NFC Notes: D.J. Moore, Luke Musgrave, Bears, Packers, Vikings

Bears

Bears HC Matt Eberflus said he’s been initially impressed by WR D.J. Moore‘s speed and route running. 

“The first thing I (noticed) is speed,” Eberflus said, via James Neveau of NBC Sports. “I just saw that yesterday, and I was like ‘wow.’ There’s a different gear there, you know? That was exciting to see yesterday. It’s rare when you’ve got a guy that can run the route and have the route discipline that he has and the football IQ that he has, and then also that speed and that talent he has.” 

Bears QB Justin Fields said the team was excited to hear the news of acquiring Moore.

“People were blowing up my phone about the guy being traded,” Fields said. “DJ brings a great talent to this team, and just his personality fits in well with everybody from the first day he got here. He’s a hard-worker, and his personality, just the way he acts, he fits in well with the team.”

Bears LB Tremaine Edmunds said he’s been studying Moore for a while and thinks the receiver has the ability to make big plays. 

“I’ve had the pleasure of watching him for a while,” Edmunds said. “Seeing the good things he’d done in Carolina makes me excited to know he’s on our team. To see those spectacular plays and big-time catches, and when a play needs to be made, to have a guy that can do that means a lot to our team. That’s a guy that makes you excited about what’s to come.”

Packers

Packers HC Matt LaFleur is happy with his tight end group after adding Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft in the draft. He will now have to decide who should be the starter in Week 1. 

“I think we’re pretty early in that game right now,” LaFleur said, via Bill Huber of SI.com. “One of the challenges – and we were talking about this the other day with the offensive staff and, really, with our staff in general – is you’re trying to implement a system, and you know you’re a little light in some areas, so it does present a little bit of a challenge putting all of that together. Now that we’ve got a little bit of clarity on what we have, our job as coaches is to find out what people do the best and put them in those situations. Really excited about the group overall. I think we definitely got better. Now it’s on us to try to develop these guys as quickly as possible and put them in situations where they can showcase their talents.”

• An AFC scout tells Jeremy Fowler that Packers second-round TE Luke Musgrave might have had Dalton Kincaid-like buzz had he not missed most of the 2022 season because of a left knee injury: “With his measurables, he could have pushed for the first round with more productivity,” the scout said.

Vikings

Vikings CB Akayleb Evans is attempting to change the way he tackles this season in order to avoid the concussion issue that plagued him on the same exact day as Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa, so it flew under the radar in terms of news.

Evans also says he hasn’t thought about the long-term impacts that concussions may have on his life.  

“I haven’t really thought about it like that,” Evans said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “I do know that if I ever got to a point where I felt like it was getting out of control, I would take a step back, because life is more important. But I don’t really worry about that too much, honestly.”

“It’s just about how I tackle,” Evans continued. “My mindset when I tackle is always to be aggressive. But not every tackle has to be a kill shot. … Not every tackle has to be as hard as I can. Just being smart about that. But whenever I do go into making a tackle, just keeping my head out of it, being smart about it and intentional about it. So I’ve been working really hard on that.”