NFC Notes: Bijan Robinson, Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers

Buccaneers

Buccaneers assistant head coach/run game coordinator Harold Goodwin believes RB Rachaad White can be a special player and added that he’s currently in the lead to be the starting running back.

“Love Rachaad White, love ‘Sneak’ [Ke’Shawn Vaughn], love Patrick, and Edmonds is coming in as well,” Goodwin said, via PFT. “I’m just excited for those guys, they are going to get opportunities and I think all of them are impressive. They all bring something to the table and let them fight it out. See who gets the most reps but obviously I think anyone of those guys can start. I would think right now ‘Chaad’s the lead horse until he’s not. As you guys saw last year, he’s capable, he can be special.”

Falcons

Falcons first-round RB Bijan Robinson told reporters that he trusts HC Arthur Smith to use him all over the field during his rookie season. 

“He uses me everywhere, from receiver to running back,” Robinson said of Smith, via ESPN. “He lets me do my abilities and skill set the right way, whether it’s catching the ball, running routes, obviously running the football, blocking, and doing it all.”

“I’m going to expect nothing less, because he has a plan for me with his coaching style and making sure that I’m doing the right thing on the field,” Robinson added. “And always pushing myself to new limits, new heights, you know, I got to match that.”

Panthers

New Panthers QB Bryce Young and WR Jonathan Mingo commented on each other following the draft, with both hoping to build chemistry with the other right away. 

“I was able to watch him a lot while I was in college,” Young said, via PanthersWire.com. “Obviously, didn’t know that we’d be teammates. Him playing at Ole Miss, I was always watching film on Ole Miss. I always liked him as a receiver. And now, being able to work with him and talk with him, we’ve talked even before camp. We’ve gotten work in and talked about things—again—wanting to be prepared, wanting to be the best versions of ourselves to help the team.”

“Bryce hit me up after the draft,” Mingo said. “Told me congratulations, told me he was a big fan of my game. So, we’ve been choppin’ it up the past few weeks. We’ve been going over the playbook, just making sure we know the ins and outs of the playbook, just make sure we know the script so we can have our timing down. We threw a couple of times before. So, it’s nice to get out on the practice field and get our timing down.”

• Per Joseph Person, two tryout players at the Panthers minicamp with ties to the team include WR Austin Proehl and LB Gavin Greene, whose fathers WR Ricky Proehl and LB Kevin Greene both played for Carolina.