Commanders
- Commanders WR Terry McLaurin was not at OTAs on Wednesday after previously being a full participant, per Jordan Schultz, who also points out McLaurin is entering a contract year and is due for a raise.
Cowboys
Cowboys VP of Player Personnel Will McClay believes fifth-round RB Jaydon Blue could lead the running back room while they focus on adding explosiveness to their offense.
“At the end of the day, in the NFL, you’re looking for explosive playmakers,” McClay said, via NY Times. “He’s an explosive playmaker. You put him in the backfield behind what we built in the (offensive) line and the other guys, it gives you an opportunity to be explosive. … (He’s) an explosive player that can flip the field for you on carries, can also win you some matchups in man-to-man coverage versus linebackers, and even line up so you get an explosive playmaker. It’s just a different speed that he plays with.”
Cowboys seventh-round RB Phil Mafah, who the team drafted in the seventh round, discussed what he brings to the table.
“For me, it’s a mentality,” Mafah said. “My approach to the game is that I’ve got to be the toughest dude on the field. That’s how you got to play the game, especially at the running back position. I’m going to put it on the line for my teammates, and I expect them to do the same. … I feel like I can complement (the other running backs) really well, especially Jaydon. Us being in the same class and him being a great speed guy, me being a power guy, I feel like we can feed off of each other, (as well as) the other running backs in the room.”
Giants
Giants third-round DT Darius Alexander was an established college football commodity heading into the 2024 season at Toledo. Naturally, he received a lot of interest from bigger schools looking to poach him in the transfer portal, and to make it worth his while monetarily. Instead, Alexander stayed loyal to one of the only schools that was interested in him when he was a two-star recruit.
“Serious f—ing money,” Toledo co-DC Ross Watson said via NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky. “That’s what he turned down to stay here at Toledo… And there were so many wide-reaching ramifications of that — for him and the future of our school. That decision changed the course of our future for the better.”
Novozinsky reports Alexander turned down offers ranging from $500,000 to $750,000 in NIL money from SEC and Big 10 schools to stay at Toledo.
“I didn’t want to chase the money,” Alexander said at rookie minicamp. “I wanted to chase the goal of playing in the NFL and winning that championship in the MAC and finishing the ride with my with my teammates and my brothers.”
“My last six years there, it means everything to me, everything in the world to me,” he added. “I’d never trade it for anything in the world.”
The post NFC Notes: Terry McLaurin, Commanders, Cowboys RB Room, Giants appeared first on NFLTradeRumors.co.