Then teams take a week off from play before the 2021 NFL Regular Season opens for Cincinnati Sept 12 against the Vikings. There are several interesting camp battles to keep an eye on. To me, they are:

QB: Not the starter.That's of course Joe Burrow. But behind him, for those who want to make sure they have the backup. Brandon Allen is the guy to have right now. He may not be much but you don't want to have to need him with the potential of this offense, so get him now if you can.

RB: After Joe Mixon, it's a tossup. Mixon is a question mark in that will he be a three-down workhorse, thus vaulting him in to the top 5 among fantasy RBs? Or will he surrender some passing down work to another RB? I'd say Mixon will get the bulk of the work early but if this team is winning they'll want to keep him healthy down the stretch. I don't think we'll be able to tell when Mixon will be given a breather. It'll be a game by game thing but be assured he'll get more than enough work to be a fantasy stud if he is healthy.

RB: Mixon's backup is like to be Samaje Perine to start the year. He was good when given the chance last season. However, I don't know if he's the long-term backup. Trayveon Williams will get some work and I wouldn't count out Pooka Williams on 3rd downs. Chris Evans also could be in the mix and may usurp Perine if he should well in the preseason. Certainly look for this group to get plenty of work in the three preseason games to sort things out.

WR: The big question here is can this team support 3 WRs with 1000 yards each? I'd say without a doubt if Burrow stays healthy. Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Ja'Marr Chase can each get 1000 yards. The question for my money is who gets the TDs? Will it be spread out or will one guy be the dominant scorer with 12-14 and the other two getting 6-7 each? That's one I don't have a feel for. You might say Chase is the likely target given his history with Burrow but Higgins and Boyd are both NFL proven guys so they may get the looks early. Regardless all three are good guys to have on your roster. Maybe there is now stud by 3 very good WRs. This isn't likely something that will be resolved in the trio of games before the regular season. In fact, until Chase gets acclimated to the NFL we may not know which one will be the long term hammer for Burrow.

TE: Will it matter? Well, there probably will be a game or two when the tight end goes off and somebody pays big FAAB to get them. Drew Sample and CJ Uzomah are veterans with Uzomah a better athlete and receiver. I wouldn't count out Thaddeus Moss, though, as a solid sleeper with bigger upside than the other two. I guess for that reason, Moss being cheaper and just as unlikely to be a non-factor, I'd probably snag him while you can. Again this is a position that may be sorted in the preseason.

Kiker For those leagues that still use kickers, this will be one to have I think. But will it be Austin Seibert the veteran or fifth round pick Evan McPherson. Preseason will likely determine this but for now I'd say McPherson is the choice.

End.