Bears
Bears HC Ben Johnson explained what he looks for when determining who will be the team’s starting left tackle. Chicago has a variety of options for the role, including incumbent starter Braxton Jones, third-rounder Ozzy Trapilo and 2024 third-rounder Kiran Amegadjie.
“To me, the number one job of an offensive tackle, doesn’t matter if it’s right or left, is to pass protect,” Johnson said, via Bears Wire. “You need to be able to block their best pass rusher, one on one, and that’s, to me, the number one job. Everything we can get out of them in the run game will be gravy on top of it, but we have to find out who the best pass-protector is, the most consistent pass-protector is, and, really, that’s for all five guys up front.”
Lions
Lions S Kerby Joseph has built a reputation as one of the best ballhawks in the game after getting 17 interceptions in his first three seasons in the league. Detroit safeties coach Jim O’Neil highlighted Joseph’s open-field tackling from a year ago, which doesn’t get nearly the recognition his ball skills do.
“Everybody talks about the ball production, which is obviously rare, but one of the things I’m most proud of with him is I thought he did an unbelievable job in the open field tackling last year,” O’Neil said, via Tim Twentyman of the team’s website.
“It was even more impressive than I thought when I went back and watched the cut-ups. You’re really looking for two things … obviously a guy that can go get the ball and a guy that can erase mistakes when the ball pops. I thought he did an outstanding job of that and that was a huge point of emphasis for us coming off of his season two years ago and last year.”
Packers
Packers QB Jordan Love said first-round WR Matthew Golden has made a strong presence around the locker room since joining the team.
“He’s been looking good. I think from the get-go, from Day 1 when he got here, he’s showcased kinda just the versatility he has running routes, the speed he has and his ability to catch. I think for him, every day he’s been getting better just understanding what he needs to do. You could tell the first couple days there might be a couple routes here and there where he just might be thinking a little bit too much out there and not just going out there and playing fast, which is expected for someone who just got here and is learning the whole offense and everything. I think the faster he can pick up everything, which I think he’s been doing a great job of understanding where he needs to be and just knowing that, but obviously the more installs, the more offense we put in, it gets harder. The more he can stay locked in with all that, I think he’s definitely going to be a playmaker for us and excited to see how far he can go,” Love said, via Matt Schneidman.
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