NFC Notes: Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks

Cardinals

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler mentions others around the league thought the Cardinals also considered RB Najee Harris and WR Kadarius Toney in the first round before taking LB Zaven Collins.
• NJ.com’s Mike Kaye thinks the Cardinals and Eagles could be viable trade partners in a deal exchanging LB Jordan Hicks for TE Zach Ertz. 
• Hicks is cheap and his return to Philadelphia would fill a need for the Eagles. Arizona could use a pass-catching tight end and has the salary cap space to absorb Ertz’s contract.

49ers

The 49ers have had a lot of success with running backs who have arrived to the team without much fanfare. Much of that is due to the work of RB coach Bobby Turner, who has an established track record before joining San Francisco that includes Terrell Davis, Alfred Morris and many more backs who went from obscurity to becoming 1,000-yard rushers.

The latest backs to get the Turner stamp of approval were third-round RB Trey Sermon and sixth-round RB Elijah Mitchell. San Francisco even liked Sermon so much they traded up to secure him despite a pedestrian 40-yard dash time. 

“If there was one thing — and I told him this, too — if there was one thing that you could quote, unquote ‘wish’ that he possessed, it would be to be a little faster with the long speed,” Turner said via the Athletic’s Matt Barrows. “But as far as the point of attack, as far as being a football player, his reads, his instincts, his ability to communicate and retain — I like all that. So when I looked at the tape, I saw a football player.”

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says the 49ers are trying to add more size and beef up front, which is why they zeroed in on 330-pound G Aaron Banks in the second round. 

Seahawks

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says multiple executives around the league thought the Seahawks got great value with sixth-round OT Stone Forsythe, who is a good pass protector and at 6-9 and 312 pounds has the frame to develop into a better run blocker.