Jaguars
Jaguars’ RB James Robinson had a great start as a rookie after going undrafted, yet he isn’t bothered by the team adding veteran RB Carlos Hyde or selecting RB Travis Etienne in the first round of the draft.
“It’s really just I have to go out there and control what I can control and once I get my opportunity, just make the most of it,” Robinson said, via NFL.com. “I think it’ll mesh very well. We’ve all just been trying to learn the offense right now, but as we get into training camp, we’ll see. I’m sure it will work out well.”
Robinson said the relationship he has developed with Etienne up to this point is great and he enjoys what Hyde can bring to the team.
“It’s great,” Robinson said. “He asks questions all the time. He’s a good guy to talk to. It’s great. Him and Trevor [Lawrence] coming in, it’s great.”
“I would say it’s kind of like the relationship I had with [former Jaguars RB] Chris Thompson last year,” Robinson said of Hyde. “It’s an older guy that’s been in the league for a while and [I’m] just learning new things about the league and knowing how to take care of yourself and knowing when to go and when to tone things down. So, he’s great, given me a lot of pointers.”
Texans
- The Athletic’s Aaron Reiss points out Texans’ recently signed RB Rex Burkhead offers some value on special teams which could help him earn a final roster spot.
- Reiss thinks Texans RBs Mark Ingram and Phillip Lindsay are “competing for one spot” given both have limited experience on special teams.
- In terms of potential in-season trade candidates, Reiss says WR Brandin Cooks would draw legitimate interest from other teams, but it’s unclear if the Texans would part with him because they clearly value him highly as a “culture fit.”
- Other options include WR Randall Cobb or TE Jordan Akins if they stay healthy, but Reiss says the flip side of that is Houston won’t want to deplete their offense too much and hurt their ability to evaluate third-round QB Davis Mills.
- Reiss thinks in addition to Akins and fifth-round TE Brevin Jordan, Pharaoh Brown and Ryan Izzo make the team ahead of Kahale Warring, Antony Auclair and Paul Quessenberry.
Titans
Titans’ WR A.J. Brown is overjoyed that the team has added WR Julio Jones, even if it means fewer footballs will be thrown his way in 2021 and beyond.
“It takes some of the tension off of me and with Derrick [Henry] and Ryan [Tannehill] with Anthony [Firkser],” Brown told ESPN’s Turron Davenport on Sunday. “Having another dominant guy on the other side, everybody has to be honest. Now, you don’t know who’s going to hold who. I may get CB1 or Julio may get CB1. But whoever gets CB2, [that cornerback] is going to be in trouble. It’s going to be fun. Derrick is going to do his thing. We all benefit from Derrick. You have to play it honest.”
Brown mentioned the type of playmaker that Jones could wind up being in Tennesee’s passing game.
“He’s a big receiver just like me but the thing he does special is he runs routes just like a smaller guy,” Brown said. “The physical part of his game is crazy. He plays with dominance. He can beat you over the top and beat you underneath. He doesn’t have any flaws in his game. For me, in college, he was teaching me everything, and didn’t even know it. That’s when I didn’t know him and was just watching him.”
Titans’ first-year OC Todd Downing had previously mentioned finding ways to expand Brown’s game during the upcoming season.
“We’ll look for ways to get him singled up, ways to help him with different coverage indicators and things like that,” Downing said of Brown. “See where we can move him around, expand his route tree a little bit and watch him have success as we expand it. The more you can do for our offense and the more jobs you can perform, the more opportunities you’ll get to play. Our group really embodies and embraces the ‘where can you plug me and play me’ mentality. As you have more pieces that are versatile that you can use in different positions, it opens things up for everybody, and we’re excited about that.”
- According to Jim Wyatt of TenneseeTitans.com, Brown shouldn’t be impacted by his knee injury in 2021 and has undergone a successful rehab after deciding to play through the pain in 2020.
- When it comes to potentially re-signing veteran TE Delanie Walker, Wyatt notes that while he worked out for the 49ers there has been no buzz about a return to the Titans. Wyatt adds that more help could still be coming to the tight end position via free agency.
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