Training camp close by, and the New England Patriots are about set to open their first camp under new head coach Mike Vrabel.
Vrabel is known as a tough, gritty coach, of course, which will make training camp all the more interesting. Those end-of-roster battles could get real competitive, and one of them in particular looks quite interesting.
Running back Trayveon Williams was signed recently, in May, and he'll be working hard to earn one of those final spots. But, it won't come easy.
Trayveon Williams could have a difficult time making the Patriots' final roster out of training camp
The Patriots' top three running backs are likely set with rookie TreVeyon Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson. But, if the Patriots keep a fourth running back, will it end up being Williams?
His main competition is undrafted rookie Lan Larson out of California-Davis, along with second-year pro Terrell Jennings.
Williams does have experience on his side as he's been around since 2019. All of his first six seasons were spent with the Cincinnati Bengals and, while he wasn't a full-time offensive player, he made most of his impact on special teams.
Williams returned 33 kicks over the past three seasons in Cincinnati while playing over 55 percent of special teams snaps in the process.
The 27-year-old didn't receive a single carry in Cincinnati last year, but he has averaged a respectable 5.0 yards per carry on 62 career totes. The fact he has a few seasons in the league should give him a leg up, which is a positive if the Pats are going to carry four backs.
But, he is 27 years old and New England very well could keep inching forward in their youth movement at several positions. Not to mention, the potential of Larson as a Swiss Army Knife type in the Patriots' offense could have a nice allure to it.
Larson came out of the FCS as a highly-versatile back who can do a lot of things at a high level. Sure, he went undrafted. But, don't count him out. This will be a competition worth monitoring.
More Patriots news and analysis: