The Tribune

By INIGO 'NAUGHTY' ZENICAZELAYA

NFL Kick Off Sunday 2017 draws even nearer and, as promised, over the coming weeks I will preview each division in the NFL.

As your favourite teams head into training camp, we will bring you up close to the action with the hottest camp battles for starting jobs and playing time. All while keeping you informed of the latest breaking news and transactions.

This week, we look at the AFC SOUTH -

HOUSTON TEXANS:

Training camp report date: rookies and veterans (July 25).

Location: The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

HOTTEST POSITION

BATTLE IN CAMP -

Tom Savage vs. Deshaun Watson. Over three seasons in Houston, coach Bill O’Brien has gone through quarterbacks like a teenager shuffling through the high school dating pool. Houston has had eight different starting signal callers in O’Brien’s time as HC.

Have the Texans finally found the long-term answer in Watson?

Savage enters camp with the starter tag, but if Watson displays knowledge of the playbook and the ability to run the offence, the rookie could pull ahead. Given O’Brien’s history with the quarterback position, we expect Watson to get a shot to supplant Savage at some point in 2017. Whether that happens out of the gate depends on how each QB handles training camp.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ADDITION - DE JJ Watt

All indications suggest Watt is finally over the back issues that limited the three-time defensive player of the year to just three games in 2016. Despite the positive reports, Watt has yet to face any certified contact during his rehab. Those first drills in training camp will give us the best gauge as to how well he’s recovered. If Watt is at 100 per cent to open the season, Houston’s defensive front will be beastly in 2017.

BIGGEST Camp

Question Mark -

Will receivers Will Fuller and Braxton Miller make the leap in year 2?

The Texans’ passing game floundered in large part due to unstable quarterback play last year. Struggles from Fuller and Miller as rookies also played a role. Fuller burst on the scene with back-to-back 100-yard games to open the season, but he had long bouts of inconsistency.

Miller dealt with injuries, and continuing adaptation to a receiver role stymied the former college quarterback’s year 1 growth.

Houston needs both second-year players to make strides and take advantage of opportunities opened by the attention paid to DeAndre Hopkins in the passing game.

Training camp and preseason games will give us a clue as to whether either wideout will step up this season.

INDIANAPOLIS

COLTS:

Training camp report dates: rookies (July 24) and veterans (July 29).

Location: Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center in Indianapolis.

HOTTEST POSITION

BATTLE IN CAMP -

WR Philip Dorsett vs Kamar Aiken for the WR3 spot. T.Y. Hilton remains the clear top dog in Indy’s receiving corps.

Donte Moncrief is a red-zone beast and will be the No. 2 .

Further down, the depth chart remains murky.

Dorsett, the Colts’ first-round pick in 2015, hasn’t lived up to expectations. While the 5-foot-10 speedster has the ability to be a playmaker alongside Hilton and Moncrief, inconsistency could send him down the depth chart.

New GM Chris Ballard added underrated Kamar Aiken in free agency.

At 6-2 and 216 pounds, with the ability to play the slot or out wide, Aiken could provide the versatility and reliability to beat out Dorsett for the No. 3 spot.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ADDITION - S Malik Hooker

Ballard brought in a bevy of defenders to upgrade a mediocre unit, but the first-round pick stands out from the crowd due to his enticing playmaking ability.

A ball-hawking, rangy safety, Hooker has the talent to be a game-changer in the back end. He’s the type of athletic safety coach Chuck Pagano has lacked during his stint in Indy.

If Hooker and second-round CB Quincy Wilson can step in as immediate difference makers, the Colts’ defensive secondary will be massively upgraded.

BIGGEST Camp

Question Mark -

The Status of Andrew Luck’s Shoulder ?:

Luck still hasn’t thrown a football since undergoing surgery in January. The Colts have downplayed the lack of quarterback tosses, yet it’s noteworthy he’s still resting six months later.

When Luck does throw, it will be the biggest news in Colts camp.

His availability to open the season isn’t an extreme source of worry right now -- but the longer Luck goes without throwing, the more it becomes the source of concern.

JACKSONVILLE

JAGUARS:

Training camp report dates: rookies (July 19) and veterans (July 26).

Location: Florida Blue Health & Wellness Practice Fields in Jacksonville, Florida.

HOTTEST POSITION

BATTLE IN CAMP -

How will the Offensive line play out?

The head-to-head battle between veteran tackle Brenden Albert and rookie Cam Robinson will be eye ditching, however, how the Jags work out their offensive line during training camp will be key to this unit’s overall success.

Doug Marrone will want his five best blockers on the field.

Robinson worked exclusively at left tackle as Albert skipped voluntary workouts this spring.

Robinson could slide into guard, but he has never played inside and didn’t get work there this summer.

How the group slots will be important for a Jacksonville offense hoping to ground-and-pound more in 2017.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ADDITION - RB Leonard Fournett

I can’t wait to see the 6-foot, 228-pound back ‘wrecking ball’ in pads during training camp, dragging grown men around and plowing over DBs.

The Jags used the No. 4 overall pick on the thumper to jump start the offence.

Camp is the first time we’ll get to see Fournette in his true form. Very similar to Zeke Elliott in Dallas year one, providing the offensive line does its job up front.

BIGGEST Camp Question Mark - QB Blake Bortles:

The most important season of Bortles’ career approaches rapidly. We’ll all get a better look at whether he’s continued those strides to improve his game over the offseason, during training camp. The best news about Bortles this season, will be that he’s managing the offence and negating turnovers in practice.

Jacksonville owns talent up and down the roster, but Bortles is the keystone of the Jags’ 2017 season.

TENNESSEE

TITANS:

Training camp report date: rookies and veterans (July 28).

Location: Saint Thomas Sports Park in Nashville, Tennessee.

HOTTEST POSITION

BATTLE IN CAMP -

The Secondary: Cornerback Logan Ryan and safety Jonathan Cyprien two free-agent acquisitions, are the only guaranteed starters.

Will first-round rookie Adoree’ Jackson slide into the starting lineup at corner?

For a unit that got torched regularly last season, there remains doubt again this season.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ADDITION - WR Corey Davis:

The Titans completely remade their receiving corps.

No one comes with a bigger upside than Davis. Tennessee used the No. 5 pick on the 6-3 wideout to be a centrepiece with size and speed.

Yes, the same Corey Davis who starred in the Bahamas Bowl.

Let’s see how the run-after-catch playmaker settles into the offence during camp.

With Davis and Eric Decker, the Titans have greatly improved their weapons for Marcus Mariota.

BIGGEST Camp Question Mark - How Healthy is QB Marcus Mariota?

The quarterback has made progress from his broken leg. Mariota hasn’t been cleared medically at this point, so training camp will be everyone’s first glimpse to see how he really looks, hopefully 100 per cent.

Entering his third season, Mariota has yet to complete a full season.

For the Titans to keep that postseason team optimism this offseason, Mariota staying healthy is of the utmost importance.

• See you next week with the AFC EAST as we get even closer to the NFL season, and the best time in all of sports.

• Naughty presents ‘Mischief and Mayhem in da AM’ from 6am to 10am, Monday to Friday and ‘The Press Box’ sports talk show on Sunday from 10am to 1pm, on KISS FM 96.1. Comments and questions to naughty@tribunemedia.net