NFC Notes: Falcons, Panthers, Vikings

Falcons

• Tom Pelissero reports the Falcons will send the max of three personnel to watch QB Trey Lance’s second pro day at North Dakota State on Monday.
• Pelissero adds that while Atlanta has gotten calls about trading the No. 4 pick, they are still evaluating options in the case they end up making the selection.
• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says other teams are keeping an eye on the Falcons as a team willing to move down in a trade, as Atlanta remains open to all options.
• Fowler adds a couple executives mentioned the Broncos as a team that might be willing to move up that high if a quarterback they love is available. 

Panthers

Former Panthers C Ryan Kalil is obviously intimately familiar with Carolina but he also spent a season with the Jets and QB Sam Darnold. He knows exactly what the team is getting in its new quarterback and he’s optimistic. 

“I had nothing but a positive experience with him,” Kalil said via the Athletic’s Joe Person. “I saw a guy who was an incredible worker. I saw a guy who cared a lot about his teammates, about his craft and his community. I saw a guy who wanted to be good and didn’t take anything for granted. But I just think he was in a system that wasn’t beneficial for him — (and) for a lot of players that were there during that time.”

Kalil believes the switch from former Jets HC Adam Gase‘s infamous offense to Panthers rising star OC Joe Brady will be huge for Darnold, as in his opinion Gase held Darnold back. 

“It was a system that didn’t allow a lot of individual freedom. It was very, ‘You do it this way and that’s it,’” Kalil said. “A lot of the scheme was pre-determined (plays) based on what they thought they were seeing from the sideline. It didn’t give Sam a lot of room to grow, in my opinion, to make decisions on the fly. It worked in some instances, but it handicapped him in the long run. It wasn’t a system that allowed him to evolve and make decisions on his own. I think that was the hardest thing. And I think that’s why ultimately the Jets made some (coaching) changes, too.”

• Joseph Person of The Athletic believes the Panthers should consider signing former Browns DT Sheldon Richardson. 
• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says that while the Panthers have sold they’d be willing to draft a quarterback if one fell to their pick, people around the league aren’t really buying that and believe Carolina is a team that would be willing to move down the board in a trade.

Vikings

• According to Darren Wolfson, the Vikings are not scheduled to be in attendance at North Dakota State QB Trey Lance‘s second pro day on Monday. 
• Wolfson adds Vikings OC Klint Kubiak has apparently done a lot of work on Lance but Wolfson doesn’t expect him to be available at No. 14 in the first round.