Mike Dussault

As long as he gets healthy I’d expect Dobson and LaFell to go at it in training camp. Plenty of outlets are predicting Dobson breaks out this year. I’m not quite going that far and am even leaning a bit toward LaFell being the favorite in that competition.

Now, as I wrote previously, it’s hard to get a true sense of the kind of player a rookie will be and Dobson was just getting his feet wet last year, but here are my reasons to lean LaFell.

Physicality, size and versatility. LaFell has all three of those. What did we see out of Dobson last year that really made him stand out? I wasn’t blown away by any individual trait. He has the numbers as far as speed and size, and they certainly took some shots downfield to him, but I was missing that one thing Dobson could hang his hat on. Even as a rookie I’d expect you’d see a little flash of what he’s best at.

I hope that Dobson really takes off this year, he really SHOULD beat out LaFell but I’m not convinced and I think in a tie BB goes with the guy who’s the better blocker and can play more spots in the offense.

As for Boyce and Thompkins, I think they’ll be in the mix. Both have drawn praise in OTAs for looking bigger and more confident this year. But neither have the size that Dobson and LaFell do, ideal size for the X-receiver spot.

This will be one of the best positional battles of camp, and I don’t want to give the impression I’m down or rooting against any of these guys. I’m just going off what I saw last year and what I think is going to happen.

But players always surprise us, that’s the best part of training camp and I’m sure these players will have their moments in the preseason. It’s just a matter of who can do it consistently and not get hurt.

Yeah it goes back to a point I make a lot that development of young guys during the offseason counts for nothing as far as the fan pundits are concerned. Your defense/offense stunk last year and you didn’t acquire a superstar in free agency or draft someone in the first round? Then you’re going to stink again.

In reality, it’s incredibly hard for all rookies in their first year, where they go from all the draft prep/hype into a new team and get immediately thrown into the fire. In year two, with a full offseason to digest the playbook, and an understanding what’s expected of them as professionals it’s easy to see how a lot of guys don’t scratch the surface of their potential until then.