The number of Tar Heels in professional training camps has increased from this time last year — when I wrote this primer last year, there were 26 Heels on expanded rosters. Even though not all of those players made it to September, the Tar Heel contingent fighting for NFL jobs has expanded to 32. From young players to career-uncertain veterans to stalwarts, here’s a rundown of each of those players, where they’re hoping to find a spot, and what their chances are looking like early on.
First-Contract Players
There’s obviously
a lot of diversity in this group, from first-round picks and face-of-franchise hopefuls like Omarion Hampton and Drake Maye to guys who were not even guaranteed invites to training camp. I’ll go from the latter to the former here.
Most of this year’s undrafted free agents are on the outside looking in by default, regardless of talent and ability. I was high on Kaimon Rucker and Alijah Huzzie pre-draft, but the league didn’t see Rucker the same way — he was only able to secure a rookie camp invite from the Philadelphia Eagles, and is now in camp with the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens’ outside linebacker situation isn’t the strongest in the league, but it’ll still be a tough order for Rucker to stick. Huzzie is working in a pretty stacked Houston Texans backfield — his versatility will be a plus, but being put on the Non-Football Injury list to start the preseason isn’t promising. The other rookie UDFAs are defensive tackle Jahvaree Ritzie with the New England Patriots, center/fullback Willie Lampkin with the Los Angeles Rams, wide receiver J.J. Jones and tight end John Copenhaver for the Jacksonville Jaguars, wide receiver Nate McCollum with the Seattle Seahawks, and linebacker Power Echols with the Chicago Bears. Of them, I’d keep eyes on Lampkin, who could carve out a pretty unique niche as a player.
There’s also a host of guys who are in their second or third camps in similar situations: coming off injury, or in camp with a new team, or just not assured of a roster spot after a year of turnover. British Brooks headlines this group — he defied odds once again and made the Texans’ gameday roster last year as an undrafted free agent, but suffered a meniscus injury early in the season that knocked him out for the rest of the year. The Texans have bolstered the back of their running back group, so he’s going to have to fight all over again to regain his spot. Tomon Fox has started the last two years on the New York Giants’ practice squad before being pressed into active duty later in the fall, but that edge rusher group has only gotten deeper — we’ll see if that familiarity can breed success for him. Fellow edge rusher Amari Gainer was an everyday special teamer for the Las Vegas Raiders in his rookie season, but that’s far from a role that makes you irreplaceable — then again, all reports about him in practice have been positive. And Devontez Walker, who was drafted by the Ravens last year, is going to have to make some noise to stick in a bolstered wide receivers group that features Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, and DeAndre Hopkins, not to mention a couple of stud tight ends. He played well on special teams last year, but again, that’s not necessarily a path to a steady career.
This group is rounded out by the recent draft picks who have secured their places on their teams. Offensive linemen Asim Richards and Joshua Ezeudu continue to provide valuable depth for the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, respectively. The same can probably be said of linebacker Cedric Gray in his second year with the Tennessee Titans. And, of course, Sam Howell is now on his third team, backing up and hopefully mentoring J.J. McCarthy as he prepares to take his first snaps as the signal-caller in Minnesota. Running back Ty Chandler is a fan favorite in Minnesota as the starting kick returner and a capable And then there are the high draft picks — Maye and Hampton, as mentioned earlier, starting their campaigns to be among the faces of their franchises, as well as Josh Downs entrenched as the starting slot receiver for the Indianapolis Colts no matter what their quarterback situation is. Hampton, thanks to a mild injury to Najee Harris, is already taking first-team reps and impressing the Los Angeles Chargers, while Maye comes into his first camp as the presumptive starter on a Patriots team that a fair number of people are expecting to be one of the most improved in the league.
Prove It or Lose It
There are a few Tar Heels who have already carved out decent NFL careers, but are still in precarious positions — prove-it deals, newly stacked position groups, the whole nine. Dyami Brown comes into camp as a starting wide receiver for Jacksonville across from emerging stud Brian Thomas Jr, but he’s on a one-year deal after only ever really flashing as a Commander. It’s the same story for running back Javonte Williams, who’s on a prove-it deal with the Cowboys but appears to be running ahead of Miles Sanders for the starting job of a newly made room. His former running mate Michael Carter has been riding the back of the roster for the Arizona Cardinals for a couple of years now, so he’ll have an interesting camp. Linebacker Cole Holcomb has fans in the Steelers organization as he comes back from a pretty devastating knee injury from 2023 that kept him out all last year; hopefully he’s able to return at full strength. The guy who replaced him at UNC, Chazz Surratt, is trying for a fresh start as a San Francisco 49er after an underwhelming start to his career with Minnesota and the Jets. Offensive lineman Charlie Heck has been nothing but a solid backup or spot starter since he’s been in the league, but he’s been seemingly undervalued by teams the past few years — he’s now got to prove his worth in Tampa Bay. Defensive back Kyler McMichael was waived in the offseason by the Buffalo Bills last year, and he’s trying again now with the Steelers — you figure the chances may run out soon. And I’m going to put Mack Hollins here, too — he’s the Tar Heel with the best active NFL career, but he’s on a new team (the Patriots) that has completely revamped their wide receiver corps with the signing of Stefon Diggs and drafting Kyle Williams — given that he’s starting camp on the Physically Unable to Play list, he might have to battle to stay on the roster even though he started the fall listed as the third starter at wide receiver.
Stalwarts
After a whirlwind of an offseason down in Miami, Storm Duck finds himself as one of the starting cornerbacks for the Dolphins. He played a fair number of defensive snaps and mostly held his own as a rookie last year, and he’ll be hoping to make a leap and lock down that spot for the future. Another former UNC defensive back, Mike Hughes, has made a nice career for himself first in Minnesota and now as an Atlanta Falco, where he’s a solid #2 cornerback across from A.J. Terrell. Mitchell Trubisky is now a well-established backup to the reigning MVP of the league in Buffalo — his career has settled down after a turbulent start.
The preseason will open on July 31st with the Hall of Fame Game between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Chargers, meaning we’ll be able to see an early glimpse of Hampton in action.
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