Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted social
Speaker 1: distancing style from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford,
Speaker 1: joined as always by my trusted colleague West Hodkowitz. Coming
Speaker 1: from our humble abodes and uh West, the Easter Bunny
Speaker 1: came a couple of days late, but better late than never.
Speaker 1: We got our headphones back. We got our headphones back.
Speaker 1: We have microphones. Slowly but surely, Mike, this is turning
Speaker 1: back into the Packers on scripted that you and I
Speaker 1: have grown accustomed to. But I'll say this, it was difficult.
Speaker 1: It was weird. It has been something a challenge, you
Speaker 1: could say, not doing the show without headphones. Fortunately the
Speaker 1: comfort is back on my ears. Yeah, there we go.
Speaker 1: We're back in a little bit more in our element. Well,
Speaker 1: we're going to continue today with our pre draft series,
Speaker 1: taking a look at the Packers roster position by position
Speaker 1: between now and the draft. There is a written series
Speaker 1: corresponding to this on Packers dot com if you want
Speaker 1: to check out what is there on the website. Today
Speaker 1: we're going to touch on wide receivers and tight ends
Speaker 1: and boy West, if there is a position that people
Speaker 1: are talking about. This entire offseason. With regard to the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers, it is the wide receiver position. Give
Speaker 1: me your take as of right now on where you
Speaker 1: feel this position group is heading into next week's draft. Well,
Speaker 1: there is a lot of uncertainty After Davante Adams. I
Speaker 1: think you saw Alan Lazard step up in a huge
Speaker 1: way last season. But I don't know if a lot
Speaker 1: of people are expecting that a year ago at this time,
Speaker 1: maybe everyone other than Hakim Butler that I was talking
Speaker 1: to back at the combine. I remember him really, you know,
Speaker 1: praising Allan for what he did at Iowa, stating what
Speaker 1: he could potentially add to the Packers offense. He got
Speaker 1: that opportunity, he end up getting cut at the end
Speaker 1: of training camp, ends up having you know, a really
Speaker 1: star spangled season for the Packers. So you have him
Speaker 1: in that mix, you have Marquez veld Is Scantling, who
Speaker 1: I think is we've seen Mike overtime is such a
Speaker 1: huge playmaker in this offense. He did go through some
Speaker 1: rough patches last year. The argument that I said at
Speaker 1: the end of last season, I will maintain this going
Speaker 1: into next year. Kids still has all the talent in
Speaker 1: the world, though I think he was only one big
Speaker 1: play away from being back in his groove. As difficult
Speaker 1: it is to you, everyone wants to live in the moment.
Speaker 1: But if you remember what he did coming out of
Speaker 1: the gates in two thousand and eighteen, he's an increcredibly
Speaker 1: talented guy and also has some good speed that you know,
Speaker 1: when you when you bring everything else together, you know,
Speaker 1: can really make up a complete receiver in this league.
Speaker 1: So I look at Lizard, I look at MVS, and
Speaker 1: then certainly you know this all revolves around Davante Adams.
Speaker 1: Davante Adams is one of the premier receivers in this league. Now,
Speaker 1: who can you find to complement his skill set to
Speaker 1: bring in a Randall cob At, Jordy Nelson, uh Greg
Speaker 1: Jennings and James Jones, those type of receivers that he
Speaker 1: can get on a run with, Because over the last
Speaker 1: couple of years here it's you know, basically Ben Davontae
Speaker 1: Adams and a rotating crew. Finding more established playmakers in
Speaker 1: this offense, I think is one of the big keys
Speaker 1: regardless of what happens in the draft next week. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think the way I see this Packers wide receiver
Speaker 1: group after Davante Adams is a question mark sort of
Speaker 1: with each guy, and they're each going to have an
Speaker 1: opportunity to answer that question you mentioned with Lazard and
Speaker 1: how he rose up into that number two spot by
Speaker 1: the middle of the season and towards season end. I
Speaker 1: think the question with Lazard is can he continue to ascend?
Speaker 1: You know, will his arrow continue to be pointing up
Speaker 1: in terms of his development MVS that you mentioned. Can
Speaker 1: he bounce back essentially from a rough ending to a
Speaker 1: second season that had started pretty well at the beginning
Speaker 1: of nineteen Then you look at e q st Brown,
Speaker 1: he lost his entire second season to an injury. Where
Speaker 1: is he Can he come back from that season ending
Speaker 1: injury and get back to where he was at the
Speaker 1: end of his rookie season when really he was ahead
Speaker 1: of MVS probably in terms of the playing time in
Speaker 1: the rotation. And then you have the new addition Devin Functious,
Speaker 1: who is also coming off of a significant injury. Packers
Speaker 1: signed him as a free agent from Carolina. The question
Speaker 1: with him is can he get back to the production
Speaker 1: that he was putting up a couple of years ago
Speaker 1: with Cam Newton. But I'm sorry they signed him from
Speaker 1: Indianapolis because his his lost season injury was with the
Speaker 1: Colts after he had left Carolina. So there's that that
Speaker 1: question mark with each one of those guys. And you
Speaker 1: have Jake Crumero in that mix as well. He was,
Speaker 1: I guess, I would say a part time contributor. He
Speaker 1: made a couple of plays for the Packers, but was
Speaker 1: never really a consistent threat. I think the Packers are
Speaker 1: trying to find that other consistent threat on a weekend,
Speaker 1: week out basis, who is going to influence defensive coordinators
Speaker 1: in some way. Uh, similarly to how Davante Adams is
Speaker 1: the guy who keeps the defensive coordinators up at night,
Speaker 1: so to speak. The Packers need to find that other
Speaker 1: guy and then see what happens in twenty nineteen as
Speaker 1: far as how the pecking order gets reshaped or restocked.
Speaker 1: Where those guys ranked behind Adams. Yeah, because you want
Speaker 1: to have a wide open competition. You want that to
Speaker 1: bring out the best in this entire group. But at
Speaker 1: the same time, I think you want to have more
Speaker 1: established presence is in this offense, and I think that's
Speaker 1: where Devin Funch just kind of fits in because he's
Speaker 1: a guy that he's only twenty five years old. He's
Speaker 1: not gonna turn twenty six until next month, but he's
Speaker 1: already played five NFL seasons or at least been you know,
Speaker 1: crude seasons. So for him to come into Green Bay
Speaker 1: right now and bringing his type of you know, body
Speaker 1: type and athleticism, I think so many people forget that
Speaker 1: Devin Funches, he was a second round pick five years ago.
Speaker 1: This is a guy that went twelve spots ahead of
Speaker 1: where the Packers ended up getting Davantae. Yeah, Davante Adams
Speaker 1: a year earlier. So he has all the intangibles to
Speaker 1: be a big playmaker in this league. And the thing
Speaker 1: I really like about him in this offense, and I
Speaker 1: kept alluding to this since the day that they signed him,
Speaker 1: I just think there's so many opportunities when it comes
Speaker 1: to his versatility, his skill set, playing tight end at Michigan,
Speaker 1: playing receiver at Michigan, being a multifaceted receiver in the NFL,
Speaker 1: There're gonna be so many ways the Packers are gonna
Speaker 1: be able to use that type of player in this
Speaker 1: offense with Matt Laflour. But it's funny, Mike, because you
Speaker 1: can throw all these guys in a hat together. There's
Speaker 1: also an incredibly enticing draft class that the Packers are
Speaker 1: gonna have to choose from as well, one that's I
Speaker 1: think a lot of people have said is probably one
Speaker 1: of the deepest that we've seen in the last decade.
Speaker 1: So seeing how Brian Goodquins navigates these waters it those
Speaker 1: three days of the draft, I'm I'm convinced the Packers
Speaker 1: will take a receiver where they take a receiver to
Speaker 1: bring into that group, because you remember did Geronimo Allison's gone,
Speaker 1: that's six D fifty snaps out the door. The Packers
Speaker 1: have to find a guy to potentially help outfill that
Speaker 1: and man, there are a lot of guys that choose from. Yeah, well,
Speaker 1: let's talk about that draft class a little bit, because,
Speaker 1: as you said, the analysts are saying, this is as
Speaker 1: deep as it's been at wide receiver in a long time.
Speaker 1: There are a lot of people wondering, will the Packers
Speaker 1: use their first round pick at number thirty overall on
Speaker 1: a receiver. Others are saying, hey, as deep as this classes,
Speaker 1: you could still get a really potentially high impact receiver
Speaker 1: at the end of the second round, even maybe the
Speaker 1: end of the third round, you look at some of
Speaker 1: the names. I'm gonna just a glance off to my
Speaker 1: notes here. The top three guys at receiver in this
Speaker 1: draft Ceedee Lamb from Oklahoma and the two guys from Alabama,
Speaker 1: Jury Judy and Henry Ruggs most likely almost certainly will
Speaker 1: be gone by the time the Packers are on the
Speaker 1: clock at number thirty. But then after that West you
Speaker 1: have this group of guys. It's about a half dozen
Speaker 1: guys that are ranked as far as the overall draft
Speaker 1: anywhere from like forty five, and with the Packers picking
Speaker 1: at thirty, it'll be interesting to see who's available and
Speaker 1: what choices there are, or is one of these guys
Speaker 1: potentially going to last all the way to the end
Speaker 1: of the second round. And that group, in my mind
Speaker 1: is Justin Jefferson from l s U. T. Higgins from Clemson,
Speaker 1: Brandon i Uk from Arizona State, Leaviscus Chennault Jr. From Colorado,
Speaker 1: Denzel Mims from Baylor, and Jalen Reagor from TCU. That's
Speaker 1: six really really good receivers that how soon are they
Speaker 1: going to go off the board? How many will go
Speaker 1: in the first round, how many will go in the
Speaker 1: second round. I think it's gonna be really interesting to
Speaker 1: see how Brian Goodcounts plays this in terms of trying
Speaker 1: to get the best value at receiver. And then I'll
Speaker 1: throw out a couple more kJ Hamler from Penn State
Speaker 1: and Chase Clayplo from Notre Dame. Those are guys that
Speaker 1: I think in other years you'd be talking about second round.
Speaker 1: For sure. This year as deep as the receiver classes,
Speaker 1: maybe those guys are there at the end of the
Speaker 1: third round when the Packers pick comes up uh late,
Speaker 1: their last pick late on Day two. And then of
Speaker 1: course there are all kinds of trade possibilities if Brian
Speaker 1: Goodacoutz wants to work the board and get the best value,
Speaker 1: if he wants to take a receiver early in this draft,
Speaker 1: which I think the Packers are going to. But of
Speaker 1: course it's one of those things you never know, because
Speaker 1: receiver is not the only position on the priority list. Yeah,
Speaker 1: when I when I say that, I thought they're gonna
Speaker 1: take on this here. A lot of that has to
Speaker 1: the fact that they didn't go that out last year
Speaker 1: after they took three the year before. So I just
Speaker 1: feel like that's a position that they're due to address
Speaker 1: It's the question in my mind is where do you
Speaker 1: address it? And as you were talking about me personally,
Speaker 1: my favorite receiver in this draft is Henry Ruggs. I
Speaker 1: think he's gonna be a fantastic player in this league.
Speaker 1: I love his makeup, I love everything he brings. He
Speaker 1: reminds me of that Greg Jennings type receiver. He could
Speaker 1: play anywhere and make an impact. He's probably not going
Speaker 1: to be there at thirty, though, so that's where you
Speaker 1: get in the joke, you get into the Justin Jefferson debate,
Speaker 1: and certainly had an accomplished career at L s U.
Speaker 1: I think there's a lot of things there that you
Speaker 1: like about him. The Packers have had success with his
Speaker 1: type of body type in this offense. Davante Adams is
Speaker 1: one of them, So that that's a guy that could
Speaker 1: potentially be there. That the one that I keep going
Speaker 1: back to those te Higgins because he fits more of
Speaker 1: the mold, at least the recent mold of what the
Speaker 1: Packers are looking for in receivers. Big, physical, and and
Speaker 1: you know, has some athleticism to him. That's the guy
Speaker 1: at six four that I wonder if he's there potentially
Speaker 1: at the end of the first round, maybe move around
Speaker 1: early second. Would that be a guy that they bite on. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And the body type thing is an interesting question because
Speaker 1: we talked about this with Larry at the combine and whatnot.
Speaker 1: If are the Packers going to look for the different
Speaker 1: body type, more of the shifty slot receiver and add
Speaker 1: that to the mix. And that's where you're talking about
Speaker 1: Jalen Reagor or kJ Hamler or even Brandon i Uk
Speaker 1: to a certain extent, although he's he's not a small guy,
Speaker 1: but he's a yards after the catch guy. One of
Speaker 1: these guys who's really tough to bring down, um really
Speaker 1: shifty once he gets the ball in his hands. So
Speaker 1: I think all of those are interesting possibilities. And maybe
Speaker 1: we're looking at a situation similar to two thousand eight
Speaker 1: when the Packers were sitting at thirty you trade back
Speaker 1: to thirty six, you pick up an extra pick, and
Speaker 1: then you get Jordy Nelson. I could very well see
Speaker 1: a scenario like that playing out here because of the
Speaker 1: number of receivers who will be available end of the
Speaker 1: first beginning of the second. Maybe that happens again. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the part of it that I keep going back to them.
Speaker 1: We'll talk about a little bit with the tight ends,
Speaker 1: although it won't be as much of a pressing thing.
Speaker 1: But it has been eighteen years since the Packers have
Speaker 1: drafted a receiver in the first round. Mike, I wasn't
Speaker 1: even in high school yet when the Packers drafted Javon Walker.
Speaker 1: It's not to make you feel old. It's just it's
Speaker 1: incredible to go eighteen years and a lot of that,
Speaker 1: And I was trying to figure out, Okay, why would
Speaker 1: that be? But when you look at the success they
Speaker 1: had in the second round, yep, that's where it all is.
Speaker 1: Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings, and then
Speaker 1: you found another stud in James Jones and the third.
Speaker 1: When you have that kind of success in the second round,
Speaker 1: you don't need to draft receivers in the first round.
Speaker 1: So that's the chicken in the egg question here that
Speaker 1: we go into this draft. The Packers have had a
Speaker 1: lot of success in the in the second day finding receiver.
Speaker 1: Do they go that way again with a deep class
Speaker 1: or is there a guy at thirty or in that
Speaker 1: range that could really tempt them. Yeah, Well, let's talk
Speaker 1: about tight ends as well a little bit, so not
Speaker 1: a position that is I think is high on the
Speaker 1: priority list, so to speak. Because the Packers did bring
Speaker 1: back Marcedes Lewis. Jimmy Graham signed with the Chicago Bears,
Speaker 1: so he has gone on. But we saw j Sternberger,
Speaker 1: the third round pick from a year ago, coming on
Speaker 1: pretty strong at the end of his rookie year, which
Speaker 1: was really impressive considering he missed half of the season
Speaker 1: due to an injury before he came off the pup list.
Speaker 1: And then you also have Robert Tony and another young
Speaker 1: guy the Packers are still hoping his arrow is pointing up.
Speaker 1: He dealt with some injuries and never really found his
Speaker 1: you know, real spot or roll on a consistent basis
Speaker 1: in this offense. But that's a possibility as well. So
Speaker 1: I think the Packers will look to add another tight
Speaker 1: end potentially in this draft and add more competition to
Speaker 1: that room. And you know, Marcedes Lewis being the veteran
Speaker 1: leader at the top of the bunch. But this is
Speaker 1: not the same tight end draft as a year ago
Speaker 1: West where there were two guys everybody was talking about
Speaker 1: in the first round, the top half of the first round.
Speaker 1: That's not where this draft classes. And there may not
Speaker 1: be a tight end drafted in the first round this
Speaker 1: year at all. Yeah, you're right, And I mean it's
Speaker 1: one of these deals where a lot of years it's
Speaker 1: like this where there is an a bona fide tight
Speaker 1: end prospect, or at least one that people feel really
Speaker 1: good about as a first round pick. So you do
Speaker 1: look more internally. That's not to say you couldn't go
Speaker 1: get a Harrison Bryant or somebody in those middle rounds
Speaker 1: the third day or you know, third round that could
Speaker 1: potentially help you. But I keep going back to what
Speaker 1: I said last year when the Packers drafted j Sternberger.
Speaker 1: Packers did not need j Sternberger to be a Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl or his first year in Green Bay. They needed
Speaker 1: him to learn. And if you followed his story at all,
Speaker 1: and and kind of how he just you know, soaked
Speaker 1: in everything from Jimmy Graham Orcedes Lewis and even to
Speaker 1: some extent Robert Tonyan, you understand how seriously he takes
Speaker 1: this in the competitor he is, and I thought you
Speaker 1: started to see that fire at the end of the season.
Speaker 1: He's a guy that yeah, and his NFL regular season
Speaker 1: resume does not have a catch yet, but what he
Speaker 1: did in that game in San Francisco showing some of
Speaker 1: the you know, the versatility without having Danny vital with
Speaker 1: him getting the touchdown catch, there is a big playmaker there.
Speaker 1: And if you follow his trajectory throughout his career, it
Speaker 1: hasn't taken him long to catch on. So while well,
Speaker 1: this is going to be about Louis and in being
Speaker 1: that consistent you know, inline blocker and and all around
Speaker 1: veteran tight end. And while I think Robert Tonyan also
Speaker 1: has to make a big jump this year, Jay Sternberger
Speaker 1: is the guy. He was the guy when the Packers
Speaker 1: use a third round draft pick on him and they
Speaker 1: want to see him make that next step. Is there
Speaker 1: a tight end that could come in and help replace
Speaker 1: Jimmy Graham filled that spot. Absolutely, Yeah, But I but
Speaker 1: I don't see it obviously happening in the first round. Yeah.
Speaker 1: A couple of things that I'll say with Sternberger as well.
Speaker 1: One is that when he did get on the field
Speaker 1: in the second half of his rookie season, I think
Speaker 1: his blocking was better than a lot of people expected.
Speaker 1: The draft pundits all the analysts last year, we're saying
Speaker 1: he was really raw in terms of his blocking abilities,
Speaker 1: and as you said, he doesn't take a whole lot
Speaker 1: of time to catch onto things, and I think he
Speaker 1: was a very productive blocker in the way that Matt
Speaker 1: Lafleur used him in the offense. The other thing is
Speaker 1: that I believe Larry maybe had mentioned this in one
Speaker 1: of our three Things videos. If Jay Sternberger had stayed
Speaker 1: in school another year, he might be the top tight
Speaker 1: end in this draft class. So that's another thing to
Speaker 1: keep in mind, just in terms of in terms of
Speaker 1: what the Packers invested there in a third round pick
Speaker 1: last year. Just to throw out a couple of names
Speaker 1: that are at the top of a lot of tight
Speaker 1: end boards, cold commit from Notre Dame is pretty much
Speaker 1: the consensus top tight end in this draft. I think
Speaker 1: there are questions though, as to whether he'll be drafted
Speaker 1: in the first round or if he'll be a second
Speaker 1: round pick. Another guy to keep an eye on Adam
Speaker 1: Troutman from Dayton And you know, I like this guy
Speaker 1: west I wrote about him at the Combine. I just
Speaker 1: really like his story. A triple option quarterback in high
Speaker 1: school couldn't get anybody at a Division one, a major
Speaker 1: Division one school to pay attention to him. He goes
Speaker 1: to Dayton and now he's going to be drafted, and
Speaker 1: he'll be the first football draft pick from Dayton in
Speaker 1: forty three years, nineteen seventy seven, which I think was
Speaker 1: before you were born. It was before I even started
Speaker 1: watching football games. I'll say that nine seventy seven the
Speaker 1: last time Dayton had a player drafted. And I'm gonna
Speaker 1: throw one other name out there west for you. It's
Speaker 1: the name that Packer fans are familiar with. Thaddeus Moss. Yes,
Speaker 1: he is the son of Hall of Fame wide receiver
Speaker 1: Randy Moss. He's coming out of L s U. And
Speaker 1: I don't want to make it a direct comparison, but
Speaker 1: in terms of the draft stock and whatnot, I look
Speaker 1: at this guy a lot like a Jamichael Finley, where
Speaker 1: he's only in college for a couple of years. There's
Speaker 1: all kinds of athletic ability, but it's not refined. It's
Speaker 1: very raw. He he is a guy who is going
Speaker 1: to need to progress a lot in the NFL. But
Speaker 1: the ceiling with a guy like Thaddeus Moss appears to
Speaker 1: be really high and I'll just be curious to see
Speaker 1: where he goes in the draft, what team takes him
Speaker 1: and makes that bet on you know, the uh, the
Speaker 1: ascending young player who really didn't play a whole lot
Speaker 1: in college, but but towards the end of his two
Speaker 1: years at L s U was really really productive. So
Speaker 1: there's a couple of points I want to raise here.
Speaker 1: First off, let's start off with Moss. The thing I
Speaker 1: like about him, now, certainly there's been some some footage,
Speaker 1: is that he's had to work through. I certainly had
Speaker 1: that fracture that I think he had to have surgery
Speaker 1: on right after the combine. But what I liked about
Speaker 1: his short time at L s U is he's a
Speaker 1: guy that actually did a lot of the little things right. Uh.
Speaker 1: He was praised for his block and he was praised
Speaker 1: for his energy, um and then that, and then you
Speaker 1: factor in the fact that you know, he's Randy Moss's kid.
Speaker 1: I mean, this is one of the greatest physical specimens
Speaker 1: to ever enter the NFL, and he has those bloodlines.
Speaker 1: I think Moss is a hungry guy, man. I think
Speaker 1: he's a guy that's going to come in and really,
Speaker 1: you know, open a lot of eyes so and and
Speaker 1: not just as a pass catcher like That's the thing is,
Speaker 1: he's a tight end. He plays the tight end position,
Speaker 1: and I think he really encompasses a lot of the
Speaker 1: grit that goes along with that. So I'm excited to
Speaker 1: see how his story plays out. I want to talk
Speaker 1: quickly about Commette, though this is my guy. I think
Speaker 1: Cole Commett is going to be a real stud in
Speaker 1: this league. I feel pretty confident about that because so
Speaker 1: many times, Mike, over the years they talk about multi
Speaker 1: sport athletes, you know, they had a diverse back ground
Speaker 1: in terms of their athletic achievements, and Committ is that
Speaker 1: this is a guy that played baseball at Notre Dame
Speaker 1: two in addition to what he did on a football field.
Speaker 1: Six ft six two, arned sixty pounds, this is a
Speaker 1: physical tight end that I think with giving the fact
Speaker 1: and finally concentrating on one sport getting a chance to
Speaker 1: develop those skills at the next level. I can see
Speaker 1: why he's not a first round pick and people aren't
Speaker 1: projecting him in those first thirty two. But in my mind,
Speaker 1: this is undoubtedly the top tight end on this year's board.
Speaker 1: I'm really interested to see how his story plays on
Speaker 1: the NFL. Yeah, well, those are positions not just for
Speaker 1: the fantasy football folks, but for a lot of teams
Speaker 1: looking to add those uh, those weapons to their arsenal,
Speaker 1: especially at wide receiver. Like we talked about, this is
Speaker 1: a really deep draft class. Where we will continue with
Speaker 1: our position by position preview series later this week on
Speaker 1: Packers Unscripted. For now, we're going to sign off and
Speaker 1: thank you for watching everybody. We will see you next time.