Buccaneers
Bucs HC Todd Bowles praised TE Cade Otton‘s durability and his ability to learn multiple different systems throughout his three-year career.
“His durability has been outstanding,” Bowles said, via Bucs Wire. “We’ve called on him a lot as a rookie. It’s hard to believe he’s only a third-year guy coming up. His durability has been outstanding and he’s had different coordinators each year, so his ability to adapt and learn… He’s had different coaches, it’s not like he’s had the same position coach or had the same offensive coordinator. So, to learn different things and tweak his game to fit what we needed him to do is outstanding.”
Falcons
Falcons OC Zac Robinson said he was extremely impressed by first-round QB Michael Penix Jr.‘s film, in particular his performance against Texas.
“I think after you watch that Texas game, that was when you’re kind of like, ‘Oh, man, I can’t wait to watch the film on this guy and really, really dive into it,'” Robinson said, via Tori McElheney of the team’s site. “That Texas game was really the game that solidified for me that this guy is a real dude that has a shot to be a very good pro. It was some of the pocket work stuff that he did, the way he got the ball out, his accuracy down the field, his drive, his pace, his touch on all those throws. He can make every throw on the field, can touch every part of the field with his arm. And he did it all by not taking any sacks.”
Falcons QB coach T.J. Yates said he was continually more impressed by Penix Jr. as he kept watching his film.
“You’re looking at it back to back. You’re watching all these games and doing all these things and the more and more you watch this guy play football, the better it gets,” Yates said. “It gets to where you can’t wait to turn on the next game to keep looking at some of the things that he’s doing.”
Falcons’ scout Joel Collier thinks Penix Jr. looked like a “pro veteran quarterback” in college and had a lot of qualities they enamored.
“He just felt like a pro veteran quarterback,” Collier said. “He didn’t get flustered. He was very good in the pocket, made really good decisions, and it was a huge game. The atmosphere was like a pro game that might mean something in a playoff situation, to get to a playoff game or something. He handled it like a pro.”
Panthers
Panthers HC Dave Canales said RB Chuba Hubbard and TE Tommy Tremble have been pushing players to improve this offseason and are standing out as leaders so far.
“On offense — I can’t talk about effort without talking about Chuba Hubbard and Tommy Tremble,” Canales said, via PanthersWire. “Two guys who really push each other to get their work in, to work on the small things, taking care of their bodies. The effort we’re looking for in practice—these guys are at the front of what we’re talking about. Trying to push the tempo, trying to make sure that the defense can feel the attacking style that we have. These are guys that have really stood out for me this spring as leaders in that regard. And so, I feel great about as the whole group looks at that and sees these guys who are depending on working hard, it sends a message to the whole group—this is who we are, this is how we practice and this is how we finish.”
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