just physically?

Yeah, I mean, definitely sore.

I mean, those type of games, you know, it's a good soreness though.

You know, you had a chance to work and coming out of the Niner game, it was just such a weird one.

We didn't have that many plays where you, you know, you're happy that you're healthy, but it's not exactly the ideal reason, you know, to be fresh.

So obviously got tackled a few times, which is good in a way.

So, but yeah, I feel pretty good.

But what was it like to kind of watch that in real time, not just the interception?

Did it feel like that to you?

Yeah, I mean, it definitely felt special.

I think in a way, you know, you know me well enough, Kay, like, you know, people are getting overly excited or surprised by it.

And I don't necessarily understand that.

But at the end of the day, it's like, look, the NFL, you got to come out and do certain things every single week.

Otherwise, people get amnesia.

And, you know, last year wasn't a bunch of 195-yard games.

Is he deserving of all of that? What do you make of that clip?

Aaron Rodgers, uh, obviously Matt, Derek Carr, your college teammate's good as well, but how, how long does it take to get on the same page with those guys?

Well, I mean, you've seen with me and Aaron, it was, you know, it was, it was different levels to our connection.

It started off, you know, my, my rookie year where I was just trying to get in where I could fit in, you know, make as many plays as I was able to make.

And, you know, I wasn't, I wasn't really asked to do the things that I'm asked to do now or, you know, at the height of things in, in Green Bay.

So, um, being in the position now where I come to, to a place where, you know, it's a, a brilliant mind, as I said, in, in Sean, who's trying to highlight all my, um, you know, my strengths in obviously releasing up the ball and, and doing those things is, is one thing.

But like you said, being able to get on the same page with a guy.

Like last year, we didn't really have much time to get ready for the season.

From what you've seen over the last 18 months since you've been with the Rams, what makes him one of the greats of all time when it comes to throwing the football?

Thank you.

I think it was a glimpse of it, to be honest, because I think we still got another level we can tap into.

And I don't say that being, you know, try to be like that.

But at the end of the day, I mean, we take care of the ball a little bit better.

That can equate to more points.

So this team, I mean, we got to – the confidence level that we're at just because of the work that we put in.

And we understand that we're not gonna put any governors on what we can do here.

Just when you look back to a year ago, when you guys hadn't had a lot of reps to this point, just from your end, how, how much has it grown just in the past year?

When Matthew doesn't, when Matthew has a game that, you know, is atypical from what people are used to seeing, what do you notice about the way he carries himself, not only during the game, but in the following days, like during a practice week and things like

that? Nothing, which is, I mean, that's, and I say that from a sense of that, you know, some people, they got to elevate, you know, come in here and then you see a different look in their face or walking around like a different, He's just, like I say, I've told y'all probably 100,000 times, he's the most cool, calm, collected person I've been around.

Whether he throws a pick, throws a touchdown, you look at him on the sideline, you would never know if you weren't watching the game before that.

So that's kind of the feeling I have now.

I'm not walking around seeing him looking like he has to be extra intense or looking like he lost anything mentally or whatever.

It's just another game week for him, and he's locked in, ready to go.

Well, for sure.

Well, I

How many seasons? Did you feel comfortable right away, or did you feel like it took two, three, four years?

No.

No, I think, um, I think some of the guys...

First off, I, I was the ninth receiver drafted, and, and was, like, a couple yards behind Brandin Cooks of leading, you know, the, the nation in receiving.

I had 24 touchdowns, 131 catches, and this was, like, in, like, 12 games in college.

So to me, the reason why I decided to come out, and that wasn't because I was like, you know, "This is, this is like..." I just felt it was the best I could do to, to prove to the, the league realistically, like what, what else could I go out here and do? You want 150 catches? Is that gonna change anything? Like, 130 in, in 1700, and 24 touchdowns, like statistically and based off of what I put together on, on film that year, I felt like that was my best resume that I could submit, and I felt like anything else was just gonna be potentially hurting me.

You know, if, if Derek, Derek was leaving that year and, you know.

[laughs]

How was it coming to the Rams?

Coming to the Rams was, it was, it was a breath of, of fresh air, man, 'cause, you know, obviously I was grateful for my time in Vegas.

I really enjoyed it.

Loved playing in that city.

Like, the love that I got from the outside was great.

It was, I got a new, um, you know, view of what the NFL can look like too, being in a small market like Green Bay, not really getting a whole lot of, like, which is definitely not why I do this, but having, you know, different marketing things that come.

Just seeing a different world almost is what it felt like going to Vegas.

Yeah

These guys, everyone out here is an NFL player, right? But what's it like when you're matched up with McDuffie? What's it like when you're going against another All-Pro? And how does that help you prepare for the season?

I mean, I can honestly say I don't know if I'll get a better look than what I get from Trent out there.

And I don't like doing this because I don't like putting big expectations or bulletin board material or any of that stuff.

But at the end of the day, I can't remember the last time I felt about the way I feel about him about another corner.

And I say that just because certain guys make plays because they fall into them.

They got a certain feel for for ball or whatever, but Trent's out there just, he's doing something every single play, you know what I mean? And I don't know if you understand what I'm saying when I say that, but some guys, you know, things happen and you end up with the ball in your hand on defense and that's how it happens, but he's making, The comparison I would say is I have the ability to hit a hole in one because I'm a decent golfer.

Colin Morikawa, one of my guys, he's going to make a lot more because he's putting it by the pin every time.

What, when you have a coach who kind of understands how hard training camp can be and takes that opportunity, how does it set you up for the season? Well,

I would think in the room that would make you guys even more juiced up saying, we got to do this.

I mean, on paper, yeah, but with this type of team you have, I mean, or what type of team we have, we don't need any type of outside influences to give us the juice or the confidence that we need to play well this year.

So at the end of the day, the way people feel about us as a team preseason, or even throughout the season has no bearing on what we do and how it turns out for us.

So we would hope that they would wish good things and believe in us, which we appreciate.

But at the end of the day, the moment something you hit adversity and it doesn't look like what they hoped preseason, that's when they start tearing you down and questioning whether or not you really who we thought you were and all of that.

So we got a lot of veteran guys, a lot of guys who've been in these positions where they've been on teams where You start the year and they go, hey, this looks like the best team we've ever seen.

But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter.

as you enter into this one how have you evolved from your first training camp to now and you know we don't know how we don't know how many more training camps you're going to have but what does this moment mean to you now

(laughs)

... and basically the timing that, that you got.

Now, when you're dealing with a person like Aaron and you've come to learn, the details are very, very important, right? So this signal is for when you're by yourself, so you wouldn't get this signal typically if you were over there with another tight end or another, you know, a slot receiver with you.

And I was outside, I wasn't playing in the slot as much at that point, so...

If you get this, you're, it's typically for when you're alone.

You get this, that's a two-man concept, right? I'm just a rookie coming in, it's my second game playing.

I'm not really ready to, you know, process all that, especially not mid-cadence, which I, I don't even know if we ever even did that again after that.

Do you have a hit that was a welcome to the NFL hit?

(laughs)

So I see that and basically the timing that- that you got.

Now-When you're dealing with a person like Aaron, and you come to learn, the details are very, very important, right? So this signal is for when you're by yourself.

So you wouldn't get this signal typically if you were over there with another tight end or another, you know, a slot receiver with you.

And I was outside, I wasn't playing in the slot as much at that point.

So if you get this, you're, it's typically for when you're alone.

You get this, that's a two-man concept, right? I'm just a rookie coming in.

Do you have a hit that was a welcome to the NFL hit?