NFC Notes: Alvin Kamara, Bijan Robinson, Buccaneers, Falcons, Saints

Buccaneers

Buccaneers fourth-round RB Bucky Irving spoke on learning from the veterans in the room and being open to any role where he can contribute. 

“There’s always room for improvement [and] room to learn,” Irving said, via the Bucs Wire. “I’m just leaning on these older guys to learn from them – Rachaad White, Chase [Edmonds] and [those] guys have been great leaders for me, helping me with the playbook and helping me with things I need to know. I’ve been leaning on those guys. I’m going to fit in wherever the coaches need me to play – I [don’t] really necessarily have [a] role yet. I’m going to go with the flow until my number is called.”

Falcons

In his rookie season, Falcons RB Bijan Robinson wasn’t fully unleashed despite showing tremendous promise. New Atlanta HC Raheem Morris noted they plan to run the offense through Robinson in 2024. 

“In the simplest form that you can make it, it’s get the ball to Bijan as much as you can, in as many ideal situations that you possibly can,” Morris said, via Fox Sports’ Greg Auman. “For him, he’s so talented, you don’t want to limit the things he can do.”

“But you also don’t want to water it down so much that he’s not doing anything that he can do great. When you get the ball in his hands, he makes people miss. He gets extra yards. He breaks tackles. He’s fast. He’s explosive. He’s strong.”

Saints

Saints RB Alvin Kamara is looking forward to making an impact with the opportunities he will have in new OC Klint Kubiak‘s system in 2024.

“Run looks, pass looks — everything is intentional about this offense,” Kamara said, via the team’s website. “You know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and when you’re doing it. There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of movement. There’s a lot of opportunity for you to make a play when your number is called. Even when you know there’s a play for another guy, I think there’s a lot of room in this offense to still be open and available to get a ball or to make an impact on a play.”

• Kubiak noted he’s been in contact with Kamara despite his absence at OTAs: “I have talked to him when he was here the last couple of days. He’s been great, talked to him on the phone, even when he was gone (for OTAS). We’ve been in constant communication.” (Katherine Terrell)