Bengals
Bengals RB Chase Brown is entering the third year of his career and is set for the largest role since joining Cincinnati. Brown wants to prove to his “younger self” that he can be a successful running back.
“I’m just kind of addicted to seeing the results of putting in the work,” Brown said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “To prove to my younger self that you can really be that guy, be a dude in this league.”
Bengals OC Dan Pitcher called Brown a “highly, highly” motivated person.
“There are guys that it just becomes how they carry themselves, the look in their eye when you talk to him, how you see him go about their day in the building, that it just becomes apparent very, very early that this guy is obsessive about his preparation,” Pitcher said. “There’s something motivating him that’s unusual even at this level of highly, highly motivated people. And I would put him in that bucket.”
Bengals RBs coach Justin Hill said Brown is one of the hardest-working people in their locker room.
“It’s hard to compare him with anybody,” Hill said. “You are not going to find anybody in the building that works harder than him. There is not a day, work day or off day, that he is not in the building working on something. Whether pass game, run game, he wants to find something to get better at. It’s in his DNA. The sky is the limit for him because of his work ethic.”
Browns
Browns’ fourth-round RB Dylan Sampson said he’s going into his rookie season wanting to prove he can be a “stable running back” and have a heavy workload.
“I wanted to prove that I could be a stable running back. I’m not just a spell guy,” Sampson said, via Scott Petrak of BrownsZone. “I could do this at the highest level of college competition against dominant defenses day in and day out and I was able to show that. Especially not being the biggest running back, I could carry the load.”
Sampson is a native of Louisiana and grew up watching Reggie Bush and Alvin Kamara with the Saints. He compared his approach to the game to both running backs.
“They had success just letting the game come to them,” Sampson said. “So I think that’s my play style. I think I’m able to set up defenses and allow my offensive linemen to do what they do best.”
Sampson is eager to prove himself in the NFL.
“I understand that nothing is given, not for me,” Sampson said. “Some people might be different, some things you probably have to take from other people, but nothing was ever given to me. It was a blessing to get drafted obviously when I just finally heard my name called, but I got to prove myself every time and I’m used to that.”
Ravens
The Ravens used a sixth-round pick on K Tyler Loop, marking the first time they’ve ever drafted a kicker in their history. Loop outlined his process for kicking and explained how his trust in that process and his teammates contributed to his success.
“I think the most fun thing about kicking is almost annoyingly so, the process. It’s very methodical,” Loop said, via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. “Kicking is fun.”
“Part of my job is being able to say, ‘Hey, I know my process. I trust Jordan, I trust Nick. I can go out there and stick to my process and we’re good.’ Move on. The next kick is another opportunity.”
Baltimore senior special teams coach and kicking expert Randy Brown reflected on a meeting with Loop during the pre-draft process, where the rookie’s attention to detail blew him away.
“We kind of moved a couple tables away and I said, ‘All right, show me,’” Brown said. “He … steps back over and shows me, ‘OK, this is how I would hit the ball here. This is my lean on my ball.’ I texted (coach John Harbaugh) afterward. I said, ‘I think we have our guy.’”
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