NFC Notes: Cardinals, 49ers, Rams

Cardinals

Cardinals OLB Markus Golden said GM Steve Keim drew comparisons from him to sixth-round EDGE Victor Dimukeje. 

“I watched a little film,” Golden said, via Darren Urban of the team’s official site. “You can tell he’s got a high motor and if Steve is comparing you to me, I know you’re working hard. If you’ve got that, I know for sure you’ve got a shot. You’ll put the work in.”

Dimukeje said keeping up with academics at Duke University in addition to playing football was a challenging grind and could see coaches expecting him to learn their system faster than others. 

“Not a lot of people get the opportunity to attend Duke, and it’s a challenging place, both as a football player and as an academic student,” Dimukeje said. “It was a grind for me. I will take it as a compliment if coaches expect me to pick up stuff faster.”

Keim had high praises of Dimukeje, describing the prospect as consistent, smart, and he “does all the right things.” 

“He’s consistent, he’s smart,” Keim said. “He does all the right things.”

Golden mentioned that plans on working with Dimukeje going forward and pointed out that he had veterans like Calais Campbell, Frostee Rucker, and Lorenzo Alexander to lean on when he was a younger player. 

49ers

• The 49ers typically prefer lighter, quicker offensive linemen who fit their zone blocking scheme. But they went against type in the second round with G Aaron Banks, and assistant GM Adam Peters explained to the Athletic’s Matt Barrows it was because they thought he had enough quickness for his size: “Is he as quick as a (former Stanford and current Falcons center) Drew Dalman? No, probably not. But if you combine a guy who’s that big and has good enough feet like he has. And even if he’s not as quick as he needs to be, he’s so big that if he gets on a guy it’s really hard to get around him.”
• Peters praised third-round RB Trey Sermon‘s character as one of the things that drew them to him: “Trey’s been through a lot of adversity. A lot. And you wouldn’t know it the way he acts, the way he carries himself. He had excellent character at Oklahoma and then later at Ohio State. He came in, he wanted to start. He didn’t start, but he didn’t say a word, he just waited his turn. And when it was his turn, he just balled out. And he played outstanding down the stretch for those guys.”
• Barrows notes that 49ers third-round CB Ambry Thomas really impressed San Francisco at the Senior Bowl.
• 49ers fifth-round OL Jaylon Moore also impressed Peters and company at the Senior Bowl. He played tackle at Western Michigan but San Francisco plans to move him to guard: “They’ve had some good linemen come through there (Taylor Moton, Chukwuma Okorafor). And the coaches there think that Jaylon is the most talented of those guys.”
• Peters compared fifth-round CB Deommodore Lenoir to former 49ers CB D.J. Reed: “They’re both extremely tough, competitive guys. They’re physical, they have good ball skills. So I think you’re right on with that. Deommodore, I think, probably has, in our eyes, a little bit more ability to play on the outside, although D.J.’s doing a pretty good job of that in Seattle now. But similar in their mindset and play style.”

Rams

Regarding the Rams’ Week 7 game against the Lions, veteran QB Matthew Stafford acknowledged that it will be a strange experience facing his former team.

“It’ll be different. It’s something I’ve obviously never experienced. I played for the same franchise for 12 years so this will be a new one for me. Obviously, a bunch of great friends and on the other side of the ball, an organization I care a lot about. But that weekend I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure that we come out on top,” Stafford said, via NFL Network.

• According to Field Yates, the Packers also attempted to sign Rams recently claimed LS Matt Orzech.