NFC Notes: Bears, Falcons, Panthers, Tetairoa McMillan, Ikem Ekwonu

Bears

Bears OL coach Dan Roushar said he will look past the poor rookie season of Kiran Amegadjie until he gets a good look at him on the field this offseason.

“I think he’s got a lot of potential, and I don’t think it’s fair to evaluate on anything that he did last year based on the fact that there was no OTAs, there was no training camp,” Roushar said. “You’re talking about a guy going in and getting healthy around Week 3, then to begin that process, and then hey, little repetitions, very little fundamental work, then ‘hey, go play’. I’m excited about where he can go, I think the guy’s got some lower power traits that you can get encouraged about, you see the length, you see the athleticism. We got to bring his confidence up. The building blocks of any good fundamental play, it starts in his lower and it’ll move forward.”

Falcons

The Falcons’ addition of first-round OLBs Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. could free up fellow OLB Kaden Elliss in 2025. ILB coach Barrett Ruud cautioned that they need to find a healthy balance of playing all three and avoid becoming a gimmicky defense. 

“We need to be careful — at the same time — not to do too much. You can have a lot of fun with those guys, but you can also overwhelm a team, too, when you’re trying to move everybody around. We have to find our sweet spot,” Ruud said, via Tori McElhaney. 

Panthers

• SI.com’s Albert Breer says the Panthers “got hot” on WR Tetairoa McMillan late in the process, but they loved how he interacted with them during a Zoom call after being a bit quiet in their meeting for his top-30 visit. 
• Breer also mentions McMillan and QB Bryce Young played each other in high school and worked out together in Carolina before the draft. 
• Per Breer, Carolina had trade offers from the Rams and 49ers to trade down from No. 8 overall, but they opted to stay put and take McMillan. 
• The Panthers were very high on DT Walter Nolen and considered taking him at No. 8 before he went to Arizona. (Breer)
• The Panthers picked up LT Ikem Ekwonu‘s fifth-year option, but remain in contract negotiations. Ekwonu said he’s been clear about wanting a long-term deal: “All parties involved know I want to be in Carolina long-term. Hopefully, we can get that done.” (Joe Person)