WEBVTT - #834 Packers Unscripted: Minicamp musings 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:09.600 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:12.520 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined by the 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:16.000 one and only Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming to you hear 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:17.640 from our studios at lambeau Field. 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:18.239 Wes. 0:00:18.280 --> 0:00:20.919 It's Mini Camp week. It is the final week of 0:00:21.000 --> 0:00:24.920 the off season program before the players and coaches take 0:00:24.960 --> 0:00:27.280 their summer break, and then we come back for training 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:31.200 camp and the writers will try to take a break 0:00:31.240 --> 0:00:34.599 in there somewhere, right. That's sort of the idea at 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:38.519 some point along the way. Before we get to previewing 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:41.240 Mini Camp, though, just need to touch on the bit 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:45.199 of news from Monday at twelve sixty five, which is 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:50.920 that the Packers ultimately released seven year veteran cornerback and 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:54.960 two time second team All Pro JayR Alexander. It had 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:58.400 been sort of an uncertain situation all off season long 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:02.520 as to whether Alexander would be back or not, or 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:08.440 traded or what would happen. Ultimately, it sounds like they weren't. 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:11.480 Packers and Alexander's camp were not able to agree on 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:16.360 a restructured contract. Finding a trade partner didn't exactly work out, 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:19.880 and with this being a mandatory mini camp week. It 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:23.240 was time for a decision to be made, and that 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:25.120 decision was made and the Packers have moved on. 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:28.440 Yeah. In credit to the Packers and honestly credit to 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:30.679 Jah too. I don't think this thing played out that 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:32.000 much in the media. I think there was a lot 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.760 of conjecture, but not a lot of bickering back and 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:38.520 forth or anything like that. It's two professionals, two sides 0:01:38.520 --> 0:01:39.600 that I think at the end of the day, it 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:42.720 probably wasn't everybody's best interest for a fresh start. I'll 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:44.440 be honest with you, Michael. I made this very clear 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:46.280 on social media. I mean, this hurts my heart. I 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:49.600 love Jaw. I've really enjoyed covering him the last six 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:53.320 seven years and I will continue to say this and 0:01:53.360 --> 0:01:56.640 you had to edit my insider inbox, but I just 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.160 feel like there's in all our time, in my time 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:01.480 covering the team, there's ever been a player that's probably 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:05.080 been more misunderstood than jay R Alexander. He's a good, 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:08.360 kind hearted individual. I mean, there's a reason why you 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:12.560 saw so many players on this team reposting the Packers 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:15.400 thank you graphic to Jaw on their stories on Instagram. 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:18.680 Seeing people reach out. You heard Xavier McKinney and Jordan 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.239 Love and Josh Jacobs, all these guys talk about him 0:02:21.400 --> 0:02:23.880 this offseason and what he means to this locker room. 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:27.480 But here's the thing, and this is the fact of 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.560 the matter. I mean, jo'sman banged up the last few years, 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:32.440 and he's played I believe it's thirty four games since 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:36.080 the twenty twenty season. The Packers had to make changes 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:38.400 last year, losing him the second half of the year, 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:40.840 and a lot of those changes, you know, really worked 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:42.920 out well for this defense. When you saw what Keyshawn 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:45.560 Nixon can do on the perimeter, when you saw Carrington 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:50.480 Valentine getting opportunities again outside, and obviously the depth that 0:02:50.480 --> 0:02:52.560 they have at the safety position, and now bringing in 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:55.160 Nate Hobbs. I mean, the Packers have made the necessary adjustments. 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:58.000 You hope, for Jayr's sake, you can catch on somewhere 0:02:58.080 --> 0:02:59.880 get back to the type of player I think everybody 0:02:59.919 --> 0:03:03.120 knows he can be. But this is obviously the direction 0:03:03.120 --> 0:03:05.120 of the Packers have chosen to go. And I think 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:07.600 as you move forward down to training camp here in 0:03:07.639 --> 0:03:10.160 the next six seven weeks, probably the best thing just 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:12.200 to be able to have this kind of new chapter. 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:15.880 Yeah, it's one of those situations where where the business 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:19.520 of football, you know, sort of gets in the way 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:23.720 of of you know what, everybody would just like it 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:26.079 to be all simple and and and the business of 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:28.800 football isn't simple when you're talking about injuries and high 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:32.600 priced contracts and and you know, the the commitments and 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:36.400 and all the all the stuff in the CBA and 0:03:36.400 --> 0:03:40.000 and uh. And it's two sides, a team and an 0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:45.160 individual player looking out for you know, their own best interests, 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:48.320 and sometimes, uh, sometimes those things just don't connect and 0:03:48.360 --> 0:03:50.120 the and that can be the business of the game. 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:55.560 I personally, I'm I really enjoyed covering JayR Alexander as well. 0:03:56.280 --> 0:03:59.480 I had a really nice, I'll never forget this, a 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:01.840 really nice sit down interview with him. It was actually 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:05.400 after his rookie season. I was doing a feature story 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:09.880 in the Packers' yearbook heading into twenty nineteen, after he 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:12.080 was the first dround pick in twenty eighteen, and obviously 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:17.440 impressed as a rookie and just sitting down and talking 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:20.679 football with the guy. But then once you start talking 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:23.040 football with him, the conversation always ends up kind of 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:25.440 going somewhere else right, and you it's like you get 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:30.719 to know somebody a little bit. And I'll always remember 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:34.760 that conversation because I learned very early on that Jay R. 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:40.440 Alexander he's wired a little bit differently than just your 0:04:40.720 --> 0:04:44.279 average NFL player, for lack of a better phrase. But 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:48.040 that's not necessarily a bad thing. We've seen guys wired 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:50.360 differently come in and out of locker rooms like all 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:53.400 the time. It's part of how things go here. And 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:57.040 when the guy was healthy, he was a heck of 0:04:57.080 --> 0:05:00.800 a player for this team. And I I hope he 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.000 can get back to that level again. I hope he 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:06.760 can find good health in his career and UH and 0:05:06.839 --> 0:05:09.840 get back to UH to the all pro level player 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:13.240 that he's been in the past. Will UH. We'll see 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:16.120 what happens in that regard. The Packers of UH Packers 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:18.400 have been planning for this. This is not this is 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:24.240 not something that was a last minute, whimsical decision bringing 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:28.480 in Nate Hobbs and in UH in the offseason. Obviously 0:05:28.520 --> 0:05:30.599 they learned, as we've talked a lot on the show 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:35.320 about Keishawn Nixon and what he proved that he could 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:38.640 do last year. There's a there will be a lot 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:41.440 of eyes on Carrington Valentine now moving forward, and I 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:46.520 think even though Valentine, you know, wasn't a big part 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:48.960 of this defense for the first half of last season 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:51.279 as he was dealing with a lot of injuries and stuff, 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:54.760 we started to see some of Carrington Valentine's best football 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:58.599 towards the end of last season, and I think that's 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.040 where he's hoping to be able to to pick up 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:04.280 where he left off as Jeff Haflee and the secondary 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:07.120 coaches pieced together exactly what the secondary is going to 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:08.320 look like in twenty twenty five. 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:10.680 Now. Yeah, and you know how it goes within cider inbox. 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:12.919 You know how it goes with social media. The moment 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:14.760 you move on from a player, people are always looking 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:16.760 at one of the big veteran names of free agents 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:20.640 that are available, and I understand why fans go down 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:23.080 that route. But at the same time, when those questions 0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:24.839 were posed to me, the first thing I said was, 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:28.520 I think Carrenton Valentine. I know, Carenton Valentine deserves the 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:31.600 right to compete for a starting position, a permanent role 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:35.400 on this defense. He's been a tremendous, tremendous soldier for 0:06:35.440 --> 0:06:38.120 Green Bay the last two seasons. Starts twelve games his 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:40.719 rookie years in a pinch. Last year he ends up, 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:43.479 as you mentioned, has the hamstring injuries, the soft tissue injuries. 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:45.480 At the beginning of the season, kind of falls out 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:47.560 of the rotation a little bit, was mostly just doing 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:50.559 special teams, and then when the gay air stuff happens 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:53.760 again after Jacksonville, he's thrown back in the lineup. And 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:56.880 for as much as people have talked about jazz situation 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.560 in Nate Hobbs and obviously Keishawn Nixon in his comments 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:04.320 about kickoff returns and him wanting to play outside cornerback's, 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:07.359 it's mind boggling to me that a bigger topic hasn't 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:10.240 been this offseason. How Karens and Valentine really peaked at 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.120 the end of last season. The interceptions that had eluded 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:15.600 him at times during his college career at Kentucky and 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:17.680 also early on with this time with Green Bay, he 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:21.720 started pulling those passes down. Now he is a legit playmaker. 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:24.360 And I keep mentioning this to you, Michael, the guy's 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:27.360 twenty three years old. The Packers have players I think 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:30.080 in this rookie draft class that are older than Carrington 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:33.680 Valentine because he went out so early for the draft 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:36.080 as a true junior. Well, now you're seeing him come 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:38.000 into his own And the other thing I will also 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:39.720 mention what I love about the way the Packers have 0:07:39.760 --> 0:07:42.800 situated this secondary. You have a guy Nate Hobbs who 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:44.800 right now, at this point in time, looks like potentially 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:47.560 that Star Nickel position. Well, if an injury happens on 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:50.240 the outside, people ask, what happens, who do you go to? Well, 0:07:50.280 --> 0:07:52.600 Hobbs can go outside, and you got Bullard that can 0:07:52.600 --> 0:07:55.200 play inside. You have the other these safeties that can 0:07:55.240 --> 0:08:00.400 get involved in that. It's not just about perimeter, cornerback, inside, cornerback, slot, dime, 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:02.480 whatever you want to call it. It's about having a 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:05.000 multitude of players that can play those positions. And I 0:08:05.040 --> 0:08:06.760 think that's ultimately going to be a huge strength of 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:07.760 this defense this season. 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:09.680 And I think that's what we're going to be continuing 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:12.760 to watch this week during mini camp and then obviously 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:16.880 during training camp as well. But just how the pieces 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:19.440 are coming together in the secondary. I think when you 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:23.160 look at the cornerback position for the Packers right now, 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:25.840 when you look at both outside and in the slot. 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:29.040 It seems to me the top four guys, not in 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:34.640 any particular order, are Nixon, Hobbs, Valentine, and Bullard. Bullard 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:37.080 being a guy who plays the slot, Valentine being a 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:40.120 guy who plays outside, Nixon and Hobbs being guys that 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:43.720 will play beat either one. So in a sense, those 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:46.360 are your top four cornerbacks, even though I know officially 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:49.040 Bullard is a safety, but those are your top four 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:54.840 cornerbacks for your nickel package. And I think where this 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:58.000 goes from here is, Okay, how does the depth line 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:01.720 up behind that? Are the Packers going to make another acquisition? Potentially? 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:04.800 Where do things go with young guys like Kyln King 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:09.240 and Kamal Haddn't and a new recent signee who's got 0:09:09.240 --> 0:09:12.240 some NFL game experience in Gregory Junior who has just 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:16.120 brought in recently, all of that stuff, the depth behind 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:19.160 those four guys is what needs to be sorted out. 0:09:19.200 --> 0:09:24.080 Because you know as well as I do that we 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:26.560 can talk all we want about those four guys. The 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:30.120 chances of those four guys at cornerback being available for 0:09:30.200 --> 0:09:33.360 all seventeen games, plus hopefully the playoffs for the Packers 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:37.120 are pretty slim. So you're gonna need You're gonna need 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:39.840 the next guys to be stepping up behind them, and 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.280 I think that's going to be It's not only going 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:45.160 to be an ongoing conversation this week through mini camp 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:48.280 and also in training camp, but as the twenty twenty 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:51.360 five season develops, because some of those guys, like a 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:56.000 Gregory Junior for example, just got here and what impression 0:09:56.080 --> 0:09:58.800 is he going to make, say during training camp to 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:01.880 make a bid for the fifth three as this cornerback 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:03.120 depth sorts itself out, for. 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:05.600 Sure, Mike, And that's one thing I think is also exciting. 0:10:05.640 --> 0:10:07.360 It's a part of the uncertainty too, right, but I 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.040 mean for as much and kaylen King, we've heard rave 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:12.280 reviews from him so far this off season. Derek Ainsley, 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:14.880 the Packers passing him quarter, had talked a couple weeks 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:16.840 ago about he felt that he's had a really strong 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:21.120 offseason program. But Hadden is such an interesting one too 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:23.720 in that conversation because he was actually a higher draft 0:10:23.720 --> 0:10:26.240 pick than King in the two thousand He was a 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:29.160 six twenty four draft, but the Packers brought him in 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:31.760 late at the beginning of the regular season on the 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:33.959 practice squad, so you kind of forget these things that 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:36.840 you know, Gregory Junior was a former draft pick. These 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:39.360 guys have credentials. These aren't just random dudes that the 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:43.320 Packers signed. But at the same time, you know, we 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:46.400 know player acquisition is a three hundred and sixty five 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.000 day yep thing. And there's been times where we've seen 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:51.839 Dennis Kelly come in the week before training camp, right, 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:54.320 I mean that they do make those signings too. So 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:57.360 seeing what the next move is for green Bay and 0:10:57.640 --> 0:10:59.480 how you go about handling is gonna be really fascinating. 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:02.080 And also the fact of, you know, the salary cap 0:11:02.160 --> 0:11:05.079 room that you've now cleared with JayR Alexander. The Packers 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:07.400 have a multitude of players from that twenty twenty two 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:10.080 draft class that'll be coming up for contracts here after 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:12.640 this season, you'll be able to extend work on extensions. 0:11:12.640 --> 0:11:16.680 With a very promising twenty twenty three draft class, the 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:20.080 circle of NFL life just continues to go over and 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.520 you know restart. So a very bright future for green Bay. 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:25.440 But it was wild to me too. I'll close on this. 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:28.319 When we talked about green Bay, you know, going all 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:30.600 in or whatever in twenty one and all this thing, 0:11:30.800 --> 0:11:32.440 and now Green Bay's at a position where they have 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:35.720 so much cap room to play with as well. Again, 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:37.840 a lot of different things that Brian Goodikuntz in this 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:38.920 personnel department can do. 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:41.120 Yeah, what else are you going to be watching for 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:43.160 here during the three days of mini camp? Just to 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:46.200 recap for the fans. Mini camp as of now scheduled 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:49.800 for Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday this week and this will wrap 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:52.400 up the off season program after this. It's like it's 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:54.240 like the last day of school for the players. They 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:56.200 head out on their summer break and then they will 0:11:56.240 --> 0:12:01.040 report back. I believe it's July twenty two for training camp, 0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:04.960 with the first practice schedule for July twenty three. I know, 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:08.120 you know, we've seen the cross training going on with 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:13.439 the offensive line. We've seen, you know, all sorts of 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:16.480 different guys getting reps at wide receiver with Jordan Love 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:18.199 with the number one offense. What are the kinds of 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:19.960 things you'll be looking for on the practice field? 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.360 I can't wait to see. Obviously, most of these guys 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:25.079 will be in you know, I have already been here, 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:27.680 so we've seen some of these matchups already. But you know, 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:28.960 if you watch that I don't know if you got 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:30.480 a chance to check out or if people have had 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:32.200 a chance to check out the micd up segment that 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:35.160 our video department put together. Matt Lafleur from last week. 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:36.880 You know, he had a speech for the guys at 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:39.600 the end of practice where he was talking about asking 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:42.800 the veterans directing this at the young guys, what's it 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:45.040 going to be like out here? Once training comp comes around, 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:46.959 It's going to be hotter. The competition is going to 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:51.040 be fiercer. Everything ramps up. This is the final notch 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.880 here before I mean the final warm up if you will. Yeah, 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:56.960 before you know, jobs in positions and things are going 0:12:57.000 --> 0:12:58.720 to start to get decided. You're no longer just going 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:00.320 to be locked into one role. They're going to start 0:13:00.360 --> 0:13:03.200 figuring out, Okay, who fits best where and what is 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:05.560 that depth shart going to potentially look like. So from 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:09.480 that perspective, this Receiving Corps is going to continue to 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:14.200 be probably the biggest I think highlight of watching these practices. 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:17.640 We saw it again last week and mattel Flour again 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:21.080 talked about it every offseason. It seems like I mentioned 0:13:21.080 --> 0:13:24.640 how Romeo Dobbs is the most consistent practice performer I 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:27.439 think I've seen outside of Jordan Nelson during my time 0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:30.280 covering the Packers, he is just I mean, he doesn't 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:33.079 drop passes. He's wherever he needs to be. If you're 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:35.200 doing a two minute drive at the number one offense, 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:37.360 I guarantee you he's getting that ball three times. It's 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:39.520 just the way it always seems to work out. And 0:13:39.640 --> 0:13:43.040 Dobbs's back to that again. He's put the concussion injury 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:45.920 and those type of things behind him and now trying 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:48.160 to play and get ready for again. As we've talked 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:51.960 about a huge year four for him. You know, Matthew Golden, 0:13:52.000 --> 0:13:56.040 we saw the fast twitch muscle fiber in practice, and yeah, 0:13:56.080 --> 0:13:58.280 he's not going to be the biggest receiver on the field, 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.280 but by golly, this guy finds ways to get open 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:03.560 and you can just see when he puts his foot 0:14:03.600 --> 0:14:05.640 in the dirt how quickly he can get up field. 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:10.640 This is going to be a tremendous competition and you've 0:14:10.640 --> 0:14:12.320 written about it, we all talked about it. I mean, 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:13.760 this is probably gonna be one of the hardest years 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:17.000 Green Bay's had figuring out what their fifty three man 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:19.080 roster is going to be like. Based on what this 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:22.760 off season ninety man roster has been, and I think 0:14:22.800 --> 0:14:25.880 from that aspect of it, it's really exciting. So, yeah, 0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:28.080 this is your last chance to make a final impression 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:30.280 here before we get to training camp, and you know, 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:32.880 everything really truly does shift into that final gear. 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:35.440 Yeah, it's interesting. I've been I've been asked an insider 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:38.520 inbox about, you know, is this the deepest Packers team 0:14:38.720 --> 0:14:41.640 that you've ever covered? And I wasn't quite sure how 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:44.800 to answer that, but I answered it by saying, at 0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:47.320 least in recent memory, this feels like one of the 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:50.800 deepest ninety man rosters as far as the off season 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:55.280 roster that I can recall. But I don't like to 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:57.600 say things like this is the this is the deepest 0:14:57.600 --> 0:15:00.600 Packers team, because, for one, you can't keep every buddy right. 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:03.920 You've got to narrow this down to fifty three at 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:07.280 the end of August, beginning of September, and between now 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:10.920 and then, there is going to be stuff that happens. 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:12.840 And what I mean by stuff is guys are gonna 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:13.640 get hurt. 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:14.680 Though. 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:17.200 You know, if injuries happen in training camp or the 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:20.880 preseason games, that's going to impact how the fifty three 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:23.160 shapes up and then and then what you're going into 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:27.400 Week one with and all that. So yeah, I really 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:31.640 like the night this ninety man roster that that Brian 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:37.040 Gudukunsten's personnel department have put together this summer. But ninety 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:40.360 getting cut down to fifty three. That's thirty seven. That's 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:43.240 thirty seven guys. You know, now a whole bunch of 0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:45.760 those guys will be brought back on the practice squad. 0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:48.520 And the practice squad is sixteen players now, which is 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:50.440 double the size of what it was a handful of 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:56.360 years ago. But still, you know how how that fifty 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:59.160 three shakes out? And I think I said it on 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:01.680 one of our shows earlier, I think the Packers are 0:16:01.680 --> 0:16:07.560 going to be potentially releasing a lot more experienced NFL 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:11.720 players potentially than they have in years past because the 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:15.840 competition for that fifty three is going to be is 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:18.160 going to be so tough, and the personnel department has 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:23.440 done such a good job in recent drafts that even 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:26.720 if they see a draft pick that maybe isn't going 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:29.520 to play right away, they don't want to just they 0:16:29.520 --> 0:16:31.600 don't want to just let that guy go. They want 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:33.720 that guy to be on the fifty three to continue 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:35.920 to develop and see where he is toward the end 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:38.160 of his rookie year, see where he is in his 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:40.560 second year. And if you believe in a player like that, 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:42.800 you don't want to just release him and cross your 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:44.760 fingers that you get him back on the practice squad, 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:47.240 because as soon as you release him, he's available to anybody, 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:49.600 and you don't know who might who might snatch him up. 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:52.280 And anybody who is on the practice squad is essentially 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:54.440 a free agent. They can go sign wherever they want 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:57.440 to if somebody comes along and offers them. So all 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:01.000 of those roster machinations have to get sorted out at 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:03.240 the end of training camp before we really get a 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:06.439 feel for, Okay, exactly how deep, how deep is this 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.720 Packers team? How did the depth sort itself out when 0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:11.480 you had to when you have to make the tough 0:17:11.480 --> 0:17:13.480 decisions and those are a ways away, and. 0:17:13.480 --> 0:17:15.840 You hit the nail on the head there with when 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:18.920 you look at the twenty two, twenty three, twenty four 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:22.560 draft classes, I personally think, you know, we talked so 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:24.800 much about Ron Wolf and oh he traded for Brett 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:27.439 Farv and he signed Reggie White and that was so 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:31.440 exciting people so oftentimes overlook the fact that those early 0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:35.680 nineties drafts, the amount of capable players that built those 0:17:35.680 --> 0:17:38.600 super Bowl teams. How many of those came in ninety two, 0:17:38.680 --> 0:17:41.080 ninety three, ninety four, ninety five. Yep, this is what 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:43.440 it feels like right now with what Green Bay's done 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:46.560 with these these recent draft classes. You had twenty two, 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:48.240 which I think, pound for pound, is going to end 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:49.600 up being one of the best ones of the twenty 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:52.080 first century. When you think about the zach Thoms finding 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:54.080 them on Day three, right, a guy that could potentially 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:56.000 end up being an All Pro right tackle. When you 0:17:56.040 --> 0:18:00.159 think about the playmakers like you know, Tucker Craft in 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:03.760 the third round in twenty twenty three, and then twenty 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:05.640 twenty four, the Packers might have gotten the best one 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:08.359 of all of them with Eddrian Cooper potentially with the 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:11.119 potential he showed early on and where he could potentially go. 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:14.359 That's how you build a championship team. I challenge people 0:18:14.440 --> 0:18:17.840 like with this all the time. I Mean, you see 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:21.640 the the you know Kansas City, you see Philadelphia get 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:23.360 to the Super Bowl. How did they do that? It's 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:26.320 Patrick Mahomes as Jalen Hurst. Look at those recent draft 0:18:26.320 --> 0:18:29.439 classes for the Philadelphia Eagles. I mean they hit it 0:18:29.480 --> 0:18:31.919 out of the park with their drafts recently. If a 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:34.520 team makes it that far, if you look at their 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:37.359 last two or three drafts, chances are there was some 0:18:37.359 --> 0:18:39.560 pretty talented football players that came out of it. And 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:41.240 I feel like that's where Green Bay's at right now. 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:44.280 Yeah, I agree with you. One other topic I want 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:46.560 to hit on before we go and hit the practice 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:51.080 field ourselves for watching mini camp. Here, Serious x MNFL 0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:54.040 Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute 0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:57.200 NFL news that true football fanatics need. Twenty four to seven, 0:18:57.560 --> 0:18:59.920 three sixty five and ed cousin subs. We have something 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:02.800 for everyone, like our Wisconsin Cheese Kurds, mac and Cheese, 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:05.639 golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite 0:19:05.640 --> 0:19:08.240 sub or sub and a bowl Cousin subs. Fifty plus 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:11.800 years of better all right. A lot of content up 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:15.439 on packers dot com. You posted a story yesterday on 0:19:15.920 --> 0:19:20.080 Zach Tom, the right tackle heading into a big year four. 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:23.520 We talked about Tom a lot on a previous show. 0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:27.000 A story that you posted last week that we didn't 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:30.399 actually get a chance to address too much. Another offensive Lineman, 0:19:30.400 --> 0:19:32.879 and it's the newcomer at left guard, Aaron Banks, the 0:19:32.960 --> 0:19:37.000 free agent signing from the San Francisco forty nine ers. 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:41.439 Certainly an understated fella is his first meeting with the 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:46.800 media was nothing gregarious. There were no headlines necessarily coming 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:50.840 from the comments. But the one thing that you gleaned, 0:19:50.920 --> 0:19:55.359 and certainly I did as well, is this is a 0:19:55.400 --> 0:19:58.360 guy that, yeah, he was had a lot of success 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:01.440 with the forty nine ers, but that forty nine ers 0:20:01.480 --> 0:20:05.439