NFC Notes: David Bakhtiari, D.J. Reader, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Lions

When appearing on The Jim Rome Show, Lions’ recently signed DT D.J. Reader reflected on his departure from the Bengals and disagreed with how the organization evaluated him. 

“It’s super tough, but things happen in free agency, and whether it’s upstairs going in a different direction or, you know, I did get injured a couple times there,” Reader said. “They may see it a certain way and I see it different. Who’s to say who’s right. I’m always gonna feel like I’m right, and they’re gonna feel like they’re right. It was super tough to leave something that you built, but there’s comfort in knowing that I left it in a better place than where I found it. So I had to find comfort in that part.”

Reader doesn’t expect any setbacks with his knee and expressed confidence in his playing ability. 

“I don’t see any setbacks keeping me from being able to be right back where I was and the player who I was,” Reader said. “When I’m out there playing, I’m one of the top three players at my position. So I don’t think that’s gonna change. Once I get back and this knee’s back, I think it’ll be like you (Jim Rome) said, another setup for greatness to go out there and do this thing.”

Reader shared his excitement about joining Detroit’s defense. 

“I’m super excited, man. It’s a lot of talent on that team,” Reader said. “The defensive side of the ball is just like loaded with talent and guys who are hungry. If you watch them play, those guys fly around. They don’t do everything right or perfect, nobody does, but they fly around and they get after it. I think that’s what’s inspiring. So I’m excited just to get around those guys.”

Packers

After the Packers released long-time LT David Bakhtiari, they have a huge void to fill to anchor the left side of the offensive line. The organization is confident in OT Rasheed Walker to take over as the replacement this season. 

“I thought [Walker] had a really good year,” Packers HC Matt LaFleur said, via the team’s website. “I think there’s a lot of room for improvement, just in terms of a consistency standpoint. You know, playing 70 plays at a high level. We’ve seen some great flashes from him. He’s certainly athletic enough to do it. So it’s going to be a big offseason for him, but he’s a guy we’re certainly confident in.”

• Oklahoma OT Tyler Guyton took an official visit with the Packers. (Gery Woelfel)
• Nebraska DB Omar Brown has an official visit scheduled with the Packers. (Darren Wolfson)

Vikings

The Vikings have two first-round picks after their latest trade for pick number 23 from Houston. After deciding to move on from QB Kirk Cousins, they could look to move up in the draft to get their QB of the future.

“There’s a lot of scenarios,” GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said, via ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “I like the flexibility that those two picks give us. I don’t think they lock us into any one strategy. I know the mock draft season is here, so I think people are probably thinking they know with more certainty what we’re going to do than the Vikings do. But we’re excited about the flexibility we have and we’re going to approach our board with that mindset.”

Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell went through how valuable it is to go to a player’s Pro Day to evaluate them as a player and a person thoroughly.

“You can get a real quick indication of the level of excitement we all have for a guy based upon spending a good chunk of time together on their home turf. See how they interact with people around the athletic facility, maybe allow them to take us to lunch. We may pick up the tab, but I want to go to where, ‘Hey, where’s your favorite spot to go to lunch?’ And I want to see how they interact with folks, because building-changing quarterbacks, they don’t just change the facilities. Any room they ever walk into, they light it up, they change it, they impact it.”