Cowboys

Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer has been surprised by how well first-round OLB Malachi Lawrence drops in coverage after rarely being asked to do so during his college days.

“I’ve been most pleasantly surprised by the instincts when he drops in coverage,” Schottenheimer said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “They didn’t drop him much at UCF, for the right reasons. But I like the way he’s tackled this offseason. I think he’s another guy that the talent is real. I don’t remember him making a lot of mistakes, and that’s a good thing.”

Lions

Heading into 2026, the Lions have an influx of young talent after some veteran contributors departed in free agency. Detroit HC Dan Campbell isn’t afraid to give the younger players significant roles early to see how well they can learn from mistakes on the fly.

“I think there’s always a balance when you get into the season of, there could be a player that’s a tick better. He’s an older player, he’s a veteran player,” Campbell said, via Josh Helmer of the Lions Wire. “But, if you really feel like a young guy is learning from his mistakes and is growing, not making the same mistake twice and you feel constant growth, at some point, it’s time to push him into that position and let him go, because in about four weeks, they will be better and then they’ll continue to grow from there. If that’s not showing up, I don’t care who those players are, we’re not going through it. We’re not going to do it.”

Packers

The Packers hired Noah Pauley as the WRs coach for the upcoming season after he spent the last six years in the same role at North Dakota State and Iowa State, where he crossed paths with Green Bay WR Christian Watson. Pauley is thrilled for the opportunity to reunite with someone he worked with during his most developmental years to see his growth on and off the field. 

“It’s been really cool (to have) the opportunity to see and coach a guy from the age of 18 to 22 years old when he’s trying to just grow and mature and do those things,” Pauley said, via the team’s website.

“To have the opportunity to come back four, five years later and reunite with him and see him at a different stage of life – he’s married, has a kid – to see his growth and where he’s grown within the room, it’s been really cool.”

Watson is excited to have Pauley back as his WRs coach and expects him to fit in seamlessly because of his adaptability.

“Obviously, it’s a full circle moment there,” Watson said. “Even back then, I knew his favorite team was the Packers and everything, too. Even just getting drafted here, was excited and talking to him about it. Obviously to still be playing here and have him coaching, it’s definitely a big deal.”

“He has a lot of openness in terms of being able to teach different guys in different ways and then modeling into exactly the kind of coach he needs to be depending on the environment he’s in. Every time he’s gone to a new place, he’s fit in immediately and found ways to make the guys better that he’s working with.”