NFC Notes: Lions, Packers WRs, Vikings

Lions

Lions DL coach Todd Wash wants second-year DT Alim McNeill to continue developing as a pass rusher and mentioned that their scheme will allow him to be in more one-on-one situations. 

“Obviously, he can do a lot of different things. But this is really going to get him one-on-one with some centers, you’re going to be able to see more athleticism,” Wash said, via Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News. “He has really good play strength. We’ve seen that. He doesn’t get knocked off the ball. We want to see him continue to develop as a pass rusher. When some turns and protections, where he gets one-on-one, this scheme allows him to be on an edge and show his athleticism. So I think the pass rush is really what we’re going to see out of Mac.”

Packers

Former Packers QB Brett Favre thinks the Packers will have a hard time replacing WR Davante Adams but still having QB Aaron Rodgers is huge. 

“They’ll be okay,” Favre said via TMZ Sports. “It’s hard to replace a great player like Davante Adams. It’s hard to replace Aaron Rodgers. You don’t replace those players. You plug someone and hope that the others take up the slack until that person finds their own way. Aaron’s too good. Much like Tom Brady has gone into every season and manage to systematically tear teams apart with whoever — It doesn’t matter. And that will be the case with Aaron.”

• PFF’s Doug Kyed says the Packers were identified by one source as an attractive landing spot for a veteran wide receiver. Some notable free agents still available include Julio Jones, Will Fuller, T.Y. Hilton, Cole Beasley and Odell Beckham Jr.

Vikings

• The Athletic’s Arif Hasan and Chad Graff note the Vikings’ secondary might not be worse than it was in 2021 but it’s hard to see a path to it being significantly better. Both are worried about 32-year-old CB Patrick Peterson, as age is not kind to most corners. 
• Minnesota used a second-round pick on CB Andrew Booth and a fourth-round pick on CB Akayleb Evans. Hasan likes the long-term potential of both but notes it’s unfair to expect either to be an immediate, high-end starter. 
• Both Graff and Hasan are also concerned about the Vikings’ depth at slot corner. Free-agent addition Chandon Sullivan is expected to start but there’s not much depth behind him. The team could use S Camryn Bynum in the nickel as a way to get him on the field but there might be matchup problems with that.