NFL Notes: 49ers, Eagles, Jets, Lions, Redskins

49ers

• Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee could see Falcons QB coach Matt LaFleur joining the 49ers with soon-to-be HC Kyle Shanahan as his offensive coordinator, since the two worked together for the past eight years.
• Barrows also reports that Bears assistant ST coach Richard Hightower could join the 49ers as their new special teams coach. Hightower worked with Shanahan while he was with the Browns in 2014.

Eagles

• Jimmy Kempski of the PhillyVoice does not think any potential free agent running backs stand out for the Eagles as a possible acquisition on the open market.
• However, Kempski writes that Cowboys RB Lance Dunbar is a player that would make sense for the Eagles since he is young, has not had an excessive amount of playing time so far in his career, and could be signed at a cheap price.
• Kempski believes it is more likely for the Eagles to trade up in the 2017 NFL Draft rather than trading down to acquire more picks.

Jets

• Although Rich Cimini of ESPN mentions quarterback, left tackle, center, and tight end as positions of need for the Jets, he could see the team going defense with the No. 6 overall pick because of GM Mike Maccagnan‘s usual philosophy of drafting the best player available, while there is a large amount of defensive talent at the top of the draft.
• Cimini believes the two variables that would go towards the Jets selecting an offensive player would be the quarterback situation and LSU RB Leonard Fournette or Florida State RB Dalvin Cook.
• However, Cimini does not think Maccagnan would invest a high draft pick in a running back based on his first two seasons as general manager.
• As for the quarterback position, Cimini would be “surprised” to see the Jets draft North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky or Clemson’s DeShaun Watson since New York selected second-round QB Christian Hackenberg last year and Bryce Petty in 2015.

Lions

Michael Rothstein of ESPN names seven impending free agents he could see the Lions pursuing should they reach the open market:

• Patriots CB Logan Ryan
• Patriots DE Jabaal Sheard
• Texans CB A.J. Bouye
• Rams S T.J. McDonald
• Giants DT Johnathan Hankins
• Jaguars DT Abry Jones
• Jaguars RB Denard Robinson

Redskins

• According to John Keim of ESPN, some people within the Redskins organization wanted to see more aggressive defensive playcalling this season.
• Keim expects the offensive playcalling for 2017 to depend on what happens this offseason for QB Kirk Cousins and the team’s receiving core. However, Keim thinks the team would like to find a more balanced attack with their running game.
• It is worth mentioning that the Redskins cumulatively took 607 pass attempts this season, while they only took 379 running attempts.
• Auburn DL Motravius Adams said his meeting with the Redskins at the 2017 Senior Bowl “went great.” (JP Finlay)
• After speaking to several scouts at the Senior Bowl, Finlay believes it is “unlikely” for Adams to be drafted in the first two rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft.