Job Battles: Hyde Holding Serve

After a relatively slow preceding week, the news is really starting to pick up with NFL training camp battles, and numerous relevant competitions are worth reexamining.

RUNNING BACKS

Karan Higdon vs. Damarea Crockett vs. Josh Ferguson, HOU

Texans media relayed intense praise for D'Onta Foreman this offseason, with the team raving about his physical conditioning and running backs coach Danny Barrett specifically saying Foreman was "lightyears" ahead of his 2018 level, yet Foreman was shockingly cut Sunday. Not only that, but the reporting out of Houston quickly agreed that the Texans were fed up with Foreman's poor work ethic. Did something change, or were they lying the first time? If they weren't trying to boost Foreman's profile for the purpose of synthesizing a trade market, then the reversal is difficult to grasp.

We're in any case left with a vacancy behind starter Lamar Miller, and none of the candidates are an obvious standout. Pass-catching journeyman Josh Ferguson is one candidate, but he was the presumed third-down and hurry-up specialist prior to Foreman's release. If there is a true backup spot to account for, then it's the pair of undrafted rookies in Damarea Crockett (Missouri) and Karan Higdon (Michigan) who seem to make the most sense, if only because they haven't conclusively demonstrated their pro limitations like Ferguson has since 2016.

At 225 pounds and just under 5-foot-10, Crockett has the build most similar to the 230-pound Foreman. Undrafted and denied a combine invitation, Crockett has the odds against him but offers decent speed for his build (4.50 pro day 40), and in general it'd be easy to argue that he's as good of a prospect as Atlanta fifth-round pick Qadree Ollison. Crockett doesn't show much in the way of burst or speed on tape, but for such a stocky back he encouragingly remains flexible and coordinated, which means his size shouldn't come at the expense of his lateral functionability despite a poor timed agility score (11.8).

Still, I'd generally consider Higdon the better player between himself and Crockett despite Higdon's much lighter build (5-foot-10, 206 pounds). Higdon notably was invited to the combine, where he ran a 4.49-second 40 to go with a 123-inch broad jump. Those marks are more satisfactory than they are standout, but it at least checks the boxes given Higdon's strong showing as a runner over the past three years, over which he totaled 2,597 yards (5.65 YPC) and 27 touchdowns for Michigan. His pass-catching production was dreadful, though, as his 27 targets over that span resulted in just 15 catches for 174 yards. That's an inconclusively small sample, but a 55.6 percent catch rate is not good.

Worse prospects than Higdon and Crockett offered fantasy utility in the past when given opportunity, so both players should be taken seriously for now, but it wouldn't be surprising if the Texans added someone else who instantly rendered both irrelevant. I wouldn't think much about either except for dynasty leagues and other very deep formats.

Carlos Hyde vs. Darwin Thompson vs. Darrel Williams, KC

Damien Williams continues to miss time with a hamstring injury, which has led investors of Carlos Hyde and Darwin Thompson to get optimistic. The Chiefs released an initial depth chart that blurs the picture a bit, though. Hyde is listed as the backup, as expected, but in third is Darrel, the second-year RB-FB tweener undrafted out of LSU, rather than Thompson, the much-hyped sixth-round pick out of Utah State.

I wouldn't let this dissuade me if I were a Thompson fan. It's early, and there's no guarantee the depth chart means anything. You could even reason that as a fellow big back, Darrel would sooner be a problem for Hyde than Thompson. But it's probably safe to say that Darrel was too easily dismissed up until now, including on my part.

To summarize, Damien's hamstring is a growing concern, but in the meantime there's no indication his role is up for grabs, and in the event he's unavailable the replacement plan remains unclear.

WIDE RECEIVERS

UPDATE: The following was written after ProFootballTalk reported Michael Crabtree had signed with the Cardinals. Reporting since that time says no deal occurred. If Crabtree remains unsigned, disregard his mention.

Andy Isabella vs. KeeSean Johnson vs. Michael Crabtree vs. Trent Sherfield vs. Hakeem Butler vs. Kevin White, ARZ

This was going to be a weird blurb as it was, then the Cardinals went and signed Crabtree on Monday night. It's very difficult to tell what's going on in Arizona after Christian Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald, the top two at receiver. The Cards need to run more wideout routes this year than any other team, and their receiver rotation is among the league's most uncertain.

You would think the team would have been eager to incorporate rookies Andy Isabella (second round) and Hakeem Butler (fourth round), but Kevin White was listed ahead of both on the Cardinals' initial depth chart, and one has to wonder if Crabtree will automatically join White ahead of the rookies. Sherfield is somewhere in all this, too, and the second-year player shouldn't be dismissed after a quietly promising rookie year.

But as much as White was listed as starter on the depth chart and as much as Crabtree might get grandfathered into equal rank, things are blurred further by the fact that Athletic team beat writer Scott Bordow said it "[seemed] clear" that the third wide receiver is KeeSean Johnson, the rookie selected in the sixth round and well later than Isabella or Butler. If Bordow is right, then we can't take the team depth chart for gospel, as Johnson was listed alongside Isabella and Sherfield on the second team rather than alongside Kirk and Fitzgerald on the first team.

Crabtree will turn 32 in September but he knows the Air Raid well -- the Mike Leach version, at least -- so if Bordow is right that Johnson was the third receiver rather than White, then perhaps Crabtree has a real shot at immediately establishing himself as the third or fourth target in line at White's expense. The offense requires punctuality from its receivers more than explosiveness, so if the competition is weak then Crabtree could earn immediate snaps despite his diminishing athleticism.

In the meantime it seems a bit presumptuous to bail on Isabella even if he's struggling early, because Fitz and Crabtree are both old, Kirk is coming back from a broken foot, Johnson is still a rookie sixth-round pick, and White is a complete unknown with a long injury history himself. With that said, it might be best to hold off adding more shares if you already have some. There quite simply isn't any clarity here, because aside from Kirk, Fitzgerald, Isabella, and Butler we don't know who's making the team let alone who's cracking the four-deep. I might take a shot at Johnson or Crabtree in the final round of a best ball draft or two, but I'd generally resist the temptation to take anyone here other than Kirk or Fitzgerald.

Rashard Higgins vs. Antonio Callaway vs. Derrick Willies, CLE

Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry are of course locked into the top two spots at receiver for Cleveland, but the battle for the third, fourth, and fifth spots is really heating up. Callaway was the presumed leader for the third spot all offseason, as the second-year fourth-round pick boasts first-round athleticism, but he reportedly struggled to this point in camp and even had the coaches on him for showing up out of shape.

Riding the momentum of last year's strong showing, Higgins has seemingly taken a decisive lead as the team's third receiver at Callaway's expense. Complicating matters for Callaway further is the emergence of Willies, a second-year player out of Texas Tech who went undrafted but possesses standout athleticism at 6-foot-4, 207 pounds with a 41-inch vertical and 134-inch broad jump. Willies has earned constant praise in camp, though in a depth chart issued Monday the Browns still listed Willies behind Callaway and Higgins.

It seems like Higgins should stay established as the third receiver, while something of a stalemate might be in the works for Callaway and Willies. I'll be targeting Higgins occasionally in the last round of best ball drafts, but I'm certainly done acquiring any new Callaway shares until further notice.

D.J. Chark vs. Chris Conley vs. Keelan Cole vs. Marqise Lee (knee) vs. Terrelle Pryor, JAC

Lee and his surgically-repaired ACL/PCL still don't have a reliable prognosis, to the point that his availability for 2019 generally might come into question soon. If Lee is unavailable or limited this year, then the Jaguars have a pretty big void at receiver to account for behind WR1 Dede Westbrook.

Westbrook plays the WR1 role by more specifically serving as the team's lead slot receiver, meaning if Westbrook is healthy the easiest way to get on the field is by contributing at outside receiver. That certainly suits D.J. Chark and Chris Conley, who appear to be the next in line after Westbrook. Chark (4.34-second 40, 40-inch vertical) is a good candidate to take a step forward following a rough rookie season in a cursed offense, and Conley (4.35-second 40, 45-inch vertical) was probably miscast as an underneath target in Kansas City (11.9 YPR compared to 16.6 at Georgia).

Cole and Pryor appear to be next in line. Cole is smaller and slower than Pryor, and he's coming off a down season in which he badly struggled with drops, but he seems safely ahead of Pryor. Cole averaged 9.0 YPT in 2017 and saw eight or more targets in three of the first five weeks last year, so he's something of a bounce-back candidate if he should stumble into a starting workload.

TIGHT ENDS

Charles Clay vs. Maxx Williams vs. Ricky Seals-Jones, ARZ

A former No. 1 wideout recruit who showed promise after moving to tight end as an undrafted rookie free agent, Seals-Jones seems to be losing his grip after showing up in third on Arizona's first depth chart. It's not a conclusive list, but it can't be a good sign that RSJ showed up behind Clay and Williams, both of whom were unheralded free agent signings this offseason.

Clay hasn't even practiced in training camp with a knee injury, so perhaps his distinction as the starter on the depth chart indicates an already designated role in the mind of coach Kliff Kingsbury. Williams is a different kind of player as an in-line target, whereas Clay has always been a WR tweener, but Kingsbury has perhaps already determined some level of fondness with him as well. It seems to be either that or some sort of resentment toward Seals-Jones. Or maybe it means nothing, who knows. But I won't be drafting Seals-Jones anytime soon.

Geoff Swaim vs. Josh Oliver (hamstring), JAC

Oliver made some sleeper lists as a rookie third-round pick out of San Jose State, the main selling point being his 4.63-second combine 40-yard dash time at 6-foot-5, 249 pounds, but a hamstring injury early in training camp might end the competition with Geoff Swaim before it even started. Oliver always struck me as a desperate sleeper target, because even the good rookie tight ends usually struggle, and Oliver wasn't especially productive in college (53.3 percent catch rate, 6.75 YPT last year in an offense that completed 57.5 percent of its passes at 7.0 YPA).

Swaim would seemingly have a great shot to establish himself as Jacksonville's starting TE for the duration of 2019, then. I'm not inclined to target him given his middling prospect profile, but the opportunity is definitely there, and Swaim has been highly efficient in a small sample to this point, catching 35 of his career 43 targets for 336 yards (81.4 percent catch rate, 7.8 YPT).