49ers

49ers second-round DT Alfred Collins joins a different system in San Francisco than what he played at Texas. DL coach Kris Kocurek thinks Collins has the skillset to be effective in their scheme. 

“You look for the skill set on tape (and) he has the ability to play within our scheme. And we don’t ever want to draft a big guy just to draft a big guy. He still has to have the skill set that we call for within the scheme. So you see enough of it on tape. You’re right — he did play more of a frog stance (four-point stance). But there are times — passing situations — where they kind of turned him loose. And you saw the explosiveness of his body, the ability to really change direction and the speed to pursue the ball, the change of speed to go fetch plays downfield. So, yeah, it’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve. Seventeen years in the NFL, I’ve dealt with that a lot. But he’ll be all right. We’ve got time through camp to adjust to it. He’ll be fine,” Kocurek said, via Matt Barrows of The Athletic. 

Kocurek said they are evaluating their young defensive tackles like Collins, second-year Evan Anderson, and fourth-round C.J. West. 

“When we’re looking at ’em in an evaluation setting, we kind of get a sense of, “Hey, is this guy more of a 3-technique? Is this guy more of an A-gap player playing down at the 2i and a shade?” But with the way offenses are nowadays and the way they can manipulate the fronts and they can slide the fronts, you have to have the versatility to play both. … Some guys are more built for the A-gap, and the longer players are maybe a little better suited to play the three-technique. But they’ve got to be able to play both. They’ve got to be interchangeable. We do have certain spots envisioned, but quickly they could go from one to the next before the snap of the football. And they’ve got to be able to execute at both.”

Kocurek mentioned West’s ability to win the point of contact was a big reason they brought him in. 

“His ability to be able to strike and win contact and jolt that contact and control blockers with his hands, and then his ability to shed and escape blockers. As a young dude coming from college, it’s advanced for where he’s at this stage in his career. … It’s obviously something that really drew us to him.”

Rams

Veteran DT Poona Ford signed a three-year, $27.6 million deal with the Rams after one-year deals with the Bills and Chargers and is bringing excitement to the team’s defense, especially for fellow DT Kobie Turner.

“He’s one of those guys, has easy power and just the human he is, the man that he is, the way that he’s come into this room and he was a little bit quieter at first but now he’s completely opened up to us,” Turner said in a recent interview with J.B. Long. “We just have a great time together and then once we get on the field or once we’re talking through things in the film room, you know exactly what he’s about. You know the player that he is and his caliber.”

“You see it come to life day in and day out so I’m super excited,” Turner continued. “He’s one of those guys that gives you run-stop ability and pass-rush ability and he’s also one of those guys that’s going to play really hard, too. I mean, big fella can run so he’s going to fit in just well with our group and I’m excited to see it come to life on Sundays.”

Seahawks

Seahawks OT Charles Cross said he’s glad the team picked up his fifth-year option and hopes to sign a long-term extension to remain in Seattle.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but Seattle,” Cross said, via NY Times. “I love the fans here. I love the team. One of the greatest organizations in the NFL. I like it here a lot.”

Cross didn’t have an agent when he entered the 2022 draft, but opted to sign with Klutch Sports Group this offseason.

“It was just a decision I felt was best for me and it just ended up working out that way,” Cross said. As for potential extension negotiations this offseason, Cross added: “I’m just worried about right now. We’ll get to that when that time comes.”

Fellow Seahawks OT Abraham Lucas‘s future with the team is more murky coming off an injury, but he hopes to remain in Seattle as well.

“I don’t really know too much about how that process works,” Lucas said “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can in the offense so I can be crystal clear on it and confident in it going into the season this year.”