WEBVTT - #766 Packers Unscripted: One week away 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:07.480 Hi, everybody. 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:11.520 Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:14.680 I am Mike Spofford, joined as always by the newly 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:20.160 bespectacled Weston Hodkowitz. For those wondering, those a new pair 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:22.520 of glasses, my friend, how are they working out? 0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:24.640 They're working out great right now, justin I hope you're 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:28.720 zooming in on me at this moment. I hate buying glasses. 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:32.600 We've had this discussion before. It is the most stressful 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:34.880 process to me. I said this to a couple of 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:38.760 our coworkers, Jennifer Ward and Laurence Stone a couple days ago. 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:43.159 It is like the worst school shopping you ever did 0:00:43.240 --> 0:00:45.240 as a child, because it gives you so much anxiety 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:47.760 because if you botch it, if you mess it up, 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:50.199 you're stuck with these things for two years or you're 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:52.040 paying more money out of your pocket. So I'm comfortable 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:54.520 right now. Hopefully they stay on my face. The other 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:57.080 ones were completely falling apart on me. I got those 0:00:57.120 --> 0:00:58.400 like during COVID. 0:00:58.160 --> 0:00:59.560 Well, it's a good thing you replaced him. 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:02.360 Then, yeah, so here I am. I have clear vision 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:04.319 for the twenty twenty four NFL draft. 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:07.920 Well, that is definitely the topic of discussion today. The 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:11.679 twenty twenty four NFL Draft, the first round will begin 0:01:11.880 --> 0:01:16.000 exactly one week from tonight, and for those who've been 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:18.720 following things on our website, we've had our Prospect Primer 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:21.800 series taking a look at potential guys who might be 0:01:21.880 --> 0:01:24.560 available in the back half of the first round. We 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:27.880 also have our roster series, positioned by position we call 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:31.080 pre Draft Picture, taking a look at where the Packers' 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:35.840 roster stands at different spots heading into the draft. Bottom 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:38.320 line here Wes. The Packers are going into this draft 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:42.240 with eleven picks, including five in the first three rounds. 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:47.480 The last time the Packers actually drafted five players within 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:51.240 the first one hundred selections of the draft, you have 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:54.640 to go back to two thousand and six. It was 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:57.000 eighteen years ago they got That was the draft they 0:01:57.080 --> 0:02:03.840 got Greg Jennings, Darren College, Jason Spitz, guys like that. So, anyway, 0:02:04.880 --> 0:02:07.840 just your thoughts on kind of how this in general 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:10.720 shapes up for Green Bay. I mean, the Packers don't 0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:13.600 have I wouldn't say they have a bunch of glaring 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:16.720 needs on the roster. Necessarily, there are certainly a lot 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:19.960 of places to build depth to fill in some holes 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:22.480 and to be going into this draft with eleven picks, 0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:25.600 including five in the first three rounds, Brian Guducunz has 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:26.560 to like where he sits. 0:02:26.680 --> 0:02:29.520 You want to keep cooking, and Brian Goodikunz has done 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:31.480 a lot of cooking the last two years and his 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:34.600 scouts and the job that they've done with these rosters. Actually, 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:36.120 one of the stories I'm gonna be working on, I 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:38.960 think early next week I'm finally looking to run is 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:41.679 sort of an introspective look at what they accomplished last 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:45.360 year and just how prolific that draft class was. You 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:48.679 can't always expect that. You don't always think that your 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:51.079 first four pass catchers are all gonna end up being 0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:54.800 year one contributors, and really all these guys Carl Brooks 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:56.960 in the sixth round having four sacks and being a 0:02:57.000 --> 0:03:00.680 pass rush specialist on third downs with Kenny Clark, those 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:03.959 type of things cannot be predicted. But what you can 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:07.880 do is kind of maximize this window and this opportunity 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:12.040 that's been presented by back to back really strong draft classes. Listen, Mike, 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:15.160 we have talked so much about how young this team is, 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:18.360 and I know it got almost be labored last season. Right, 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:21.160 But one of the reasons why the Packers still are 0:03:21.240 --> 0:03:23.919 so young is because they haven't had a pressing need 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:26.000 to go out and get a lot of free agent acquisitions. 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:28.480 They haven't had to go out and find guys or 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:31.200 trade for guys because of how guys stepped up in 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:33.800 the interim last season. If you would have told me 0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:36.400 that the injuries that would have happened at receiver and 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:40.119 cornerback the Packers would have been able to wade through that, yeah, 0:03:40.120 --> 0:03:42.400 I would have had some real doubts because you were 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:45.600 leaning on inexperienced guys in young rookies to be able 0:03:45.640 --> 0:03:47.920 to fill those shoes. They did that, and now you 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:50.520 go into this twenty twenty four NFL Draft with an 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:53.560 opportunity to really widen out that base, fill a couple 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:57.160 holes that got brought to fold during the free agent process, 0:03:57.680 --> 0:03:59.600 and see if you can really continue to build on 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:01.920 this up trajectory they finished last season. Yeah. 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:02.520 Absolutely. 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:05.760 And the position that everybody is talking about, probably more 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:09.120 so than any other right now, is the safety spot. Obviously, 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:11.560 Xavier McKinney, as we talked on our last show, was 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:16.200 the free agent acquisition. The Packers also have Anthony Johnson 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:19.320 junior seventh round pick from last year, Benny Sapp, who 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:22.279 was on the active roster toward the end of last season. 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:24.120 He was an undrafted rookie year ago. 0:04:24.880 --> 0:04:25.480 But a lot of. 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:29.040 Talk about possibly finding, you know, that that second safety 0:04:29.080 --> 0:04:34.560 starter in this draft. I'm not I'm not entirely sold 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:37.719 on that that Brian Gudokuntz is looking at this draft 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:40.719 saying oh, I've got to find a starting safety because 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:43.560 the safety position was as deep as it gets on 0:04:43.600 --> 0:04:45.719 the free agent market, and there are still some guys 0:04:45.760 --> 0:04:49.719 out there that that Gouda Kounts could pursue if things 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:52.520 don't fall the way he prefers in the draft, but 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:56.920 if they do, I think this is where with safety 0:04:56.960 --> 0:05:00.279 being you know, the one need that jumps out the most, 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:02.960 because you really don't have somebody that you say, oh, yeah, 0:05:02.960 --> 0:05:05.000 that's the guy who's going to start next to McKinney, right, 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:07.760 So that's the need that jumps out the most. But 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:10.760 there aren't There aren't really a lot of safety prospects 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:12.960 being talked about his first round picks in this draft, 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:15.600 and that's where it works out nicely for Gudukunst that 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:17.360 he is two picks in the second round and two 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:19.960 picks in the third round. He can do whatever it 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:22.960 takes to find a safety if he wants to go 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:25.400 that way, and he doesn't have to overpay for him 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:26.599 in the sense of his draft cap. 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:28.760 The thing I love about Brian goudukun so why I 0:05:28.760 --> 0:05:31.719 believe he is truly one of the elite gms in 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:33.839 this league. And it's not just because of the shirt 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:36.279 that I'm wearing at the moment. It's the fact that 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.280 he never finds himself backed into a corner right heads 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:43.000 into an NFL draft, Michael, You're absolutely right about how 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:46.320 things lined up. Very deep free agent class at safety, 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:51.239 some interesting possibilities that presented themselves. At running back, neither 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:54.440 of those positions. I think it's considered a deep draft 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:57.599 at those two spots. We may get and into the 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:00.000 third round before we see a running back come off 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.240 the board. We'll have to wait and see. When you 0:06:02.279 --> 0:06:04.440 look at the safety position, there's guys that I think 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:06.320 are going to be there in the second round, but 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:09.159 not necessarily that Darnell Savage type that was Okay, this 0:06:09.240 --> 0:06:11.960 is the first defensive back off the board in twenty nineteen. 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.440 When you have Xavier McKinney in there. Now you have 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:17.720 that option to potentially still looking at the free agent 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:19.839 market like they did last year when they didn't draft 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:22.320 a safety and they went and got Jonathan Owens a 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:24.880 couple weeks later. You could go that route. There's still 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:27.080 some guys out there with some pretty good credentials on 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:30.240 the market. You could also find one of these guys 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:33.360 on day two to pair up with McKinney and say, hey, 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:36.120 you're a fourth year veteran, you're twenty four year old guy, 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:39.120 You're relatable to these guys. Help bring these guys along, 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:42.400 and also well maybe counting on an Anthony Johnson Junior 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:44.479 to step up after seeing about one hundred and fifty 0:06:44.480 --> 0:06:47.800 snaps last year on defense. All those possibilities are there. 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:51.080 But I just like that when we talk about best 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:54.680 player available, I really think that truly applies in Green 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:57.560 Bay because in very limited instances, have you seen the 0:06:57.560 --> 0:07:00.279 Packers go into a draft with a need or they 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:01.760 came out of it like, Okay, what are they going 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:02.640 to do now? Right? 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:06.599 Well, and what you said too about about Guta Kun's 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:12.080 not backing himself into a corner. He the way things 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:14.480 went at running back in free agency was not how 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:18.600 anybody thought, you know, in advance, it was going to go. 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:22.920 But you lose Aaron Jones, you signed Josh Jacobs. But 0:07:22.960 --> 0:07:26.120 then everybody's wondering, okay, well you know who's you know, 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:28.520 are how higher the packer's going to draft a running 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:31.040 back because you need somebody. Well, then he goes and 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:34.400 brings aj Dillon back into the fold on one year deal. Right, 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:37.760 So that's a that's another example of he's not gonna 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:40.800 he's not gonna let himself get boxed in. You could 0:07:40.840 --> 0:07:44.440 say the same thing in some respects at the off 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:49.920 ball linebacker position, because everybody's looking at it saying, okay, yes, 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:52.640 Devandre Campbell is gone, you've got kway Walker, You've got 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:55.640 Isaiah McDuffie. The coaches have a lot of faith in 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:59.120 those guys. But he goes out and brings back Eric Wilson, 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:02.440 who is mainly a special teams player but has a 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:05.400 lot of experience at linebacker in a four to three 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.360 scheme in Minnesota. Earlier in his career, he was he 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:10.480 was one hundred plus tackle guy one year in his 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:13.280 in his career in Minnesota. So I'm not saying Eric 0:08:13.320 --> 0:08:15.640 Wilson is just being plugged in as a starter. The 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:20.280 Packers might find a starting off ball linebacker, you know, 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:22.880 Edgrin Cooper is a guy whose name is is mentioned 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:25.000 a lot, and there are certainly some others in that 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:29.760 second and second and third round projection. But if the 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:32.440 Packers had to play a game today, they they have 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:35.760 they have a third linebacker if they want one. Because 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:39.120 Eric Wilson was brought was brought back. That's the way 0:08:39.160 --> 0:08:41.959 Brian Goodakunz goes about things. And uh, and I give 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:43.800 him a lot of credit for that because it just 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:47.840 allows him to stay that much truer to his board 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:50.680 and how they evaluate the players so that you're not 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:53.400 reaching to fill a need. You're like, you're you can 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:55.440 you can let it fall and go Okay, that's the 0:08:55.440 --> 0:08:58.520 best guy out there. And and uh, but you can 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:01.720 also with the draft capital that he has, he can 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:04.360 target guys and move around the board, move up, move down. 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:06.839 We'll talk a little bit more about that on our 0:09:06.920 --> 0:09:09.280 next draft preview show, because there's certainly a lot of 0:09:09.360 --> 0:09:13.480 history of that. But he's put the Packers in quite 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:16.440 the position. And when you look at a team that 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:18.840 played as well as it did, down the stretch. Last 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:21.440 year came within a whisker of advancing to the NFC 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:24.960 Championship Game. And now you have all this draft capital 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:29.719 to potentially improve improve your squad and build things for 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:33.280 you know, for what everyone is hoping is a wide 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:38.320 open window to a path toward a championship. This is 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:40.480 this is going to be a big few days for 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:41.400 Brian Gudakuns. 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:44.280 And that's what makes those top hundred picks so fascinating 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:47.120 this year, because what do you do with them? You know, 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:49.480 when you don't have Oh, the Packers haven't taken a 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:52.040 receiver in the first round. They don't need one right now. 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:54.520 They could take one, they don't need one. They haven't 0:09:54.520 --> 0:09:56.280 been in a position where they are like, okay, we 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:58.040 have to make this address. We have to do it 0:09:58.120 --> 0:09:59.959 right now. I think the only time, the last time 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:02.520 I remember that kind of being a conversation was twenty twenty. 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.199 We all know how that turned out, the receiver exactly 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:07.800 when you ended up with Jordan love So. But to 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:10.880 get back to the inside linebacker deal, I remember asking, 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:16.680 I believe it was with Brian Gouducuntz first about Isaiah McDuffie. 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:19.840 And here's a guy that they've developed for three years 0:10:20.480 --> 0:10:23.200 and they feel confident in him. He played, He was 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:25.640 like the second leading tackler I think last year even 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:26.880 though we only started eight games. 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:29.680 Yeah, he'd but he ended up starting half the games 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:31.959 on the season when going into the year he wasn't 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:34.960 you know, projected as that at all. He was essentially 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:38.000 an injury fill in who then used all of those 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:40.320 starts and all that time on defense to become a 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:41.680 player that opened some eyes. 0:10:41.720 --> 0:10:43.040 And this is a guy, Mike that when you go 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:45.760 back to twenty twenty one, barely played at all, even 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.520 with special teams. It wasn't until twenty twenty two that 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:51.480 he became there. You know, Christian Welch's back. He's a 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:53.280 guy that's been champion at the bit for an opportunity. 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:56.000 So you have options, but looking quickly at that inside 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:59.000 linebacker position, I know we'll break down positions and specific 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:01.839 prospects a little bit more. Edrin Cooper's a guy I've 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:03.840 talked to your ear off about a lot. I wrote 0:11:03.840 --> 0:11:06.000 about him today an insider inbox again because I just 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:08.400 don't have a good feel on where he's gonna go. Yeah, 0:11:08.520 --> 0:11:10.880 Daniel Jeremiah has him as a top twenty five guy 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:14.200 right now. Some people have him in the forties. The 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:16.480 one thing I like that he showed though last year 0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:18.880 and it's something that Green Bay has really valued traditionally. 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:21.240 We'll see what happens now that it's Jeff Hafley's defense, 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:23.680 but eight of his eight and a half sacks all 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:26.959 came last season, during his senior season or his junior 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:29.840 season excuse me, at Texas A and M. He has 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:32.200 that ability to quickly shoot a gap. He has that 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:35.280 size and ranging as you look for. Not quite the 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:39.400 same type of athlete as kway Walker doesn't quite have 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:42.360 this the height, doesn't quite have the overall weight, but 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:47.160 plays fast. Peyton Wilson from NC State the senior he's 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:49.679 another guy that on some boards is considered the top 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:53.679 inside linebacker. And even like Jeremiah Trotter junior. There are 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:55.880 guys that are going to be in this conversation and 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:59.440 then with this four to three defense, they're not gonna 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:01.600 have to be thrown into the fire necessarily. If they 0:12:01.600 --> 0:12:04.000 earn it, they earn it. But you're going to be 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:05.840 able to work a guy in in a base defense, 0:12:05.960 --> 0:12:08.559 much like they did with Isaiah McDuffie and given him 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:11.079 that opportunity before he got more of a three down roll. 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:14.120 That's where I'm really fascinated to see how Green Bay 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:16.480 approaches it, because you covered a four to three defense 0:12:16.480 --> 0:12:18.600 in green Bay. I have not other than that quad 0:12:18.600 --> 0:12:20.199 experiment in twenty fourteen. 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:21.400 Yeah, it didn't go so well. 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:22.559 It didn't go so well, and they didn't have the 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:26.079 bodies an inside linebacker to do it. But that's where 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:30.440 figuring out the board is one thing for Brian Gudakunz 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:33.000 who's available is going to be another thing. Where do 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:34.880 the rest of the league view some of these guys 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:37.120 and then ultimately figuring out if this is a good 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:39.280 fit for Green Bay and Jeff Hafley's defense and Mike, 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:40.760 you and I are going to be just like everybody 0:12:40.800 --> 0:12:44.760 else watching this thing unfold Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. Yeah. 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:45.200 Absolutely. 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:47.760 And it's been interesting because I do a lot of 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.360 mock draft research to come up with the list of 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:52.800 the guys we do for the prospect primers, and you know, 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:56.640 so that's that's based on, you know, guys who are 0:12:56.679 --> 0:13:00.000 most frequently being mocked, you know, in the bottom third 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:02.560 to the first round. Because the Packers are picking at 0:13:02.600 --> 0:13:06.000 twenty five. But then after doing all these profiles on guys, 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:08.480 it gets closer to the draft, all these guys that 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:10.160 I look at and go, yeah, I could you know, 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:12.920 I could see Cooper de Gene like really fitting in 0:13:13.000 --> 0:13:15.680 somewhere either at corner maybe safety for the Packers, or 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:20.240 I could see, you know, a Tyler Geyton at offensive tackle, 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:23.360 you know, being a guy that the Packers might go with. 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:25.480 But then the closer it gets to the draft, Oh, 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:27.640 these guys are gonna be gone by pick fifteen or 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.920 picked you know, pick twenty. You know. Quinyon Mitchell from 0:13:30.960 --> 0:13:34.160 Toledo is another one. I mentioned him on a show 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:38.080 for Spectrum that we just taped yesterday, kind of an 0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:40.520 off season show, and then looking briefly at the draft. 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:42.920 But then, you know, as soon as I mentioned him, 0:13:42.920 --> 0:13:45.439 then I go and I go and dig a little deeper, 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:47.160 and it's like he might even go in the top ten, 0:13:47.480 --> 0:13:49.800 you know, and there's there's no way that he'll be 0:13:49.880 --> 0:13:52.760 around in the twenties for the Packers to have a 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:57.120 realistic shot at him. So it's it's really it's always 0:13:57.160 --> 0:14:01.679 really interesting how much things change in the you know, 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:04.400 in the media, the perception, the reporting of things over 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:07.120 the last couple of weeks, when really it's not changing 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:08.760 that much for the teams themselves. 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:09.840 They've built their boards. 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:13.360 Yes, they're having final discussions and maybe making you know, 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:17.360 shifting things a little bit here and there. But it's 0:14:17.400 --> 0:14:20.640 all about, you know, whatever whatever sort of gets leaked. 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.720 Sometimes things are leaked on purpose to you know, to 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:26.920 as a smoke screen, as some kind of subterfuge in 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:29.800 terms of you know, who's interested in whom it's a 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:32.720 it's a fascinating it's a fascinating. 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:32.800 Time of year. 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:36.240 I did want to get your thoughts though on a 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:40.840 position that again, it's not it's not a screaming need 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.680 for twenty twenty four, because if the Packers had to 0:14:43.720 --> 0:14:46.480 play a game today, they would they would be confident 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.200 in the starting five that we have on the offensive line. 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:53.200 But it is a position that that is a need 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:55.920 in terms of building depth, looking toward the future all 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:59.360 of those things. Are there any offensive lineman that you've 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:02.360 looked at that you think maybe would be there at 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:04.640 twenty five because it's been a long time since the 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:06.840 Packers took an offensive lineman in the first round. 0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:09.840 Yeah, it's it's funny too, because you talk about okay, 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:11.960 and I wrote about it this week. It's going up 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:14.800 on the website Thursday, about how they have starting five 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:16.680 there if they needed to be. Yeah, but why do 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:19.080 we know that because of all the injuries that have 0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:21.560 happened and things that happened. You know, John Runyon played 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:23.200 all last year, but he got kind of banged up. 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:25.480 That's when they started doing the rotation with Sean Ryan. 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:28.880 Obviously we know the situation that unfolded with David Bakhtiari. 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:31.520 Rashid Walker goes from a guy that played four special 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:33.440 team snaps to be in a guy that played eight 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:36.440 hundred and fifty one offensive snaps last year. Right, you 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.080 have to prove yourself and unfortunately for Green Bay, and 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:42.320 it's just the way that the NFL goes. You lost Boktiari, 0:15:42.360 --> 0:15:45.600 he got cut, Nyman went Yosh Niman went to Carolina, 0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:48.240 John Running got paid by the New York Giants. Yeah, 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:50.400 Greenmit Packers need to be able to rebuild some of 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:52.760 that depth. They have some in house candidates, but who's 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:54.840 going to be the ones that step up with that. 0:15:54.840 --> 0:15:57.000 That's why when you talk about first round picks, when 0:15:57.040 --> 0:15:58.760 you talk about guys at the top of the draft. 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:01.560 When you talk about big bodies athleticism, a lot of 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:03.840 times that's going to be the tackle position. It's not 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:08.400 any coincidence that the Brian Blagas and Derek Charrod's, those 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:10.720 type of body types were what Green Bay sought in 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:14.640 that first round. And maybe it's just the Larry mccaer 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:17.040 and rubbing off of me, but a Marius Mims from 0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:20.400 Georgia is a guy that the more I've learned about him, 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:24.280 six eight, three forty, how many different categories that he 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:27.960 tested highly in. I don't care so much about the 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:31.200 eight games play or eight yeah, excuse me, eight stars. 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:33.440 Yeah, he only only has eight because here's the thing. 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:37.120 To Michael, he didn't start eight games at you know, NWTC, 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:42.120 he's at Georgia. Like it's going to be difficult. I mean, 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:44.720 even Josh Jacobs, when you look at his resume at Alabama, 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:47.000 it's not like Josh Jacobs had three thousand yard seasons 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:49.320 at Alabama. He didn't. His most yards I think in 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:52.320 the season were like six hundred. Some guys. It's harder 0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:56.360 at those colleges where it's just deef you know, five star, 0:16:56.480 --> 0:17:00.000 four star recruits to always get your opportunity. You can't 0:17:00.000 --> 0:17:02.680 coach size, you can't coach that kind of weight and 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:05.080 being able to move the way he does. As Larry 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.360 pointed out in his prospect primer, be sure to check 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:09.320 that out if you haven't already. He's going to be 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:11.120 a project. There's going to be work to be done. 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:13.280 But the beautiful thing about where green Bay's at right 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:16.119 now at this offensive line is they got versatility and 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:19.600 they got experience. And if there's gonna be any position 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:21.760 that green Bay still has some good experience at that 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:23.920 you want to lean on, that's one of the good 0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:25.080 ones to do it at. Yeah. 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:27.600 And the other thing I'll say about the offensive line too, 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:31.000 is that we heard from Brian Gudokuntz, not only when 0:17:31.040 --> 0:17:34.000 he spoke to the media right after the season, but 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:37.280 when he spoke at Indianapolis at the combine and then 0:17:37.320 --> 0:17:40.119 also in Florida at the owner's meetings. He talked about 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:44.080 how as far as the development of the young wide 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:47.359 receivers last year went, he felt that the competition that 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:49.679 was in the room, the competition that was going on 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:52.639 at practice for snaps, for playing time, for who was 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:56.800 going to play what role, that was a huge factor 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.639 in the accelerated development of these guys. So when I 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:01.600 look at at the fact that, yes, if the Packers 0:18:01.640 --> 0:18:03.719 lined up today, they would take they would put Rashid 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:06.320 Walker at left tackle, they would put Sean Ryan at 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:10.720 right guard. But if there's a guy or guys within 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:14.120 those top one hundred picks that you could you can 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:16.680 bring in a guy who can compete for a starting 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:20.560 job with those guys who got some valuable experience last 0:18:20.640 --> 0:18:23.359 year in the NFL. He's not going to hesitate for 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:26.720 one second to do that because you just you listen 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:29.280 to his words and how he talked about the wide receivers. 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:33.760 He may apply the very same thing, the very same 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:38.480 process to the offensive line in terms of developing competition 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:40.840 and trying to push guys to see how much you 0:18:40.880 --> 0:18:41.640 can get out of them. 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:44.000 And that's ultimately what it comes down to. You don't 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:45.960 get I mean, if you and I would have made 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:49.600 this prediction last year May, we would have thought, Okay, 0:18:49.640 --> 0:18:52.240 yosh Niman's going to be in the starting lineup. We'll 0:18:52.240 --> 0:18:55.119 have to see exactly where Zach tom Fitz. Rashid Walker 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:57.760 was an afterthought for a lot of people at that point. Yeah, 0:18:57.800 --> 0:18:59.600 and then you get to the beginning of the season, 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:02.600 after a training camp, after a nine week offseason program, 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:04.640 and the cream does rise to the top and next 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:07.080 thing you know, Zach tomm ends up being a seventeen 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:10.080 game starter at right tackle. Will he be there this year, 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:13.000