source told me. “Just like the helmets and healthcare, they’ll have to be required to be committed to it, all while going to the bank big time.” With the league dangling the expansion to an 18-game season, the move to mandatory grass fields could be used as a bargaining chip by players. But one league source I spoke with doesn’t see the push for grass fields as a galvanizing issue for NFL players. “I don’t think a half-hearted NFLPA social media campaign will do much,” the league source told me. “Elite players will need to lobby their respective teams, eye-to-eye and face-to-face, for change to actually happen. “And free agents will have to stay away from field turf teams/divisions for anything to really change.”