NFL teams open training camp roughly one month from now. Every team has grand aspirations when they arrive at camp and last season, whether good or bad, is in the past and this new journey has hopes of success.

Within each organization, key battles are already in progress or may emerge due to the competition at one or more positions on the field. Below are some of the position battles to keep an eye on as training camps set to open in late July.

Cleveland Browns Front Office vs. Josh McCown

Few times in the history of sport was one player so undeserving of a starting job than the Browns second first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Johnny Manziel. Incumbent Brian Hoyer was the most successful quarterback Cleveland has had in decades but the powers that be (Jimmy Haslem) could not see fit having his new toy buried on the bench. Manziel replaced Hoyer last season and in doing so head coach Mike Pettine lost his team.

Pettine, along with the players in the locker room knew that the rookie was not dedicated or good enough to start against the Bengals in Week 14 last year. Manziel completed 10 of his 18 pass attempts (Two went to Bengals defenders) and the Browns lost 30-0. Hoyer signed with the Houston Texans in the offseason, leaving Cleveland to find another quarterback to compete (or so they say) with Manziel. Spending the off-season in rehab, Manziel missed some of the most important time available to workout privately and up his game for the next level. With so much going on outside of the game of football in Manziel’s personal life and well-being, football was on the back burner for the second straight season.

Cleveland brought in Josh McCown, yes Josh McCown, the same quarterback that guided the 2014 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the top selection in the 2015 NFL Draft after the team finished 2-14. McCown’s window to become anything other than a journeyman quarterback has past him by as he enters his 13^th season in the NFL. The Browns are the seventh different team he has played for in his career. The perennial back up quarterback has one thing going for him.  Behind the scenes McCown is a great locker room presence.

McCown is the better option for Cleveland right now than second-year quarterback Manziel. Will the Cleveland brass find it to hard once again to not coddle Manziel, who lacks the needed criteria (at this stage) to be the teams best option at quarterback, but still relinquish the starting job to him?

Joseph Randle vs. Darren McFadden vs. Free Agent Chris Johnson

The Dallas Cowboys elected to allow the 2014 NFL leading rusher (DeMarco Murray) to walk away after his contract expired on the end of the season. Murray eventually landed in Philadelphia with the Eagles while the Cowboys decided to role the dice on the former fourth-overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft in Darren McFadden.

McFadden enters his eighth season in the league and the replay of 2010 and his only 1000-yard rushing season remains very fresh in everyone’s memory. The other memories are more like nightmares for both fans and McFadden. He has never started in more than 13 games in one season in his career. McFadden has one last chance to prove he’s worthy of being considered a featured back with his recent signing with the Cowboys. Now he has to shoulder the load and replace the NFL’s leading rusher (DeMarco Murray) from last season. Averaging 3.3 yards per carry and being hurt most of his career isn’t a good sign.

That is where the potential of Randle plays into the mix. Randle, a fifth-round pick in 2013, enters his third season with the Cowboys and possibly flashed enough talent during his first two seasons in Dallas to walk away as the starting running back when training camp ends. No running back in the NFL with at least 11 carries had a better yards-per-attempt than Randle’s whopping 6.7 ypc average. He carried the football 51 times for 343 yards while McFadden’s last season in Oakland he averaged 3.4 ypc for a total of 534 rushing yards on 155 attempts.

Possibly a third-option will emerge with former (Tennessee Titans/New York Jets) running back Chris Johnson getting a deeper look from the Cowboys if both Randle and McFadden do not impress. Johnson, currently a free agent, fits the mold desired by Jerry Jones (Star Power) to help sell seats and help the team win along the way.

Ty Sambrailo vs. Possible Free Agent Addition

Broncos Pro Bowl left tackle Ryan Clady tore his ACL earlier this year during mini-camp and left a monstrous void on the left bookend of their offensive line. The Broncos selected Sambrailo in the second-round of the 2015 NFL Draft and it appears he has the early leg up on the competition to win and secure the job of protecting future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.

“He’s a very athletic young man. That’s a lot to ask of a very young player,” said head coach Gary Kubiak. “But we’ve got a good month here of work. I sat down with Rick (Dennison) and Clancy (Barone) and James (Cregg), and we felt like, ‘Let’s start working him there today.”

Sambrailo is going to be groomed into taking over the critical position and his collegiate background of being regarding with a high football IQ only enhances his chances of staying on top of the depth chart along with his consistent technique at his craft.

Veteran Chris Clark would appear to have the next shot at replacing Clady if Sambrailo can not get up to speed in such a limited amount of time. Clark is a serviceable option and saw plenty of action late last season and provided some reassurance to the Broncos’ coaching staff that if the rookie (Sambrailo) fails to secure the job, they can bank of a strong blue-collar type effort from Clark.

One name the Broncos’ may have on speed dial is the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft in offensive tackle Jake Long. The four-time Pro Bowler tore his ACL for the second time in as many years and is currently a free agent after being released by the St. Louis Rams prior to the free agency period beginning this past March.

Long suffered the injury on October 26, 2014 against the Kansas City Chiefs. The advent of arthroscopic surgery leaves the remote chance that Long could be somewhat up to speed if the Broncos elect to look outside their current roster for assistance in replacing Clady.

Marques Colston vs. Nick Toon

This does not appear to be much of a match considering Colston is the franchise’s all-time leader in catches, receiving yards and touchdown receptions. Meanwhile in Toon’s case he caught his first NFL touchdown last season against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Toon hasn’t accomplished anything comparable to Colston, but they are two receivers built exactly the same and possess the same qualities. Colston caught 59 passes last season, his second lowest total in nine previous years in the NFL. He should be a key component in the offense, especially with the recent trade of Pro-Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham to the Seattle Seahawks.

Toon is a fourth-round selection from the 2012 NFL Draft. He has been unable to stay healthy after suffering setbacks his first couple of years in the league. He was a fixture on the field over the last six games of the season being targeted 35 times and made 17 catches. Over that same span for Colston, he was targeted 40 times and made 21 catches.

It might be putting the cart before the horse in this particular camp battle because Colston is hands down the starter, but over the course of the season it is likely that Toon carves out a bigger role in the offense and he could take reps away from Colton.