“In a couple of ways,” Fairchild said. “Mentally, the biggest thing. Just having a relentless mindset, battling it out in the third and fourth quarter of these long games. As a wrestler, there’s no quit in you. The other part is physically. You can get into uncomfortable, awkward positions and feel comfortable.”
One of the NFL comps for Fairchild in style and stature is three-time Pro Bowl guard Wyatt Teller, a player Peters coached in Cleveland for four seasons.
“Fair assessment,” Peters said. “Very much similar physically. Dylan has that in his body. He’s a really strong kind. He’s just kind of learning the game, and he understands the game. I’m looking forward to working with him and seeing what we’ve got.”
What they’ve got in Knight is a throwback. A ready-made pro and plug-in captain. A six-year college player who turns 25 in July. Knight took the call from head coach Zac Taylor sitting next to his wife and their 10-month-old on her lap playing with a phone. Their two-year-old waited out of the picture as the littlest one began to be overwhelmed with the noise of the reaction.
“He’s OK today,’ his dad said. “He’s at the pool.”
His dad is also in the pool to compete for a job thanks, in part, to studying Wilson.
“The tenacity he plays with, but also the IQ he plays with,” Knight said. “Smart. He knows where the routes are going, and he’s a great talent in coverage. Great all-around linebacker.”
So imagine the kick when Wilson texted him right after he talked to Taylor.
One of the bold items in Knight’s bio is that he’s distant cousins of R&B legends Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin. But music isn’t distant in the family.
“My sister sings in college,” he said of his younger sister, a senior at Alabama’s Samford University. “My dad sings in church. I went to sports like my mom. She played basketball and did track in high school.”