NFL OTAs: What matters and what doesn't?

Charles McDonaldMon, May 18, 2026 at 10:16 PM UTC

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NFL OTAs: What matters and what doesn't?

Football season is inching closer as NFL rookies and veterans meet on the field for the first time for organized team activities this week. As fans become increasingly hungry for football as the offseason progresses, it can be hard to stay focused on the few things that matter during this time of year.

If you’re willing to sift through some noise, there are things to glean from OTAs — just not the things people tend to interact with or get excited about.

What matters and what doesn’t: Rookie minicamps | NFL schedule release

What does matter during NFL OTAs?The attendance of veteran players — sometimes

Most of the time, veteran players not showing up to OTAs is a non-story. Ultimately, OTAs are optional, even if the pressures within the sport make it feel mandatory. If a veteran player doesn’t show up, there’s no rule being broken here. However, it’s definitely advantageous to have everyone working together as soon as possible. For example, this week Aaron Rodgers returned to the Steelers right at the start of OTAs so that he could get started with new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, who happens to be his old coach from Green Bay.

Getting Rodgers back in town now before the start of mandatory minicamp gives them the best chance to maximize what could be Rodgers’ last year in the NFL. That’s one veteran attendance situation that really matters because the Steelers have high expectations (for themselves) this year. Jacoby Brissett holding out from the Cardinals isn’t quite as juicy.

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The health of the roster as summer approaches

Around this time of year, there are more health updates on players and draft picks who have been recovering from injuries, which is important because the season really isn’t that far away. An injury that’s still lingering in May or has a setback — like, potentially, Malik Nabers’ — is absolutely in range of impacting the actual regular season. Especially for players who suffered a season-ending injury last year, this is the first time they’ll be able to get back in some sort of action with their team and gauge how they’re feeling. How much players are able to do (or not) does actually matter right now because training camp is only two months away.

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Early look at the roles rookies are immediately vying for

While rookie minicamp doesn’t tell much, OTAs do start to put together the puzzle of what they’re going to be asked to compete for in their first NFL seasons. Seeing the early plans for where rookies are going to line up starts to give a clear picture of how their first seasons can go. While “working with the first team” reports don’t always matter, sometimes they do. It at least can mean that a young player is getting acclimated in a quick manner — especially for late draft picks or undrafted free agents.

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What doesn’t matter during NFL OTAs?Any depth charts that hit the internet

It’s just too early to take much from depth charts that hit the internet during this time. Most of them just don’t matter right now — especially for teams that faced a ton of turnover in the offseason. It’s not likely that the Dolphins’ lineup for OTAs will be the same when the team takes the field Week 1. So much has to happen before player roles get finalized that the only thing to really take away from this is what specific position guys are going to play — which we mostly already know. Although, last year gave us a pretty nice dopamine hit by seeing Travis Hunter listed at wide receiver and cornerback in the NFL.

Sadly, there’s nothing that exciting this year. All we have is the trolls who will try to make a big deal out of something like Kirk Cousins being named the starting quarterback for the Raiders. Don’t get bogged down here. Save your disappointment or rage for late August.

Blocking or pass rush performance of linemen

It’s May. No pads are on.

That any offensive player looks “fast” or ready for big plays

It’s May. No pads are on.

Social media highlights

It’s May. No pads are on.

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Source: “AOL Sports”