Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spuffer, joined as always by my trusted
Speaker 1: colleague Wes Hodkoitz. Coming to you here from our studios
Speaker 1: at lambeau Field. Back on the air West Packers Unscripted
Speaker 1: as back, and this is a somewhat historic episode of sorts.
Speaker 1: And I will let you explain what I mean by that.
Speaker 2: Well. First and foremost, big thank you to our producer
Speaker 2: behind the cameras here, Craig Schilbauer, our noble leader who
Speaker 2: is stepping in because Matt Arvin effectually known as Arvin Marvin,
Speaker 2: I should say mo name right. Matt was with us
Speaker 2: for the first nine seasons of Packers Unscripted in some
Speaker 2: shape or form. Obviously, Zach Budd did a tremendous job
Speaker 2: this past year as our producer as well. Matt moved
Speaker 2: on to a new phase of his life, going back
Speaker 2: home to Michigan. We miss him dearly here at lambeau Field.
Speaker 2: We press on without him, but Michael, you and I
Speaker 2: ten seasons now of Packers on SCRIPTA going in. We're
Speaker 2: not with Marv, but he is with us in spirit.
Speaker 1: He absolutely is. And we'll have to get his critique
Speaker 1: of his boss. Craig's a first producer run at our
Speaker 1: fancy little show here. But boy, we have a lot
Speaker 1: to talk about, a lot of ground to cover because
Speaker 1: we did take a bit longer break than we normally do.
Speaker 1: But before we dive into everything that's been going on
Speaker 1: in the off season here, I just have to get
Speaker 1: your thoughts because it really was a to this point,
Speaker 1: once in a lifetime and hopefully not much more than
Speaker 1: a once in a generation type of thing. But green
Speaker 1: Bay hosting the NFL Draft. All I'll say to start
Speaker 1: off is that I think everything about it exceeded the
Speaker 1: expectations that anyone could have had. It was absolutely tremendous.
Speaker 1: It was phenomenal in every respect, not only for the
Speaker 1: local team, but for the entire production. I like to
Speaker 1: call it now the NFL's traveling road show. I mean,
Speaker 1: that really is what the NFL Draft is. And I
Speaker 1: thought the city of Green Bay, the fans, and everybody
Speaker 1: in this organization outside this organization that was involved in
Speaker 1: it absolutely hit it out of the park.
Speaker 2: Mike, you and I could fill an entire episode of
Speaker 2: Packers unscripted. Just giving kudos to the men and women
Speaker 2: of this organization, discover Green Bay, everybody in the community
Speaker 2: that made this thing happen. In my wildest dreams, Michael,
Speaker 2: I don't think I could have envisioned a scenario in
Speaker 2: which the NFL Draft would have been any better than
Speaker 2: what we had in Green Bay. Certainly, there were the
Speaker 2: theatrics on the stage. Two Packer players end up walking,
Speaker 2: two future Packers end up walking across that stage and
Speaker 2: embracing Roger Goodell. But the alumni that were involved, just
Speaker 2: the amount of people, six hundred thousand people over the
Speaker 2: three days, blowing the roof off of what the expectations
Speaker 2: were in terms of how many folks were going to
Speaker 2: be coming out here. I was chatting with people. I'll
Speaker 2: never forget this. On Thursday afternoon, I was eating my
Speaker 2: lunch inside a little common you know, promenade area, our
Speaker 2: little commissary if you will, okay, and people were coming
Speaker 2: up to me saying, Mandy, do you think folks will
Speaker 2: show up? Like? What is this going to be like?
Speaker 2: Is it going to look empty? Because you have the
Speaker 2: title town, the lambeau Field, the Rest Center campus, And
Speaker 2: I remember within hours of looking out at that same
Speaker 2: area as that sea of people is out there in
Speaker 2: the draft theater and in the general missionary behind it.
Speaker 2: I could not have thought of a better experience. My
Speaker 2: son was able to come down and check it out
Speaker 2: a little bit. So many tremendous people involved in it,
Speaker 2: and I didn't want to jinx it over the three days,
Speaker 2: but I remember talking with our VP of security, Doug Collins,
Speaker 2: a huge credit to him and his staff for everything
Speaker 2: they did, and telling him I'm like, I could not
Speaker 2: have envisioned this going off any better than it did,
Speaker 2: and hopefully we will see it here on someday.
Speaker 1: That shot, the panoramic overhead type shot, if you will,
Speaker 1: of the stage, the crowd on the Lambeufield Grounds, whether
Speaker 1: you're shooting it with the stadium in the background or
Speaker 1: with the stage as the background, whichever angle that shot
Speaker 1: is going to, that picture will go down as an
Speaker 1: iconic image in the history of this city and in
Speaker 1: the history of the state, quite frankly, the entire state
Speaker 1: of Wisconsin.
Speaker 2: It was.
Speaker 1: It was absolutely tremendous. But we have so much Packers
Speaker 1: football to talk about. There is so much that has
Speaker 1: happened since we last signed off free agency the draft.
Speaker 1: Here's what I want to do. I think this is
Speaker 1: the this is the best way to break it down here,
Speaker 1: the boss get it to try to get it into
Speaker 1: one show here, and then we'll see where our shows
Speaker 1: the rest of the spring go from there. But when
Speaker 1: you look at what happened with the Packers in free
Speaker 1: agency and in the draft combined, for me, it breaks
Speaker 1: down down into four position groups looking extremely different compared
Speaker 1: to where the Packers were at the end of last season.
Speaker 1: Two positions on offense, two positions on defense. So I
Speaker 1: want to start on the offensive side because to me,
Speaker 1: those two positions are wide receiver and offensive line. I'll
Speaker 1: let you choose which one you want to go with first,
Speaker 1: but I think those are the two position groups on
Speaker 1: the offensive side of the ball that are undergoing the
Speaker 1: most transition here as the Packers go from twenty twenty
Speaker 1: four into twenty twenty.
Speaker 2: Five one thousand percent, And realistically, when you look at quarterback,
Speaker 2: running back, tight end, it's pretty much the same outlook
Speaker 2: at all those positions. So it's sort of this dichotomy
Speaker 2: between some pretty draft drastic shifts and pretty much business
Speaker 2: as usual. Packers at the time in which we're taping
Speaker 2: this haven't even added another quarterback to that room since
Speaker 2: the end of the season, So be that as it may.
Speaker 2: I will take over with the offensive line here. And
Speaker 2: the main reason I'll do that is I felt like
Speaker 2: this was the first Domino that really fit well with
Speaker 2: the Packers offseason in how the thing's set up for them.
Speaker 2: In the draft, ye, Aaron Banks is signed. He's brought
Speaker 2: in left guard from the San Francisco forty nine ers,
Speaker 2: big bruising, mauling type guard. That shift though, ends up
Speaker 2: moving Elton Jenkins to center as Josh Myers now goes
Speaker 2: and signs with the New York Jets. So a huge
Speaker 2: seismic change that I remember being. We were talking about
Speaker 2: this at the NFL owners meetings and there were some
Speaker 2: rumblings about could Elton be moving to center? And Brian
Speaker 2: Goudikuntz and Matt Lafour both said when we were down
Speaker 2: at West Palm Beach, they feel like he can be
Speaker 2: an all pro there and he's been a two time
Speaker 2: Pro Bowl left guard, a selfless guy, a guy that
Speaker 2: has done everything the Packers have asked of him throughout
Speaker 2: these first six years that he's been in Green Bay. Well,
Speaker 2: now he's going to make this move back to center,
Speaker 2: where he was an All SEC type player there at
Speaker 2: Mississippi State before he got drafted by the Packers in
Speaker 2: the second round. Then you have Aaron Banks, and I
Speaker 2: just I'm thinking in my head about what this interior
Speaker 2: line could look like because it is you know, Sean
Speaker 2: Ryan or Jordan Morgan are now Anthony Belton who was
Speaker 2: added the Packers' interior. That line is going to be
Speaker 2: about as big as I can ever recall height and
Speaker 2: mass wise. I mean, these are big, big dudes that
Speaker 2: are gonna be clogging up the middle of that area
Speaker 2: and trying to, you know, create some space there for
Speaker 2: Josh Shacobs. So deeper, stronger, and more athletic. I think
Speaker 2: is sort of the overall feel of this group now
Speaker 2: that Belton's been added in the second round and the
Speaker 2: Packers got really fortunate last year, Michael and that they
Speaker 2: didn't have a huge injury on the offensive line up
Speaker 2: until Elton in the playoffs in that game against Philadelphia.
Speaker 2: Other than just Jordan Morgan's shoulder issues, most of that
Speaker 2: line started together all season. Other than I think Josh
Speaker 2: Myers missed one game with a wrist, so you can't
Speaker 2: always count on that so whether it's the competition that's
Speaker 2: going to push that group forward for the starting five
Speaker 2: in training camp or the guys who might step up
Speaker 2: if somebody does go down, I think Brian Goodikutz has
Speaker 2: done a really good job of fortifying that group and
Speaker 2: giving Matt Lefluor and that coaching staff a lot of options.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and we'll have to see. A second round pick
Speaker 1: was invested in Anthony Belton, as you mentioned, massive three
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty five pound offensive tackle from NC State.
Speaker 1: We'll see probably when we get to OTAs where exactly
Speaker 1: the Packers are going to begin his NFL journey and
Speaker 1: where he'll be competing to crack the lineup, whether that
Speaker 1: be at tackle or guard. They feel really good about
Speaker 1: his ability to play tackle or guard on either side
Speaker 1: of the line of scrimmage. The other piece of offensive
Speaker 1: line news that we got this offseason is both Brian
Speaker 1: Gudukunst and Matt Lefuur have mentioned that Jordan Morgan, last
Speaker 1: year's first round draft pick whose rookie season unfortunately was
Speaker 1: cut short by the shoulder injury which required surgery, and
Speaker 1: he's been in the recovery process there by all accounts
Speaker 1: going well, but he not only will be competing with
Speaker 1: Sean Ryan at right guard, which is where he started,
Speaker 1: which is where he began his NFL journey last year
Speaker 1: as that rookie first round pick, but he's also going
Speaker 1: to be competing with Rashid Walker at left tackle. So
Speaker 1: Rashid Walker entering a contract year, he'll be a fourth
Speaker 1: year player this year, a previous seventh round pick who
Speaker 1: has stepped in at left tackle and done a yeoman's job,
Speaker 1: as they say, with not only in the run game,
Speaker 1: but protecting Jordan Love's blindside. But now last year's first
Speaker 1: round pick is going to be competing with Walker at
Speaker 1: left tackle. So with Belton in the mix, and then
Speaker 1: Morgan maybe competing at left tackle or right guard, it's
Speaker 1: going to be interesting to see just where things are
Speaker 1: at the start of training camp, when the pads go on,
Speaker 1: but then also where training camp finishes and when the
Speaker 1: Packers are really getting ready for that Week one lineup
Speaker 1: in September.
Speaker 2: For sure, and they obviously we've seen it with Jenkins,
Speaker 2: You've seen it with Zach Tom There's versatility, there's guys
Speaker 2: you can move around depending on how injuries shake out.
Speaker 2: But realistically, I think one of the things that Packers
Speaker 2: got really fourtune with last year is that Rashid Walker
Speaker 2: did get through the whole season fine, you know, starting
Speaker 2: all those games and being available, but it isn't always
Speaker 2: going to work out that way. And you saw what
Speaker 2: happened with David Bakhtiari when he had his injury and
Speaker 2: the in the knee that just kind of kept lingering
Speaker 2: and lingering and lingering. You need to have a plan
Speaker 2: be available to them. So not only is Morgan gonna
Speaker 2: be a guy that pushes Walker for that job, but
Speaker 2: as Walker enters the last year of his rookie contract,
Speaker 2: Tom at this point entering the last year of his
Speaker 2: rookie contract, it's things that Packers have to keep an
Speaker 2: eye on too as far as the future is concerned
Speaker 2: with both Morgan and Belton potentially being involved with those
Speaker 2: positions as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well at the wide receiver position. The other one
Speaker 1: to discuss here on offense, it's, uh, we we've sat
Speaker 1: here over the years many many times during the spring
Speaker 1: during the summer talking about wide receiver competitions and it's
Speaker 1: a it's an annual rite of passage in Green Bay
Speaker 1: that that there is always competition in that room. But
Speaker 1: I'm telling you, Wes, I don't know if the com
Speaker 1: petition is going to be any fiercer than it will
Speaker 1: be this summer. Because while the Packers will be waiting
Speaker 1: for later in the fall when Christian Watson comes back
Speaker 1: from his knee rehab, which by all accounts so far
Speaker 1: is going well, and that's all good to hear, but
Speaker 1: you've got Jaden Reid, Romeo Dobbs, Dantavian Wicks coming back.
Speaker 1: The Packers have added a first round pick in Matthew Golden,
Speaker 1: a third round pick in Savion Williams to that mix.
Speaker 1: You've also you're also returning Bow Melton and Malie Heath,
Speaker 1: guys who have you know, They've had their ups and
Speaker 1: downs in terms of practice, squad, active roster, but we've
Speaker 1: seen them play and contribute to Matt Lafleur's offense, and
Speaker 1: they've caught passes from Jordan Love in some big situations.
Speaker 1: And then Mkole Hardman was added from Kansas City as
Speaker 1: a free agent wide receiver possible return man. You know,
Speaker 1: we'll see how that sorts itself out. But wow, I mean,
Speaker 1: the the collection of guys there with the potential. I
Speaker 1: guess you'd call it the trading deadline acquisition. Down the
Speaker 1: road of Christian Watson re entering that room when he
Speaker 1: gets healthy. This wide receiver position is going to be
Speaker 1: something to watch right from day one of OTA is
Speaker 1: quite frankly.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I'm sure Jason Vrabel is a kid in
Speaker 2: the candy stop right with all these guys, and obviously
Speaker 2: Ryan Mahaffey in that room too, and so many guys
Speaker 2: you can develop out of this. And certainly you know,
Speaker 2: first and foremost you have Dobbs, you have read obviously
Speaker 2: as you mentioned, you know Melton wicks Heath, all these
Speaker 2: guys are still young, They're still developing and still looking
Speaker 2: for those breakout type years. But being able to put
Speaker 2: in a first round pick the first time in twenty
Speaker 2: three years the Packers have drafted a receiver in the
Speaker 2: first round. Some would be with Golden's just prodigious speed,
Speaker 2: a guy that is not just four to nine fast,
Speaker 2: but also ran the fastest ten yards split. I mean,
Speaker 2: this guy's quick as well. Yeah, at his size, being
Speaker 2: able to master the rout tree. And I think the
Speaker 2: thing that has impressed me the most, Mike, and you
Speaker 2: and I have continually talked about this in the weeks
Speaker 2: after the draft here. But this is a guy that
Speaker 2: challenged himself. He was at Houston, he goes to Texas
Speaker 2: and his stats get even better. This is a guy
Speaker 2: that came on really strong for the Longhorns the second
Speaker 2: half of last season because nothing was given to him
Speaker 2: early on. As soon as he made that transfer. That
Speaker 2: was a team that was competing for a national championship.
Speaker 2: They already had a lot of talent on that roster
Speaker 2: before he got there. And then, saveon Williams, you and
Speaker 2: I saw him at the rookie mini camp and the
Speaker 2: Packers they weren't throwing passes, we weren't running elaborate routes.
Speaker 2: But this guy six four six, two hundred and twenty pounds.
Speaker 2: The comment was made on the sideline amongst the reporters.
Speaker 2: I mean, he is a grown man, and when you
Speaker 2: still run in the four fours at that size, and
Speaker 2: certainly there's some some wrinkles to iron out a little
Speaker 2: bit with his game. There were some drops and things
Speaker 2: like that at TCU, but all around, I mean, you
Speaker 2: look at what the horn Frogs did. They wanted to
Speaker 2: feed him the football, however, they needed to get into him.
Speaker 2: The guy threw a pass last season. I mean, this
Speaker 2: is a playmaker. And when you're looking at guys from
Speaker 2: that level of football and you have these type of
Speaker 2: programs building and tailoring their offenses around them, it shows
Speaker 2: you that the raw talent is there and for Matt
Speaker 2: Lafleur and that coaching staff to be able to develop
Speaker 2: this and build game plans around it. I think the
Speaker 2: most dangerous thing about this offense, and we said it
Speaker 2: last year, but it's still true, is that on any
Speaker 2: given down, you don't know which three or four receivers
Speaker 2: you're going to see and how they could be utilized,
Speaker 2: and that is a ultimate weapon for an offense. Yeah.
Speaker 1: A couple of things that I'll say about the guys,
Speaker 1: the two draft picks being added to the mix, Saveon Williams.
Speaker 1: You mentioned the six four, two twenty, And when we
Speaker 1: got our first chance to talk to the draft picks
Speaker 1: in person on last Friday during the rookie mini camp,
Speaker 1: I was in the group of reporters that that was
Speaker 1: around Saveon Williams, and I was basically standing right next
Speaker 1: to him, and it sort of hit me that it's like, boy,
Speaker 1: I mean, not that Jordi Nelson was a small guy.
Speaker 1: Not that James Jones was a small guy, but standing
Speaker 1: next to a wide receiver who's six four two twenty,
Speaker 1: it's like, Okay, this is a different type of football
Speaker 1: player here. This is a different type of offensive weapon
Speaker 1: than what the Packers normally bring in. And I think
Speaker 1: in a lot of ways, the same can be said
Speaker 1: for Matthew Golden, because, as Matt Lafleur said after the draft,
Speaker 1: you can't coach four two nine, right, I mean, that's
Speaker 1: just that's what he has, that's what he brings to
Speaker 1: the table. But the really interesting thing too with Golden
Speaker 1: is that that Texas team was bringing in two fairly
Speaker 1: highly touted transfer receivers from the portal for twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: It was Matthew Golden coming from Houston and it was
Speaker 1: Isaiah Bond. I believe is the name coming from Alabama? Well,
Speaker 1: Houston or Alabama. Which guy is going to get more
Speaker 1: attention coming in from the transfer portal? It's the guy
Speaker 1: from Alabama, right. But eventually who was the guy who
Speaker 1: became the number one target for the Texas Longhorns. It
Speaker 1: was Matthew Golden. His production, the stats, the numbers, all
Speaker 1: of that bore that out, So a lot of excitement
Speaker 1: obviously about what both of those guys can bring to
Speaker 1: the table. Two receivers we've seen Brian Goodakunz double up
Speaker 1: at positions in the draft before, but two very very
Speaker 1: different receivers in different offensive weapons being thrown into the
Speaker 1: mix here.
Speaker 2: And if you want to, I'm not saying you have to,
Speaker 2: but one member of the Packers media corps did say
Speaker 2: that Matthew Golden was going to be the pick.
Speaker 1: I know I was gonna. I was gonna let you
Speaker 1: brag about yourself. You called it, you called it, he
Speaker 1: was your pick. But first time in well, first time
Speaker 1: in twenty three years, the Packers drafted receiver in the
Speaker 1: first round.
Speaker 2: First time in twelve years.
Speaker 1: That you've been correct because I actually called, although I
Speaker 1: have to say I was wrong because the Packers ended
Speaker 1: up taking him in the second round. But I called
Speaker 1: the Christian Watson pick a few years ago. The Packers
Speaker 1: ended up getting him at the top of the second
Speaker 1: round rather than taking him with one of their first
Speaker 1: one of their two first round picks that year. But
Speaker 1: that was the receiver that I actually pegged, and I
Speaker 1: got it right, even though it was in the second round.
Speaker 1: But congrats to you on nailing the Golden No.
Speaker 2: And be serious about that though for a second. The
Speaker 2: reason why is that the more you learn about this guy,
Speaker 2: and we've gotten a chance to talk to him now
Speaker 2: a couple of times, and reading his backstory and where
Speaker 2: he comes from in Houston, where it is you know,
Speaker 2: he's from that area of Texas. He stayed home when
Speaker 2: he originally went played at Houston for two years.
Speaker 1: Went to TCU on a visit and savee On Williams
Speaker 1: was the was the player who was hosting him on
Speaker 1: his recruiting visit. Ultimately didn't choose TCU, but he goes
Speaker 1: back a little ways with Savian.
Speaker 2: Small football world. But I mean, this kid has a
Speaker 2: lot of motivation, uh in Golden and being able to
Speaker 2: see him and obviously he's talked about wanted to get
Speaker 2: his grandmother's house back something. It sounds like those wheels
Speaker 2: have already started turning. It's been abandoned since it was
Speaker 2: taken away from his family, So that's something they should
Speaker 2: be able to work out. But then also just you know,
Speaker 2: he wears two for his grandma, and you know, listening
Speaker 2: to his stories about his mother and then those two
Speaker 2: kind of raising him. It gives you a lot of
Speaker 2: reason to pull for this young man. And certainly once
Speaker 2: you see him on the field, I mean, this guy's different,
Speaker 2: and I think Packer fans are going to see that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, we do need to move on to the
Speaker 1: defensive side of the ball, and we'll do so right
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Speaker 1: Cousin Subs fifty plus years of better. All right, defensive
Speaker 1: side the two positions obviously that are gonna look different
Speaker 1: here in twenty twenty five, the defensive line and cornerback
Speaker 1: for Green Bay might as well start on the defensive line.
Speaker 1: And this is sort of the thing I've been throwing
Speaker 1: it out there, whether it's an inbox or some other
Speaker 1: radio shows I've been on. To me, the most interesting thing,
Speaker 1: because I know there's been all the talk about the
Speaker 1: pass rush, because yes, the Packers finished eighth in sacks
Speaker 1: last year, but the pass rush wasn't good enough against
Speaker 1: the Vikings and the Lions and the Eagles when they
Speaker 1: needed it. There was all this inconsistency, which Brian Gudukuns
Speaker 1: and Matt Lefluur have acknowledged. So there's been all this
Speaker 1: focus on what are the Packers going to do about
Speaker 1: their pass rush going into twenty twenty five. To me,
Speaker 1: the larger question, or the next question after that, is
Speaker 1: can the Packers improve the consistency and the reliability of
Speaker 1: the pass rush without sacrificing the run defense because the
Speaker 1: run defense had its highest league ranking in fifteen years
Speaker 1: for the Packers last year since two thousand and nine
Speaker 1: when Dom Capers was in his first year as coordinator.
Speaker 1: Jeff Haffley's first year as coordinator, the Packers run defense
Speaker 1: was one of the top six or seven in the league.
Speaker 1: So you need to do something about the pass rush,
Speaker 1: which they spent fourth and fifth round draft picks and
Speaker 1: sixth round and a sixth round draft pick for that matter.
Speaker 1: But can you change things up and get some more
Speaker 1: improvement and reliability and everything there with the pass rush
Speaker 1: without sacrificing the run defense. I think that's the question
Speaker 1: that lingers.
Speaker 2: That's the number one thing the Packers have to do,
Speaker 2: and they also have to do it without TJ. Slayton, right,
Speaker 2: And if you go back to the twenty twenty one draft,
Speaker 2: I think that was probably the best bang for your
Speaker 2: buck pick the Packers got with getting Slaton in the
Speaker 2: fifth round. YEP, a guy that I think a lot
Speaker 2: of people at Florida were kind of hoping he was
Speaker 2: going to go back for that senior year. He comes
Speaker 2: out early, and to his credit, this is a guy
Speaker 2: that had incredible physical gifts and really became an all
Speaker 2: around football player by the time his time ended there.
Speaker 2: It was interesting to me just seeing and obviously now
Speaker 2: he's gone and signed with the Cincinnati Bengals, But you know,
Speaker 2: there were people that were talking about some of these
Speaker 2: first round defensive linemen and they were drawing comparisons. Lan
Speaker 2: Zerline had comparisons. I forget which exactly guy was, but
Speaker 2: said that his player comp was TJ. Slayton. So while
Speaker 2: he's not the biggest name, he is a big void
Speaker 2: for this Packer's defense and how they go about replacing
Speaker 2: him is gonna be very critical. Now that being said,
Speaker 2: TJ wasn't the biggest pass rushing threat that we've ever
Speaker 2: seen in a Green and Gold uniform. That's where I
Speaker 2: think the Packers are trying to find this balance because
Speaker 2: it's an interior game and an it's an exterior game.
Speaker 2: It's with those edge rushers as well. How do you
Speaker 2: incorporate guys like Edgrin Cooper being able to use the
Speaker 2: athleticism of a Kway Walker get those guys involved. I mean,
Speaker 2: I think Isaiah McDuffie had a half sacked last season.
Speaker 2: I mean, Jeff Hafley cooked up some really interesting schemes
Speaker 2: utilizing slot cornerbacks and inside linebackers. But at the end
Speaker 2: of the day, when the blueprint was drawn up last offseason,
Speaker 2: it was about trying to get pressure with four. It
Speaker 2: was about trying to maximize what they have and being
Speaker 2: able to play back in some coverage and they had
Speaker 2: to sort of mix that up. So very interested to
Speaker 2: one figure out what the identity of this year's defense
Speaker 2: is going to be into how the edge rushers and
Speaker 2: the pass rushers are going to be incorporated into that.
Speaker 2: Certainly we've heard it time and time again this offseason
Speaker 2: Lucas Vanessas said it himself. I mean, everybody's expecting big
Speaker 2: things from the former first round pick, where Shan Gary
Speaker 2: I thought came on really well at the end of
Speaker 2: last season, kingsleyan Igbari certainly, Brenton Cox Junior was kind
Speaker 2: of a revelation during the second half the season finishes
Speaker 2: with four sacks. And now you look at what they
Speaker 2: did on Day three, those first two picks of Day three,
Speaker 2: when you had Baron Serell out of Texas and Colin
Speaker 2: Oliver out of Oklahoma State, two very different pass rushers,
Speaker 2: two very different body types, but guys that the Packers
Speaker 2: hope could potentially contribute to this rotation. Huge expectations on
Speaker 2: that group this season, and I would imagine once we
Speaker 2: get to training camp, probably the biggest microscopes will be
Speaker 2: looking at that defensive front.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm very intrigued, not to say that I'm
Speaker 1: not intrigued with Baron Sirell and what he might do.
Speaker 1: And we could probably do an entire show on everything
Speaker 1: that went down in the fourth round on that Saturday
Speaker 1: afternoon when he was selected. But I'm very interested to
Speaker 1: see what Jeff Halfley does with a pass rusher like
Speaker 1: Colin Oliver two hundred and forty pounder. He's only ten
Speaker 1: pounds heavier than Edger and Cooper who's an off ball linebacker.
Speaker 1: And Oliver was drafted in the fifth round. The Packers
Speaker 1: felt the value was there with him because as an
Speaker 1: undersized edge rusher, he can also play off ball linebacker
Speaker 1: if you need him to. But Jeff Halflee in that
Speaker 1: first year, for all the different things that he tried,
Speaker 1: the Packers didn't really have somebody whose position is edge rusher,
Speaker 1: but who is a speed guy, A pure speed guy.
Speaker 1: He's undersized. He's not going to be out there on
Speaker 1: the edge to defend the run. That's for Sean Gary
Speaker 1: and Lucas Fanessa's job. Those are the edge guys that
Speaker 1: are the two hundred and seventy plus pounds Colin Oliver
Speaker 1: having that designated speed rusher coming off the edge. I'm
Speaker 1: really interested to see what Halfley ends up doing with
Speaker 1: him and where his creativity goes in that regard. And
Speaker 1: then in the sixth round you bring in Warren Brinson,
Speaker 1: the defensive tackle, interior defensive lineman from Georgia. He'll be,
Speaker 1: you know, at times, you know, lining up next to
Speaker 1: Devonte Wyatt, who, for as much as everybody talks about
Speaker 1: Lucas Faness and Rashan Gary and trying to continue the
Speaker 1: growth and the upward trajectory, Davonte Wyatt is a guy
Speaker 1: who looked like he was headed there last year and
Speaker 1: then a pretty nasty ankle injury kind of threw his
Speaker 1: whole season, you know, off the rails, so to speak.
Speaker 1: And he came back, but he wasn't the same guy.
Speaker 1: And then it took a while to really get fully
Speaker 1: healthy again. And then we started to see it again
Speaker 1: like a little bit more when he was fully past
Speaker 1: the ankle injury. But Davonte Wyatt is a guy that,
Speaker 1: especially as a former first round pick, just like Lucas
Speaker 1: van Ness, they're going to be counting on to be
Speaker 1: that two way defender on the interior the defensive line
Speaker 1: against the run and getting after the quarter.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and why it affects a football game, ban I
Speaker 2: mean when he is healthy. I mean the guy has
Speaker 2: now I think ten and a half sacks the last
Speaker 2: two seasons, and that's not even on a full bandwidth
Speaker 2: of games and snaps. He's emerging and I think you
Speaker 2: can see that, and you know, listening to some of
Speaker 2: these guys. I know Kenny Clark has talked about the
Speaker 2: excitement about wide and where his career is heading right now.
Speaker 2: But at the same time, they can't all be just
Speaker 2: jet rushers, right. You need guys that are gonna be
Speaker 2: space eaters, two gappers, guys that are going to be
Speaker 2: able to clog up against the run. And watching the
Speaker 2: film of Brinson, who is a very selfless player at Georgie,
Speaker 2: I mean, this guy started eight games his entire career.
Speaker 2: They're played in almost I think maybe more than fifty
Speaker 2: fifty six something like that, but only started eight, but
Speaker 2: in terms of their rotation was so critical to what
Speaker 2: they did. And when you look at his body type
Speaker 2: Mike six foot five and that three ten pound range,
Speaker 2: that is more of the defensive lineman that the Packers
Speaker 2: have sort of manifested and developed over the last few years.
Speaker 2: You haven't always had just the three hundred and forty
Speaker 2: pound run stuffers like Slayton. So I think he'll fit
Speaker 2: really well into the idea of what Green Bay wants
Speaker 2: to do. But certainly getting hopefully a healthy Kenny Clark,
Speaker 2: a healthy DeVante Wyatt, it's gonna be really critical to
Speaker 2: what the Packers can do up front, all.
Speaker 1: Right, one more position to address today and then we'll
Speaker 1: call it a day for now. Cornerback is a position
Speaker 1: that has undergone a lot of personnel change, and we
Speaker 1: still don't know at this point what exactly is going
Speaker 1: to happen with JayR Alexander. It's been it's it's been
Speaker 1: an ongoing story throughout the off season with no updates
Speaker 1: as to where this is. So we set aside jay
Speaker 1: R Alexander for right now. But personnel wise, the Packers
Speaker 1: did not bring back Eric Stokes, Corey Ballentine, or Robert Rochelle.
Speaker 1: That's a lot of depth in the cornerback room that
Speaker 1: left big free agent signing in Nate Hobbs coming in
Speaker 1: almost like in some ways like the second coming of
Speaker 1: Keishawn Nixon from the standpoint of a guy who has
Speaker 1: played a lot of slot cornerback, but the Packers also
Speaker 1: believe he can play boundary cornerback on a regular basis.
Speaker 1: Nixon proved last year that he could play both spots,
Speaker 1: he could move to the outside and certainly hold his
Speaker 1: own and then the one I guess I would say
Speaker 1: almost two editions in the draft, the seventh round pick
Speaker 1: and Michael Robinson and then Jonathan Baldwin coming in from UNLV,
Speaker 1: A guy that most folks figured was going to be
Speaker 1: drafted ended up being undrafted and and the Packers got him.
Speaker 1: Kind Of one of those guys at the top of
Speaker 1: the UDFA class will be another guy in the cornerback
Speaker 1: room as some of this personnel turnover happens.
Speaker 2: You know, Brian Goodkuins is not like comparisons with players,
Speaker 2: but I'm going to offer one with Hobbs. To me,
Speaker 2: this is the quintessential Zadarias Smith type signing, where the
Speaker 2: Packers see something in him that maybe wasn't all there
Speaker 2: on film, but it was enough to entice him to
Speaker 2: think that this guy could be something really special. Zadarius Smith,
Speaker 2: when they signed him, had only started eight games the
Speaker 2: previous year with Baltimore. He was seeing more or as
Speaker 2: that pass rushing specialist. The Packers saw him as an
Speaker 2: every down defender, the guy that could potentially affect the game,
Speaker 2: in which he did for those first two seasons. Nate
Speaker 2: Hobbs is in the similar light. Most of his workload,
Speaker 2: most of his playing time came inside. But when you
Speaker 2: look at the fact that he was as physical as
Speaker 2: he was, and he didn't really rack up very many
Speaker 2: penalties at all while operating in a position where you
Speaker 2: are constantly under a microscope. Green Bay sees him as
Speaker 2: having the size and the speed to be able to
Speaker 2: play outside too. So whether or not you want to
Speaker 2: travel certain guys with receivers, whether or not you just
Speaker 2: want to play boundary, or whether it's just a situation
Speaker 2: where you got to have five healthy players in depending
Speaker 2: on who's available, you can move him around. Hobbs gives
Speaker 2: you that type of versatility and that type of latitude.
Speaker 2: I love everything that he's about. When again, when you
Speaker 2: listen to his story, where he's come from and motivation
Speaker 2: that has put him to this spot, this is a
Speaker 2: guy that absolutely positively wants to be the best cornerback
Speaker 2: in the league, and he feels like he has the
Speaker 2: ability to do it. Now. That being said, there's a
Speaker 2: huge question mark there with jy r lexand but I
Speaker 2: feel like this particular year's team is better equipped to
Speaker 2: handle whether twenty three is there or whether twenty three
Speaker 2: is not. You've seen Carrington Valentine and how he's played.
Speaker 2: I thought he came on really strong last year after
Speaker 2: having those hamstring issues.
Speaker 1: I say, when he finally got healthy, you know, we
Speaker 1: saw the Carrington. We saw the progression of a Carrington
Speaker 1: Valentine in year two that we were thinking we were
Speaker 1: going to see from the beginning, but he wasn't healthy
Speaker 1: enough to show it.
Speaker 2: Ballhawk confident, everything you want to see. And when you
Speaker 2: talk about seventh round picks, late round developing cornerbacks, these
Speaker 2: are the type of guys Green Bay has had success
Speaker 2: with a lot of tools in extremely young You know,
Speaker 2: Max Harriston from Kentucky this year was I think in
Speaker 2: the being a first round pick, people were talking about
Speaker 2: him as potentially a Packers guy. Him and Carrington are
Speaker 2: the same age. They're both I think two thousand and
Speaker 2: three birth years. Okay, I mean that just shows you.
Speaker 2: I mean Carrington was the youngest guy on this roster
Speaker 2: his rookie season two years ago, still a lot ahead
Speaker 2: of him. I think Keyshaw Nixon proved a lot of
Speaker 2: people wrong last year that he could play inside outside.
Speaker 2: The guys led the Secondari's led the cornerback room and
Speaker 2: playing time the last two seasons. Oh and then, by
Speaker 2: the way, you still have Xavier McKinney on the back
Speaker 2: end with this thing with an all PFWA safety in
Speaker 2: Evan Williams and check this a second round pick and
Speaker 2: Jevon Bullard who can also play the slot. So the
Speaker 2: Packers have built this room out to a point where
Speaker 2: I feel like they can handle whatever ebbs and flows
Speaker 2: are going to be thrown at them. But I think
Speaker 2: a lot of that did start with Nate Hobbs and
Speaker 2: is one of those projection signings that Brian Goodikuntz has
Speaker 2: had a lot of success with.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I like what you say what you said about
Speaker 1: the Hobbs signing, because when it comes to the draft,
Speaker 1: we talk all the time about how it's a crystal
Speaker 1: ball business and it's about making the investment based on
Speaker 1: the projection of what you feel the player is going
Speaker 1: to become. The free agent investment in Nate Hobbs is
Speaker 1: the Packers making a projection as to what they believe
Speaker 1: he can become because he's, even though he is a
Speaker 1: fifty year player at this point, he is not a
Speaker 1: finished product. And the Packers feel that he's got his
Speaker 1: best football ahead of him and they're going to try
Speaker 1: to capture that here in Green Bay.
Speaker 2: And like Xavier McKinney last year, who signed at twenty
Speaker 2: four years old as an unrestricted free agent. Nate Hobbs
Speaker 2: signs with the Packers this year as a twenty five
Speaker 2: year old unrestricted for agent, so still very much his
Speaker 2: best years ahead of him.
Speaker 1: Absolutely well, with that, we will call it a rap
Speaker 1: on this edition, this comeback edition of Packers Unscript. I'd
Speaker 1: be sure to follow all of our coverage of the
Speaker 1: team on Packers dot com and as the spring goes
Speaker 1: on here, we are going to do our best to
Speaker 1: stick with our two shows a week, hopefully through the
Speaker 1: end of the Packers offseason program, which would be when
Speaker 1: we get to that mandatory mini camp in the middle
Speaker 1: of June, and then we'll take another break before we
Speaker 1: come back for training camp. But with that for Wes,
Speaker 1: I am Mike, thank you for tuning in everybody, and
Speaker 1: we will see you next time.