NFC Notes: 49ers, Cardinals, Lions

49ers

Though 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo wasn’t able to do much work with the coaches while he recovered from his knee injury, HC Kyle Shanahan set him up with his father, Mike Shanahan, to watch film. 

“He’s one of the best to ever to do it, obviously. A Hall of Fame guy,” Garoppolo said via NBC Sports’ Jennifer Lee Chan. “He’s just incredibly smart. Seeing the game from his point of view is different. He was looking at it differently than a quarterback. It’s hard to describe. It’s going to help me a lot going forward.”

Cardinals

• According to CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco, he’s been told the Cardinals are going to go in a different direction with their No. 1 overall pick instead of taking Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray. 
• Prisco says ownership initially pushed for Murray because the team’s ticket sales were lagging. But when sales didn’t improve after the information got out there, they decided to change direction. 
• Phil Savage remains convinced the Cardinals take Murray, however, he says Arizona could trade down “for pennies on the dollar” and still take him if another team in the top-5 wants to assure themselves one of the defensive players in this draft. 

Lions

• While offensive tackle isn’t a need for the Lions, Justin Rogers of the Detroit News writes that Detroit could consider Alabama OT Jonah Williams because of his ability to play right guard. 
• Rogers adds with LT Taylor Decker‘s fifth-year option coming up and there being some question regarding RT Rick Wagner and whether he’ll be worth cap figures of $11.9 million in 2020 and 2021, Williams could give the Lions flexibility on those decisions with his ability to shift outside to tackle. 
• Rogers mentions Ohio State OT Isaiah Prince and Elon OT Oli Udoh as potential late-round developmental options.