NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

An NFL executive tells Mike Sando of The Athletic that Washington EDGE Joe Tryon could end up being a better pick than Kwity Paye. 

“Awesome pick,” the executive said. “He may end up being a better pass-rusher than the guy Indy took (Kwity Paye) over their first three seasons — more explosive, better bend, better length. Paye is very compact, built almost like Trey Flowers in Detroit. I see him having a very good all-around game, whereas the guy Tampa took has double-digit sack ability because he’s so bendy. There’s a lot of shit he can do.”

Panthers

Panthers WR D.J. Moore said he’s excited the organization exercised his fifth-year option for 2022 and believes it is a step toward a possible future extension/

“I was excited about it,” Moore said, via Alaina Getzenberg of the Charlotte Observer. “Just another step to something bigger that we’re working towards. I’m really looking forward to it.”

When asked if he’s like a long-term deal with the Panthers, Moore said he loves being in Carolina and looks forward to staying. 

“I love Carolina. I love being here, I love the team. … I would look forward to staying here.”

Moore said he’s getting to know Panthers QB Sam Darnold and the quarterback has been at the team’s facilities since being acquired. 

“Sam’s a cool dude,” Moore said. “He’s been out here since we picked him up, so he’s been cool.”

Saints

Saints HC Sean Payton said he informed Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston that they are looking for a leader of its offense, while Hill would likely have an expanded role on offense and special teams if Winston is their full-time starter. 

“I think the furthest we went with that would’ve been when everyone was healthy and Taysom was playing I’ll call it maybe eight to 10 plays at quarterback — I would never discount that. But I would say this, [Hill] knows and so does Jameis that we’re looking to find a guy that’s going to lead our team this year,” Payton said, via The Rich Eisen Show. “And that doesn’t mean the other guy is not going to have a role. But certainly, it varies. If Jameis is starting, obviously Taysom has a role that expands not only just offensively, but on special teams, etc. And if it’s the other way around, it’s probably a little bit more limited just relative to what Jameis would do.”

Payton also mentioned that he’d like to observe QB Trevor Siemian and fourth-round QB Ian Book in training camp.

“The transition has begun and we look at then a lot of what we’re going to do offensively based on who’s doing it and how do we put an offense around those players or that player,” Payton said. “So I think there’s a little bit in flux relative to who’s starting and then the role each player has. Some of that will be training-camp driven.”