Lions

Lions DT Tyleik Williams is heading into his second season with a better idea of how the game is played at the NFL level when it comes to schemes and speed.

“I feel way better. I don’t feel as nervous, so I’m playing faster. I learned a lot last year, so just trying to use that to build on this year, you know, get better. “Just how the NFL is played. It’s a lot different than college. Players are way better. Schemes are way better, so just having a year under my belt, I feel like I’m just playing faster and more fluid,” Williams said, via LionsWire.com. “Shoot, I talk to Alim every day about something with football. So, last year it was DJ (Reader) and Alim. Now, it’s Alim, so, I mean, Alim helps me whenever I need help and he’s been that great leader for me going into year two. For me, just more pressure on the quarterback. I won some rushes, but I’m not winning them at the rate I want to win them at.”

Packers

Packers UDFA QB Kyron Drones has an uphill battle to make the team’s 53-man roster as the third-string quarterback behind Jordan Love and Tyrod Taylor. Drones said he’s had the usual ups and downs for a rookie in his first offseason and thinks he’s processing the game better than most players in similar situations.

“It was good,” Drones said, via SI.com’s Bill Huber. “Some ups and downs, but that’s always learning the game and learning how the NFL really is. So, I’m excited for the opportunity that I had and that I’m going to have when we get back.”

“I’m still thinking things through. That stuff is going to come with time. But, at the same time, I’m settling in, processing things as fast as I can. I’m processing things faster than what people usually do, so that’s good on my timeline. But it’s still thinking things through, and then that’s going to come with time.”

Drones is a cousin of Titans QB Cam Ward, and feels he can learn things from him despite not being the exact same kind of quarterback.

“You can take things from anybody. We are two different players but, at the same time, I can take things from what he’s seen, especially his rookie year, just being out there and having to start the full year, being out there as a rookie from what he’s seen, and then he can try to help me from how defenses react to him, how they react to me.”

“So, I can take things from anybody, especially him, that he’s been through it for one season. So, it’s a good thing.”

Being a Virginia Tech alum, Drones revealed he already had a relationship with Taylor. He didn’t hold back when discussing how helpful it’s been to have a familiar veteran in the room with him to learn from in his first offseason.

“Me and him talked here and there before. I was at Virginia Tech and he helped me. He’ll text me here and there throughout the season, making sure I’m in my right headspace. So, I appreciated him from that.”

“And then now it’s a good feeling to really be in the same QB room as him. A man that’s done it for a long time and is continuing to still do it. So, just learning from him in the meeting room, out there on the field and even outside the locker room, it’s a really good thing.”

Vikings

The Vikings hired Andrew Healy as their new assistant general manager following his time as the Browns’ vice president of strategy. Former Cleveland executive Paul DePodesta said Healy was “front and center” in building the organization’s analytics during his time there. 

“He was front and center in terms of building out our analytical operation,” DePodesta said, via Alec Lewis of The Athletic. “But I think more importantly, he was critical to just how we thought as an organization: How we processed information; how we made decisions.”

Browns offensive analyst Dom Borsani said Healy brings a strong understanding of scouting, coaching schemes, and how players will fit into the Browns’ system.

“He’s a little bit like a unicorn,” Borsani said. “He has the research background and history and technical aptitude. But he also has the ability to evaluate from a traditional scouting lens. And he understands coaching schemes, so he can see guys in college and interpret their assignments.”

Former Browns director of football operations Tyler Hamblin said Healy was someone that Cleveland GM Andrew Berry relied on. 

“Heals was one of AB’s strategists that he relied on,” Hamblin said. “He’s not just this guy building models and bringing them to draft meetings. He was a core part of Andrew’s decision-making team.”