NFC Notes: Khalil Herbert, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Although the Bears lost RB David Montgomery in free agency this offseason, seemingly opening up a path to a larger role for RB Khalil Herbert, Chicago replenished the room with veteran free agent RB D’Onta Foreman and fourth-round RB Roschon Johnson. That didn’t surprise Herbert. 

“You know how things go in the NFL now. They’re doing things running back by committee,” Herbert said via the Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain. “You need one, two, three really good guys that really carry the rock and there be no drop-off. I feel like we’ve got a really strong group. We’ve got guys who can take it to the house at any given moment. I’m excited to see what we can do.”

Herbert brings some speed and elusiveness that no one else in the group really has, however. He was second in the NFL in yards per carry last season at 5.7, and Bears HC Matt Eberflus called him a home-run hitter. 

“Just his ability to hit the home run,” Eberflus said. “He’s got great vision. He’s got great cut-back ability. He can take the ball outside and bounce it outside, but he’s really good at cutting it back when it’s there. We’re excited where he is.”

Lions

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is still keeping a notebook with the 16 wide receivers drafted ahead of him and is continuing to write down his goals in it now that he is standing out in Detroit.

“I actually still think about it,” St. Brown said on NFL Total Access with Mike Yam. “I actually have my goals written down in my notebook. What I want to achieve every year. So, what I want to achieve this year going into the season, my personal goals, and then right below that I have the 16 receivers written down, where they went to college right below that. And so, I read that whole list three times before I go to practice every day. It’s something I’ll never forget. Something I make sure I’m always reminded of.”

Packers

Packers WR Christian Watson believes he caught momentum to end the season and was happy with the way his year ended.

“I feel like it was just the perfect way to finish the season,” Watson said, via the team’s website. “There’s going to be highs and there’s going to be lows. You’ve just got to ride the momentum and keep it going and I feel those are things I did.”

Packers wide receiver coach Jason Vrabel noticed the development of both Watson and WR Romeo Doubs throughout the year.

“Some buildings, you draft a guy maybe in the second round, there might be three vets, four vets in front of them,” Vrable explained. “But they’ve been through the fire. I think they’ve learned from it. They’ve adapted. They’re competitive and they’ve bought into the tradition of the room. You could kind of see it throughout the year, their growth.”

Watson believed that his trial-by-fire ultimately made him a better player.

“For me, I like to be thrown in the fire,” Watson said. “I think I was last year, and I think that only made me better. I’m looking forward to going out there and showing who I am.“