Bears

Bears HC Ben Johnson was impressed with how talented sixth-round DL Jordan van den Berg is despite him still being extremely raw.

“He’s a beast. He’s an incredible athlete,” Johnson said, via ESPN. “He’s still learning the game of football to a degree, and yet it’s amazing what he brings to the table.”

Bears DC Dennis Allen said van den Berg’s play forced the team to give him playing time with the starters and he hasn’t disappointed.

“When you start off with the [third-stringers] and then all of a sudden you show up and you catch our attention, then we’ve got to find ways to get you some reps with the twos, and if you continue to catch our attention, then we’ve got to find some ways to get you some reps with the ones because that’s really how you evaluate what you have in the player,” Allen said.

Lions

Lions QB Jared Goff enters the 11th year of his career and his sixth season in Detroit. When asked if Goff doesn’t get the credit he deserves as a quarterback, HC Dan Campbell thinks he is “massively underrated,” but understands that winning is most important in the end. 

“You’re not wrong,” Campbell said, via Albert Breer of SI. “Yeah, totally. But as we know, it doesn’t matter. I mean, we can’t change that. Like, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is we keep winning, and you win the big one, man. You win your division, and then you find a way to win the big one. And then, so be it. And if you still don’t get respect, who gives a crap, because you won, and nobody can take that away from you. So, yeah, absolutely. I mean, he is massively underrated. This is a quarterback that plays the quarterback position—he knows how to play quarterback. When you gotta have it, [he] can stand in the pocket, make an accurate throw, an accurate read, and that’s what the quarterback position is. And he’s a rare breed of man.”

As for facing outside criticism, Goff said he tries to focus on results, but admits it gives him a “baby ignition sometimes.” 

“What do I make of it?” Goff said. “I’m just trying to continue to get better. I really, really, really, honestly ignore all of it and think about who matters and whose opinions I really care about, which is my coaches and my teammates, and how can I improve that daily? How can I improve their vision of me daily? And that’s really all I care about. I really, truly don’t care [about] the outside stuff. Of course, you hear it sometimes, and it’ll be like a baby ignition sometimes, but if you don’t have the internal fuel, that fire will burn out.”

Goff reflected that being traded from the Rams to the Lions in 2021 made him more “perseverant,” especially after his early struggles in Detroit.  

“I’ve always known I’m tough mentally, but I think it’s certainly made me tougher,” Goff said. “It’s made me more perseverant. It’s when you see the bottom—and again, it’s relative to playing football—but when you see what rock bottom looks like, being traded, going 3–13, starting the next year at 1–6, that stretch of two years is about as hard as it’s going to get, other than not winning a game. When you see what that looks like, you become so much more thankful, knowing you never want to go back there. So, yes, it’s driven me for sure. … When I got traded, subconsciously, obviously, you never want that to happen again. So every day in practice was like, I need to prove myself. And not that I wasn’t working hard in L.A. and trying my best. I certainly was. But I think realizing how quickly things can change, I mean, it was …”

Packers

Packers RB MarShawn Lloyd enters the third year of his career but has only appeared in one game due to injuries. When asked about Lloyd’s role, HC Matt LaFleur said that it is still “to be determined” but has been pleased with the running back throughout the offseason.

“That’s to be determined,” LaFleur said, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “Who knows? I couldn’t tell you right now, so we’ll see how he’s feeling. He’s had a really steady camp. I think he did an outstanding job. Obviously his availability has been critical, and we’ll just see how it goes.”

Packers RB Kaleb Johnson is entering his second season after being a third-round pick in 2025. LaFleur said he’s a good zone runner, but he still needs to learn their system. 

“Kaleb’s a guy that we really liked coming out of Iowa,” LaFleur said. “I’ve talked to Tim Lester about him a little bit. Certainly I think he’s really good at the outside zone stuff. … He’s a young, talented player. We’re excited to get him in here and certainly he’s got a lot to learn in terms of how we go about everything and from a schematic standpoint, making sure he’s dialed in, not only in our run game but obviously in the passing game, as well, whether it’s protections or his route assignment.”

As for newly signed TE Jonnu Smith, LaFleur said he has quickly gravitated to Jordan Love. 

“I’m like trying to look where he’s sitting; he’s sitting right next to [quarterback] Jordan Love,” LaFleur said. “I’m like, that’s a vet move, so he knows how to work it.”