Bears
Veteran Bears DT Grady Jarrett believes that HC Ben Johnson and DC Dennis Allen bring an intensity to the team’s defense that will define them in 2025.
“He’s our leader. It is across the board, the standard is the standard,” Jarrett said, via BearsWire.com. “What I can say is with him, and all the coaches, (defensive coordinator Dennis Allen), they’re not coming off of it. It’s our job as players to put our best foot forward every day to reach what’s expected of us. We’re never going to be perfect, but the strive to try to reach it, that can breed excellence. I’m excited for the standard that is set for everybody across the board. This isn’t a program where you try to be guy’s friends and hopefully they’ll buy in. No. You have to get with it. I’ve been around for a long time and that’s the kind of culture you have to set early because when the expectations are high, that’s what you want.”
Lions
Lions WR Jameson Williams is entering the fourth year of his career after recording his first 1,000-yard season. Dan Campbell still thinks Williams has a lot of room left to grow and has been impressive so far in OTAs.
“He’s got a ton of growth left, you know? And, you know, he’s listening, he’s had a good spring,” Campbell said, via Tim Tewntyman of the team’s site. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves in OTAs, but, I mean, there’s so much versatility with him. There are so many things that we can do just with his routes on the outside. I mean, we can do things inside, but just with his speed and, he’s, he’s gotten so much stronger, you know. His ability to stop, put his foot in the ground. Man, when you can run like, you can run, and now you can stop on a dime. I mean, you talk about a hard cover. So, the sky’s the limit for him. He’s exactly where we want him to be right now at this point. We expect him to have a huge season. We really do, man.”
When asked about his expectations for 2025, Williams said he just wants to make plays and is going into the season with a “pep in my step.”
“I’m a ball player. I just expect myself to go out there and make the plays when my name is called,” Williams said. “Nothing spectacular. Help the team win games and get back to where we were at. Going into Year 4 I got a little pep in my step. I’m becoming a vet and moving over from the rookie stage, and I’m just ready to play more football and be more consistent for my team.”
Williams mentioned their younger players are now looking to him for advice.
“I feel good about it. The young guys come to me about a lot of stuff, and I actually feel good because I know what they are asking me,” Williams said. “When I was in their stage, I had guys who I could go to, and they helped me with things. We’ve got four or five rookies that are coming to me asking me like, ‘What’s going on? How does this look? How does that look?’ And I got the right answers for them. It feels good being that guy and that role model for them.”
Packers
The Packers made headlines after it emerged WR Bo Melton was working with the cornerbacks in their offseason program. Melton made clear he’s not converting to a full-time cornerback and still considers himself to be a receiver.
“It’s just something that came up,” Melton said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “I want to give it a shot. I’m still a wide receiver, so I’m not really transitioning to no cornerback, but if it works, it works.”
Melton didn’t think getting time at cornerback would make such a big story.
“I was like, ‘Shoot, maybe this is bigger than what I thought,’” Melton said. “I just went out there, like I said, gave it a shot. I kind of liked it a little bit.”
Melton doesn’t want to compare himself to Jaguars WR/CB Travis Hunter.
“Travis is a different athlete, as everybody knows,” said Melton. “He’s a Heisman Trophy winner, won a lot of awards. I’m not going to compare myself to somebody that’s done that, but what I will say is I like to run for days.”
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