NFC Notes: Budda Baker, Matthew Stafford, 49ers, Cardinals, Rams

49ers

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan addressed why the team hasn’t drafted offensive linemen in the first round.

“I’ve heard the narrative that, you know, that we’re ignoring the O-line. If we felt the O-lineman was the best pick there, there’s no doubt that’s who we’d take,” Shanahan said, via The Athletic. “But there’s some O-linemen there at the end of the first round that you feel have just as good a chance as a guy at the end of the second round. One’s a higher prospect and might have a higher ceiling, but I’m not too concerned about the ceiling. I want to know if he’s going to be a starting left tackle, a starting left guard, whatever, a starting NFL player. And if you are a starting NFL lineman, I think we can have a good team with you. (But) if we have a bunch of starting NFL linemen (and) there’s no one who can score points, we’re not going to have that good of an offense. It’s weird to me that … I’ve never been on a team that was favored to win every game the whole year before the season started. And we’ve been (listed as) that two years in a row. So what that tells me is people think we’ve got a really good roster. Well, if we were drafting only O-linemen, we wouldn’t have as good of a roster.”

Shanahan added that the teams that he’s been around and helped build have developed great rosters, even if they haven’t always typically invested heavy draft capital in building up the offensive line.

“One of the biggest things that drives me crazy throughout my whole career is being at places that just draft O-linemen in the first and second round because no one can really talk about whether they’re big busts or not,” Shanahan said. “We don’t really think that way. We don’t have a philosophy to avoid O-linemen. We just don’t have a philosophy that says we’re always going to build inside-out because you’ve got to establish that for the run game. Look at our run game everywhere. Look at our run game in Washington (when Shanahan was the OC under his father, Mike). I mean, we drafted Trent Williams, we had the fourth pick in the draft. … Our left guard was cut from Denver. Our center was a practice-squad player. Our right guard was a free agent that we got from Baltimore. And our right tackle we got off the street. And then our running back was a sixth-round pick. And we rushed for more yards than the Hogs ever did or John Riggins and all those big-time Hall of Fame people. We want O-linemen, don’t get me wrong. But you don’t just get to pick whoever you want. … We have been favored in every game for two years in a row. Our roster is damn good.”

• Per Matt Barrows, 49ers OL Spencer Burford has taken all the first-team reps at RG and thinks they might be giving him a chance to show his abilities after playing OL Jon Feliciano there last season. 

Cardinals

Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon said DB Budda Baker is a team leader and is vocal in team meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page.

“(Budda) is everything we’re about,” Gannon said, via the team’s website. “He practices the right way, he plays the right way. You should hear him in meetings. He asks a ton of questions when he probably knows the answers but he’s asking because his buddy doesn’t want to ask the question.”

Baker figures to play an integral role not only for the defense but for the team as a whole.

“He’s a phenomenal person and he’s a phenomenal player,” Gannon said. “I’m glad ‘3’ is with us and he’s going to play a big part in what we do this year.”

Rams

Rams HC Sean McVay opened up on changing his hours to ensure a better work-life balance and proper rest.

“I used to think it was cool to think you can go 18 hours,” McVay said, via ESPN’s Stephen Holder. “You know what that is? That’s called being a dumbass.”

• According to Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson, while both the Rams and QB Matthew Stafford have declined to comment on specifics of his adjusted contract, a league source says the compromise was to move money up to the current year of the deal. 
• Stafford was originally set to earn $31 million this year and had $15 million guaranteed in 2025. The agreement moved some of the $15 million from next year to this year.