NFC Notes: Caleb Williams, 49ers, Cardinals, Seahawks

49ers

• Per the Athletic’s Matt Barrows, 49ers OL coach Chris Foerster said second-year OL Jason Poe is their fastest offensive lineman and second-strongest, but his lack of length is a real weakness and holding him back from a bigger role at guard: “It’s going to be tough. It’s range. It’s how far do you get from here to here? He’s fast, he’s quick, but there’s just that (lack of) length, and that’d be the only thing that keeps him from doing it.”
• San Francisco has been working Poe a little at center where his lack of length would be less detrimental but Foerster noted there are other areas Poe has to sharpen to play center: “He’s not a very verbal guy (as far as) line calls. The center has to be able to communicate, and Jason’s got to learn how to do that.”
• Foerster said 49ers G Spencer Burford, who started 16 games at right guard as a fourth-round rookie, came to camp in much better shape this year: “There’s a step when a kid’s growing up, right? You were the pudgy kid in eighth grade, and you come back after summer vacation and now, ‘Oh my gosh! You grew up over the summer!’ That’s kind of what Spence did. He kind of worked his butt off this offseason, came back after the season and lost the weight and kind of just redefined where his body is and put it together better. His stamina, everything about him, has grown up.”

Cardinals

If you take the betting odds for each NFL team at face value, the Cardinals have the best chance of any team to end up with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft with two really strong lottery tickets between their own first-round pick and the Texans’ selection. There’s obviously a long way to go until the draft but it’s opened up some speculation about what Arizona would do if they had a crack at highly-touted USC QB Caleb Williams even with QB Kyler Murray still on the roster. How the next eight months unfold will answer that question. For now, GM Monti Ossenfort says the Cardinals will cover all their bases. 

“We’re going to scout quarterback, running back, offensive tackle, everything,” Ossenfort said via the Athletic’s Jeff Howe. “We’re going to put values on guys, and we’re going to compare them to players on our team. I had a lot of experience doing that with all those years in New England when Tom (Brady) was in place. It didn’t mean we didn’t go out and scout quarterbacks every year. We still want to get an evaluation. We want to understand strengths, weaknesses and how those players compare to the players we have. That’s not going to change. That’s something I’ve got experience doing, and we’re going to do the same thing here moving forward.”

• Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon said QB Colt McCoy will play in Friday’s preseason game but wouldn’t elaborate on his playing time or the order of quarterbacks: “You guys will see,” per Darren Urban.

Seahawks

• Seahawks first-round CB Devon Witherspoon has another hamstring injury, according to HC Pete Carroll: “Same leg, different spot.” (Michael Shawn-Dugar)