“I don’t know if I’ve been asked to like mentor per se. I’ve still got things that I’ve got to work on and I’ve got to achieve,” Kmet explained. “When I was a rookie, we had (former NFL TE) Jimmy (Graham) here and Jimmy was like 32 or 33 at the time. I don’t know if I should say this publicly — he probably wouldn’t have said it then — but he was probably on the back end of his career at that point. I don’t necessarily feel like I’m at that stage in my career yet. So, a little different in that regard. That being said, getting to know Colston has been great so far and I want to give him as much knowledge as I can. Give him all the things that I’ve learned and get him up to pace as soon and as quickly as possible so that he can go out there and be the best football player that he can be this year and going forward. I’m excited about that and it’s been awesome to get to know him here these past few weeks since he’s been drafted. I think he’s going to fit just fine in our room and in the offense as well.”

Lions

Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson believes that he’s doing great in rehab from his knee surgery and is where he needs to be entering the season.

“I’m exactly where I need to be,” Hutchinson said, via PFT. “Every year I’ve been able to improve on my own physical attributes along with the mental ones, so I feel like every year I take a step. Despite having that rehab this offseason, I feel like I’m in the perfect spot and exactly where I need to be going into Year 4.”

Vikings

• ESPN’s Kevin Seifert spoke to Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy as he enters the season as the team’s starter after missing his rookie year due to injury.
• McCarthy on questions about his arm strength: “A lot of [the public doubt] just comes with the stigma of playing at Michigan and not throwing the ball a lot. But at the same time, it could be my frame. They don’t see a 6-5, 240-pound guy, so how can you throw at 61 miles an hour at the combine? But at the end of the day, it’s going to show up and the people that know, know.”
• McCarthy said he has been working on the placement of his throws this offseason: “I believe I’ve grown the most on just the different level of trajectories of throw. At Michigan, I was kind of a one-speed pitch kind of guy. I had a couple deeper balls with level-three throws and stuff like that, but [I’m] just working on that two-ball and different paces to the ‘pitches’ and ball location.”
• One thing Seifert notes about McCarthy is his self-confidence and magnetism: “The thing I learned about myself is just the weight that I hold every single day and just showing up, being the same guy every single day, bringing that attitude, effort, and energy.”
• Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell commented on projected backup QB Sam Howell: “He’s kind of like J.J., where he’s made some throws where you’re like, ‘Man, probably shouldn’t have made that throw. But I now know on this play, I’ve got to be careful of this.’ And it’s all growth.”
• O’Connell also praised undrafted rookie QB Max Brosmer: “I think Max is as smart as any young player that I’ve been around from a standpoint of [the fact that he] really hadn’t been exposed to a lot of reps this spring, but his ownership of the information [is] kind of right on par.”