Bears
- The Athletic’s Adam Jahns believes Bears HC Matt Nagy‘s three favorite quarterbacks in this draft would be Ohio State’s Justin Fields, North Dakota State’s Trey Lance and Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond.
- NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reports that the Bears, Vikings, Saints and Buccaneers have done “extra leg work” on scouting Stanford QB Davis Mills, Florida QB Kyle Trask and Mond.
- Bears WR Allen Robinson said he signed his franchise tag because it was the best opportunity for him at the time, but a long-term extension is still possible: “[It’s] what was best at the time. I’m in a good place at this point in time.” (Jason Leiser)
- Regarding scenarios with the Bears’ No. 20 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, GM Ryan Pace said they must be ready for all possibilities: “As an organization, we got to be ready for every single scenario. … Whether it’s trading up, staying put, trading back, all those things are in play for us.” (Chris Emma)
- According to a league source, Northwestern QB Peyton Ramsey has had Zoom meetings with the Bears, as well as the Cardinals, Broncos, Vikings, Bengals, Saints and Buccaneers. The Falcons have also shown interest.
Lions
- ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler write the Lions believe they need major help at inside linebacker and see Penn State LB Micah Parsons as a sideline-to-sideline player who could really help them.
- The two add Parsons is in the mix for Detroit at No. 7 and in a trade down the board as well. They also like Miami DE Jaelan Phillips if they move down the board.
- Fowler and Graziano add there was chatter earlier in the week that the Lions tried to trade up to No. 4 overall for LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase but Atlanta’s asking price was too high.
Packers
Packers’ GM Brian Gutekunst admitted there is a temptation to move up in the draft, given how many talented players Green Bay has on their roster.
“It’s always tempting for me,” Gutekunst said, via NFL.com. “I think when you’re sitting at [No.] 29 and watching those kinds of players come off the board that you’ve spent so much time studying and kind of thinking about how they could affect your football team, it’s always tempting. You gotta be careful and you gotta be careful not to fall in love with any individual player. We’ll look at each opportunity we have to move up. We’ve done that in the past, we’ve moved down in the past, as well. But, we’ll look at each opportunity and, if it makes sense, we certainly won’t be afraid to do that. We have a very good football team coming back. Which gives me a little more freedom, I think, as we attack the board to go with the best player. But I think at the same time, I think for me, the one thing if we have a chance to move up to take a specific player that we feel is special, I think you have to always consider that. I think we have since I’ve been kinda, the last three years, I think we’ve done that and we’ll always kinda do that. There are only so many game-changing-type players in this league. If you have the opportunity to acquire one, I think you have to consider it.”
Gutekunst also commented on QB Aaron Rodgers, who has had doubts ever since the team drafted QB Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 draft.
“Aaron’s our guy. He’s going to be our quarterback for the foreseeable future,” Gutekunst said, via Mike Spofford of Packers.com. “We’re excited about kind of the things we’re going to try to accomplish here over the next couple of years. We had to do a lot of things (with contracts) to bring guys back this year and we’ll have to do that again. So we’re not done by any means yet, and we are working through that with a number of our players, including Aaron.”
The rehabilitation process for LT David Bakhtiari , who is widely considered the NFL’s best left tackle, has been a topic of interest and Gutekunst mentioned how the process could unfold.
“We have a lot of confidence in David and the way he takes care of his body, the way he works, how important it is to him, what a professional he is, that he’s going to be on target with all that stuff,” Gutekunst said. “We’re going to make sure we do the right thing as we go through his rehab and protect him a little bit from himself because he’s a grinder and he’s going to push himself as hard as he can to get back.”
- ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler write the Packers have done a lot of work on Minnesota WR Rashod Bateman and he’s an option at the end of the first round.
Vikings
- The Athletic’s Chad Graff writes that the Vikings are big fans of Northwestern OT Rashawn Slater, so much so that they could even try to trade up to make sure they land him.
- If they stick at No. 14, Graff is leaning toward USC OL Alijah Vera-Tucker being the pick.
- Graff also raises the possibility of the Vikings trading down to the end of the first round to pick up another second-round pick or trading up into the second round to land a defensive end.
- Tom Pelissero reports that the Bears, Vikings, Saints and Buccaneers have done “extra leg work” on scouting Stanford QB Davis Mills, Florida QB Kyle Trask and Texas A&M QB Kellen Mond.
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