Linebacker competition remains a friendly one between Claudin Cherelus and Trevin Wallace

Veteran safety Nick Scott echoed that appreciation, because any situation in which one guy wins the job and the other doesn’t creates a natural tension. But defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero said you couldn’t feel it, because “first of all, they’re really good friends.”

“I mean, all those guys are just natural leaders,” Scott said. “Their presence is always felt; when they get out there on the field, they make the plays that they’re supposed to. I mean, that in and of itself is just pushing guys day in and day out.

“We’ve got a really good group of guys that are smart, guys that are physical and know what kind of brand of football we want to play here. So as long as those guys keep doing their job, pushing guys to the fullest, the best guys are going to be on the field for sure.”

Having Lloyd next door is going to make both of them better, so it’s about finding the places where the defense as a whole benefits.

“This is not a knock on anybody,” Evero said. “This is just how highly we feel about both guys, and both guys have, over the last couple of years, grown a lot in terms of their play, and both of them have done a good job of putting some good tape out there. And they’ve also found opportunities to get better from some of the things that haven’t worked out their way.

“So, I just think that’s the nature of the beast, and really you’re always in a competition and, I think, Trevin sees it that way, and he knows that he has to play his best, and Claude sees it the same way as well.”