Must-Watch: Latest NFL Quarterback Drama

National Football League training camps are in full swing, and so are the mood swings that go with the fans, including casual viewers, fantasy folks, betting dreamers, or budding athletes.

A number of NFL players this season will attract eyeballs and be the center of barstool and workplace banter because of their talent, talk, temperament, or a combination of all three.

Here are some of the NFL’s biggest attractions:

Travis Hunter, Jacksonville Jaguars

The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner, who recently gave himself the nickname of “Unicorn” because of his positions as a wideout and a defensive back, is going to play both offense and defense for the Jaguars.

Despite the nickname, it’s important to note that the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft is not the first two-way player in NFL history.

The infancy of the league included rules against most substitutions, so players went both ways—offense and defense—and played every down. The rules obviously changed, and two-way players haven’t been as common in the modern game. Still, this is not the first time.

Regardless, Jacksonville finally has a player the rest of the league can’t wait to see. In fact, Hunter is likely the main reason non-fans of the team might find themselves adding to what could break the sports streaming world with a flood of viewers for the team’s season opener at home against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 7, and beyond.

Certain situations have compelled coaches to come up with special packages for specific players. William “The Refrigerator” Perry is one of the most famous goal-line weapons as a 6-foot-2, 330-plus-pound battering ram scoring touchdowns for the Chicago Bears. But the Jags, under first-time head coach Liam Coen, said he plans to rotate Hunter in and out in offensive and defensive packages to keep him fresh.

The best thing Coen has on his resume is that he was an assistant under Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, so putting such a talent in the hands of an inexperienced coach is also an aspect worth watching.

Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers

Whether speaking on “The Pat McAfee Show” or during media availability, the quarterback has been tossing around better verbal snipes than darts on the field in recent years.

The Pittsburgh organization and its no-nonsense coach Mike Tomlin aren’t about talk—they’re about putting up results. Wins. Success. Titles.

However, Rodgers hadn’t posted a 300-yard passing game in years until he cleared the mark with the New York Jets in a 32–26 loss on Dec. 8 to the Miami Dolphins last season. But from his on-field, in-the-moment dress-downs of his pass catchers to his elusive responses to questions from the media, the QB these days seems more worthy of curiosity from the public than a supportive view from fans of his latest team.

Rodgers, who turns 42 on Dec. 2, looked haggard at times last season, coming off an Achilles tear that shortened his first year with New York, but the Steelers team thinks he can run the offense better than he runs his mouth. If so, Pittsburgh can land a postseason spot and its first playoff victory in nine years.

Micah Parsons, Dallas Cowboys

The stars on either side of this team’s helmet are more likely to be found on a sidewalk in Hollywood than on a Super Bowl stage, the way this club is headed. And podcasting defensive end Parsons has flipped the script by demanding a trade in recent public dialogue on social media.

The fifth-year standout has been a successful part of the Dallas money-making machine, but he has also been a beast on the field. Parsons was ranked third in pass rushing win rate this past season, according to ESPN, and is considered the team’s best player.

However, his exploits on the field haven’t been enough to help the Cowboys, who have just two playoff wins in the past five seasons. The team last won the Super Bowl in 1995 and has stumbled and bumbled its way along a route cluttered with various blunders and numerous players being arrested, including one for trying to shoplift underwear and cologne from a department store.

Parsons is worth the watch, and the drama that is the Cowboys is the kind of entertainment that writes itself. All the public needs to do is tune in, whether he’s traded or not.

Honorable mentions go to Los Angeles Rams defensive end Jared Verse, whose nonstop verbal assaults are just as unrelenting as his pursuits of whoever has the ball, and Cleveland Browns fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders, a QB whose fall in this year’s draft provided the kind of real-life plot TV executives dream about.

Verse, the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, challenged surefire Rams Hall of Famer Aaron Donald to a workout this offseason, and said he pleaded for the former Rams superstar’s wife to call the police because the training was more like torture.

Who knows how serious Verse was when he told the story of the very-public matchup against Donald, but Verse is a walking TV show, in the uniform or out.

Sanders has been missing opportunities because of a slight injury, and there’s a chance he won’t even make the club. But if the quarterback hangs on, it’ll be worth a prime-time broadcast to see if the scouts were right about his lack of arm strength.