Daniel Thomas was a 2^nd round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2011, but struggled as a rookie, rushing for just 581 yards on 165 carries (3.5 YPC), catching  only 12 passes for 72 yards, and only scoring once. Today, Thomas blamed injuries for his struggles as a rookie. If that’s true and he’s healthy in 2012, he could have a breakout year.

He’s a very talented player and Reggie Bush is hardly a proven durable lead back. Thomas could see a good amount of carries this year and do a lot with them. At the same time, he could struggle and the Dolphins did bring Lamar Miller in through the draft (4^th round) to push him. Ideally though, they’d like Miller to be a successor for Bush in 2013 as a compliment to Thomasn and beyond as Bush is a free agent next offseason.

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Justin Blackmon had a very high profile DUI earlier this month and now another NFL player and has been arrested for the same thing. David Diehl, an offensive lineman for the New York Giants, was arrested Sunday night for driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.18. Diehl was the Giants’ left tackle when they won the Super Bowl in 2008 and was a starter for the Giants when they won against last season, but he played very poorly.

In 20 games en route to the Super Bowl, Diehl allowed 13 sacks, 61 quarterback pressures, and committed 6 penalties, while splitting time at tackle and guard. He was one of the worst offensive linemen in the league last year and his future was already up in the air with the Giants. Diehl, 32 in September, has been moved to right tackle this offseason and could lose a starting job to James Brewer, a 4^th round pick in 2011. This arrest certainly won’t help his cause.

He may have to serve as a 6^th offensive lineman next season, though he’d be a versatile one at that. Kevin Boothe has the inside track to start at Diehl’s old spot at left guard, while William Beatty will remain at left tackle, where he hopes to finally be able to stay healthy. David Baas and Chris Snee will round out the starting lineup at center and right guard respectively.

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The Patriots essentially have 5 wide receivers competing for 2 or maybe 3 spots behind Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney. Those 5 receivers are Deion Branch, Donte Stallworth, Julian Edelman, Matt Slater, and Jeremy Ebert. Both Edelman and Slater have returned kicks in the NFL in the last couples seasons and Ebert, their 7^th round pick rookie, was a return man in college. Even Deion Branch, who hasn’t returned a punt since 2004, had been getting some reps as a punt returner in OTAs as the Patriots try to cover all of their bases when evaluating the 5 receivers.

Donte Stallworth is now being given some reps returning kicks in OTAs, even though he hasn’t done that in a game since the 2003 season. It’s unclear if Stallworth will show anything that will help him stay on the roster, but it’s a good sign that he’s been given reps there. The Patriots didn’t give Chad Ochocinco and Anthony Gonzalez reps there and then cut them outright. The fact that the Patriots are giving Stallworth the chance to show them everything he can possibly do is a sign that he won’t have the same fate. Even if he doesn’t end up making the roster, it looks like he’ll be in this until the final cuts.

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The Titans might have the most interesting offseason quarterback competition this offseason, if only because they might be the most talented team in the league with an unresolved quarterback situation. Matt Hasselbeck led them to a 9-7 record last year, but he turns 37 in September and Jake Locker was their 8^th overall pick last season and played well in limited action behind Hasselbeck last season.

So far, all of the signs have pointed to Hasselbeck starting for the Titans, even though the coaching staff is still insisting that there is no favorite yet. Adam Schefter believes Hasselbeck will continue to start until he struggles, which was the case last season, and GM Ruston Webster says that the competition will come down to more than just stats. Hasselbeck’s experience and intangibles would definitely count as that.

Speculation that Hasselbeck would start was further fueled today when Mike Munchak said that the Titans’ early schedule will affect the quarterback battle. The Titans face the Patriots, Chargers, Lions, Texans, Vikings, and Steelers in their first 6, a tough early season schedule. They might not want to throw their young quarterback out there to that when they still have a capable veteran starter.

The Titans still have not decided on a quarterback and there are still saying that it’s 50/50 between the two, but Hasselbeck does appear to have the inside track early. This isn’t to say Locker can’t win the job if he really impresses in Training Camp and the Preseason, but it looks like Hasselbeck’s job to lose. The Titans feel they can compete this year, after last year’s solid 9-7 season, and they probably won’t want to go through the ups and downs of a young quarterback when they can go with a reliable veteran.

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With Rashard Mendenhall’s status up in the air for 2012 with a torn ACL, Isaac Redman, who used to be Mendenhall’s backup, says he’s “certain” he’ll carry the load for the Steelers this season. That would appear to be the case, at least early on. Mendenhall will likely start the year on the PUP and the Steelers don’t have another running back to challenge Redman. They drafted Chris Rainey in the 5^th round, but he’ll have more of a Dexter McCluster role than anything.

If Redman, who has a career 4.5 YPC, impresses, he could get at least an even split of the carries even if Mendenhall is healthy. He was already stealing a good chunk of Mendenhall’s carries last year even when Mendenhall was healthy and Redman was unproven. He got 110 carries to Mendenhall’s 228. All signs point towards Mendenhall having a breakout season in 2012. He’s a popular fantasy sleeper, but might still be underrated.

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Rashean Mathis has been a starting cornerback of the Jacksonville Jaguars for years, but because he’s age 32 in August and tore his ACL last season, the Jaguars signed Aaron Ross this offseason, someone with starting experience from the New York Giants. The Jaguars official website confirmed today what many expected, that Mathis will have to earn his starting job back from Ross now that he’s been cleared to practice.

Mathis has really struggled in coverage over the last 2 years, and while Ross hasn’t been much better, he is much younger and not coming off a major injury so he’s probably the favorite. The Jaguars signed Ross for 9.75 million over 3 years this offseason and only resigned Mathis for 2 million over 1, another sign that Ross is the favorite.

The loser will likely line up in the slot and William Middleton, who played significant snaps last season because of injury, will be the #4 cornerback. If injuries strike again, he’ll play significant snaps again. Of their top 4 cornerbacks, only Ross is signed after this season so the Jaguars will have a lot of decisions to make at the position next offseason.

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Matt Schaub suffered a broken foot week 11 last year, effectively killing the then 7-3 Texans’ Super Bowl chances, which were just starting to look promising. TJ Yates played admirably and probably better than anyone would have expected, but the Texans still lost in the AFC Semis to the Baltimore Ravens. Now 7 months removed from the injury, Schaub says he’s 100%. He won’t participate in the Texans’ minicamp next week, for precautionary reasons, but he should be a full go for Training Camp.

The Texans have lost a lot this offseason, including 2 starters on the offensive line, Mike Brisiel and Eric Winston, their starting middle linebacker, DeMeco Ryans, their best pass rusher Mario Williams, Joel Dreesseen, who played significant snaps at tight end, and Jason Allen, who played significant snaps at cornerback. However, they still have a lot of talent and made it to the NFL’s final 8 last year without Schaub and with Andre Johnson missing significant time. In a weak AFC, they could end up with a 1^st round bye if everything goes right.

Jay Cutler has never been one for “saying all the right things.” It rubs some people the wrong way, but I do appreciate his honesty. Cutler has done it again, expressing concern for the offensive line by saying “until we get those front five hammered down, we’re still kind of up in the air offensively.” Cutler isn’t saying anything that isn’t true. The Bears offensive line has surrendered more sacks over the last 2 seasons than any other line in the league, with Cutler taking most of them, and if you ask 5 different people, they might give you 5 different week 1 starting lineups for the Bears upfront.

That being said, with Mike Martz gone, Cutler won’t have to hold the ball as long. In 2009, without Martz, the Bears allowed 35 sacks, which is significantly less than the 105 combined they’ve allowed in the last 2 seasons, and they did that with a very similarly talented group upfront. Without Martz, Cutler has always had a knack for getting the ball out with good timing, taking just 11 sacks in 2008, his last year with the Broncos. With Mike Martz gone and Brandon Marshall coming in, the Bears offense has a good chance to improve on where it was last year when they started 7-3 before injuries struck. The Bears should be a very competitive team in the NFC this year.

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The Steelers were an aging team over the last few seasons and they lost a lot of starters this offseason as a result, especially defensively where they lost James Farrior, Aaron Smith, and William Gay, and might not have Casey Hampton ready for week 1. Gay signing with the Arizona Cardinals opened up a hole at cornerback opposite Ike Taylor. There are three candidates for the job: 2009 3^rd round pick Keenan Lewis, 2011 3^rd round pick Curtis Brown, and 2011 4^th round pick Cortez Allen.

According to Pro Football Weekly, Keenan Lewis has the “early edge”. This makes a lot of sense. He’s the most experienced of the bunch and was the highest on the depth chart last season, playing 404 snaps as their #3 cornerback. He’s also been getting the bulk of the 1^st team reps in OTAs. The competition is far from over, but it appears, right now, that it’ll be Lewis starting, and Brown and Allen serving the #3 and #4 roles respectively. Lewis boldly predicted earlier this offseason that he’d make the Pro Bowl this season.

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He might not be a big name or even someone anyone’s ever heard of, but the Packers have had success with guys no one’s heard of before and they might have found another diamond in the rough. MD Jennings is currently working out with the 1^st team at safety in OTAs as Charlie Peprah is injured. Peprah is no sure thing to keep his job, however. The Packers used a 4^th round pick on Jerron McMillian and have contemplated moving Charles Woodson to safety if 2^nd round pick Casey Hayward can establish himself there this offseason.

Jennings will definitely be given a chance to compete for the starting job this offseason and the fact that he’s impressing in Peprah’s absence is definitely a good sign. Jennings was undrafted out of Arkansas State last season and was on almost no one’s radar. As a rookie he was primarily a special teamer and played just 10 snaps on defense. However, as I said before, the Packers are known for finding diamonds in the rough.

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