Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford. He is my
Speaker 1: partner in crime, Weston Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here
Speaker 1: from disparate locations at lambeau Field and it is Draft Week.
Speaker 1: Welcome to Draft Week. Wes. Are you ready for this
Speaker 1: upcoming three day extravaganza.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's exciting time, Mike. I'm excited to get back
Speaker 2: at it. You know, when you look at the NFL Draft,
Speaker 2: this is the time of the year. It's all this consternation,
Speaker 2: all this talk, all this discussion. Well, over these three
Speaker 2: days Thursday through Saturday, we'll finally get some answers, two
Speaker 2: hundred and fifty six picks whatever gets made. And as
Speaker 2: we learned last year, there are no mystery relevance in
Speaker 2: this thing and the agreement Packers as things stand right
Speaker 2: now have ten picks. So an exciting time once again
Speaker 2: to see what all this hustle and bustle and discussion
Speaker 2: really can amount to.
Speaker 1: All Right, well, you and I don't normally get into
Speaker 1: the prediction business, but that's about all we have left
Speaker 1: to do in terms of previewing this draft is to
Speaker 1: just throw out a few predictions, so to speak, that
Speaker 1: we might have. The first one I want to ask
Speaker 1: you about is when, if will this Aaron Rodgers trade
Speaker 1: go down. Do you think it happens before the draft?
Speaker 1: Do you think it happens during the first round. Do
Speaker 1: you think it happens during the second round. What's your
Speaker 1: gut tell you right now? As far as the timing
Speaker 1: of this pending Aaron Rodgers trade to the New York Jets.
Speaker 2: Well, again, just being someone that's seeking closure on this
Speaker 2: whole thing, I'm going to try to steer on the
Speaker 2: side of optimism here and say that it does get
Speaker 2: done before and obviously there were some reports out over
Speaker 2: the weekend that the talks between the Packers and Jets
Speaker 2: have kind of ramped up again. And frankly, as I've
Speaker 2: said before and was one of my sign offs last week,
Speaker 2: you know, you're so appreciative of everything that Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 2: did here. But obviously, you know it was a month
Speaker 2: ago now that I was in Arizona and Brian Goodcomes
Speaker 2: mentioned you know they're working to facilitate this trade. So
Speaker 2: it's all been building up towards this, and no matter
Speaker 2: what you and I write Mike, I feel like it's
Speaker 2: always coming back to, well, what is happening with the
Speaker 2: quarterback situation? When is the trade gonna happen, and if
Speaker 2: it does, what does that mean now for the Packers
Speaker 2: moving forward? And I just kind of wanted some answers.
Speaker 2: So I'm hoping it's before Round one. It'd be interesting
Speaker 2: if it's on Friday. I just feel like that's such
Speaker 2: a weird timing in terms of, Yeah, you know, both
Speaker 2: the Jets and the Packers at that point, as weird
Speaker 2: as the sounds, when you're dealing with the four time
Speaker 2: MVP quarterback, they have more pressing matters at the moment
Speaker 2: in terms of trying to shuffle out what the rest
Speaker 2: of their roster is going to look like. But you know,
Speaker 2: we've learned time and time again there's no deadlines on
Speaker 2: these things. And if you go back to twenty thirteen,
Speaker 2: ten years ago, Michael, the Green Bay Packers work their
Speaker 2: actually be their second extension with Aaron Rodgers just before
Speaker 2: Round one. Would be curious to see what would happen
Speaker 2: potentially ten years later if the Packers could end up
Speaker 2: finally finalizing that trade for him to New York.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I've been trying to figure out if this happening
Speaker 1: on Friday night as the second round gets underway makes
Speaker 1: some sort of sense. And I've gone back and forth
Speaker 1: on it because we heard Brian Gudukunst at the league
Speaker 1: meetings in Phoenix say that the Jets' first round pick
Speaker 1: number thirteen overall in this draft is not necessarily a
Speaker 1: requirement from the Packers' point of view to get this
Speaker 1: deal done. So you go, okay, Well, the Jets have
Speaker 1: two picks in the middle of the second round, right
Speaker 1: near where the Packers' second round pick is as well,
Speaker 1: so you're thinking, well, then maybe it won't happen until Friday.
Speaker 1: But if you're Brian Gudukunst and you're potentially going to
Speaker 1: get a second round pick or or an asset like that,
Speaker 1: wouldn't you want to have that on Thursday night in
Speaker 1: case you want to move up or move around in
Speaker 1: the first round. If you wait until Friday to make
Speaker 1: the deal for a second round pick, than any maneuverability
Speaker 1: as far as the first round on Thursday night is
Speaker 1: kind of out the windows. So I think my best guess, again,
Speaker 1: this is a guess, but I think this trade gets
Speaker 1: done either, right, before the draft starts on Thursday, or
Speaker 1: maybe just within the first few picks to where suddenly
Speaker 1: you know there's gonna be a round pick three or
Speaker 1: pick four, there's gonna be some you know, breaking news
Speaker 1: that the trade has been finalized, it's been turned into
Speaker 1: the league. I just think the Packer, even if Brian
Speaker 1: Gudacunz is not going to move around a bunch in
Speaker 1: the first round, I still think if he's getting a
Speaker 1: second round pick as part of this deal, he's gonna
Speaker 1: want at least the option, at least the availability to
Speaker 1: do that. So that's just my gut feeling on this,
Speaker 1: but we'll have to see. It was interesting, though, I
Speaker 1: thought to hear Gutakuns to go on the record to
Speaker 1: say that the Jets first round pick number thirteen overall
Speaker 1: is not some sort of prerequisite or requirement for the
Speaker 1: Packers to make this deal for Aaron Rodgers. That sort
Speaker 1: of caught my ear when he said that at the
Speaker 1: end of March.
Speaker 2: Mike, have you ever sold a snowblower before?
Speaker 1: No, I've only bought snowblowers, I've never sold them.
Speaker 2: Have you ever sold a lawnmar No? Have you ever
Speaker 2: sold a car? Yes? Okay, So let me ask you this.
Speaker 2: When you got the compensation for the car, that goes
Speaker 2: into your bank account, right, it goes into your wallet.
Speaker 2: You can go spend it for other things. Have you
Speaker 2: ever tried to walk into let's say Meyer for example,
Speaker 2: and tried to buy something with a car. Probably doesn't work, right,
Speaker 2: you need the monetary value. Yeah, that's where I fall
Speaker 2: on this Rogers thing, because it's like, you're right, man,
Speaker 2: they could wait until Friday, work a deal, see what happens.
Speaker 2: But at the same time, there's so much spendable cash.
Speaker 2: If you have let's just say it'd be two second rounders, Well,
Speaker 2: if you have the two second rounders on Thursday, you
Speaker 2: could still move around, you know, with the fifteenth pick.
Speaker 2: That's why I to go back to you know, if
Speaker 2: you can get this thing done before the first round begins. Now,
Speaker 2: if you can't, you can't. But the assets and the
Speaker 2: liquidity is so much greater. I feel the earlier that
Speaker 2: this thing gets done. Yeah, and at the end of
Speaker 2: the day, like I've said before, the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 2: feel really good about Jordan Love. The Jets obviously have
Speaker 2: really hitched their wag into the idea of Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 2: being the quarterback. Now you and I will be sitting
Speaker 2: around drinking our coffee waiting for the rest of the
Speaker 2: chips to fall.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, outside of the potential Aaron Rodgers trade, the
Speaker 1: Packers are sitting at number fifteen in the first round,
Speaker 1: They're sitting at number forty five in the second round.
Speaker 1: We've seen We've seen Brian Gudakunz move up in the
Speaker 1: first round where you drafted Darnell Savage, he drafted Jordan
Speaker 1: Love with trades up in the first round. We've seen
Speaker 1: him move back in the first round. We've seen him
Speaker 1: move back and up in the same first round the
Speaker 1: year he got JayR Alexander. So what's your gut feeling
Speaker 1: here with the Packers sitting at number five fifteen do
Speaker 1: you think do you think it's a trade up, do
Speaker 1: you think it's a trade back? Do you think it's
Speaker 1: a sit and pick situation? Obviously it all depends on
Speaker 1: who you know, who goes in those first ten or twelve,
Speaker 1: you know, as things unfold. But what's your gut say
Speaker 1: in terms of what the Packers do with the fifteenth pick?
Speaker 2: Mike, I don't know anything, and obviously that's an evergreen statement.
Speaker 2: But this to me feels a lot like twenty eighteen,
Speaker 2: if I'm being honest with you, When the Packers were
Speaker 2: originally sitting at fourteen, they moved back, the New Orleans
Speaker 2: Saints came up to take Marcus Davenport. The Packers ultimately settled,
Speaker 2: not settled, but found jyr Alexander at eighteen after moving around.
Speaker 2: When you're picking in the middle of the pack like that,
Speaker 2: it's such an interesting spot because your assets are aligned
Speaker 2: in such a way that you could move up a
Speaker 2: few spots, or you could potentially move back a little
Speaker 2: bit too, depending, as you said, on how the board falls.
Speaker 2: I think a lot of this is going to have
Speaker 2: to do with those four quarterbacks. How early do those
Speaker 2: guys go off the board? Would imagine they all will
Speaker 2: be off the board before fifteen, But the earlier the better, uh,
Speaker 2: in terms of you know, Green Bay's standpoint and being
Speaker 2: able to maybe get a top player at tight end
Speaker 2: or defensive line, what have you. But also what is
Speaker 2: the trickle down effect of that. You're seeing reports now
Speaker 2: of the Minnesota Vikings potentially having interest in Will Levis,
Speaker 2: so could they move up? You know, how does that
Speaker 2: affect the board, fifteen is such a malleable pick in
Speaker 2: terms of where you go and where you sit. I think,
Speaker 2: out of all the scenarios, and as you outlined, Brian
Speaker 2: Gutikuntz has exercised them all in five years, but to me,
Speaker 2: I think the most unlikely is for them just to
Speaker 2: sit at fifteen. Now. Let's not to say they won't,
Speaker 2: but I just feel like the positioning of the board,
Speaker 2: the depth of this first round, and also the fact
Speaker 2: that packers do have those ten picks right now really
Speaker 2: creates a lot of intrigue there for what potentially Green
Speaker 2: Bay could do. I yeah.
Speaker 1: And in addition to the quarterbacks, because the quarterbacks always,
Speaker 1: you know, dictate how the first round goes from from
Speaker 1: a league wide perspective. The other thing I think that's
Speaker 1: that's going to have a big impact here are those
Speaker 1: top four offensive tackles. When you're talking about Scarronsky Jones,
Speaker 1: Paris Johnson Junior, and Darnell Right, those guys are pretty
Speaker 1: much considered, you know, the the elite, the top four
Speaker 1: offensive tackles in this draft. And once you know the
Speaker 1: first one or two of those guys goes and then
Speaker 1: there's only say two of them left on the board.
Speaker 1: The teams that are really really in need of fixing,
Speaker 1: you know, either a left tackle or a right tackle
Speaker 1: spot and want to get one of these top guys
Speaker 1: in the first round and not wait around and take
Speaker 1: their chances on a you know, a lesser evaluated player.
Speaker 1: I think that's where we could start to see some movement.
Speaker 1: So the quarterbacks are going to have their say in
Speaker 1: the movement and how things go. But I think the
Speaker 1: offensive tackles are going to play a part in that too,
Speaker 1: just because there seems to be such a you know,
Speaker 1: such a solid grouping of these are the top and
Speaker 1: then there's sort of everybody else at those offensive tackle spots.
Speaker 2: Well. And then, honestly, Mike think about it, because you're
Speaker 2: always gonna you know, Will Anderson is gonna come off
Speaker 2: the board. Obviously, Jalen Carter has a couple more questions
Speaker 2: now where he could potentially fall. It's always doing simple
Speaker 2: math and just figuring out, Okay, there's there's certain guys
Speaker 2: that could be there, and there's certain guys who undoubtedly
Speaker 2: will not be And if you run those numbers, it
Speaker 2: really does put you in a situation if you're Brian
Speaker 2: and if you're the packer's personnel department, where I mean,
Speaker 2: there's gonna be six seven guys who are going to
Speaker 2: potentially be there for you. Who do you like the
Speaker 2: most out of that grouping? And then, by the way,
Speaker 2: if they're all there, then that's probably where it gives
Speaker 2: you the flexibility to move back. It's the game that
Speaker 2: must be played. But I'll the last thing I'll leave
Speaker 2: you with on this topic is I was sitting earlier this,
Speaker 2: you know, on Sunday morning, and I was thinking about, Okay,
Speaker 2: the draft week is finally here, right, and about how
Speaker 2: Brian gudikin somewhere in Green Bay, Wisconsin is sitting around
Speaker 2: probably with his family or you know, doing what have you.
Speaker 2: And I'm like, the decisions he's gonna make the ten
Speaker 2: cards or more or less that he turns in, the
Speaker 2: trickle down effect that that's going to have on so
Speaker 2: many young men's lives around the country. At this very time,
Speaker 2: I was watching the video that I don't even know
Speaker 2: if it's up at the time and this is posting,
Speaker 2: but the interview that Larry mccaerron did with Kay Walker
Speaker 2: and seeing that video again of Clay in his living
Speaker 2: room with all of his family surrounding him. It is
Speaker 2: a life changing moment that is going to not only
Speaker 2: affect this franchise's history, but also these individuals. So it's
Speaker 2: the exciting prospect of finding a real talent, somebody that,
Speaker 2: regardless of the position, is going to be a playmaker
Speaker 2: in Green Bay for ten twelve years, and ultimately that
Speaker 2: decision lies in the hands of Brian Goudekunst.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well you said it. In terms of with the
Speaker 1: Packers being at fifteen, it feels like there are going
Speaker 1: to be a handful of players that I think the
Speaker 1: Packers are going to like that They're going to have
Speaker 1: strong evaluations on, have very strong feelings about, and they're
Speaker 1: going to have their pick of of what direction they
Speaker 1: want to go. We talked about this a little bit
Speaker 1: on our last show, but I want to follow up
Speaker 1: with it again. What position do you think, you know,
Speaker 1: in that scenario, say there's four or five guys at
Speaker 1: some different spots, the Packers all have them, you know,
Speaker 1: graded relatively equally, and you know which is a nice
Speaker 1: spot to be in. Which position do you think they
Speaker 1: go with?
Speaker 2: Yeah, And out of any years in which I've covered
Speaker 2: the draft, this is actually number fourteen. For me already
Speaker 2: going back to when I was just helping out at
Speaker 2: the pres Cosette in twenty ten, this is the year
Speaker 2: I think, I'm It reminds me the most of twenty fourteen,
Speaker 2: where I was like, Hey Ryan Cheese or CJ. Moseley, haha,
Speaker 2: Clinton Dix. There's so many different ways green Bay could go,
Speaker 2: and I think all those decisions could help them. But
Speaker 2: if I was to do a mock draft right now,
Speaker 2: I think it comes back to Lucas van Es. For me,
Speaker 2: the more I thought about it, the more that he
Speaker 2: makes sense, and in a lot of ways he kind
Speaker 2: of reminds me of Clay Matthews. He's much bigger than Clay,
Speaker 2: you know, about twenty pounds heavier. But this is one
Speaker 2: of those type of guys that you didn't really get
Speaker 2: the full feeling of his potential at Iowa. He wasn't
Speaker 2: a starter every year, but he would fit the prototype
Speaker 2: for them, And I think, as you've talked about a
Speaker 2: couple times, I mean, there's a couple of these guys
Speaker 2: in that six five two seventy range, almost that Preston
Speaker 2: Smith type range, where I don't think you could go wrong,
Speaker 2: and for a guy like VanNess. If he comes in
Speaker 2: and needs to be a rotational guy right away like
Speaker 2: he kind of was at times at Iowa, well he's
Speaker 2: still going to have the flexibility to do that. So
Speaker 2: as deep as this draft is at a number of positions,
Speaker 2: I want to sort of test that depth a little
Speaker 2: bit at tight end. I want to test that depth
Speaker 2: at offensive line or receiver and go out and get
Speaker 2: what is probably going to be the best available pass
Speaker 2: rusher at fifteen. So the answer to your question is
Speaker 2: edge rusher. And to be more specific, I think Lucas
Speaker 2: VanNess is the guy that could potentially be that fit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm with you. I think, you know, all else
Speaker 1: being equal in the scenario that the very sort of
Speaker 1: basic boring scenario I laid out, I'm inclined. I'm inclined
Speaker 1: to think the Packers are going to go edge rusher.
Speaker 1: I do think Lucas van Ness would be would be
Speaker 1: a guy very high on their board. The other one
Speaker 1: that I talked about on our last show with that
Speaker 1: Preston Smith build Miles Murphy from from Clemson, I think
Speaker 1: could potentially fit there too. Some people might say fifteen
Speaker 1: is a little bit high for Murphy, but at the
Speaker 1: same time, there aren't. You know, there there are the
Speaker 1: there are the edge rushers who are in that you know,
Speaker 1: two forty two fifty range, and then there are the
Speaker 1: edge rushers that are in the two sixty five to
Speaker 1: two seventy five range. And there's a big difference there
Speaker 1: because you know, you talk about a guy like Van
Speaker 1: Ness and you see this on the tape at Iowa
Speaker 1: where he would move inside and become an interior rusher
Speaker 1: in certain sub packages, certain third downs and things like that.
Speaker 1: And we've seen, you know, with with the Smiths, with
Speaker 1: Rashan Gary over the years here in Green Bay, that
Speaker 1: the packers like to do that. I'm sorry if you
Speaker 1: draft an edge rusher who's two hundred and forty five pounds,
Speaker 1: he's not lining up as a three technique on third
Speaker 1: and eight, you know, to give you a different look
Speaker 1: in the pass rush going to be out on the edge.
Speaker 1: You don't have that flexibility. That's where the body type
Speaker 1: thing comes into it for me in terms of in
Speaker 1: terms of looking at that, I wanted to ask you
Speaker 1: as well as far as you know, your your favorite
Speaker 1: guys so to speak, at certain positions, and when I
Speaker 1: say favorite guys, I mean guys that realistically could be
Speaker 1: available for the Packers either and say the first round
Speaker 1: or the second round, you know, Thursday night or Friday night.
Speaker 1: You mentioned Vanes at the edge. I'm totally on board
Speaker 1: with that. I also like Murphy from Clemson defensive line.
Speaker 1: With the Packers obviously moving on from Jaron Reed and
Speaker 1: Dean Lowry and looking for a big step forward from
Speaker 1: Devonte Wyatt and TJ. Slayton, is there a defensive lineman
Speaker 1: out there within you know, the first fifty picks that
Speaker 1: that you think maybe fits Green Bay can.
Speaker 2: If we're gonna do the favorite topic, can I start
Speaker 2: with something else though, I'm taking the ship from me
Speaker 2: for a second. That's okay. As soon as you said favorite,
Speaker 2: The first guy that popped in my head is no
Speaker 2: Washington and the reason why it ties in really quickly. Now,
Speaker 2: this is not a defensive lineman all though, Shoot, the
Speaker 2: kid could probably play there with a big play there. Yeah.
Speaker 2: But the big reason I just want to mention that, Michael,
Speaker 2: is when we were talking about fifteen and potentially moving
Speaker 2: back or acquiring more picks if the Packers don't want
Speaker 2: to go Kincaid at fifteen, Washington is the type of guy,
Speaker 2: probably a little bit like Murphy, where if you move
Speaker 2: to the end of the first round, or maybe even
Speaker 2: move up a little bit in the second, that could
Speaker 2: be a really good fit for them. Washington is the
Speaker 2: guy I've kind of labeled as the baby Mercedes a
Speaker 2: little bit, just because of the amount of athleticism and
Speaker 2: a huge body. And I feel like, at some point, Mike,
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's the first round, second round,
Speaker 2: or third round, those first two days before you and
Speaker 2: I are walking out of lambeau Field, the agreement packers,
Speaker 2: I feel are going to draft a tight end. I
Speaker 2: just when you look at the makeup of them, I
Speaker 2: know there's Mayher excuse me, Michael Meyer. Fantastic player, really
Speaker 2: good in line blocker. I think that's why a lot
Speaker 2: of people are high on them. Dalton Kincaid brings a
Speaker 2: lot to the party, Sam Laporta, all these different guys.
Speaker 2: But when I looked at the film, and again I'm
Speaker 2: not a scout, but when I looked at the film,
Speaker 2: Darnell Savage is the type of player. Excuse me, Darnel Savage.
Speaker 2: Darneld Savage too, but Darnel Washington is the type of
Speaker 2: player that makes me just be like, man, I wish
Speaker 2: training campus he already because I want to see this
Speaker 2: kid play.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm with you in the sense that I like
Speaker 1: actually a lot of these tight ends.
Speaker 2: Washington.
Speaker 1: Washington is in his own category in terms of the
Speaker 1: type of the type of player he is, the type
Speaker 1: of physical presence and everything that he is. I don't
Speaker 1: know if the Packers are going to go tight end
Speaker 1: in round one, which I think would be either Mayor
Speaker 1: from Notre Dame or Kincaid from Utah, if you go
Speaker 1: tight end in round two and you want to target
Speaker 1: a guy like Washington, or if you want to stay
Speaker 1: in the middle of the second round or maybe even
Speaker 1: move back a little bit in the second round, the
Speaker 1: Muskrave from Oregon State could potentially be a good fit
Speaker 1: at tight end two, and you're still getting one of
Speaker 1: the top four or five tight ends in this draft.
Speaker 1: So I think, I think all of those are our possibilities.
Speaker 1: But Washington, Washington is the one who just who sticks
Speaker 1: out because he's different, right, Yeah, he's a he's a
Speaker 1: different breed a cat and uh and very intriguing in
Speaker 1: terms of how this tight end, the order of the
Speaker 1: selection of the tight ends could unfold the Thursday and Friday.
Speaker 2: Thank you for humoring me. Now we can get back
Speaker 2: to the Mike Spofford Packers on scripted. That was that
Speaker 2: was playing? Okay, I was? I mean tight end, wasn't.
Speaker 1: I just got to check off, you know, I'm checking
Speaker 1: off all the moving around the different positions. So yeah,
Speaker 1: we've talked about edge, we talked about tight ends. So
Speaker 1: where do you want to go next to Wes?
Speaker 2: You pick it defensive line. Those start because because Brian Breezy,
Speaker 2: you know Clemson, this is a kid that when you
Speaker 2: look at losing a Dean Lowry type, he fits that
Speaker 2: role right six foot six, three hundred pounds, can probably
Speaker 2: put a little bit more onto that frame. He's had
Speaker 2: to weather a few things, but I think when you
Speaker 2: look at the makeup, when you're looking at guys that
Speaker 2: could potentially compliment a Kenny Clark or a DeVante Wyatt,
Speaker 2: he is the guy and reading off and doing some
Speaker 2: of these prospect primers with him. He's definitely one of
Speaker 2: the dudes that the more I read about him, the
Speaker 2: more I learned about his story, he seems like a
Speaker 2: Green Bay Packers type of player, and I'd be interested
Speaker 2: to see if that potential guy was there. Also the
Speaker 2: Northwestern kid, I'm not even going to try to pronounce
Speaker 2: his name, and that doesn't have the same type of size.
Speaker 2: But Mike, we've learned time and time again now with
Speaker 2: these defensive linemen, especially these three techniques, six foot two,
Speaker 2: two hundred and ninety eight pounds is no longer a
Speaker 2: deal breaker in this league if you can get the
Speaker 2: guy that you're lined up across room to get on
Speaker 2: his heels.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Brazi from Clemson is the guy I really like
Speaker 1: on the defensive line. I agree with you. I think
Speaker 1: he's I think he's a really good fit for this
Speaker 1: this Packer system. What the Packers like to do with
Speaker 1: their defensive lineman, they what they asked them to do.
Speaker 1: That being said, you know, we're talking about edge and
Speaker 1: D line and tight end, and you're not gonna be
Speaker 1: able to draft everybody you want in the first two rounds, right,
Speaker 1: I mean, Thursday and Friday night are going to go by,
Speaker 1: and all of these you know, different spots that we're
Speaker 1: talking about, the Packers aren't going to be able to
Speaker 1: address them all. So these are these are various favorites
Speaker 1: that we're talking about, but knowing realistically that the Packers
Speaker 1: can't get all of these guys, but but you hope
Speaker 1: that maybe things fall a certain way, or that that
Speaker 1: Brian Guducuts can move around on the board as such
Speaker 1: to to maybe get some of them. The the other
Speaker 1: another spot to ask you about wide receiver. I know
Speaker 1: Jackson Smith jigba Is is your guy, and he may
Speaker 1: be there at fifteen for Green Bay, and he may
Speaker 1: present a very very intriguing prospect here in the fact
Speaker 1: that the Packers haven't drafted a wide receiver in the
Speaker 1: first hail for a couple of decades now, but he
Speaker 1: may be there. Aside from aside from him, any other
Speaker 1: any other receivers that that you have your eye on
Speaker 1: in this draft.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is the other thing. I wish I could
Speaker 2: say the whole tweet. But it is incredible the amount
Speaker 2: of kind of smaller receivers in this year's draft. I
Speaker 2: forget who who put it out there, one of the
Speaker 2: draft experts, but the amount of guys under five to
Speaker 2: ten and the amount of guys under one hundred and
Speaker 2: ninety pounds in the top one hundred or two hundred prospects,
Speaker 2: it is incredible. I mean We're just really quickly reeling
Speaker 2: this off. You know, Zay Flowers goes out of Boston
Speaker 2: College five foot nine, one hundred and eighty two pounds.
Speaker 2: I mean, Jordan Addison USC five to eleven, one seventy three,
Speaker 2: Tyler Scott from Since he one seventy seven, Josh Downs
Speaker 2: UNC five nine one seventy one. Jalen Hyatt is probably
Speaker 2: the next guy I look at if it's not going
Speaker 2: to be in Jig Smith and Jigba, because again, he
Speaker 2: fits more that six foot one, got a little bit
Speaker 2: more of that size to him, similar to what the
Speaker 2: Packers have gone with with a A Romeo Dobbs at
Speaker 2: DeVante Adams in the past. The Packers so many years, Mike,
Speaker 2: they put in really big assets into six foot four
Speaker 2: receivers two hundred plus pounds. Are ain't a lot of
Speaker 2: them in this year's draft class in terms of at
Speaker 2: least the high end ones. So finding out exactly where
Speaker 2: the Packers decide to spend that pick is going to
Speaker 2: be really interesting because at some point they have to
Speaker 2: draft a receiver. But I'll be just really interested in
Speaker 2: a draft where there's so many talented guys that don't
Speaker 2: necessarily maybe meet the ron Wolf, you know, sort of
Speaker 2: standard in terms of size, which guys the packers could
Speaker 2: potentially roll the dice on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're right, You're right in that there are a
Speaker 1: lot of these, a lot of these smaller uh you know,
Speaker 1: sort of the the cat quick, the classic slot receiver,
Speaker 1: you know type. Not not to not to pegger or
Speaker 1: stereotype these guys too much, but but they seem to fit,
Speaker 1: you know, those those type of labels. The other one,
Speaker 1: and I've I've been talking about him, you know, having
Speaker 1: done a prospect primer on him that I'm really curious
Speaker 1: because I've seen evaluation scouting reports all across the board
Speaker 1: on Quinton Johnston from TCU. There there are some scouts
Speaker 1: that really really like him. There are some that just
Speaker 1: that that question how consistent his hands are and whether
Speaker 1: he's going to be able to be a consistent pass
Speaker 1: catcher in the NFL. But he caught my eye right
Speaker 1: away because he is almost the exact same size as
Speaker 1: Christian Watson. He just wait, yeah, he just doesn't run
Speaker 1: a four to three. He runs a four or five.
Speaker 1: He's which is not exactly slow, but he's not the
Speaker 1: he's not the speed burner that that Watson is. That
Speaker 1: being said, more often than not, the Packers have invested
Speaker 1: draft picks at the receiver position on the bigger bodies,
Speaker 1: not necessarily the smaller bodies. And so that's why I wonder,
Speaker 1: you know where where he fits. And not to say
Speaker 1: that I don't think he's would be in play for
Speaker 1: the Packers at fifteen overall in the first round, but
Speaker 1: depending on what happens with the Rogers trade, your second
Speaker 1: round assets are then potentially what things look like in
Speaker 1: the third round. With with some of the negative things
Speaker 1: that I've seen about Johnson from TCU, maybe he's still
Speaker 1: on the board in the third round. I mean, who
Speaker 1: the heck knows.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's probably more than any other receiver I can
Speaker 2: remember in terms of just the screpancy of where scouts
Speaker 2: have this kid, in terms of, you know, some of
Speaker 2: them will have them as the top receiver on the board,
Speaker 2: some of them have them underneath some of those other
Speaker 2: receivers that I mentioned. What is intriguing to me though
Speaker 2: about him is you mentioned the comparisons to Christian Watson.
Speaker 2: We've touched on that before, but it's also he does
Speaker 2: remind me a lot of Watson in terms of how
Speaker 2: the scouts are kind of like confused in terms of
Speaker 2: where this kid should be drafted. Right, there were people
Speaker 2: that thought that Christian Watson was a hands down top
Speaker 2: twenty player last year. There were people that said, there's
Speaker 2: no way you can spend a first round pick on
Speaker 2: this kid. I think thirty four ended up being a
Speaker 2: pretty good compromise because the packers moved up basically treated
Speaker 2: him like a first round pick to be able to
Speaker 2: get him at that spot, but didn't waste much time
Speaker 2: on day two and doing it. I mean, they turned
Speaker 2: in that card pretty quick after acquiring the second pick
Speaker 2: of day two. So he's going to be one man.
Speaker 2: There's a number of these kids, and Darnel Washington is
Speaker 2: one of them too. Where I don't know where they're
Speaker 2: going to go, but as long as they're on the board,
Speaker 2: my eyes are going to be kind of gravitating toward
Speaker 2: their name.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm going to be very curious to see how
Speaker 1: that unfolds. One other spot I want to ask you about.
Speaker 1: We already talked a little bit about the offensive tackles
Speaker 1: in that top group, but do you have a guy
Speaker 1: who's who's a favorite in that bunch that maybe is
Speaker 1: going to intrigue Green Bay in terms of how they
Speaker 1: navigate the first and second rounds of this draft.
Speaker 2: Well, like I've said to you before, the Peter Skronski
Speaker 2: thing is interesting because it depends on how you look
Speaker 2: at his situation because, as I touched on, he has
Speaker 2: shorter arms. But the Packers really like guys that could
Speaker 2: potentially play multiple positions. Scronsky is that guy. I think
Speaker 2: he is athletic enough and talented enough he's going to
Speaker 2: be able to be just fine at right tackle. There's
Speaker 2: guys more I read about him that are just absolutely
Speaker 2: convinced that this kid is going to be a ten
Speaker 2: year start in the NFL at tackle, no questions asked.
Speaker 2: After Saturday night, We're never going to be talking about
Speaker 2: his arm length again. But Paris Johnson's the one I
Speaker 2: have always kind of identified as probably the most ready
Speaker 2: made prospect. I just I like the pedigree. Obviously there's
Speaker 2: a history there of that program, but also the standpoint
Speaker 2: of you can't teach six ' five, you can't teach
Speaker 2: three hundred and ten pounds, and if there is an
Speaker 2: aspect when you look at the guys that have truly
Speaker 2: succeeded in Green Bay at that tackle position, that's kind
Speaker 2: of been the commonality. David Bakhtiari. People thought he was
Speaker 2: too small. David Baktii's height was never a problem. He
Speaker 2: put on a couple pounds. The kid was just fine.
Speaker 2: Brian Blaga was as ready made as they probably come
Speaker 2: in terms of going from Iowa to the NFL. Paris
Speaker 2: is sort of the guy that I look at in
Speaker 2: terms of if you want just a consistent, steady, probably
Speaker 2: guy you can insert on day one and let him fly.
Speaker 2: That's the guy I feel the best of out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and what's interesting if the Packers go that route,
Speaker 1: they don't necessarily need him to step in right away. Yeah,
Speaker 1: try one, right. But that being said, to have that
Speaker 1: type of that type of insurance policy at offensive tackle,
Speaker 1: assuming you're going into the season with Boktiari on the
Speaker 1: left side of yash Nimen on the right side, to
Speaker 1: have that kind of an insurance policy if something happens
Speaker 1: is not a bad spot to be in. I've been before,
Speaker 1: and it's it just when I see six foot five,
Speaker 1: three hundred and thirty pounds and a guy who can
Speaker 1: move like Darnell right from Tennessee, it just it catches
Speaker 1: my eye. I know there are a lot of things
Speaker 1: out there in terms of you know, I don't I
Speaker 1: don't like to read too much into it, but there's
Speaker 1: stuff out there about his attitude and this and that
Speaker 1: and the other thing, and it's like, I'll let the
Speaker 1: scouts sort that out. I don't know if the Packers
Speaker 1: like like this young man or not. But but when
Speaker 1: you when you look at the film and you look
Speaker 1: at what he did in the sec six foot five
Speaker 1: and three thirty and a guy that a guy that
Speaker 1: feels like you know again, you could you could just say,
Speaker 1: all right, here's a here's a right tackle for the
Speaker 1: next decade in the NFL, and you don't have to
Speaker 1: worry about that spot. That always, that always becomes an
Speaker 1: intriguing option to me.
Speaker 2: Last thing I just want to mention too. I know
Speaker 2: sometimes you can run into problems with the height thing,
Speaker 2: and you know, with offensive lineman, Bay Packers have not
Speaker 2: been deterred by that. You look at Caleb Jones and Yashneimen.
Speaker 2: They go and they'll get offensive lineman, they'll teach them
Speaker 2: pad level, they'll be good there.
Speaker 1: Well. Packers drafted a six ' five center in the
Speaker 1: second round. A couple of years ago. I mean, six
Speaker 1: foot five playing center, and you know Josh Myers Is
Speaker 1: is doing his.
Speaker 2: Thing just fine. So yes, So in that idea, Blake
Speaker 2: Freeland from BYU six foot eight, incredible build, a lot
Speaker 2: of frame to work with, you know, only around the
Speaker 2: three hundred pound range. But again, if you're looking at guys,
Speaker 2: and that's what I'm doing here, you know, again, that's
Speaker 2: probably the reason I'm not as high on Skorronski as
Speaker 2: other people, because I feel like the Packers have plenty
Speaker 2: of talent for the interior offensive line. It's more about
Speaker 2: what are they looking at in terms of the future
Speaker 2: at the outside tackle positions. Right, He's another guy that
Speaker 2: kind of fits probably more that Jared Valdeer sort of
Speaker 2: you know, taller, more slender. But if you teach him
Speaker 2: the right fundamentals, he's going to give you a heck
Speaker 2: of a bang for your buck.
Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely a little bit of sponsored business here, West
Speaker 1: and then I just got a couple more questions for you.
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Speaker 1: last questions for you, are the Packers going to draft
Speaker 1: a kicker?
Speaker 2: The more and more the closer we get to the draft.
Speaker 2: Mic again, I don't know what's happening with Mason Crosby,
Speaker 2: but the more convinced I am that Jake Moody is
Speaker 2: going to potentially be a guy that you could pick.
Speaker 2: On day three, I actually was hanging out with a
Speaker 2: good friend of mine, Michael Cohen. You know Michael as well. Yes,
Speaker 2: he got to cover him at Michigan, and he's he
Speaker 2: was pretty convinced that this kid is going to be
Speaker 2: a pretty talented player, has a heck of a leg.
Speaker 2: As recently, I think is probably two weeks ago. In inbox,
Speaker 2: I was writing, I just don't know if anyone's going
Speaker 2: to have a draftable great, I'm not exactly sure. If
Speaker 2: you know, do you I want to spend one of
Speaker 2: the picks on the kicker, but with as many day
Speaker 2: threes as the picks as the Packers do have, Moody's
Speaker 2: the one that'll test it if he's there, if he's available,
Speaker 2: and it makes sense, he was the one I would consider.
Speaker 2: If not him, I'm still not really sold. I'm not sure.
Speaker 2: I Mean, there's some draft alphlets I think that don't
Speaker 2: even have a kicker in the top three hundred on
Speaker 2: their boards. So but but Moody definitely has an NFL
Speaker 2: ag and could potentially be the guy that gets brought in.
Speaker 2: And it's been fifteen years since the sixteen years since
Speaker 2: the Green Bay Packers have drafted a kickers, so eighteen years.
Speaker 2: Mason Crosby's not coming back out of any free agent
Speaker 2: kicker on the market, regardless of the fact he's thirty eight.
Speaker 2: I would still go with Mason Crosby. So if it's
Speaker 2: not going to be Mason, if that if again, we'll
Speaker 2: see what happens. But for me, it's draft or nothing.
Speaker 2: If you're moving on from Mason.
Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, last one for you, Wes, And this
Speaker 1: is kind of a you can take this any direction
Speaker 1: you want to, But come next when we do our
Speaker 1: next show in the early part of next week, and
Speaker 1: we are reviewing the draft? What is the what is
Speaker 1: a topic that is going to be very high on
Speaker 1: the discussion list that we have not necessarily been talking
Speaker 1: a whole heck of a lot about in our pre
Speaker 1: draft episodes here.
Speaker 2: What do you think? Yeah, drafting a quarterback. I think
Speaker 2: that's going to happen over the three days, especially if
Speaker 2: the deal goes down with Rogers. We know the situation
Speaker 2: with the Packers. I've talked at numerous times about how
Speaker 2: I'm not a guy that's typically wanting to just throw
Speaker 2: money at a veteran backup just to have one. I
Speaker 2: like potentially developing a young guy. Who could that be
Speaker 2: because if you look outside of Jordan Love, the Packers
Speaker 2: haven't really dipped into those waters very often and really
Speaker 2: now the last what eight years, So that would be
Speaker 2: the position I'm kind of looking at. Even even when
Speaker 2: terms of undrafted free agency, the Packers haven't signed a
Speaker 2: lot of quarterbacks lately. They've had you know, your Danny
Speaker 2: Ettlings and in some of these veterans that have been
Speaker 2: around a little bit and been the practice squad guy.
Speaker 2: So I'll be it's very interested to see who they
Speaker 2: potentially pick and if they make the decision that Love
Speaker 2: is the guy you're moving on from Aaron Rodgers. Do
Speaker 2: the Packers follow suit to what Ted Thompson did in
Speaker 2: two thousand and eight and actually draft a quarterback in
Speaker 2: those not maybe the first round, but in those earlier
Speaker 2: rounds to see if you have a young guy there
Speaker 2: that you potentially like.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I think the topic we're gonna be
Speaker 1: talking about next week and it's gonna be a lot
Speaker 1: of fun. There's gonna be some confusion with it. And
Speaker 1: when I say confusion, I don't necessarily mean that's a
Speaker 1: bad thing, but I think we're all gonna be trying
Speaker 1: to figure out what are the Packers doing gonna do
Speaker 1: in the secondary, because I think at some point in
Speaker 1: this draft the Packers are going to take a corner
Speaker 1: and they're also going to take a safety. But we're
Speaker 1: gonna be trying to figure out. Okay, so you have
Speaker 1: Alexander and Russeull Douglas on the outside, You brought back
Speaker 1: Keishaan Nixon to play the slot. You have Eric Stokes
Speaker 1: coming back from the injury, and where does he fit?
Speaker 1: And then there might be another cornerback draft pick in
Speaker 1: the mix, and then at safety. Right now, Savage and
Speaker 1: Flour would probably be your two starters based on how
Speaker 1: the roster sits. But if you draft a safety in
Speaker 1: the third or fourth round, is that a guy who
Speaker 1: could legitimately compete, you know, for a starting spot at
Speaker 1: safety or you know, you know as perhaps you know,
Speaker 1: a dime roll or something like that. I think there's
Speaker 1: gonna be a lot of things up in the air
Speaker 1: with regard to just what the Packers' secondary is going
Speaker 1: to look like. And I think it could be some
Speaker 1: some fun discussion because I think I think ultimately the
Speaker 1: Packers are going to have some options there, especially if
Speaker 1: we find out somewhere along the line that all of
Speaker 1: the recovery news with Eric Stokes and coming back to
Speaker 1: you know, to be in that top group of corners
Speaker 1: with this team and be healthy and ready to go.
Speaker 1: If that, if that indeed is the scenario, where.
Speaker 2: Does Brian Branch go in your mind? Because the way
Speaker 2: I look at it is it's kind of like taking,
Speaker 2: like in your fantasy football draft, taking Travis Kelce, where
Speaker 2: you're gonna get, you know, hands down, the top guy
Speaker 2: at that position, but there's going to be depth in
Speaker 2: other areas. Where do you think a team potentially moves
Speaker 2: on him.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm going to say, I'm gonna say it's going
Speaker 1: to be in the bottom in the bottom quarter, you know,
Speaker 1: the last seven to eight picks of the first round.
Speaker 1: I think maybe is where he goes. I think where
Speaker 1: the Packers are sitting in the middle of the first round.
Speaker 1: That just that just feels too rich for for that
Speaker 1: type of selection. Could be wrong, who knows. We never
Speaker 1: know exactly what these teams.
Speaker 2: Are putting on the spot. I was just curious.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, but I think I think a guy like
Speaker 1: that is is a first round pick and a first
Speaker 1: round talent, but it's probably more, you know, the back
Speaker 1: end the last six eight picks of the first round.
Speaker 2: That's just my best guess. Yeah, because it's that. That's
Speaker 2: what I'm most excited to see on Thursday Night, Mike,
Speaker 2: is that we talk about these offensive tackles and these
Speaker 2: quarterbacks and these defensive linemen, edge rushers, tight ends. Somebody
Speaker 2: has to fall and it's always interesting seeing teams play
Speaker 2: that dance in terms of, Okay, we really like these
Speaker 2: type of players, but then now you have the top
Speaker 2: prospects at these positions. The Packers ran into that situation
Speaker 2: in twenty nineteen. Darnell Savage was the first defensive back
Speaker 2: taken in that draft, not safety, first defensive back taken
Speaker 2: in that draft, and always trying to figure out exactly
Speaker 2: where those boards are gonna fall. Can't wait to see it.
Speaker 2: It's gonna be a night other exciting NFL draft.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, rest up the rest of this week, Weston,
Speaker 1: because come Thursday night, Friday night, and all day Saturday,
Speaker 1: we got some long nights and some long days ahead.
Speaker 1: But it should be fun. It's the most important three
Speaker 1: days of any off season for the Green Bay Packers,
Speaker 1: so we certainly get geared up for it every year.
Speaker 1: With that, we'll call it a wrap on this edition
Speaker 1: of Packers Unscripted. We will be back with more episodes
Speaker 1: following the draft to review all the picks and resume
Speaker 1: all of these discussions. So for Wes, I am Mike,
Speaker 1: thank you for tuning in. Everybody.
Speaker 2: We'll see you next time.