NFC Notes: Jack Campbell, Lions, Packers, Jordan Love, Vikings

Lions

Lions GM Brad Holmes admitted that he didn’t realize how big first-round LB Jack Campbell was after watching him on tape.

“I didn’t know how truly big he was when I started looking at him on film in the fall,” Holmes said, via Lions Wire. “You see a big guy that can stack and shed, and you find out, ‘Oh he’s big; he’s a tackle-to-tackle guy’. Okay, I’ve seen these guys before. But the more you look at (Campbell) in coverage and third-down stuff, and you see that he’s the highest-rated coverage linebacker. Then you look at the athleticism and it’s like, okay, alright. I’m trying to search for the deficiencies of where he can’t get from A to B, and the range, and the spot-drop (in coverage), the change of direction and the quickness. That’s when it really became evident that, whoa, this guy is a complete guy.”

Holmes called Campbell an extremely cerebral player.

“His football intelligence and his passion for the game — it is as good as it gets. It’s elite in every category.”

Packers

Packers OC Adam Stenavich admitted that their offense will likely look different under Jordan Love compared to their system with Aaron Rodgers.

“It might yeah, it might,” Stenavich said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “I think it might. And it’s not just because of not having Aaron Rodgers. It might just be these other pieces that we’ve added as well. So, again, it’s OTAs right now so we’re just going to kind of see how it all fits and once we figure out kind of how we’re going to attack defenses, then we’ll roll from there. But I think it might.”

Stenavich is confident in Love’s understanding of the playbook and ability to prepare himself as a starter. 

“Obviously he doesn’t have the playing experience that Aaron had, but from a playbook standpoint, I think pretty much all of it’s on the table,” Stenavich said. “He’s been around for three years and has really attacked it. Even last year, you could see him come into his own, felt a lot more comfortable, so this year he’s really hitting it on all cylinders so I’m really excited to see what he’s going to bring.”

Stenavich added they are taking things one day at a time with Love. 

“We’re starting on Step 1 instead of starting at Step 8, where you can start with Aaron Rodgers,” Stenavich said. “So, you’re going to take a step back and you’re just going to keep working ahead. Can’t really look at the end result right now. We’re just going to look at one day at a time and just go from there, but he’s ready, he’s excited. I think all the guys, you can feel good vibes, good energy around the locker room, so it’s going to be fun.”

Vikings

• According to Field Yates, the Vikings will retain $1.177 million of OLB Za’Darius Smith‘s salary in the form of a signing bonus, which will adjust his cap charge for the Browns down to $3.032 million for 2023.