Bills
Bills C Connor McGovern said he was always undersized for an offensive lineman growing up and is happy to be back at center.
“Once I hit my growth spurt, I just stayed at center,” he said, via the team’s website. “It was just always something natural. I always liked being in the middle and that was always comfortable to me.”
Bills GM Brandon Beane added that McGovern was signed with the idea that he could one day turn into the team’s long-term option at center.
“When we did sign Connor last year, we did say, ‘Hey, this guy is a guy who could be a future center for us when his number is called.’ We didn’t know at that time we would call it at this time. Connor has welcomed the opportunity,” Beane said.
Bills CB Rasul Douglas explained his absence from OTA’s and said that it was personal and had nothing to do with his desire to be in Buffalo.
“I just feel like sometimes you just need to take away and just take a deep breath and to be thankful for what God blessed you with, the family that you with, and just to spend time with them. Also to get your mind healthy, happy,” Douglas said. “I usually take my voluntary stuff to do that. And then mandatory, you come back, take the month off that they give you again for July, and then once you get back, you’re kind of, like locked and loaded.”
Douglas added that he has a much better knowledge of the playbook after mandatory minicamp.
“Yeah, because you’ve got to learn everybody’s position, not just what you’re doing. Like last year, I didn’t know what everybody else was doing,” he said. “Now I’m kind of learning what the linebackers do, what the D-line do, where I’m gonna get my help from and things like that.”
Dolphins
When surveying NFL executives, coaches, and scouts about the NFL’s top-10 receivers, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN ranks Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill at No. 2 because of his game-changing ability. Fowler cites an anonymous NFC executive who praised how Hill’s speed impacts game plans.
“His speed changes your preparation and how you have to play defense,” the executive said. “Only a few people on earth can do that.”
A veteran AFC coach noted how durable Hill has proven to be and has maintained his speed despite being 34 years old.
“He’s just so freaking different, man,” a veteran AFC coach said. “I cannot see him getting slower but for injuries. He’s been so durable, so maybe his age shows with a few more nicks and bruises and he’s not 100% as often, but as far as his speed and quickness I can see him running fast to age 34 easily. Him slowing down just doesn’t compute to me.”
Jets
Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett said he’s excited about adding new wrinkles to the offense in his second year with the team. Hackett added that there’s a different feel about the unit this time.
“Anytime you’re in a second-year offense, it’s a completely different feel from when you first start,” Hackett said, via PFT. “You’re installing plays, you’re installing alignments, and you’re talking about guys just trying to understand what they’re doing. Now you can really detail it up. You can talk about the intricacies of the route. You can experiment with new plays, new motions, all kinds of different, fun things. So it’s been really good. I think the guys have really enjoyed it.”
- Steelers OC Arthur Smith was approached by the Jets to become a part of the staff with the “possibility of being part of the play-calling process,” but he was uninterested because of how vaguely the role was defined alongside Hackett, via PFT.
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