Matthew Stafford has only been teammates with his new rookie class for a week, but that doesn’t mean the quarterback can’t start to build a relationship with some of his newest Detroit Lions.
Apparently, that’s just what Stafford has set out to do. Recently, Stafford was pictured meeting up to do some in person training with D’Andre Swift, tight end Isaac Nauta and wideout Quintez Cephus. A snippet of the group getting together was unearthed on Twitter.
Here’s a look:
A little jump start on chemistry. Matthew Stafford being the leader he is with rookie RB D’Andre Swift, TE Isaac Nauta and rookie WR Quartez Cephus putting in work! #onepride
Obviously, this is good news for the Lions as Stafford is wasting no time trying to get some chemistry with both of his biggest offensive weapons selected from the 2020 draft as well as a player who might be depended on to have a bigger role in 2020 in Nauta.
Detroit might be severely limited in the amount of offseason work the players can do as a team most of this offseason given the coronavirus pandemic, so every little bit in this scenario certainly does help for the future as it relates to chemistry.
It’s nice to see Stafford wasting no time in connecting with his newest Lions teammates.
D’Andre Swift Stats
Arguably the best runner on the board and a player who many figured would go off the board in the first round, Swift is a hard charging back out of Georgia who was tough in his career playing in the SEC. With 2,885 yards and 20 touchdowns in his career, there is little doubting how well Swift would do at toting the rock and fitting in well within Detroit’s backfield situation.
Swift coming from the SEC will be huge for him in terms of being able to fit in seamlessly to the team. Georgia has put a lot of great runners into the league lately, and the hope for Swift is that he can join the squad and become the next runner that follows in the footsteps of players like Todd Gurley, Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. All of them have become great, and Swift could be next. He could help Detroit’s ground game over the top in the process.
Quintez Cephus Stats
In college, Cephus put up a solid 1,496 yards and 9 touchdowns in a run-heavy Badgers offense. He’s a player that has some potential that could be developed into something a little more, and with the Lions needing wideouts for the future, it’s possible they could take a couple swings in the middle to late rounds at the position.
Cephus didn’t have a fast run at the NFL Combine running in the 4.7’s, but improved things during his early pro day with Wisconsin. More than the speed, it’s the ability of Cephus to run good routes and make solid catches which impresses. As a result of that, he could be a solid pro who sticks in the league.
Isaac Nauta Stats
The Lions picked Nauta in the 7th round in the 2019 draft out of Georgia, and most of last season he was stashed away on the team’s practice squad. With Georgia, Nauta put up some solid numbers going for 903 yards and 8 touchdowns. He’s not gotten a huge chance to make such a wide impact in the NFL thus far with only 2 receptions for 13 yards in the league, but with depth an issue at tight end, Nauta will get a shot to scrap for a role this coming season.
Obviously, the fact that Nauta, Swift and Cephus get to get an extra bit of familiarity with their quarterback will only help matters.
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Matthew Stafford Works Out With D’Andre Swift, Quintez Cephus [WATCH]