WEBVTT - #285 Packers Unscripted: Wild first round 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:20.479 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.720 I am Mike Spofford and he is Wes Hodkawitz. We're 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:26.880 coming to you here from our studios at lambeau Field 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:30.000 and West. Day one of the NFL Draft is in 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:33.640 the books, and as they say, you just never know 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:37.400 how these things are gonna go. What a Thursday night 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:39.760 for the first round of the NFL Draft. What were 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:42.640 your impressions? First and foremost, everyone loves to do their 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.440 mock drafts when they get really fancy and they start trading. 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:48.879 Show me one mock draft that had the Packers trading 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:52.880 back from fourteen and then up to eighteen. You never 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:56.360 see those mocks. But that's the you know, the reality 0:00:56.400 --> 0:00:59.200 of drafts, and the Packers to be able to do 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:01.800 that much flux suation. They end up and we'll talk 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:03.280 about this in a second, they end up gaining a 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:06.080 first round pick next year, an extra one from the 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:08.640 New Orleans Saints, and still end up with the field 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:12.000 that they feel a player that they feel has comparable value. 0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:16.000 And jaire Alexander the Louisville cornerback. I think Brian Goodkins 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:18.120 for his first night on the job, as GM in 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:20.560 terms of the draft, I was pretty happy with what 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:23.320 the Packers walked away with. Yeah, he seemed pretty excited, 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:26.440 not only to be able to add Alexander and a cornerback. 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:29.679 The Packers obviously thought very highly of the second pure 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:32.360 cornerback to go off the board, the fourth defensive back 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:35.520 to be taken there at the eighteenth pick, but then 0:01:35.600 --> 0:01:38.360 to be adding a first round pick in en. Now, 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:41.880 the way he described it to us afterwards when he 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:45.160 met with the media was he was, you know, exploring 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:48.520 some trade possibilities of moving up from fourteen. You know, 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:51.040 in the early stages of the draft, nothing really came 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:53.520 together there. Then it was Okay, am I gonna sit 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:55.720 and pick at fourteen? Or am I gonna move back? 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:59.120 I think they were probably ready to sit and pick. 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:01.880 But then when that offer came of a first round 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:04.400 draft pick for next year, that's going to give any 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:07.400 general manager pause. You've got to stop and really think 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:10.000 about that. And uh and he basically said it was 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:12.519 just it's too good an opportunity to pass up. Yeah. 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:14.280 And when you look at the numbers of this thing, Mike, 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:16.119 I mean, the fact of the matter is the Packers 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:21.040 got the first round pick seven overall from the Saints. Traditionally, 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:23.320 I think you end up acquiring a second rounder, but 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:26.040 since the Saints were so far back, they had to 0:02:26.040 --> 0:02:28.600 bring more in order to make this deal happen. So 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:31.519 they offer up their first round pick for twenty nine. 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:34.799 And it is interesting. I ran the math. If you 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:38.399 go off the draft value chart the Packers for this 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:40.840 year alone, the Saints come up. I think it was 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:45.359 seven points ahead. But next year, the worst that that 0:02:45.480 --> 0:02:47.919 picks value could be. Let's say the Saints would win, 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:50.680 win it all right, and their thirty second, thirty second 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:53.799 that value pick is five and ninety. The difference between five, 0:02:54.560 --> 0:02:57.720 three eight seven basically a high third round pick. So 0:02:57.760 --> 0:03:00.600 at the very least, that's the advance image for which 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:02.880 the Packers are getting, and then any spot up from 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:06.440 that only adds more to it. Um it is. I'm 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:08.920 sure it was very tempting. You know, Derwin James was 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:11.320 still on the board, Tremaine Edmonds still on the board, 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:14.600 Marcus Davenport, who the Saints ended up drafting, was still 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.640 on the board. But in those days leading up to 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:20.000 the draft, Mike, you heard some rumblings that the Packers 0:03:20.080 --> 0:03:23.040 might potentially be interested in Alexander. He was a guy 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:24.600 that I think, coming off of the year that he 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:27.600 had being banged up at Louisville, some people really weren't 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:29.040 sure if he was gonna be a first round pick. 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:33.040 But four point three eight speed in the forty denzil Ward, 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:35.160 who went fourth overall to the Browns, was four point 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:39.080 three to um not the tallest cornerback you're ever gonna find, 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:41.680 but he plays bigger than that. And at the end 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:43.320 of the day, the Packers need to playmaker and this 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:45.240 is a versatile guy that can play inside or outside 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:47.480 for them. Yeah, it's really interesting how this played out 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:49.960 because earlier in the week we were both talking and 0:03:50.000 --> 0:03:52.920 as we made our predictions, for whatever those were worth, 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:56.920 but both of us essentially predicted that the Packers in 0:03:57.000 --> 0:03:59.520 some way, shape or form, would get one of those 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:02.480 top read dbs in the group being Denzel Ward, think 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:06.400 of Fitzpatrick or Derwin James. And as it turns out, 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:08.720 the Packers did get a defensive back, and they did 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:11.960 have an opportunity to take Derwin James. But really with 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:14.800 Goodakoots making the moves that he did to trade out 0:04:14.800 --> 0:04:16.839 of the fourteen spot and go down and then come 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:21.920 back up to eighteen. He basically declared that you know Alexander, 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:26.640 he had they had Alexander rated essentially an equivalent player 0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:31.680 to Tremaine, Edmunds, Derwin James, maybe Marcus Davenport, that if 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:34.560 they look at their board and they've got equivalent value there. 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:38.400 And essentially he gave up a third round pick to 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:42.960 Seattle to move back up to the eighteenth spot. So 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:45.839 he moved back four spots in a net of the 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:48.160 two trades, gives up a third round pick this year, 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:51.040 but gains a first rounder next year and gets the 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:54.680 number two cornerback off the board. He really can't ask 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:57.360 for it to fall any better. There are two different 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:00.680 varying avenues in which I look in you this this 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:03.920 trade through. The first one is and I I talked 0:05:03.920 --> 0:05:05.760 about this an insider impact, so I'm sure you read 0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:08.200 it this past week. I was really interested to see 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:10.320 if a scenario would play out where it wasn't just 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:13.720 one of one player that the Packers could potentially take 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:16.240 at fourteen, that two or three of them are available. 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:18.080 And that's so that's what I continued to say too. 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:20.640 I thought he would somehow, some way it would happen 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:24.080 where he'd have some options there at fourteen, and it 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:26.520 did happen that way because the four quarterbacks went. Mike 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:29.839 McGlinchey went number nine, the offensive tackle that pushed those 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:32.560 some of those defensive guys down, and he did have choices. 0:05:32.600 --> 0:05:34.159 And the reason I really wanted to see it is 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:36.760 because we can talk until we're blew in the face 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:39.960 about who the Packers should pick, but ultimately that's the 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:42.960 only opportunity for us to ever look into the mind 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:46.520 of Brian Goodacuins and see what exactly the Packers were thinking. 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:48.880 Because if Edmonds isn't on the board, and James isn't 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:53.200 on the board, uh, if Davenport's not there, certainly the 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:54.960 names changed and you have to figure some stuff out. 0:05:54.960 --> 0:05:58.120 But it tells you that the Packers viewed Alexander in 0:05:58.160 --> 0:06:01.679 the same area, the same stratosphere as those other players, 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:03.520 and they were able to move back and acquire another 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:05.960 first round pick in order to do that. The other 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:07.919 thing that stands out to me, you and I both 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:10.000 put a lot of emphasis on these two defensive backs, 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:14.039 Derwin James and make Offense Patrick from Alabama. The one 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:17.080 thing I like about Alexander, though he does have experience 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:19.160 in the slot, and last year he played the boundary. 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:23.279 Boundary cornerbacks can play the slot, Safeties can play the slot, 0:06:23.440 --> 0:06:25.799 but you don't see a lot of safeties hybrid defensive 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:28.760 backs that can play boundary cornerbacks outside. And when you 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:30.920 look at this situation, now we've being able to bring 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:33.920 Alexander and he gives Joe Wit in that secondary that 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:35.880 kind of flexibility. Yeah, well, I want to get into 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:40.880 some more details about Gyrie Um Sorry year Alexander will 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:43.560 do that after the breakback with more and Packers Unscripted 0:06:43.600 --> 0:07:04.160 right after this, Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:06.679 in this chair, West, hodkit wits in that one. Okay, West. 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:10.640 So the Packers trade back thirteen spots, trade up nine 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:14.120 for a net move before and they take Jayar Alexander 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:17.120 the cornerback out of Louisville. And when you look at 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:20.760 the measurables, four point three eight is the number that 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:23.840 jumps out at me. That's some speed, and that's the 0:07:23.880 --> 0:07:26.400 kind of speed that can't be coached. It's it's one 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:29.000 of those god given type of things. And this is 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:31.120 a guy who is going to add some speed to 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:34.000 Green Bay's defense need for speed. Uh, and he certainly 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:36.120 fits the bill in that regard and he uses it 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:38.920 to to his advantage. I thought. Director of college Scouting, 0:07:39.000 --> 0:07:41.320 John Eric Sullivan, came down after the pick was made 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:45.240 and mentioned he didn't want to draw comparisons between Alexander 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:47.840 and Sam Shields. But the one thing he did mention 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:49.640 that and you go back and it was the number 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:52.000 one thing that Sam Shields did, especially early in his 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:54.480 career when he was still working on his technique, was 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:57.240 the recovery speed, the ability to close on a receiver. 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:00.400 Alexander possesses that, and he plays with a certain swagger 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:02.880 as well. I mean, he is a nasty streak um 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:04.680 and he plays within the rules. I'm not trying to, 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:07.200 you know, say anything other than that, but he definitely 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:09.160 rises up to the occasion. You can just tell how 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:12.000 much that motivates him. Even last year, you know, battling 0:08:12.000 --> 0:08:14.280 through the knee injury to get back and to play 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:17.240 in six games and make five starts for Louisville. He's 0:08:17.240 --> 0:08:19.760 a gamer, and he's a guy that went there as 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:21.520 a walk on, not a walk on, but you know, 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:23.880 it kind of looking like he was gonna play receiver. 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:25.760 He said, he ended up moving to cornerback because they 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:28.640 just had three guys that had left. There was opportunity there. 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:31.200 Played right away from the get go, played the slot, 0:08:31.240 --> 0:08:34.680 played the boundary, and with having speed like that, I 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:38.040 think that is ultimately what enables you as a defensive back. That, 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:40.360 especially in those early years when maybe you're still trying 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:42.920 to find yourself and find what you do well, it 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:45.040 gives you a larger room for error. Yeah, and this 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:48.920 is a player that that the Packers, you know, I 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:53.360 should say he would have liked his seventeen season to 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:55.800 go better. You mentioned the knee injury they had cost 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:59.000 him about half the season. You look back to he 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:03.320 played every game in or scepted five passes. Um he uh, 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:07.000 the Packers did not have any injury concerns, having watched 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:09.560 the film from the end of when he came back 0:09:09.600 --> 0:09:12.600 and going through all of the workouts and everything like that, 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:16.319 and and and really the Packers kept there, kept their 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:19.439 interest in him somewhat quiet. I know, he he said, well, 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:21.800 I never talked to anybody from the Packers. That wasn't 0:09:21.800 --> 0:09:25.800 exactly true. But the Packers were not uh, um, you know, 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:30.200 we're not overly uh you know, open about about their 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:33.240 interest or you know, their intentions here, so they were 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:36.280 able to keep it fairly quiet. And uh and Brian 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:38.640 Goodakun's got a guy that he really likes. Thing I 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:41.240 love the most about it is Good said afterwards too, 0:09:41.280 --> 0:09:43.400 He's like, we were watching this guy from the beginning, 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:46.120 and they followed up with him at the combine just 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:48.000 seeing how he was gonna look coming off that kne 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:49.480 injury and the fact he ran a fourth three a 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:52.960 forty tells you I think he's gonna be okay in 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.280 the long run. He mentioned it was a bone bruise 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:58.880 that he was diagnosed with. It happened on I blocked 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:00.920 field goal recovery, I believe, he said. He said he 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:04.760 hyper extended. Yeah, so, and you know that ended up 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:06.960 costing him four games. He ended up sitting out of 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:09.400 their bowl game just to be cautious at the end 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:12.920 of the season. But what a player in terms of 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:15.480 just being able to be able to do what he 0:10:15.520 --> 0:10:17.720 did in that time at Louisville. Only played in thirty 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:21.360 one collegiate games. He declared as a true junior um. 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:23.080 So you're getting a guy that's a little bit on 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:25.720 the younger side of things, but you know, he mentioned it. 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:27.680 He doesn't know a whole lot about Green Bay. He 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:29.840 knows it gets a little bit chilly in the wintertime, 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:32.440 but he did say, I mean, the track record speaks 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:34.880 for itself. You look at Charles Woodson and Nick Collins 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:37.600 and the guys that have come through that room. He's 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:39.839 really relishing that opportunity now to come in there and 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.240 show that he belongs. Yeah. And I had done a 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:45.760 prospect primer on Alexander for our website, you know, when 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:47.600 we came back from the combine and had all of 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:50.679 those prospects to sift through, and and the one thing 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:53.040 that stood out to me that was really funny from 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:56.840 his combine interview, his his press conference there when when 0:10:56.880 --> 0:11:00.400 we went back through everything was um that his teamates 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:04.480 started calling him Alexander Island because because of you know, 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:07.040 they could just leave him one on one shut down, 0:11:07.080 --> 0:11:09.400 you know, the top receiver, you know, the guy on 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:12.080 one side of the field. And uh, he was somewhat 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:15.040 you know, flattered, a little bit humbled by by getting 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:18.200 that name, that that nickname from his teammates. But he's 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:20.960 the guy who who seems to you know, to take 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:24.040 that kind of a moniker and feed off it. You know, 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:26.400 he's not he's not afraid to try to get into 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:28.680 a receiver's head, you know, to play the jawing game 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:30.600 out on the field, you know that that kind of thing. 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:33.160 I'm really excited to see what what this guy can 0:11:33.160 --> 0:11:35.199 do now. I mean, the NFL can be the most 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:38.520 humbling league in the world for any young player, but 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:40.679 this is a this is a player not lacking for 0:11:40.720 --> 0:11:43.200 confidence by any stress. Yeah, and he doesn't shy away 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:44.760 from the moment either, he said, you know, he's seen 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:46.760 plenty of six, four, six, five receivers in the a 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:48.720 SEC and he wants to step up to that challenge 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:50.839 and believes he's ready for it. The other thing, it's 0:11:50.880 --> 0:11:53.200 interesting too, Mike. You mentioned the five interceptions he had 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:56.920 his sophomore year. Uh, this wasn't against you know, cupcake 0:11:57.000 --> 0:11:59.560 type quarterbacks either. Two of those were against Deshaun Watson. 0:12:00.000 --> 0:12:01.760 So I mean, this is a guy that has done 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.120 it against the very best, not only in college football 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:06.800 but now the NFL. So I think, and you go 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:08.840 back and I saw some of the videos already of 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:10.800 him in some of the plays he made, and in 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:13.240 this kind of banter after the play as well, Uh, 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:15.000 there's a lot of confidence in young man, and that 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:17.800 is I think, other than probably quarterback, that's the one 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:20.000 position where you need to be confident. Yeah. Well, we've 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:22.400 got more to talk about from this first round of 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:25.200 the NFL Draft. Back with more on Packers Unscripted right 0:12:25.200 --> 0:12:45.480 after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford here, 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.720 Wes Hodko, it's all the way over there, So okay, 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:51.240 West the Packers. They got a little bit more than 0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:54.439 just a cornerback here in this draft, and Alexander is 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:56.920 a good one, but they also got a guy who's 0:12:56.960 --> 0:12:59.719 done some things in the punt return and a guy 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:03.160 who not right away maybe, but later on down the road, 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:05.800 can be one of these locker room leader types. He's 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:08.040 a team captain and whatnot at Louisville. A lot of 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:11.040 good things that we heard about his character and what 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:15.839 his teammates and coaches and whatnot have said about him. Um, 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:17.720 you know, really kind of this guy looks like he 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:20.199 kind of brings the brings the whole package. Yeah, I mean, 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:22.480 first off, starting just quickly touched on the team captain 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:24.200 side of things. I thought that was one of the 0:13:24.240 --> 0:13:26.240 things that you know, John Eric Sullivan when he was 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:28.280 talking with the media mentioned is the fact that he's 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:31.440 kind of an outgoing, fun loving guy. I mean, look 0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:34.280 at the photos of him and in Dallas with his 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:36.880 family everybody. I mean, he was he was enjoying the moment, 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:39.199 reveling in the moment. And then you know, had a teammate, 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:41.240 Lamar Jackson, who ends up getting taken at the end 0:13:41.240 --> 0:13:43.800 of the first round too, so big night for them, 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:46.720 and you could just see he really appreciated. Uh, you know, 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:48.960 he had the confidence, Mike to go down to Dallas 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:50.360 and you know it's gonna say, I'm gonna be a 0:13:50.360 --> 0:13:52.800 first round pick. I'm gonna walk across that stage. And 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:55.800 that was no guarantee. Based on the analysts and the projections, 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:57.560 there was no guarantee he was going to be a 0:13:57.559 --> 0:13:59.960 first round but but it paid off. But he's certain 0:14:00.040 --> 0:14:02.280 he did. And when you look at the skill set though, 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:05.920 it makes a complete sense. You know, Brian Goodacuns drafted 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:08.079 this kid because they think he can be a lockdown 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:10.480 type player, whether they're using him in the slot or 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:12.840 the boundary where he's playing, He's going to be one 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:15.320 of those top eleven defensive players that we always talk 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:17.800 about when the packers are charting out their their depth 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:20.680 chart in their packages. But he does give you something 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:22.440 as a punt returner, and that was a small part 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:24.320 of the whole little package that that I think Brian 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:27.360 Goodakunst and everyone liked. I think it was forty four 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:30.400 punt returns in college, average just under ten yards a 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:33.360 punt return, and had one brought back for a touchdown. 0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:35.280 It appeared as if he was going to do that 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:37.440 again during his junior year, but because he ends up 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:39.440 sustaining the knee injury when he came back, they did 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:42.320 not put him back on that that group. But you 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:45.360 know early on Mike, you gotta find ways to get involved. 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:47.600 Randall Cobb did it in two thousand eleven. I thought 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:50.280 Time Montgomery did it in two thousand and fifteen as 0:14:50.480 --> 0:14:53.360 both a returner and also you know, blocking some punts 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:56.280 as well. Uh. He gives you that kind of versatility. 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:58.840 And when you're when you have so many defensive backs 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.640 in this equation, I mean, there are fourteen guys returning 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:04.480 right now on this roster with NFL experience, you have 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:06.680 to find ways to make yourself valuable from day one, 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:08.880 and I think that's another thing that Alexander does. Yeah, 0:15:08.880 --> 0:15:12.160 and when you look down the road, obviously the Packers 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:14.480 have used their first pick in the draft now the 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.760 last two years on these young cornerbacks and Kevin King 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:23.120 and now Alexander. I know, Tremont Williams, Devon House are 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:25.000 here right now for the Packers and they're going to 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:28.080 play into girl roles in eighteen. But when you're looking 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:31.800 down the road, if the future is King and Alexander 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:34.560 as your top two cornerbacks, you kind of like that 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:38.480 combination because King is six three, you know, the taller, 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:40.880 got the length and all of that, and then Alexander 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.400 only five eleven but has that four three eight speed 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:48.000 that allows him to to potentially match up in in 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:50.800 some different situations. It looks like it could be a 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:53.320 really good combination for the future of this defense. I 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:56.640 remember talking to Jimmy Lake, the defensive backs coach for 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:58.960 Kevin King at Washington actually now I believe is their 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:01.280 defensive coordinator last year, and he said, this is a 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:03.680 guy that could play inside. He could play outside for you, 0:16:03.960 --> 0:16:05.720 but when you're six three and you run in the 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:08.640 fourth fours, you want that guy up against des Bryant 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:11.600 Julio Jones and those top receivers that we saw last 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:14.440 year when he was healthy. He is your prototypical press 0:16:14.440 --> 0:16:18.920 man corner. You look at now, conversely, what Alexander does well. 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:22.000 He has history operating in a single high scheme and 0:16:22.280 --> 0:16:24.720 cover three looks, and it sounds like he has the 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:26.720 strength to be able to challenge guys at the line 0:16:26.720 --> 0:16:29.960 of scrimmage. But because of that size and that explosiveness 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:32.000 and the word we just kept over hearing over and 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:34.120 over again, and you know, Johnny Rick Sullivan told you 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:36.360 it as well. And one of the post uh one 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:39.480 of the post conference uh, you know interviews that you 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:43.400 guys did is twitch is a twitchy guy. He has 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:47.040 that kind of quick fibers in his body that that 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:49.640 allows him to be where he needs to be in 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:52.160 the very second that he needs to be there. And 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:54.640 when you look at what King did well last year, 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.040 and you look at what Alexander does and then this 0:16:57.160 --> 0:17:00.520 boatload of cornerbacks the Packers have coming back with House Williams, 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:02.720 Quentin Rollins will be coming off an Achilles. But I 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:04.520 mean they have a lot of different options there to 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:08.560 compliment that core um this is and the work isn't done. 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:10.440 Goodkin said that, I mean, they still would like to 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:13.160 get some more done this weekend. But that being said, 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:15.560 it was a very good start. Yeah, really be interesting 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:17.920 to see how this comes together now with an addition 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:19.920 like this guy. But with that, we're gonna go to 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:39.560 a breakback with more Unpackers Unscripted right after this. Welcome 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:43.080 back to Packers Unscripted Mike Spofford alongside West hod Kuit's 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:45.640 okay West. Before we wrap up this, uh this first 0:17:45.760 --> 0:17:47.879 round recap here, I want to take a look at 0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:49.800 a little bit of the bigger picture of what happened 0:17:49.840 --> 0:17:51.800 here in the first round because we had talked about 0:17:51.840 --> 0:17:54.280 it all during the week. With the Packers sitting in 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:57.320 the middle of the first round, you needed those four 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:01.280 quarterbacks to be taken up high some other offensive guys, 0:18:01.480 --> 0:18:03.600 and as it turned out, you know, Sae Kwon, Barkley, 0:18:03.640 --> 0:18:06.520 Quentin Nelson not a surprise, Mike McGlinchey, as I mentioned, 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:09.359 ended up sneaking into the top ten. So that pushed 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:13.560 some of those defensive players down into the Packers range. 0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:16.399 And as it turns out, the four quarterbacks in the 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:18.960 top ten made NFL history, did it not? They did 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:22.000 first time ever that with Josh Rosen going number ten 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:24.680 to the Cardinals after they traded up, first time that's 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.199 ever happened in NFL history. I think that shows you 0:18:27.240 --> 0:18:31.240 again the importance this particular year with having this many 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:35.200 different prospects that are considered, you know, top level potential 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:38.560 franchise quarterbacks. Uh, the teams had to go for it. 0:18:38.800 --> 0:18:41.320 And you look at Buffalo trading up as well. I 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:43.600 think the Jets they already did their trade, you know, 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:46.520 months ago now, it seems like, but this was the 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:48.520 year to jump on it. And it made a lot 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:50.560 of sense for me going into this draft, Mike, I 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:53.879 thought there was really seven things that needed to happen 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:57.000 in terms of the players in that top third team 0:18:57.040 --> 0:18:59.639 before the Packers for things to really work out and 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:02.520 going the sweet spot for Green Bay. You needed those four, 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:06.360 those four quarterbacks to go before fourteen. Uh, and then 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:09.560 you needed McGlinchey to sneak in there because everyone knew 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:11.560 Quentin Nelson at some point was going to get taken. 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:16.320 And I thought you needed like Vita Vea or Doron 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:19.240 Payne to go in those first thirteen picks, and both 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:21.080 of them ended up. Yeah, they ended up both getting 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:23.800 those two big guys. So ultimately that's what allowed the 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:26.320 Packers to sit in their spot at fourteen, with all 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:29.840 these different options and how they wanted to address their defense. 0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:32.320 I thought the board really lined up well for them, 0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:34.320 other than the fact that I'm sure if you're Green Bay, 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:36.240 you would have loved to have seen Denzil a Ward 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:38.800 make it a little bit farther down the board, But 0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:41.000 John Dorsey was having none of that. He grabbed him 0:19:41.040 --> 0:19:43.639 at number four, right after he had taken Baker Mayfield 0:19:43.640 --> 0:19:45.800