Buccaneers 

Regarding Buccaneers third-round WR Ted Hurst, Tampa Bay vice president of player personnel Mike Biehl said the rookie brings many of the traits they seek in a potential X receiver. 

“We’re not expecting him to come in and just take over and have to be a big part of our offense,” Biehl said, via Jenna Laine of ESPN. “Now, that being said, there’s nothing that says he can’t if he comes in and proves himself. Whatever role he has, it’s going to be on what he’s ready for and how he works and proves himself. He’s got a lot of traits that we look for at the ‘X’ position, which is what Mike played, and we’ll just see how it all plays out.”

Buccaneers OC Zac Robinson called having a true X receiver a “luxury,” given their ability to manipulate coverages. 

“Having a true ‘X’ is a weapon as an offense. Knowing that if that guy’s a real threat on the backside and you can dictate some certain coverages certain ways, that is an absolute threat,” Robinson said. “So the closest guy we kind of had in L.A. was [Odell Beckham Jr.]. When we got Odell in that ’21 season, and he changed the math with the defense and there’s one-on-one opportunities when they don’t. So yeah, having a true ‘X’ is a luxury.”

Robinson points out that having Jalen McMillan, Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin and Hurst allows them to be versatile with their receivers. 

“We’ve been seeing it both ways though where he didn’t have a true ‘X’ and really all three receivers can play all three spots, which is also tough on a defense because guys can line up everywhere,” Robinson said. “And that’s where you see the flexibility of [McMillan] and [Egbuka] and [Godwin]. Those guys can line up everywhere, and there’s really no true ‘X,’ no true ‘F’ [a hybrid receiver], no true ‘Z,’ but you got a bunch of different versatility from a pretty cool skill group.”

Falcons

Falcons HC Kevin Stefanski said the team would be deliberate in splitting their reps between quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr.

“You’ll see today. Mike’s been doing a very good job, like I’ve told you guys since the beginning,” Stefanski said, via NFL.com. “His main focus is getting healthy, and he’s doing that. With that, he’s able to do more and more football at the direction of our medical staff, so we’ve been working hand in hand with what that looks like. So, you’ll see Mike out there in individual, you’ll see him in the 7-on-7s. He is not doing team periods yet, but that time is coming.”

“Very intentionally,” Stefanski replied when asked how he plans to split reps. “I think it’s our job, I think [offensive coordinator] Tommy Rees does an outstanding job of making sure that we’re intentional about how we want this to operate. One guy will be up first one period and then switch with the next period and rotate every single day in really almost every drill – because the truth is we’re trying to get the best version of all of our players, so we want to mix and match guys in different spots.”

“I’m running my own race. I can’t look in another lane,” Penix noted. “At the same time, we are working together. That’s what it’s all about — working together and helping each other finish the race. Obviously, we want to come out on top, as far as this team.”

Panthers

Panthers HC Dave Canales said that RB Jonathon Brooks has looked great after suffering another ACL tear last year and his explosiveness is evident.

“It brings me a lot of joy to be able to see him out there,” Canales said, via Panthers Wire. “Didn’t see any hesitation. Just a lot of speed and decisiveness in how he ran the ball today. And got him in the perimeter on a screen and made some good yards on one of our screens today. And not just me, I think his teammates would say the same thing. They would be up here saying the same thing—just really excited to see Jonathon be out there and do what he loves to do.”