NFC Notes: Dan Campbell, Aaron Jones, Caleb Williams, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported over the weekend that while the Bears are still in the process of determining what to do with Justin Fields, sources he’s spoken to expect Chicago to ultimately draft a quarterback with USC’s Caleb Williams being the likely choice. 

“I have talked with some people in and around the program that believe they will land on a Caleb Williams or a quarterback at No. 1 but still has to be sorted out,” Fowler said.

Lions

Lions HC Dan Campbell‘s first impression in his introductory press conference was eyebrow-raising, to say the least. But while it was unpolished, it communicated exactly the culture Campbell wanted to create. Three years later with Detroit’s first playoff win in three decades, Campbell has definitive proof of concept that his way works. 

“I don’t regret anything I said,” he said via NBC Sports’ Peter King. “I said it because I was compelled to say it. I believed it. I believe in what we are. I know it’s a little bit off the wall and it’s a little whatever. But I believed it. This area represents something special and something different. For where this team’s been over the last 30 years and beyond, really, it was time to change. You can’t do this in Dallas. It’s been done in Dallas. Can’t do this in Pittsburgh. They’ve won, and won a lot. It’d been so long here. I just thought, ‘We can do it here, though, and make it special, and we will do it.’”

He also reiterated that he and the team never lost faith, even when the wins weren’t coming as quickly as they thought in his second year. 

“I’ll tell you what I thought,” he said. “‘Our time’s coming.’ And ‘everybody can have their last laugh.’ I can’t tell you the number of times, sitting in that locker room, looking at those guys, they’re all taped up, they’re iced up, they’re beat up. We just lost another tough game.

“I remember saying to the guys, ‘One day we’ll be f—ing laughing at everybody else. Our time is coming. We got an opportunity here.’”

Packers

Packers RB Aaron Jones earned his flowers after his three-touchdown performance in a win over the Cowboys, with HC Matt LaFleur, RG Jon Runyan, and QB Jordan Love all speaking highly of him to the press after the game.

“You guys see it, right? Just his ability to put his foot in the ground and just be explosive, make people miss,” LaFleur said of Jones, via NFL.com. “I can’t say enough great things about the guy, the football player. What he means to our team. The leadership he brings. He’s a rare guy. There’s not many like him. Just how he encourages his teammates, how he uplifts his teammates.”

“We knew that they’ve got a really good pass-rushing unit and we wanted to keep them away from that as much as possible,” Runyan added. “And we knew that they weren’t going to want to get involved in the run game. And that was our game plan. I think we ran the ball all over them kind of at will. We stuck with the game plan, and it lasted all four quarters.”

“Obviously, just the leader he is on the team and then you add his playmaking ability when he gets the ball,” Love noted on Jones. “He’s the total package right there. I love Aaron Jones. He brings a huge spark to the team just the way he carries himself, the way he handles his business and shows up ready to work every day.”

“You know, it was a full circle moment,” Jones told reporters after the game about beating Dallas. “I feel like this is kind of how we got into football. This was my dad’s team. This was my team growing up. You always want to be like your father, so that’s how it became my team. Emmitt Smith was my running back. My first jersey was a 22. I got the chance to speak to him before the game, so that was special to me as well. My dad did get to see me play here my rookie year and I know he was in here tonight. Dallas is a special place to me. It was a first circle moment. It feels like home.”

• LaFleur on the injury suffered by LB Kingsley Enagbare: “My heart hurts right now for JJ. It doesn’t look good for him.” (Matt Schneidman)