Assistant General Manager Brandon Brown

Q. Obviously every off-season is exciting. This year, this whole lead-up to the draft, with the number three pick, the quarterbacks out there, was it even more spicy, exciting, interesting for you and you guys?

BRANDON BROWN: I wouldn't say it's more spicy. When you look at the draft process, we want to attack it by, one, we had the quarterback process. We also have to look at what's the best player available. We're happy we landed with Abdul (Carter). We had two years of watching great tape of him, seeing him play off the ball, but also as a rusher.

Getting together with Shane (Bowen) and Dabs and figuring out how can he be multiple in your defense and help our rush. That was a big emphasis, rush, coverage, versatility, creating turnovers. He helps us out with that.

Q. You've talked about that in the past, the idea of making sure the scouting staff, personnel staff, the coaching staff are all on the same page. You know if you're considering drafting a player, what will they do with that player.

BRANDON BROWN: Correct.

Q. How important was it with Abdul, because he possesses such a diverse game, you want to see how he's going to be used in your system?

BRANDON BROWN: Good question.

When you look at Abdul's versatility, you know he can affect the quarterback in multiple positions. That was the biggest thing. When you have (Brian) Burns, KT (Kayvon Thibodeaux), Abdul, how can you get our best players, our front seven, aligned and on the field as much as possible to help affect the quarterback.

I think when you look at his early tape at Penn State, you can see him playing from stacked alignment. When you have a premium athlete like Abdul, he can rush from a stacked linebacker position, rush over a guard. Same thing with Burns, it gives you the versatility to flip-flop. And with KT, to create the best matchup on a week-to-week basis.

The ability to be multiple was really advantageous for us in terms of evaluating Abdul. Actually seeing true application of it. It's not a hypothetical projection, we've seen it.

Q. In the quarterback process, what is your contribution to that process? What was your part in that?

BRANDON BROWN: Yeah, it was a comprehensive and arduous process where you kind of look at the coaching staff and the scouts were on it on two different timelines.

When you look at the quarterbacks, from a scouting perspective, we have two years of a book of business of seeing these guys live, where the coaches get to the off-season, they're playing catch-up for us.

We have the touch points of the All-Star Games as well as the private workouts, the 30 visits, combine. Then when you have the process, the culmination as you kind of build this funnel, as you get later and later in the spring, you get to watch tape together, figure out what best fits, what are the non-negotiables and understand what is going to play at a premium in this system, what can be emphasized based on Dabs' vision.

The collaborative process, like I said, it's long. This is our second year in a row doing a deep dive into it. We're happy that Jaxson (Dart) is our guy, the way that we came away with it.

Q. At what point in the process with Jaxson did you say, that guy can work for us?

BRANDON BROWN: When you look at these players, they are their walking résumé. Every benchmark matters and contributes to how they would fit for us.

Obviously you have your two years of tape with Jaxson. Then you get to the Senior Bowl, we were lucky enough to have coaches that were involved in coaching there. But the cool part is when we got to Senior Bowl, we get to sit down with other players. You talk to them about, Hey, if you have one guy to bring to the NFL with you... Jaxson was a common theme that came about. It was players from different sides of the ball, different sides of the ball, demographics. He's kind of got that every-man feel, which was really unique.

When you get through the spring process, we do our aptitude testing as well as our private workout, private dinners, he was a guy who checked all the boxes with us and we're happy we were able to get him.

Q. You asked Ole Miss players, or guys who showed up in Mobile or...

BRANDON BROWN: Guys at Mobile, guys that played against him during the regular season, guys that were on the same team with him at Mobile, but not at Ole Miss.

When you get to your private workout, you have all your skill guys show up for you at a private workout, it shows how they think about you as a teammate. When you go to the Pro Day, he's cheering on Walter Nolan on the bench pressing. He's there early when he's not even doing the lifting portion of the workout.

The guys see what kind of equity he builds up with them. He has that moxie where guys like to be around him, they gravitate towards him. They see that he puts the work in.

So it was a glove fit for us.

Q. Every year at the draft you hear somebody say, I thought this team told me they were going to draft me and they didn't draft me. How difficult is the fine line to walk between showing a player love, telling him you're interested in him, and not leading him on to believe that he's your guy that you're going to pick?

BRANDON BROWN: For sure. When you get to the combine or early in the process, you're still in the fact-finding part. You have a good feel or you should have a good feel for what the player is on the field, how he can fit into your system from just a skill set standpoint.

But then as you have these call it off-season benchmarks, you figure out the intangibles. You're negligent if you make that decision on a player before you go through the full kitchen sink process with them.

It's how can he process? What is the work ethic that he puts in? What are his, outside of football, interests? What drives him? What's his support system like? All those things contribute to really what's his floor, what's his ceiling.

At the end of the day we're looking at the draft, there's a lot of risk analysis that goes on. Then you factor in the medical component. You find some of that medical component stuff later on which either creates an opportunity for a player or makes it more risky than not to take the player.

Q. You were talk about risk analysis. What was the calculation with Jaxson. You're sitting at 3. You know you can get him at three, obviously take Abdul, just not knowing if Jaxson is going to make it to wherever you end up getting him.

BRANDON BROWN: Well, I think when you take Abdul, he was for us, the talent was a no-brainer. You look at opportunity costs, right? What are you giving up potentially for the player you're taking? With the help from NASA, which is our analytics crew, that we affectionately call them NASA. Take our area scouts, they hear the word on the street. Scouts talk. You hear from other buildings where guys may be on the board.

There's so much dead time in the spring before the draft, you're starting to hear where guys potentially may fall. As we get all this information, from agents, all third-party sources, we figure out, hey, what is our best opportunity to strike?

We knew once we got into the 20s, there was going to be an opportunity for Jaxson. At what striking point? And what would be the compensation we'd have to give up?

Q. You and Joe Schoen have worked closely together now, to this point. In that point, you're in the draft room, we got to see it after the fact when the team released a video of Joe, just you can see I don't know how I would describe it, but the emotions of when do we pull the trigger, and the relief when it finally hit. From someone that was in there and had to watch it transpire, what did that feel like to know that here's a quarterback you guys like, but you just don't know until you know when you pull that trigger?

BRANDON BROWN: The first thing, I have to give my hats off to Joe for how systematic and streamlined our processes were, where nothing happened that we were surprised about.

Leading up to the draft, we have these strategy sessions where we go through hypothetical scenarios. If we take a player early, if we trade back into one, what does that look like. It's no different than practicing. You take those reps so when game day comes, on draft day, you're ready for whatever. There's no curve ball surprise where you're caught flat-footed.

When we got into the 20s, we knew there were going to be striking opportunities and potential deals that could have been done with multiple clubs. We were happy that we were able to keep pick 65 and get Darius Alexander later. These are some of those scenarios we worked through.

For it to come to fruition, seeing that sigh of relief from Joe, everything that we planned for. It doesn't always go according to plan, but this one planned out the way we did, Hey, we may be in this position. What does it look like? For the way it came together, we were really happy.

Q. You've been a part of the evaluation process of a lot of players. Evan Neal, he's a right tackle, an offensive tackle. Now he's making a position change. From a developmental guy who looks at these guys, tries to project, why can he be a good guard in the NFL?

BRANDON BROWN: Yeah, I think when you look at the job description in our system for the guard, can he create movement at the line of scrimmage? Can he keep the interior firm in pass protection? We've seen Evan do it before. We need the flashes to be consistent.

He's been fully bought in with the move. Just knowing that leaning on your strengths, there are not that many men that are as big as he is inside at guard and playing with better balance. Carm (Bricillo) and James (Ferentz) have been working with him throughout this spring. Evan is putting in his work.

We're excited to see what he shows when the pads come on in training camp. Excited to see that he has the physical tools and skill set to transition inside. We just need to see it consistently.

Q. He looks like a prototype tackle. Does that 6'7" hurt him at guard? There's not that many 6'7" guards. How does that translate?

BRANDON BROWN: He's shorter than 6'7". I get what you're saying. He's a big man.

When you look at the prototype size, you can look throughout the league, offensive lines like Baltimore, et cetera. There are guys, some of the guys in Philly, that are larger than typical prototype.

What is the job description and the technique? If you're asking him to pull out in space and do a lot of redirecting at the second level, that is not his game. He's a power broker. He's a guy that can create movement. He's a guy that can absorb power, anchor in pass protection. We have to keep improving the technique, work on his hand usage and his balance. James and Carm are committed to that.

Q. With Darius Alexander and Cam Skattebo, you mentioned having two years of tape on Jaxson and Abdul. When you look at a guy like Darius, a mid-major school, and Skattebo having really one big year, what is the process of seeing how they can fit with less film?

BRANDON BROWN: So this is really a moment. Hats off to our area scouts. It's early identification. They do a lot of the unseen work. When you look at Darius Alexander, you look at Brendan Prophett identifying him early at Toledo.

When we see him play against Pittsburgh and he zone drops and has an interception. Finding out the background that he once was an offensive lineman, had coordinator changes, he became a father really early. A lot of the hidden work that he's done and obstacles that he's overcome and come on the right side. Him showing up at Mobile wasn't the first time we were getting exposure to him. It created an early touch point and checkpoint.

When you look Skatt, same thing. We were hearing things about Skatt when he's at Sac State. You look at our area scouts, Hannah Burnett and Jeremy (Breit), those two were really the driving force in terms of identifying Skatt early.

Not just the highlights and the broken tackles that you see, but the unseen stuff. At practice, he's got some things in the pass game that are untapped. Then you watch the call it Texas game, you see him utilized in the pass game a little bit more.

When we go through the process with him, we weren't worried about 40 time, all those other things, because we had so many touch points and live looks in practice, that he wasn't a guy that popped on the scene late. We took him through the fall. We got to see him live. We're happy. That's the thing where we preach to our scouts early identification. Scout with your eyes, not with your ears.

Both of the scouts on the west coast, Brendan Prophett with the Toledo work, along with our other scouts, they did a really good job. It's part of our core values that Dennis Hickey driving the scouting process on the college side in terms of overseeing a lot of the calendar work of how we divide up the labor, of going to schools early, the amount of looks each school gets, the amount of live looks each school gets. There's a method to the madness. A lot of unseen work that goes on in the fall.

Q. Russell Wilson's body of work speaks for itself in the league. What convinced you all that at this point in his career he'd be a good fit?

BRANDON BROWN: Well, Russell, he's been a guy that when you look at what he's done from Seattle to Pittsburgh, it was a mesh and fit for our scheme. We knew we needed to push the ball down the field a lot more. You guys have seen him do that in practice. That's an ability and knack that is unique for Russ.

You look at the leadership component. When you see what Russ has done since he's got here, within the first two weeks he's bringing Jalin Hyatt out to L.A. and they're working out privately. He's getting all the skill guys together down in Atlanta. Earlier this week, scheduling a dinner with the O-Line and running backs.

That type of leadership component... Remember, our nucleus has been really young throughout our time here. Him having that veteran leadership on the offensive side as well as having the ability to complement what Dabs wants to get done from the quarterback position, we thought it was a really good fit.

Q. You have brought back 91% of let's call it contributors, which is a really high number for a team that won three games. Most teams would think you would re-set the roster. Why did you do that? Is that faith in the guys you have that they didn't play to their peak? Is that a sign of youth? What do you see as bringing back so much of a team that only won three games?

BRANDON BROWN: That's the last thing that you mentioned, sign of youth. That was the big thing when we talk about that 91%. I think we only have six players left on the roster from when we got here in 2022. But look how young the nucleus is.

There are strategic additions in terms of via free agency. You look at the secondary. We had one of the youngest secondaries in the league. You drop off Jevon Holland, where we loved his character, even coming back out of Oregon, knowing the job he did down in Miami. You look at Paulson Adebo, a guy who if it wasn't for injury, would have been amongst the league leaders in interceptions last year. Having strong character and work ethic coming out of Stanford.

You look at two guys that can help shape the secondary, and then you look at the veteran pieces we added on the defensive line and also the front seven. Whether it's (Chauncey) Golston or (Jeremiah) Ledbetter or Roy Robertson-Harris, guys that have skins on the wall that can help complement our young group. Obviously, re-doing the quarterback room with having both Russ and Jameis, experience was paramount.

When you look at our youth, that is our nucleus, but help supplementing it with leadership and versatility and guys that can help supplement not just in age and leadership standpoint but a versatility and skill set standpoint was really important for us.

Q. You mentioned 40-yard dash before, not worrying so much about stats. How much has having in-game GPS times contributed to this scouting and evaluation process?

BRANDON BROWN: When you look at GPS data, the NGS data, all the game day metrics, it's all a tool in our process. Like I mentioned NASA before, our analytics department. Joe does a phenomenal job of including them not only in the draft process, but in free agency.

We can extrapolate certain metrics of, hey, does it correlate with the scouting report? When our pro director, Chris Rossetti, or any of our pro scouts has a report on a guy in free agency, and you say, hey, he has third-level speed and can pull away, or he has sideline-to-sideline speed and he can close and cut off backside. Is the data contradictory or is it giving it evidence in support?

When you look at the data in itself, we're always finding ways to really poke holes and have checks and balances in our processes. It's a supplemental tool.

We're going to continue to do it. We're going to continue to implement AI, which we talked about earlier this week. They're all things where if you're not taking advantage of all those tools and there's another team who is, then you're being negligent.

Joe has been really great in terms of opening the lines of communication and being collaborative when we get to the chance to add different sources and tools to help us make decisions.

Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Mike Kafka

Q. Can you talk us through your evaluation, touch points, with Jaxson Dart?

MIKE KAFKA: Yes. So throughout the whole process evaluating the quarterback prospects, obviously Jaxson was one of them and a guy we're really excited about. Yeah, being in there for the 30 visits, combine, being around him there and watching him operate there.

Get him Thursday, had a private visit with him. It was a very thorough process, and we did it with a bunch of different guys.

We're happy with Jaxson, the way he's been going, but it's a cool process to be able to go through that.

Obviously, you get a guy that you really like and you really think has potential to do something, you take a shot at him, and I'm excited about Jaxson.

Q. How early in the process did you know he was your guy?

MIKE KAFKA: I wouldn't say it was late. I would say it was relatively early just because you get -- the more touchpoints you have with him, the more confidence you get and the more you see him fitting into your system and your scheme.

And so I felt really confident about how he operated, how he studied, how he prepared, how he handled himself. And then at the end of the day, his tape and the way he performed in those meetings.

Q. On that tape, what stood out to you in his game?

MIKE KAFKA: You watch a lot of it, and I'm not going to get into all the details, but you watch the explosive plays, you watch how he operates in the two-minute drills and under pressure, under duress; you see some of the off schedule, off platform plays he has and you kind of watch that together and put together a report.

Those are things that stood out to me. His ability to kind of play within the pocket, play outside the pocket, QB run game, things like that.

Q. That said, you had to wait through draft night to see if you were even going to get him. What was that like for you?

MIKE KAFKA: You never really know how it could go. You don't know how those things are going to line up. Joe (Schoen) and his staff had a great plan and did a great job. Had a great draft. We're excited about the players we did add and happy to have Jaxson and all the guys we drafted.

It's part of the process, part of league, part of the NFL, and just another year of trying to put together a good squad and a good crew of guys.

Q. You were part of Patrick Mahomes' early development in Kansas City. What did you learn from that and how can you apply those lessons to helping Jaxson develop?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I think whenever you draft a quarterback early, you want to have a plan or some semblance of a plan or schedule put in place to understand that it's not really a one week; it's a six month, one year, two year type plan for really any player. For any player you get you want to see what that player is going to be at some point in the distance, six months, 12 months, 18 months in the future, where his progress is and where he should be. That way, along the way you can evaluate is he on schedule? Is he a little bit further behind? Do we need to add or subtract certain things?

So that's no different for any position. For the quarterback, that's what you try to put together. I'm not going to get into the details of that plan, but that's what you want to look for. You try to put those touchpoints on, okay, is he at this point come training camp? Start of the season, where is with protections or assignments? Things like that. We try to put together a little checklist and a plan for every player, and the quarterback is no different.

Q. How different will your role be with Dart since you are now the OC? With Mahomes, you were the quarterbacks coach.

MIKE KAFKA: It'll just be different based on just the nature of my current position. Just being the quarterback coach, you're in that room with them. You're coaching them just on the specific job of the quarterback versus the offensive coordinator putting the whole picture together for the Qs. Being in those meetings with the quarterbacks and explaining my intent for a play or my vision for what that play could be or what the offense could look like and how we're going to attack certain things, just being out in front of that with the quarterbacks is always good information.

Q. How do you separate what the veteran quarterbacks do with Jaxson versus what the coaches do?

MIKE KAFKA: You know, the great thing about having those veterans is you don't have to – they've all been young players – you don't have to egg them to do anything outside of what they normally do. They're naturally really good teammates, really good people, really good preppers. Their study habits.

For Jaxson, it's about getting around those guys, seeing how they work, seeing how they ask questions, seeing how they are in the meeting room, seeing how they interact in the locker room with the players, the command they have in and out of the huddle.

I think those are just great experiences to have. When you have a veteran room, and throw Tommy (DeVito) in there as well, going on year three, year four in the offense, that's really good information. A lot of guys are leaning on Tommy because he's been in it for so long. He knows the ins and outs and can get guys up to speed.

So we have three veteran guys, a young guy, a lot of great experiences amongst the coaching staff in this room as well. It's been a fun room. So far this spring has been fun and getting to learn everybody and getting them introduced to the offense.

Q. How good of a balance is it for you guys? You have an entire room, so obviously we've been asking you about Jaxson. You have to also prepare the other quarterbacks to be ready to play. It's only June, but seems like the closer you get to the season, the less time you get with the entire group and the focus has to be about playing games. For you guys as a coaching staff, is there that delicate balance of making sure every day you're intentional about what you get out of that room, what you're seeing from 1, 2, 3, 4, if it's on depth chart or that kind of approach?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I mean, the planning that is done well in advance of the phases, you talk about it, and that all absolutely takes into consideration how you script the plays, what plays you want to install, the emphasis of that day situationally. You look at that and try to detail it out for the entire group. That way we're all staying on the same schedule, right?

What the rookies have that the vets don't have at this time is they get specific rookie time. So they get extra hours kind of baked in during the middle of the day, at the end of the day when the vets aren't here because they are on allotted time. The rookies get a little bit extra time to work and get the finer details and get caught up, where sometimes the vets, we're rolling and going through stuff.

They have an opportunity to kind of sit back, take a deep breath, ask questions, and get caught up to speed.

Q. Russell Wilson's career, we know what he did in Seattle. Career has taken a dip in Denver and last year with the Steelers. What do you see in him as a 36 year old veteran that you the guys here can turn that back up and make him into a good starting quarterback?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I see a lot of things in Russ and things that I watched from afar for a long time. His time in Seattle, Denver, Pittsburgh, just the leadership, the command. You see that on the field. I think the players are responding to it.

You see the competitiveness that he brings, the demeanor that he brings. I'm excited. We're in phase three so working through a lot. It's a new offense for him and he's played a lot of football, so a lot of these plays are similar to what he knows. Just getting him on the same page terminology-wise.

But he's doing a great job and I'm excited to have him. Appreciative to have him and what he's been to the offense.

Q. Is there anything you see from Russ that you maybe can see better in person versus on tape?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, you know, again, I've just watched him from afar. Being around him in the quarterback room, he's great. He has a really cool perspective. Just all of his experiences, playoff games, Super Bowl games, in-season games, situations at the end the game, here, this happens.

It's great for me to bounce ideas off him because he has a different perspective, he sees the game differently, right, because he's played a lot of ball. All of a sudden he can -- we can challenge each other on some of the games or situations and the play calls and keep that open dialogue in terms of communication.

Not just with Russ, but with the whole quarterback room. That's been great for everybody. Even Jameis (Winston) and he's played a long time and was an early pick and has certainly a boatload of experience as well.

Q. What do you expect the offense to look like with Russ? Significantly different given his skillset maybe compared to what you had in the past.

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I think when you look at the players right now in phase three, we're evaluating guys, it's kind of a different camp just by the nature of the physicality of it. We're not in pads so you miss an element of the run game, the physicality. It's more of a passing camp and more speed-driven and developing the speed and strength aspect of it.

Right now we're evaluating our players based on the schemes we put in. We are trying to put them in good spots to get evaluation on what they can and can't do. We are putting a lot of installations in to see how much they can regurgitate and get back and show up and play fast and still have a lot of volume.

And test them on that, so now we know how much volume we can carry throughout the year and know, all right, maybe this group can't handle this or they can. We can continue to build on certain packages.

Right now in phase three we're coming together. We have a bunch of guys who are new to the offense we are trying to get caught up to speed, and also not take away the veterans that have been here and continue to add more to their plate.

Q. What was your conversation and reaction like when Daboll said for at least the spring here, you're calling plays again?

MIKE KAFKA: That's a good question. I would say right now, whatever Dabs needs me to do, that is what I'm going to do. If he needs me to call plays, if he needs me to communicate with the quarterback, if he needs me to do certain things. I am going to do whatever he asks me to do.

So that's kind of the first thing I would say.

The next part is you're learning every year, learning and growing every year. Whether I'm learning from my experiences when I was calling it, when I wasn't calling it, other play callers across the league, you study them and their habits.

It's been I think each year if you're not looking for that to grow as a professional, then you're not taking a step in the right direction. I've always used that, whether it's phase two, phase three, the offseason as kind of that jumping point for me.

Q. Is that something you talked about at length with Daboll?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, I'm not going to get into the personal conversations with him, but, yeah, me and Dabs have open dialogue about offense.

Q. Real quick, Evan Neal, can he be a good starting guard ?

MIKE KAFKA: Yeah, Evan is doing a nice job. He's in transition. He did it in college. And again, just like the nature of the camp. It's not a full-padded camp, but there is a lot of fundamentals you can work, individual drills, pass set drills, and Evan is doing a nice job. Happy for him.

Defensive Coordinator Shane Bowen

SHANE BOWEN: Long time no see. (Laughter.) How ya'll doing? Good to see you.

Q. You feel like the most lucky guy in the organization after they spend 150 million on defense and the No. 3 pick in the draft?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I'm excited about the additions. I am. They've all come in here, they're pros, they're working hard. All the free agents we brought in, they've had a significant impact here early I think just in terms of being a pro, showing some of the young guys what it takes to be a pro. You feel their leadership out there on the field, in the meeting room.

And then of course the young guys we drafted, really excited about those guys as well.

Q. The upgrades you made in the secondary, how does that change maybe what you guys can do?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, obviously adding (Paulson) Adebo helps. Got a proven corner in this league. Obviously he's coming off the leg, but he's been great in terms of that.

So just gives us another piece, right? So between him, between Tae (Banks), between (Cor'Dale) Flott, between Dru (Phillips), those other guys that are battling it out. Obviously safety, Dane (Belton) has been really good for us here early. Like he's had a really good spring. Finding ways to get him on the field, what he can do for us to help us.

But really encouraged about that group. I think M (Marquand Manuel) and Jeff (Burris) have done a really good job with them, and Pops (Mike Adams). They've done a really good job working with those guys and I'm encouraged about where we are at right now.

Q. How do you walk the line between what you have learned as a coach through the years and what you like to do, what you have seen work with your philosophy versus bringing in a group of players and every year the personnel may shift.

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah.

Q. To the idea of, okay, how do I get further maybe away from what I'm most comfortable with in order to take advantage of the people that we have in the room?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a big part of coaching. We got to make sure we're doing everything we can to put these guys individually in positions they're most successful at, right, to make sure we're comfortable.

Obviously there is going to be different things within the scheme that you can't always do certain things every single play, right? But doing our best to maximize their skillsets to what they're most comfortable at, putting them in positions to do things.

I think obviously just learning from other coaches, whether it was Rome (Jerome Henderson) last year or Mike (Treier), obviously bringing M, bringing Jeff in, their experience with what they've done.

Always trying to evolve. You never want to stay the same. If you stay the same, you're not improving, so always trying to evolve what we do from the ground level all the way up through.

Q. Shane, I don't know if taking Abdul Carter No. 3 was an incredibly difficult decision, but during the process did they really want to know from you, okay, we take him, we have Kayvon Thibodeaux, we have Brian Burns, how are you going to make it work with those three guys? It's not just a plug-and-play kind of thing.

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I mean, you got three guys for two spots when you look at it from the outside in. It's a really good problem to have. Got three really good players, three really talented players. Two of them that have done it in this league at a high level.

Again, I think that's something from a staff standpoint that we're working through trying to find a way. Ultimately we want to get our best 11 on the field, whatever way we got to maneuver to do that. We got to find ways to get the guys that can impact the game on the field.

So there is some versatility there. With Abdul he did a little bit of that stuff off the ball in college early in his career, so there is some versatility there and some versatility with what we could potentially do with Burns as well.

Again, making sure in Abdul's case that we understand what it takes to be an edge player in this league and all the development that comes with that. But at the same time, making sure we find ways to get the guys that can potentially impact the game for us on the field.

Q. What stood out to you about Abdul during the draft process?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I think he's all ball. You can tell he perks up when you start talking football with him. I think just his demeanor, how he carries himself. There is an edginess to him that we have seen translate out here in these few practices that we've had.

But you're always looking for guys that love football. It's a hard job, and if you don't have the love for the game, this game chews you up and spits you out. Especially with the level of talent that he has and everything that comes with the expectations of where he was drafted, you better have a love of the game and be able to hopefully use that as fuel throughout your career, whether it's the good times or the bad times.

So probably most encouraged about that. Just from our time meeting with him, talking football, he was all in.

Q. Shane, what do you like about your defensive line? Have a mix of veterans, the young kid, Darius Alexander. How does that change?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, we've got good depth. We've got really good depth. Again, we'll see how these young guys go as we start going. It's still early. This is practice No. 5 for us I think, so as we get through the spring and into training camp we'll see where they're at and what we're going to be able to ask of them.

We added a couple free agents with Roy (Robertson-Harris) and (Jeremiah) Ledbetter as well, some veteran guys that have played. Obviously, we've got Dex (Dexter Lawrence), we've got Nacho (Rakeem Nunez-Roches), some of those other guys that have been here.

So really encouraged about the group. I think there is a lot of versatility within the group, and you combine that with the outside linebackers as well. Between those two groups there is a lot of versatility that we're exploring what we're going to be able to do and what we can ask of them.

That's a big part of it too as it relates to all these guys. The versatility is great, but let's make sure we don't overload them to the point where we take away their ability out there to go play as well.

So really encouraged with the D-line group. Dre (Andre Patterson)does a really good job, BCox (Bryan Cox) with these guys. Hopefully we can continue to improve and get rolling.

Q. Shane, obviously all these resources into defense. John Mara was critical of the defense at the end of the year. Do you feel pressure to make this work?

SHANE BOWEN: I wouldn't say pressure. I'm driven by the guys. My job is to get these guys ready to go out there to execute at the highest level, to maximize their potential, and to perform and ultimately win.

So I'm driven by that. Come to work every day for them, doing everything I can to make them improve, to help them improve, to help our team improve.

That's really what fuels me. Don't really feel the pressure of it. We're working every day to improve right now. It's still early. There is a lot of moving parts still that we'll figure out and we're figuring out each day how we're going to make it work.

But I'm really excited about the group we got, the guys we brought in it, the additions, the guys we got back obviously. Really excited about where we are at right now.

Q. What's your early impressions of Paulson Adebo?

SHANE BOWEN: Great, pro, comes to work every day, practices hard, makes plays on the football, he's long. We've seen that more than a few times out here, whether it's picking a pass off, whether it's getting a PBU, not afraid to challenge.

I think just for that room, a relatively younger room, I think he's been an asset in there as well, just the experience, the knowledge.

Again, like coming in we have high expectations for him and part of that was the leadership role. Like we're expecting you to come in here and take on that role and thrive in that role and hopefully continue to help us to develop some of these younger guys.

Q. When you did a self-assessment, which I'm sure you did about your first year with the Giants and the defense, what did you say to yourself? What did you like, not like?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, you go back and look. I mean, the tale is the tape, right? We've got to be better forcing takeaways. Got to get the ball away. Twelve of the 14 playoff teams were in the top half of the league taking the ball away.

We got to do better job of that, making sure we don't miss opportunities to catch them when they're there, don't miss opportunities to try to attack the ball when they're there, matching the hand, whatever that might be.

That's a big area of focus for us right now. The run game, eliminating explosive plays. There were a lot of good snaps in there in the run game and then we had way too many explosives. It's finding a way and it goes back to tackling, but it goes back -- it takes all 11 every snap. But making sure some of those runs that they might crease us and get through the line of scrimmage, let's see if we can limit those to 10 to 12 yards instead of the 40-yarders that showed up last year, right?

So that was another big part of it for me. What else here? There is a lot. Staying out of short yardage on third down. We had a lot of third and shorts. You go back and look at the ball, when it was 2-10, I thought we were pretty good; struggled in third and 11 plus which we have to get cleaned up. Then we got stay out of some of those third and ones.

And then, again, continue to enhance the things we did good. Felt like for the most part at times we were able to get pressure on the quarterback, able to do some good things there. Trying to enhance that with the guys we got now.

Q. Shane, what has Deonte Banks shown you this spring?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, he's come in, he goes to work every day. Like he's locked in in meetings. He locked in out here. Jeff is doing a really good job with him, spending time with him, talking to him, teaching him the game, just the approach. Like the approach, the professionalism, being locked into what we're asking him to do.

You notice him asking questions, wanting to know more, wanting to be a little bit more detailed with what we're asking him to do. So I'm encouraged about the progress he's made from when he got back here to where we are right now.

Hopefully we can continue that trajectory throughout the rest of the spring and as we get into training camp.

Q. Is that different with Tae than a year ago in terms of approach?

SHANE BOWEN: Yeah, I mean, I think any time you're dealing with these younger players, he's going into year three now, there is dramatic growth every year between year one and year two, year two and year three. I think that always comes into play. They all grow up a little bit as you're with them.

I think a big part, too, for us this year is there is familiarity, there is relationships. Like we were going through all that stuff last year. Now like that stuff is already established and we continue to work and build those things.

But now we can -- there is a little less focus on that, where we can focus more on something else. So I think that's going to benefit all our guys, not just Tae. But all the guys.

Q. What is the story behind the turnover chest?

SHANE BOWEN: Oh, the chest. So my son, it's his first year of T Ball and he's on the Pirates. So we – again, the main thing is emphasizing takeaways. We got to get better at takeaways. Somehow got the idea of piracy, violent, attacking to steal possessions or goods, right?

You'll hear our guys say it. I say it ad nauseum: Be a damn pirate. We got to find ways to get the ball. And, again, you get what you emphasize. We're making it a priority this year to make sure we find ways to get the ball.

Special Teams Coordinator Michael Ghobrial

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: What's up everybody? Good to see everybody again. Good to be back. Excited to be back and get going with football. With that, will take questions.

Q. The deal with speaking before 9:00 a.m. is you have to tell us the truth, no cliches, right?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Absolutely, absolutely.

Q. How is Graham after the way last season ended? How has he looked, been?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, so in his last three games I saw the Graham Gano that he holds himself to that standard, and then I saw him there, too. It was good to see him end the season in kicking form.

And he's looked good. Year 17, a guy that's done it at a high level for a long time. There is a lot of respect that guy has just obviously entering the building and when you see the way he approaches the game.

Part of a specialist's success is not always just the production on the field, it's how you carry yourself in the locker room, how you take care of your body to be present, all those things he's obviously stayed connected to and happy he's back.

Q. Is Jude McAtamney at a point where he could legitimately challenge for that job? Like could you have a kicking competition in the spring or is he not there yet?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Absolutely. I think if you're on this roster, no matter what position you play, you're competing. You're competing to win the job. I think everybody will have a fair chance winning whatever job it is, whether it be the kicker position or any other position.

But I would say that Jude has shown a lot of promise even from last year kicking in a game. You obviously see the leg talent, you see the leg strength, all those things that amount to being a good kicker in this league.

Q. You guys decided to bring Ihmir Smith-Marsette back. What did you see, think of that, and what did you see from him last year as a returner that got you to that point?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, multiple things. No. 1, a good decision maker. I think when you're talking about the returner spot, you want a guy that when he's out there he makes good decisions, whether he's in traffic, whether he's in the open field. And then he obviously takes care of that football.

That's a priority No. 1.

Second thing you saw was production. The guy scored twice in this league, albeit one got called back, but he scored twice, which not many returners in the league last year did that. He's one of the few.

Then you're always talking about the character of a person and their competitive integrity. That guy has it. You see that in the manner in which he approaches the meetings. You hear the way he communicates with his teammates. I'll never claim I can cross the white line. When he's out there, he's the voice.

It's good to hear that voice in the meeting room, which you guys obviously don't hear, but he's able to do that. His teammates respect that because they know how important it is to him.

So you see just a leadership role from a returner standpoint show up, and that's why obviously he's had success and why we're happy to have him back.

Q. I think we saw Jevon Holland kind of mix return coverage. How is that helping having a versatile guy like Jevon in the mix?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, absolutely. You know, again, on a game day, the roster size is so limited in terms of who you can use, so having the ability to have some flex in an emergency situation that can go back there and field a punt I think is critical.

He's obviously a special athlete. That's why he's had so much success on defense. But that special athleticism translates to so many different skillsets. He's a guy that obviously can fit a variety of different molds, one of those being return ability. There is not many people in this league in general that have that ability to translate.

Like you see a defensive player with elite ball skills, a guy that can track it, which is why he's had production on defense. But also why I feel confident putting him back there in a situation.

Q. Obviously the kickoff rule is not as drastic a change as it was going into last year. A little bit of a tweak there with the touchbacks. How do you think that's going to work out?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, so like you said, it won't be as drastic of a rule change because we have tape of it, a lot of our guys have done it.

But there are some differences now, so one of them being the touchback will now be on the 35-yard line. So I think that's going to increase return opportunities. It's going to increase coverage opportunities as well.

The next thing is a formational difference. It might be a little nuanced, but the one thing you're able to do now instead of having two second level players on that front line, you can now have three.

So there are little changes, and I think it's allowed for a little bit more variety with what you can do in the return game, but it's also brought back a play that like I've said before was dissolving. So it's good to have this play be back and part of the game and be an integral part of winning and losing.

The drive start after one of those possessions is critical. You're the first play of offense when you're returning the ball; you're first play of defense when you're covering that kick.

For us, we've been obviously trying to stay connected to the fundamentals it takes to put our offense and defense in good position after that specific play.

Q. I think you're pretty -- if I'm not mistaken, you're a pretty analytical guy. Do you know the numbers on starting at the 30 versus the 35? How much of a difference that makes in terms of scoring?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, so No. 1, I would say I do believe in analytics, but that's not always the open line story to me. You have to watch the tape. So I could say the average drive start last year was on the 29-yard line. What does that look like based off of kick location? What does that look like based off depth of kick? What does it look like based off who you're covering?

That's where sometimes the number isn't always telling. Sometimes the number has to be backed up by obviously the tape. But yeah, we try and stay connected to a little bit of those numbers, one of those being obviously the initial drive start after return being the 29-yard line.

Q. I just meant if you knew how much more likely a team was to score if they start at the 35.

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, that's always been something. We basically call it expected points based off where you start on the field. So expected points on the plus-35 obviously is going to be different than the minus-5 yard line.

And you see that percentage go higher and higher obviously the closer and closer you get towards your own end zone. So I'll give you an example: Plus-35 yard line increases your chases of scoring points, whether it be a field goal or a PAT, up to 80%.

Backed up, that percentage obviously starts to shrink. Let's say it's the minus-3 yard line, that goes inside of 10% in terms of expected points. That's why I love special teams, it's a direct correlation whether you're coming out with points or preventing points, and that's something, like I said, starting on offense, starting on defense, that series is critical for us to be able to position our offense and defense the right way.

Q. On a wider scale, we haven't spoken to you since the end of the season.

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah.

Q. When you went back and self-scouted and looked at last season, what did you come away thinking?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Just collectively?

Q. Yeah, maybe were you happy with it? Were you not happy with what you saw? Where did you maybe want to put concentration in the spring, summer?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Great question. So every year I do a deep dive on every single unit. I'll look at us, No. 1, and then look across the league. Just like I talked about analytics, I'll see where we favor in terms of numbers.

Again, the tape has to be revealing to me, too. I appreciate the fact that guys fought through the entirety of the season last year. You saw a lot of production happen towards the back end of the season, more consistent play, and the thing that I'm echoing to our guys over and over and over again is consistency is the truest measure of performance.

For us on special teams, we want to be the most consistent unit on every phase. Every game, doesn't matter where we play, is consistency.

When we do that, we put our team in position to win. We've obviously had a lot of explosive plays on special teams and we have given some up. So it's correcting those mistakes and obviously just being as consistent as possible.

The thing I appreciate with the guys now is the guys that return feel that. The new guys coming in are obviously embracing that and we're coming together as a team and competing and doing all the things we need to do.

Q. I know you don't sign the guys or whatnot, but I'm sure you have some say in -- when you have a punter who's a free agent, do you want him back or make a switch. What did you see from Jamie Gillan that you brought him back?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, No. 1, that is a difficult place to punt, right, our stadium. We embrace that. So when you are looking across the league of guys that have the ability to have success in that stadium, No. 1, you look at guy that's done it before.

I believe Jamie had an awesome year last year. When you look at the numbers, again, that won't always be telling. What he did do a great job was he pinned the opponent inside the 10-yard line multiple times.

When you talk about playing complementary football, you pin the opponent inside the 10-yard line, the defense takes the field, expected points goes less and less percentage-wise.

He excelled in that fashion.

The second thing he excelled in was obviously the field punts in a windy situation, understanding the ability to control returners.

So Jamie just excelled in so many different attributes to be a successful punter in that stadium that we're happy he's back. He's hit the ground running and doing a nice job.

Q. Chris Board has a long track record in a special teams role in this league. How important was that signing or how important can it be for you guys?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, Chris, No. 1, comes from a playoff team, so you bring a guy that was part of a winning culture, and then you bring a guy in that is -- it's not his rookie year, right? Seventh year in the league. So just not the veteran experience. It's a guy that's produced consistently every year he's been in the league.

He's been one of the Top 5 leading tacklers on special teams for the past few years. You see all the traits physically that he has show up when he's doing all this drill work. Then you obviously see the mental side of the game show up, too. He's just covered so many kicks that he sees the game at a different speed than other people.

Where some guys may do the drill, they may do the technique, they don't always have the experience to say, I've been in that position. He's been in that position so many times and he's produced. So having a guy like Chris is awesome because even starting a drill in these practices, it's like, 'Chris, you're the first guy up.' 'Okay, fellas, that's exactly how I want it to look like.'

We call those guys tone setters. It's not always something that they have to excel in vocally. It's sometimes just your actions. He is a guy that embodies all that.

Q. How important is it to sign a guy like that? Was that a goal for you, that we need to find that guy, the tone setter, the veteran?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, no, he was a guy that I've followed the past few years. I'm like, I hope one day I get to coach this guy, so obviously when we signed him I was ultra excited because I know his ability and I know what he can do to impact this team.

So really happy. Really happy that we signed him, and excited to coach him.

Q. Who among the draft picks did you say, when they came in, you said, that's the guy, that's the guy?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: Yeah, so I evaluate everybody that's a projected draftable guy, and then undrafted free agents as well. Don't necessarily get into when a guy is picked and all that.

For me when I'm evaluating these college guys, you see none of our game anymore translates to what they did in college in terms of the rules, right? New kickoff, new kickoff return, new punt, new punt return. Those are all completely different now.

You do see the purest form of football still: Block destruction, using your hands, ball skills, football IQ.

You see those things show up offensively and defensively.

When I'm looking at each of these players, I'm looking at what can they do? When I'm looking at everybody we accumulate in the draft process, okay, this guy has a skillset to do this, this guy has a skillset to do this.

I'll give you an example. (Cam) Skattebo. Skatt is a physical player. You see that with his running style. When I look at a player like that, okay, he's going to have the toughness to be able to compete with interior core roles. I wouldn't have any issue matching him up against an inside backer in this league because I know he has that physical trait.

There is always a piece of every one of these draft picks, I'm like, okay, this is how I can use him.

Ultimately preseason is going to be very telling for all these guys. Excited all the guys are here, and they've all come in with a chip on their shoulder, excited to compete, and are truly learning the game, but also showing me why they belong in this league.

So I know I just singled him out, but there are other guys in that instance as well.

Q. I couldn't help but notice in rookie minicamp, and I get it, it's rookie minicamp, but while you were working with Skattebo, Abdul Carter was there, too, He's the No. 3 pick in the draft. I can't imagine those guys playing special teams a lot. Is that something you're taking under consideration?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: You know, like we'll never get into roles this early in the year, but the one thing I will say about Abdul is regardless of where he was picked, that guy is a competitor who obviously has a special skillset, which is why he went so early.

I would be fired up if he was on our special teams units, you know, but we won't get into obviously the volume of snaps. That all depends on how much defense, how much offense a guy is playing.

The one thing I will say is like you gain from those instances like truly how competitive a guy is. When a guy has obviously the feel that he's a really good offensive or defensive player and still shows up and is willing to learn, willing to put the effort, you're like, okay, we got the right football player.

Do I want 50 Abdul Carters? Absolutely. Yeah. Those guys are special, special players. But, yeah.

Q. Just to get back to Cam for a quick second, how much tackling has he done and do you have to start from scratch there?

MICHAEL GHOBRIAL: With any offensive player, like how much tackling do they actually do unless there is a turnover. You don't necessarily see them pursue a ball carrier and go tackle.

The one thing I look at is how he tracks in blocking. So if you can track an inside backer blitzing, if you can track a defense end pressuring off the edge, that's to me shows up in the skillset of tackling. Because I'm like tackling is all about tracking.

If you track and have the ability to take an extra step, it's about form fitting at that point. So I do think that's something we got to stay connected to with any offensive guy, but specifically with him it's going to be more so the fit of the tackle. I know he can track because I see that with the block mechanics.

Quarterback Russell Wilson

Q. Russ, let's start at the end. In practice, the fights you've been around a long time –

RUSSELL WILSON: What fight? What are you talking about?

Q. Yeah, those aren't usually – those are training camp, not OTAs. What do you think of that?

RUSSELL WILSON: I think it's a competitive part of practice. I think we're all trying to compete and be the best version of us and everything else. A lot of times we have a long practice like the way we did and the way we're working, things happen. Every great team I've been on, there's been a couple of those.

But our guys are all so connected. That sometimes happens. But nothing to worry about.

Q. We haven't talked to you since the draft, have we?

RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, I think so, I think since the draft, yeah.

Q. So what was your reaction to them trading up and getting (quarterback) Jaxson (Dart)?

RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, Jaxson's been great, man. He's a great worker, great teammate. We're having fun, all of us.

We have a really good quarterback room. Guys are so focused and working diligently every day. He's going to be an extremely, extremely good talent and everything else throughout his career.

Q. Does it change anything for you, having a first-round pick in the room with you?

RUSSELL WILSON: No, it doesn't change anything at all. I think the biggest thing is for me is just being my best every day, leading. I always think about just leading everybody, just leading every room, every moment, every time I get to step between the white lines and the opportunity of that.

We had a great dinner the other night, all the guys, all the O-line and quarterbacks and running backs together. We just had a good time, just tons of laughs and a good time together.

So just I think the fellowship of it all is the best part right now. Obviously, our work ethic and what we're doing in the field. But when it comes to just the tight-knit culture that we're continuing to build and continue to grow, and we want to have a championship football team, and in terms of our mentality and our approach and how we go about it.

And it's not just the games, but it's everything that leads up to that. And that's the fun part about the game of football.

Q. A lot of guys view it differently, whether it's say, 'okay, part of my role now is to be a mentor' or 'hey, I just go about and do my business, and it happens naturally' how do you sort of view that?

RUSSELL WILSON: I've always viewed it as you're always trying to be the best version of you, and then you're always giving back to everybody else. I think that it's not just about one teammate, it's about all the teammates. It's about everybody in the building.

It's about from all the way to the quarterback room, to the receivers, to the running backs, to the tight ends, to the O-line, and the relationship there, all the way to the defensive line, to the corners, and all the way to the training room.

Just my relationship with (inside linebacker) Bobby (Okereke), my relationship with (Director of Equipment Operations) Tim (Slaman), running the equipment, all the way to the staff and everybody who's helping us, all that part is everybody. And I think those are the relationships to – obviously, (Executive Director of Player Performance) Coach (Aaron) Wellman and what he's doing, and (Director of Strength and Conditioning) Coach (Drew) Wilson too, and how they're leading us in the weight room.

So it's like, to me, it's all inclusive, and that's always the approach.

Q. Russ, can you give us a little insight into how the quarterback room works as far as who's taking charge? Is it a group collaboration? How does it work?

RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, we always communicate. I think that the best quarterback rooms I've ever been in, they're always super interactive. Our meetings are interactive. Coach Dabs (Head Coach Brian Daboll) does a great job with interaction. I think (Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Mike) Kafka does a great job of interaction, (Offensive Passing Game Coordinator/QBs) Coach Shea (Tierney). All of our coaches do a tremendous job of communicating.

And so I think that we have really, really good teachers of the game. That's been a really fun part, and I've had a lot of fun coming in here and just being a part of that and then leading in every way. My role and my responsibility, obviously, to help our football team win, but also, too, to lead in every way.

And I've been fortunate to be able to see a lot of football and communicate all that and understand it all. And so we're always constantly growing, always constantly sharing and collaborating and thinking and processing.

Q. You mentioned that you're always learning. What have you learned, being – you would think you'd seen it all, done it all now. But what have you learned so far?

RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, there's a lot of things I still want to accomplish. And so every day, I'm just constantly focused on that part of it. I think that, for me, every time I step between the white lines, I want to be my best every day and understand that you're just constantly growing. There is constantly things to learn and everything else.

So I think the cool part here is just the fellowship with the guys, just knowing what JMS (center John Michael Schmitz Jr.) is like, knowing what Runs (guard Jon Runyan Jr.) is like, knowing (tight end) Theo (Johnson) and (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson), knowing what Nabs (wide receiver Malik Nabers) is like and just being next to him in the locker room, and just different guys. I think all of that is important. I think (wide receiver) Jalin Hyatt, he's a guy that I really believe in.

And so there's a lot of guys I believe in. All these guys have been working their tails off. We spend a lot of time, me and Belly (tight end Daniel Bellinger), and I've been with (tight end Greg) Dulcich before, and knowing him, but now his life's grown, and everything else.

And so I think all those relationships are significant, and I think that's the part I'm constantly learning, too, as well.

Q. Russ, when it comes to Jaxson, are you taking the approach with him where you're explaining why you're doing it, what you're doing, and all that stuff, or do you wait for him to ask the questions, and then you'll answer?

RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, I always share, and I always think about communication. I'm a big believer in communicating out loud, just here's what I'm thinking, here's what I'm saying. You don't hold any information.

I think that for us, it's always about us being the best that we can all be. And I think for me, when you have tremendous confidence in yourself, you have no problem sharing it with others. I think that's just how I've always believed.

Q. Speaking of that mentorship role, you were a mentor, obviously, back in Pittsburgh for (Jets quarterback Justin) Fields, and now you're going to be a mentor for Jaxson Dart. Just that transition in the quarterback room, how's that been?

RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, I think that it's not just the guys in your quarterback room, hopefully it's across the league, different guys you've been able to communicate with, but especially the guys in your room. I think Fields is a guy that I have a great relationship with, a guy that I believe in, in every way. We spent a lot of time together last year, and then we've talked a lot in the past.

Jaxson and I are obviously getting to know each other, and (quarterback) Jameis (Winston) I've known forever. (Quarterback) Tommy (DeVito), I have a lot of respect for Tommy and how hard he's worked every day. That doesn't go unseen.

And so it's just all of us, man. It's not just one guy or one player or just me or anything else. It's all of us together.

Q. What are your early impressions of Coach Kafka?

RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, Coach Kafka is super sharp, man. He's a guy that's played in the league. That's the first thing.

Anytime you get a quarterback that's played in the National Football League, that's significant. It's the amount of information that quarterbacks learn and understand, how they see the game. You're really talking to a guy that's been on the football field and played, been in different organizations, won before, and everything else.

And so that's been a lot of fun, just talking to him, how he sees the game, how we see the game together, me and him. And Dabs, too, as well. So that's been really cool.

Q. You're a veteran. You played against this defense last year. You've been playing against kind of a regrouped, re-personneled group of defense this year. Do you see a big difference between --

RUSSELL WILSON: Yeah, I thought that, first of all, I think last year that defense was flying around up front, obviously having big Sexy Dexy (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II) up there, rushing the passers. He's a monster, man.

I think, obviously, (outside linebacker) Brian Burns is, in my opinion, one of the top defensive ends in the game. His ability to get to the quarterback, his ability to cause havoc. It's anytime you're game-planning against a team, and it's like you have these game-altering players, and he's one of them for sure.

Dex as well. And (outside linebacker Kayvon) Thibs (Thibodeaux), I think he's had an unbelievable camp so far, just how he's gone about his approach. He's here early, he's here late, his thought process. And he's just a tremendous football talent as well.

I mean, in addition, obviously, (outside linebacker) Abdul (Carter) rushing the passer too. He gets to learn from guys like Burns and guys like Thib and all those guys, as well, about their process. And he's already got a great one already.

I think from a secondary standpoint, just the additions of (cornerback Paulson) Adebo, and then also, too, (safety Jevón) Holland, and all that. Those guys, there freak of nature's back there, man, just how they make plays. I think Adebo is one of the best out there on the outside, his ability to make plays. Been able to watch him from a distance too. Had a lot of respect for him. He's very patient and calm out there. That's always a thing that you want at cornerback, his ability to see things in process.

And so I think with our linebackers, too, obviously, Big Bobby O, he's one of the best in the game, how he flies around. And so I think we got a really, really talented defense. And hopefully they can get us the ball, give a short field, and score a lot of points, hopefully. But I think the best thing that they do is obviously cause havoc.

Q. What's your process for establishing chemistry with receivers you haven't worked with before?

RUSSELL WILSON: I always say that playing quarterback is throwing the ball so they can catch it. It's like, when you think about it, I've always thought about this, even when I was young and went to the combine, for example, guys can get in their head about not throwing to certain guys, or whatever it may be, because I haven't thrown to this guy before, or whatever. And I'd just be like that's our job. Throw it to them so they can catch it.

So, to me it's always like I think the work ethic of our guys is what sets the tone. And I think (wide receivers) Coach (Mike) Groh does a great job in that room, just the work ethic of our receivers, their diligence.

The time we spent in the offseason has paid off. The time that they've worked in their walkthroughs, all the way to how they've approached that to, obviously, our approach in practice.

And the speed that they play with. You saw (Darius) Slayton catch that bomb today, I threw it to him, and just his ability to make plays down the field.

Jalin, I'm really excited about him and what he's done so far. Obviously, Wan'Dale, his ability. Nabers is, obviously, one of the best in the game, if not the best in the game, in what he does.

And so just we got a lot of guys. And so I think I've also been really impressed with our backs. I think that we have some really, really talented backs that can really catch the ball, but also obviously run it. But their ability to make plays in the passing game is significant as well.

Q. You're a veteran in this league, right? You know kind of how the business works. You were once a draft pick, right? You came in, you wanted the job, you won the job. How much pressure do you view it as putting on you to have success here early, knowing that they drafted a first-round quarterback?

RUSSELL WILSON: I just think about having success today. It's always been my approach. Every day is like I'm trying to be the best in the world. I I think that for me, mentally, you have confidence in yourself. You have confidence in what you do, your process. I constantly stay the course and understand that if I'm the best me, I know how great that is.

And so, for me, I always just stay within. I don't really think about outside. And I know you guys have a great day job to do and everything else. But for me, I just stay focused on the process of it all.

Q. When you talk the process, when you talk to guys in this league, from when they're rookies to when they're in your stage of the game, guys have their different mentalities of how, okay, now is when the pedal goes down to the ground and we got to push, and there are some guys who want to take it day by day. Has that process changed for you at all in terms of getting ready for the season and it's only June? I mean, there are some guys who say, wake me up in August, that kind of thing. But for you, why is it important?

RUSSELL WILSON: I think it's important. I think your question in terms of, if I'm understanding your question right, the process of right now, the OTAs, I've always believed in that because of the chemistry and the belief and the love of the game.

To me, if you love the game, you're always about it, it doesn't matter. We all know that every day you step between the white lines, it's a gift. I believe that God's given us an amazing blessing to play this game.

And so I've always taken the approach of never missing practice, always being there. I think I've only missed one practice before in my life and that's because of a funeral. I think it's just because, I think at the end of the day, for me, it's about the approach to it.

And so I think the big part of it is just the dedication to your teammates and what you want to do. And it's all about us doing it together. That's the fun part about it. I think to be able to play with the guys that we have and the belief that we have to create now and the belief that we have to do it.

But it's not just hoping and wishing, it's actually doing it. And I think that's the part that we have to work on daily. And so that's the part of being a champion and wanting to win and wanting to win at all costs and knowing that it's about us and it's not about just one person.

Outside Linebacker Brian Burns

Q. What happened there at the end of practice?

BRIAN BURNS: The heat got to us.

Q. It seemed like more than just the heat, though. What set you guys off?

BRIAN BURNS: It's a violent sport we play. Guys are trying to get better. Guys are trying to get better. It's just that tensions have been raised a little high. Heat. It's getting a little hotter. So guys are getting a little more agitated. But it isn't that deep. We squashed it.

Q. As a vet, how do you feel about that, when guys let off steam like that?

BRIAN BURNS: I feel like it's healthy. At times I feel like it's healthy, to a certain extent, though. You still want to get your work done at the end of the day, but that competition and that edge that we need to have is needed.

Q. Brian, I know it's early, but what have you learned about Abdul, and how is he fitting in with you and Kayvon? How does he complement what you guys do?

BRIAN BURNS: You mean what I've learned as a person or as a player?

Q. As a person, a player.

BRIAN BURNS: As a person, cool kid. At first, he was quiet. He's starting to loosen up a little bit. But as far as a player, so far, he's everything that I expected, very twitchy, and explosive. He does have an array of moves.

Q. And how does he complement what you and Kayvon do?

BRIAN BURNS: He's just a different type of rusher. I feel like we all have our techniques and what we're good at. He adds another flavor to it. I think he's doing well.

Q. Do you like the changes that took place on the defense this year, a lot of investment in free agency?

BRIAN BURNS: Yeah, for sure. The defense has definitely improved as far as the veterans that they've added, the young guys they've added. We have two rising stars in Drew and Nubin, just to say the least. I think we have talent all around the board now. It's just all about putting it together.

Q. Does it excite you to think about the possibilities of what challenges you could present an offense if you, Kayvon, and Abdul are on the field at the same time?

BRIAN BURNS: Is it exciting?

Q. Yeah.

BRIAN BURNS: Yeah, very, I mean, because you could do a lot. I mean, we're all similar but different in a way. You know what I'm saying? So, we can interchange and we can really add a lot of versatility to any of our third-down packages or just the game in general. So, yeah, it's exciting.

Q. Do you think that you could be utilized in a way that you haven't been used? Maybe that's inside linebacker, a defensive tackle on a pass rush situation. Like, how open are you to that? Do you think that's something you could do?

BRIAN BURNS: Very, because it's going to -- like you just said, it's going to challenge offenses to figure out what we're doing. And if you can put us in different spots doing the same thing, it'll be confusing at a certain point.

Q. With this being year two of being in Shane Bowen's system, what have you noticed that's different as far as what he's been able to do so far? Again, I know it's early, but have you noticed anything different that maybe you weren't doing this time last year?

BRIAN BURNS: Not really. I would say the main thing is that being in year two, I'm more comfortable with the playbook. And now I have a deeper understanding as far as like last year, I knew my job, knew my assignment, knew where to be, but now I know why, why I'm doing certain things, and what he's thinking. So being on that same accord with him helped me play faster.

Q. To follow up on basically playing multiple spots, right, moving around, how much have you done that? How comfortable do you feel? Is it something you did last year, or is it something that you're sort of adding to the arsenal this year?

BRIAN BURNS: I did it a little bit last year, but mainly in our base packages. So far what I mean by moving around is that our third down could be a little more exotic with the addition of Carter. It's kind of like pick your poison. And then we have a Dex, so...

Q. The exotics also work on the back end too, right? I mean, you guys are focused on where you're going in the front. But with Holland and Adebo added to that mix, you mentioned --

BRIAN BURNS: The veterans --

Q. I mean, it seems like the pieces across the board for this defense will allow you guys to do a lot of different things.

BRIAN BURNS: Yeah, the pieces are piecing. Jevón and Nub in the back, they've been really good with their communication as far as disguising and really being on top of their responsibilities. Adebo is very sticky as we expected. And just allowing them to play free, like I said, that back end is working, really, really good right now. We've just got to keep it up.

Q. Going back to today for a second, how did it get to the point where you guys were putting your helmets down to square off? It usually seems like it happens in the flow of the play.

BRIAN BURNS: It seems like it happens in the flow of the play?

Q. Yeah. Usually, you're playing football and it gets heated. It seemed like you guys took your helmets off intentionally to square off.

BRIAN BURNS: I wouldn't say that. I would say it was just a conversation that we've had.

Q. Has this happened -- I guess skirmishes broke out. Obviously, we're not here every day...

BRIAN BURNS: It happens all the time. We fight over food, fight over ping pong, pool, whatever it is. It's happened all the time. This isn't nothing but a little brotherhood.

Q. Do you like that edge? Do you like it when players kind of show that edge a little bit? Do you need that? Do you think this team needs that?

BRIAN BURNS: No, you definitely need that edge. You need that dog mentality. But just can't let it get in the way of work. So the only thing I'm mad about is that we had to go ahead and call it up. We got most of our work done today. But I just want to stay away from that. And I'm going to let it be known to the team, like, that's not what we're doing. We have to keep our mindset on the main thing, which is football. So all that horseplay and all that stuff is cool, whatever, nice edge and everything like that, but we do have to get to the details and get our work done.

Q. What was Daboll's message to you when you guys all huddled up after?

BRIAN BURNS: It was just the same thing I just told you, just getting our work done. But I already knew that just from being around and being in many of the training camps. When you have fights, you don't want it to get in the way of the reps and things of that nature. We just got to keep it to a minimum.

Q. I don't think it's a secret that you were playing week to week, pretty banged up last year. How much of the real you do you think we saw, and how much different of a player will you be this year, if you're healthy?

BRIAN BURNS: You've seen the real me because I was out there. Playing banged up is just a part of the game. Once the season starts, you'll never be 100 percent healthy again. I want to keep that to a minimum as much as possible. I'd rather play healthy, I feel better and play better. So, yeah, this year, planning on that, planning on keeping it healthy.

Q. Are you 100 percent now?

BRIAN BURNS: Yeah, I'm good.

Q. Is there anything that's really important to you recovery-wise, taking care of your body, that's different year over year that you've been working on the off-season?

BRIAN BURNS: Yeah, I would just say mainly staying with my routine, making sure I'm intentional about it. At times when the season is going and things may change, you want to keep one thing the same, and that's your routine. I just got to make sure I stay on top of it and keep it going.

Wide Reciever Wan'Dale Robinson

Q. What's life like with a new quarterback?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: It's been nice. A guy that's been in this league a long time. He tells you exactly what he wants out there, running routes, and the spots he needs you to be in. So, it's been really, really nice.

Q. How's it been trying to build chemistry? Obviously, you just talked to us about you guys throwing together, getting to know you guys. How's that chemistry process going for you with him?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: It's been great. Ever since he came down to Atlanta to throw with us in the offseason, it's just been going up ever since then. Each and every day, just trying to build more and more, and just continue to grow out there on the field.

Q. It's the same offense, maybe the same play caller, a different quarterback. Do you think your usage will be a little different? Do you think maybe there's more diversification of routes for you this year?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: Yeah, definitely. I definitely think I'll be moved around a little bit more. Might be outside a little bit more, get some deeper shots down the field. But at the end of the day, just going to continue to get open and just be a valuable target for our quarterbacks.

Q. I'm sure you knew a lot about Russell Wilson before he got here. He's been in the league, you see him on TV all the time, interviews and everything. Is there anything that you're like, 'wow, I didn't know that about him, I didn't know what he was like off the field'?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: He's just the same guy every day. A lot of guys you see that they're a little different when they come in. After you first meet them, then you kind of start to see how they are on a regular basis.

But he's the same exact guy every day. In here early every day, doing what you're supposed to do. He's been coaching us up just the way that you would want your quarterback doing.

Q. I mean, it's a different personality. He's a big personality. You say he's the same every day. What is that every day?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: Just his leadership. You see it every day. From the first meeting to whenever we're out there on practice, he's just doing everything right. You can just kind of see why he's been in the NFL for so long.

Q. By virtue of experience in the position, has he just naturally evolved as the leader, like as one of the leaders, at least?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: Yeah, I would definitely say that. Just his presence, and obviously, everything he's accomplished. His command that he's already just tried to take in the room, in the offensive room, and you just see the leadership that he has.

Q. Can it wear you out a little bit? You know what I'm saying? As far as he's so -- there's a lot of him, right?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: Yeah, I mean, but at the end of the day, that's what you want. You don't want your quarterback to be lackadaisical or anything like that. You want him to be high strung, really motivated, detailed, and that's exactly what he is.

Q. What about the ball that he throws? I mean, what have you noticed that's been different from other quarterbacks that you've caught balls for?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: That deep ball just drops right in the bucket, for sure. And then whenever he's throwing just the shorter routes and stuff like that, it kind of comes in like a pillow. It's really, really easy to catch, which I like.

Q. For all the changes this roster made at pretty much every position, the top four is unchanged at receiver. Do you guys take that as a vote of confidence, and can that help you guys hit the ground running, the four of you?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: Yeah, no doubt. We're all confident in our abilities. We just feel like whoever's back there, as long as we get some chances and can make plays with the ball after the catch and things like that, we feel like we're going to be just fine.

Q. Obviously, you talk a lot about Russ and what he brings to the table – if a guy came in and had all of that, and then when he stepped on the field, couldn't play, you guys would probably know that pretty quickly…

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: Yeah, I would definitely think so. I mean, usually from the time we kind of go through the first routes on air and seven on seven, you kind of get a feel for how your quarterback's going to be.

Q. And you're confident that, at age 36, regardless of what he's gone through, he's the guy that you thought you were going to see when he walked in?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: Yeah, no doubt. Even the first time we threw, me and (Darius) Slay(ton) were both like, this is actually better than we expected. And so, no, we were ecstatic about it, and couldn't be more happy that he's our quarterback.

Q. Because of what you had heard outside --

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: Mm-hmm, just everything we had heard, and then just the way he commanded, even just that little session of just the three of us, me, Slay, and Theo (Johnson). It was just kind of like we haven't had a quarterback that's going to command everything, and you know exactly what you want. He's been great, though.

Q. In what ways was he better than you expected?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: I mean, just like I said, the leadership and even just throwing the football. Obviously, we don't watch full games of a lot of teams, so you don't really get to see all the time exactly how a quarterback plays and things like that.

So as soon as we actually got to throw with him, we were like, okay, he can spin it still. So, we we're excited about that.

Q. What have your first impressions been of Jaxson (Dart)?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: He's a funny, goofy dude, but he's going to go out there and work, too. Real resilient. We had to tell him a little bit like, 'hey, you're an NFL quarterback now; you don't have to do some of those things that you might have done in college.'

But he's going to go out there and put it all on the line and do a great job.

Q. Like what? What's he got to leave in college?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: Definitely no diving, things like that. I mean, at the end of the day, you're the quarterback, so got to keep you healthy and make sure that you're out there ready for Sundays.

Q. On the note of team chemistry, have you guys gotten to do anything fun off the field to kind of build that chemistry too?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: We just go out to eat. I'd say that's kind of the big thing, just going to different restaurants and just trying to get together like that.

Q. Speaking of leadership, you've been in the league a few years now. And with the incoming rookies, how have you been a leader for them? How do you think they'll mesh with this team?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: I think they're doing just fine. For me, I just try to be a resource for them. Obviously, I've been through it. This is my fourth year now. And obviously I was at the start of it with Dabs and them. So going through installs and stuff, just being a resource for anything. Any type of help that they may need, learning the offense, any questions about routes, how they might see this, how they might see that. Just trying to be there for them with whatever questions they may have.

Q. Do you already see with this offense and the limited start you have so far with this offense and with Russ, that there's going to be a lot less of you running six yards, turning around, catching the ball, and getting tackled by three guys?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: I would hope so. Obviously, I don't call the plays, and I think we'll be just fine in that category.

Q. Do you care who calls the plays?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: No, I don't. It's collaborative right now. I have no idea who's talking in that headset when Russ is getting the calls. So, just go out there and get open.

Q. What gives you confidence for a couple years now, especially last year, scoring has been a problem for this offense; yet the Giants decided to bring back 10 of the 11 offensive starters and the same coaching staff. Why will the offense be better?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: I just think the details and everything that we've just got to do going into camp and going into week one. And obviously I think it starts back there with that quarterback position. And I think we all have confidence in him, and it'll trickle down from there.

Q. Kind of referenced how you hope your role maybe changes a little bit. How do you look at last season for you? Obviously, you had a ton of catches, but do you feel like maybe not the impact on the big plays you were hoping for?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: Yeah, no doubt. I definitely want to impact the game with a couple more big plays. And obviously I like being a guy that the quarterbacks can rely on to just be there whenever and so that way you have a completion. But I want to impact the game a little bit more too.

Q. This might sound a little strange, but your quarterbacks were very, very big guys here, 6'5". Russ is certainly not 6'5". First of all, is it nice to have a conversation with a quarterback? You can look at him in the eye (laughs)? And is there a difference on the field, him throwing you the ball?

WAN'DALE ROBINSON: (Laughs) Not too much. I'd say for me it's always kind of been, when I'm going across the middle, I'm looking through linemen and different things. It's always been a little bit of a struggle, just kind of seeing the ball as soon as it comes over. It's never really too much of a difference for me.