NFC Notes: Josh Jacobs, Marshawn Lloyd, Justin Jefferson, Packers, Vikings

Packers

Packers OC Adam Stenavich says that he sees a night and day difference from where the team was in 2023, adding that they are now ready to start experimenting with the pieces they have on offense and increase their tempo.

“We can go out there right now and just run plays and it’s not like we’re installing everything for the first time,” Stenavich said, via the team website. “We can start experimenting faster and taking the next steps with the offense. You’re always looking to take the next step. You have to keep evolving, so it’s just a matter of what’s our best next step, or next two things that we want to do . . . where you can see, all right, is this the direction we want to go?”

Josh Jacobs

Packers OC Adam Stenavich is looking forward to working with running backs Josh Jacobs and Marshawn Lloyd this season.

“Josh is a phenomenal running back,” Stenavich said of Jacobs, via NFL Media. “He’s been All-Pro a couple of times. He’s just one of those guys that’s good in all situations, good out of the backfield as a receiver, excellent runner. He’s a good [pass] protector. So he’s one of those guys that you can really have in the game all the time and not have to worry about anything with him. So that’s nice.”

“I liked his speed. I liked his speed a lot,” Stenavich said of Lloyd. “He had some good runs in OTAs where you saw his burst. He’s got good vision, so I’m really excited about that out of the backfield. We know how good we can be, but we need to understand that no one’s going to hand anything to us in this league. Everything must be earned.”

Vikings

ESPN’s Dan Graziano believes that the Vikings will come together on a new deal with WR Justin Jefferson closer to the season.

“Yeah, it was interesting right before the draft a couple of deals went down: AJ Brown and Amon-Ra St. Brown,” Graziano said, via Vikings Wire. “That might help set the floor of the wide receiver extension market, but Jefferson is the ceiling. His deal is going to surpass them all. Likely going to compete with Nick Bosa to be the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. That deal will take time. There are a number of reasons to think it might happen closer to the season —  obviously, it could happen any minute. The Vikings have a policy with their signing bonus where July 31 is a key date. They might want to wait until after that. And think about the agent, Brian Ayrault, who represents Justin Jefferson. Last year, he represented Joe Burrow and Nick Bosa. Burrow is now the highest-paid player in the league, and Bosa is now the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. Those deals got done pretty close to the start of the [2023] regular season. So I would preach patience on the Justin Jefferson deal.”