WEBVTT - #276 Packers Unscripted: Combine chatter 0:00:00.920 --> 0:00:20.759 Hi, everybody. Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:24.400 I am Mike Spofford alongside Wes Hodkwits and special guest 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:27.440 Larry McCarron. We are on location from the NFL Scouting 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:31.520 Combine in downtown Indianapolis and West I know we're here 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:34.760 mostly to visit with the prospects and try to get 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:36.600 a sense of maybe what the Packers are going to 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:39.400 do in the draft. But before we get to the draft, 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:41.239 there's going to be a period in the NFL that 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:44.440 they call free agency. And we heard earlier this week 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:48.440 from head coach Mike McCarthy and new general manager Brian 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:50.880 gudacun Stabault wanting to maybe be a little bit more 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:54.440 aggressive in free agency. Here. What form do you see 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:57.280 this taking on for the Packers. Well, I think it 0:00:57.320 --> 0:01:00.120 starts with research and development, Mike. And here's the thing. 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:02.360 It's not to say we don't know what this market's 0:01:02.360 --> 0:01:04.960 gonna look like on March fourteen. Uh, this price of 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:06.880 these players that the thing you have to understand is 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:09.360 when you have this small of a market of guys 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:11.400 that are available, the guys that actually leak out that 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:14.520 teams don't resign, that increases the price, and I think 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:16.479 that's half the reason why you look at Ted Thompson, 0:01:16.520 --> 0:01:18.760 the approach they took of why the Packers weren't always 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:21.679 the most active in that regard. But the Packers want 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:23.840 to be better prepared, and that's something that Brian Goodkins 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:26.440 said since his very first news conference. They want to 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:28.759 make sure that any scenario that plays out, they're ready 0:01:28.760 --> 0:01:31.160 to react to it. The challenge for him in this 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:32.880 first year as the GM is the fact that it 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:34.840 is a little bit tighter as far as the salary 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:37.880 caps are concerned after the extensions with Davante Adams and 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:40.160 Corey Linsley, so they may have to get somewhat creative 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:42.679 in that regard. But in terms of the guys that 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:44.959 do actually get out into the free agent market, the 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:47.160 Packers want to be more involved to potentially react if 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:48.880 one of those guys can make sense and make this 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:51.520 team better. Yeah, that preparation part of it you mentioned 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:54.840 is interesting because you can try to predict all the 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:58.560 different scenarios. Players who may get cut for salary cap reasons, 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:02.160 or players who become able because they don't get franchise 0:02:02.240 --> 0:02:05.040 tagged for instance, something like that. But there are always 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:08.160 things that happened in this league, Larry, that surprised people. 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:10.320 You things that you don't see coming. And it sounds 0:02:10.360 --> 0:02:13.040 to me like the Packers new general manager wants to 0:02:13.040 --> 0:02:16.000 be ready in case something surprises them and they can 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:19.840 maybe pounce on a player. Well, I think the preparation 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:24.560 you guys are talked about so far, you do everything 0:02:24.600 --> 0:02:29.160 you can to avoid WHOA what happened right there? We 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:32.520 we were caught with you know what. We weren't just 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:35.640 we weren't just ready for that. And I think something 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:38.400 that I think Brian told me, and I think it 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:41.120 was off camera, that I might lend to the party 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:44.839 here is that they have treated they've tweaked the preparation 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:48.440 process a little bit, and they've treated it a little 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:52.400 bit like the draft, where they go through the possibilities 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:55.920 and of course we're talking about individual names and things 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:59.600 like that, but they go through the possibilities and everybody 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:03.480 gets seer say it's not like, okay, this guy's available. Now. 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:06.360 Now everybody has had their say, they've looked at it, 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:09.040 they kind of judged it, They've gone through it much 0:03:09.120 --> 0:03:11.920 like the draft process. And like I said, I think 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:14.239 that's a little tweak from what they've done in the past. Yeah, 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:16.480 And I think one thing that definitely is not going 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:19.400 to change in terms of the approach to free agency 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:22.360 is players that they may go out and sign are 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:24.480 going to have to be the right fit for Green Bay, 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:26.560 for the locker room, and for the culture we saw. 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:28.760 I guess what you could chalk up as a mistake 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:32.240 last year with Martelli Spennett when things didn't work, when 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:34.880 things didn't work out with Jared Cook, the Packers went 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:38.440 to Plan B and it didn't work out. But that 0:03:38.560 --> 0:03:40.360 that's going to happen once in a while. But I 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:42.560 think the Packers are going to take the same approach. 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:45.320 What I'm also interested in is, uh are they going 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:47.640 to be able to keep things as quiet in some 0:03:47.680 --> 0:03:49.720 ways as they have in the past. I remember when 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:54.000 Julius Peppers was saying, nobody knew that that was happening, 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:57.000 Nobody saw it coming. I remember, actually I was in 0:03:57.080 --> 0:03:59.600 Florida on vacation with my family when I heard the 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:02.200 news that Julius Peppers was a green Bay Packer. I 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:04.280 don't know when the Packers are talking about wanting to 0:04:04.320 --> 0:04:06.400 be more aggressive in free agency, if they'll be able 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.120 to keep that many things close to the vest. What 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:11.400 do you think, Well, that's such a unique situation because 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:14.280 Carl Carey his agent, that's his one client. So I mean, 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:16.920 if Julius Peppers didn't want that getting out there, it 0:04:16.960 --> 0:04:19.160 wasn't going to get out there. But to your original point, 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:21.040 you're right, Julius Peppers was out of Green Bay by 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:22.920 the time anyone had even known that the the ink 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:25.159 was dry on the contract. It's tough to do that 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:27.000 in this day and age. There's so many different variables 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:30.159 from that regard, but interest is there, and you look 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:32.599 at how these markets shape and now that they have 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:35.040 the legal tampering period basically what they call it, that 0:04:35.120 --> 0:04:37.320 forty eight hour window where teams are able to start 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:40.640 negotiating and start hammering out contracts before they can actually 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:43.160 sign them. The packers have actually used that to their 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:45.000 benefit the past few years and being able to work 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:47.480 deals with the likes of Brian balag On, Randall Cobb. 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:50.400 But you know, potentially, what does Brian Goodquins think about 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:52.840 getting into those other phrase with players that are outside 0:04:52.839 --> 0:04:55.120 of Green Bay and outside of that realm. A lot 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:57.840 to figure out from that regard, But sometimes I think 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:00.760 fans get this idea that you know, free agency, it's 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:02.760 just such a given, it's such a guarantee. You're gonna 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:04.640 sign this guy, and this is the production. You're gonna get. 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:06.400 A lot of the risk and a lot of reward 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:08.160 that goes along with the draft carries over to free 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:10.359 agency as well. And that's the same risk, you know, 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:14.160 cost benefit analysis that they run in that regard that 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:15.680 they're gonna have to run in free agency as well. 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:18.320 And Brian Gudcoon is very upfront about that, honest. Yeah. 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:20.400 And that's where the fit in the locker room and 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:22.640 the fit in the culture and Green Bay comes into play, 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:25.240 doesn't it. Larry Sure does. But I gotta tell you 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:28.520 guys about that day they signed Julius. There was a 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:31.680 Saturday when there was brook. It was a Saturday. So, 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:35.000 like all good Catholics who want to get church out 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:38.760 of the way, I was going to four st Agnes 0:05:39.360 --> 0:05:41.479 and okay, you know what the start? Are you guys Catholic? 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:43.320 By the way, I know a lot of you are Catholic, 0:05:43.400 --> 0:05:46.000 But anyway, okay, right before the start of the Mass, 0:05:46.000 --> 0:05:49.120 when the priest and the altar boys and the elector 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:51.000 and the dance and girls, you're all lined it up 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:52.960 in the back, you know, and they're and they're starting 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:56.400 to march out. And I'm standing in the back of church, 0:05:56.920 --> 0:05:59.600 just in the back. That's where I usually hang out 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:03.200 during assen I'm standing back there and okay, the procession 0:06:03.320 --> 0:06:09.640 for mass has started. Suddenly, Father Patrick breaks ranks, rakes 0:06:09.800 --> 0:06:13.240 ras and hustles over to me. You Starmy in the 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:16.520 corner over there, hustles over. He walks up to me, 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:20.479 goes Peppers. Yeah, and then he runs back and joins 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:22.960 the procession on the mask. Win. But that's how big 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:26.480 the signing of Julius Peppers was in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Yeah. Well, 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:28.640 we'll see if we've got another one like that coming up. 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:30.440 But with that, we'll go to a break back with 0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:34.200 more on Packers Unscripted from the NFL Scouting Combine right 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:50.360 after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted Larry, Mike and 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:55.000 West in downtown Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine. And 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:57.360 what's one of the prospects. One of the first prospects 0:06:57.400 --> 0:07:01.760 we heard from yesterday here in in Ish an offensive 0:07:01.800 --> 0:07:04.880 lineman from Texas l Passo, who was one of the 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:08.680 key blockers that helped make Packers running back Aaron Jones 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:12.560 college career awfully productive. And Jones was a fifth rone 0:07:12.560 --> 0:07:14.360 pick last year for the Packers, as we know. But 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:17.920 Will Hernandez, this offensive lineman from UTEP, is being talked 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:20.480 about a little bit higher in the draft order. Yeah. 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:22.480 The thing you gotta remember to Aaron Jones last year 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:24.160 when the Packers picked him in the fifth round, that 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:26.200 was the first time in nine years that a player 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:28.320 from UTEP had been drafted. It was a big deal 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:31.120 for them. Will Hernandez very easily could be a second rounder, 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:33.000 if not a first rounder, in this draft class. His 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:35.840 thirty seven bench reps on Thursday, I think are really 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:38.520 helping solidify his case. To put that in context, I 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:41.200 think Larry had pointed it out. Quentin Nelson had thirty five. 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:43.400 It's the most bench reps that anyone's had, i think 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:45.240 going back to two thousand four team with Russell bow 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:48.040 Dyne who now is a center for the Cincinnati Bengals. 0:07:48.040 --> 0:07:51.040 So really put some in, you know, really elite category. 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:53.040 But the thing that was interesting talking to him about 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:55.040 is just the relationship that him and Aaron Jones have. 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:58.400 And I had tweeted out a comment right after Hernandez 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:00.600 got off the podium just him mentioned thinking how much 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:02.880 Jones really had been coaching him through this whole week 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:06.040 at the Combine, and Jones immediately, i think within it 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:08.600 was like five or six seconds, retweeted it already. I 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:10.640 mean he was sitting there on his phone watching the 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:13.239 news conference, paying attention everything. That guys are very close. 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:16.920 They played together for three years. Hernandez forty nine starts 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:19.640 with you tap. Just an amazing run that he had there, 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:21.760 and it was very complimentary the season that Aaron Jones 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:23.800 had with the Packers. Yeah, and that rookie season for 0:08:23.840 --> 0:08:27.760 Aaron Jones was awfully productive and awfully exciting, was interrupted 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:30.840 by injuries here and there. But Larry, I'm interested in 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:33.439 your perspective calling those games on the radio. A couple 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:36.560 of breakaway runs in some big moments for Aaron Jones 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:38.040 as a rookie. What do you think of what he 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:42.040 did in there was an explosive nature to his game. 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:45.280 You look at big plays out of the backfield. For 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:49.880 the amount of attempts he had, he had an ordinate 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:53.720 a number of big plays and he can break it. 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:57.000 He can break it, and uh, it was interesting between 0:08:57.080 --> 0:09:01.480 him and Jamal Williams seeing those young fellows that as 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:05.600 they got repetitions, as they got playing experience or icely 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:09.600 not just experience, but playing time opportunity, shall we say, 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:12.600 is that there were real deal running backs. They could 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:14.880 find it and they could get after it. And and 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:18.200 I look at a number of situations where, in particular 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:21.200 Jones he cracked that line of scrimmage. He was going, 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:23.720 he was picking up some yards. Good to see. The 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:27.839 Packers certainly have options coming up this season with what 0:09:27.880 --> 0:09:30.360 they do in the backfield. When you got Jamal, you 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:33.240 got air and of course you got time Montgomery. As 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:36.679 they figure out as they retool the playbook from page one, 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.440 as Mike mccaffy said, as they do those things, how 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:42.400 they're going to incorporate all those guys because, as the 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:45.880 coaches and Brian Gudaksa said, you can't have enough good 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:47.959 players and it's up to the coaches to figure out 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:50.200 ways to employ them. Yeah, And I think if there's 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.280 one play from Aaron Jones rookie year that stands out 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:55.280 in my mind more than any other, it was that 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:59.040 overtime touched on run against the Tampa Big Yeah. It 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:01.280 was his one carry the day and not only because 0:10:01.360 --> 0:10:03.760 it won the game, but because it was a make 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:06.040 something out of nothing kind of play. I mean, where 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:08.320 the play was designed to go, it wasn't really there. 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.800 He very quickly bounces it to the other direction, takes 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:14.240 off and uh and he's gone for the touchdown and 0:10:14.280 --> 0:10:16.160 the Packers have a victory. It's amazing. And I mean, 0:10:16.160 --> 0:10:17.840 you look at the season that he put together five 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:20.280 point five yards per carry, that was the most in 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:23.199 terms of a yard average in the NFL other than 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:25.640 Alvin Kamara, the offensive Rookie of the Year, kind of 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:27.720 tells you the company that he was in. And really 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:29.800 the thing I kept going back to on Thursday when 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:32.120 we were here and bouncing around the eight podiums or 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:34.400 prospects are at last year, I was like a b 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:36.920 just one to another trying to figure out, Okay, who 0:10:36.920 --> 0:10:38.439 could potentially be a fit for the Packers in the 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:41.120 bright field. That wasn't a conversation this year. That's not 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:43.000 to say that they won't go and find one. Brian 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:45.080 Goodcouins has been very open that they're keeping all their 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:47.479 options on the table. But the fact that the backfield 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:49.440 isn't an issue like it was going into the combine 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:51.440 last year is a test in it to both him 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:53.880 and Jamal Williams really stepping up last season. Yeah, it's 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:56.520 a different, different feel in that respect for the Packers 0:10:56.559 --> 0:10:59.080 going into the draft this year. But Larry, when it 0:10:59.120 --> 0:11:01.959 comes to that, you making something out of nothing kind 0:11:01.960 --> 0:11:04.320 of thing, we've seen. We've seen Time Montgomery do it. 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:07.079 We've seen Aaron Jones do it. What What is it? 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:10.880 What is it that that allows guys to make plays 0:11:10.920 --> 0:11:15.280 like that? If I knew, I wouldn't be seen here, 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:19.439 I probably be over on ESPN's thing or something like that. 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:22.520 But you talk about making something out of nothing, and 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:25.160 that play you refer to to win the Tampa Bay 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:28.400 game and overtime, that was a power play called off 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:32.720 the right side and he ends up breaking it off 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:36.199 the left side, I mean breaks the perimeter on the 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:39.400 left side, and he did that kind of bouncing off 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:43.320 the garbage in the middle. It was an amazing, amazing run. 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:45.440 And I forget what your question was, Mike, what was 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:48.720 it was just a whole making something out of nothing? 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:50.920 Like what I was going to get at is that 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:53.720 you know, you're talking about the lineman here and stuff 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:56.559 like that, And we'll talk about them more as the 0:11:56.640 --> 0:12:00.520 week progressive. But this may surprise you considering my bad background, 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:04.280 But I would think, and I always thought, and I 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:07.440 still do, a back will do more for a line 0:12:07.960 --> 0:12:10.720 than a line will do for a bet. That's just 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:13.360 the way it is. I mean, you can block them 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:16.240 all to death, but that I was that little special 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:19.400 something something. He's the guy that's going to make the 0:12:19.480 --> 0:12:21.600 running game first and foremost. Yeah, And I want to 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:23.920 mention that too, because Will Hernandez talked about that, the 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:26.240 fact that when he left, when Aaron Jones went to 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:28.320 the NFL last year, that changed the game for him 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:30.040 and to change their scheme and the running you know, 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:32.679 the running patterns, and he said, I mean it probably 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:34.680 made him a better guard in the long run what 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:36.240 he was asked to do on the left side there 0:12:36.280 --> 0:12:38.640 for you tep, but you know, the holes had to 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:40.600 be a little bit wider. He had to hold onto 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:42.880 his blox just a little bit longer. With Aaron Jones, 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:45.480 with how explosive he was, that made the ultimate difference 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:46.840 for them, and it's the reason why he ended his 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:49.600 career there as the French the school's all time leading rusher. 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:52.040 Y Lineman certainly know when they have a special back 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:54.240 running behind him. With that, we'll go to a break 0:12:54.280 --> 0:13:10.880 back with more and Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:14.360 back to Packers Unscripted on location from the NFL Scouting 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:18.520 Combine in downtown Indianapolis, West and Mike and Larry with 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.840 you and guys. Yesterday we heard from the first round 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:24.080 of prospects meeting with the media, and two of the 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:27.400 guys that were available are guys who are both in 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:32.480 the conversation for top five status overall in this NFL draft. 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:35.480 I want to start with running back se Kwon Barkley 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:38.320 from Penn State. We talked about the Packers rookie running backs. 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:41.320 We've seen young running backs in the NFL the last 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:44.160 few years making a huge splash, not just in Green Bay, 0:13:44.160 --> 0:13:46.680 but you talk about Ezekiel Elliott. You mentioned Alvin Kamar 0:13:46.840 --> 0:13:50.280 for the New Orleans Saints last year. This whole idea 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:52.760 from a few years ago of don't take a running 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:55.040 back too high in the draft, that's kind of gone 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:57.200 by the wayside now and sa Kwon Barkley is a 0:13:57.200 --> 0:13:59.679 guy who will benefit from that. Yeah, it's really funny. 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:02.080 The game changed in some ways in that regard. I 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:04.559 really thought, going back about four or five years ago, 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:06.560 I was wondering when we'd see if if it would 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:09.480 even happen again after Trent richardson a running back being 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:11.720 taken in the top ten, just because of how the 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:14.320 game is spread out. You need passers, you need catchers. 0:14:14.840 --> 0:14:17.480 But I think this past year has really proven that 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:19.120 that the running game is still alive and well. And 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:20.720 I know there are a number of different backs that 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:23.400 we're talking about that Zeke Elliott effect. I mean, even 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:26.320 this passionate with Leonard for Nette. The number of guys 0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:28.640 that are coming to league and making an immediate impact 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:33.240 and really showing teams what a Marquee three down, you know, 0:14:33.280 --> 0:14:35.720 two and fifty touch running back can do for an offense. 0:14:35.760 --> 0:14:38.320 So that's what they're banking on. It's interesting with Barkley 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:40.440 two because I was standing up on the podium or 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:43.760 the one area over here next to Mike Vanderschniker photographer, 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.280 and there was just a massive media is probably the 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:48.280 biggest one I've seen so far, the amount of buzz 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:51.280 surrounding this guy, uh and exactly where he's gonna fall. 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:53.040 A lot of people believe this is a guy that 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:54.800 will make a difference in every level of the game, 0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:57.160 and you can now see that that buzz really forming 0:14:57.160 --> 0:14:59.640 for him. Yeah. An interesting comment that I heard from 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.280 lyon As general manager Bob Quinn the other day. He 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:05.400 was talking about rookie running backs making an impact in 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:07.480 the league because the Lions are, you know, looking at 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:11.359 maybe drafting a running back fairly high and retooling their backfield. 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:14.600 Is that one of the benefits of the spread offenses 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:17.720 in colleges that running backs are coming into the NFL 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:21.320 with more experience and pass protection picking up those blitzers 0:15:21.360 --> 0:15:23.760 and stuff than maybe they did in years past. Do 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:27.200 you think that's a factor, Larry, I would think so 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:29.920 to some extent, although the people will be picking up 0:15:29.920 --> 0:15:32.160 on the blitzers in the NFL are are quite a 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:35.440 bit stouter, quicker, and all that good stuff. But I 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:39.000 think a couple of things are at work here. Football 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:43.440 is a cycle, Okay, as everybody heads, as you guys 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:46.840 were documenting heads towards the passing games, spread things out 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:50.680 and so forth, and then people start defending and start 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:55.000 drafting and start building their defensive teams to stop that. 0:15:55.680 --> 0:16:00.400 And as the cycle unfolds, suddenly the running back position 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:03.640 and a strong running game that combats some of that 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:06.480 spread out, some of that defend the past stuff. And 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:09.440 one other mention when you talk about players like Berkeley, 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:13.520 he may be the most talented player in this draft, 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:16.600 now really go number one. Probably not because it is 0:16:16.640 --> 0:16:18.880 a running back and not a quarterback, but he may 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.600 be the most talented. And the thing about the running 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:26.960 back position, you can contribute a lot right away if 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:30.160 you've got the right stuff, because it's an instinctive position. 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:32.320 I mean, all you can really say to him, Okay, 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.360 we're going to hand you the ball. You're aiming point 0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:36.920 is there, and after that it's up to the guy. 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:39.280 It's up to the coach, you know, Like coach can't 0:16:39.320 --> 0:16:41.160 be out there, Okay, now cut back. You know, it 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:44.080 just doesn't work that way. So you've got a situation 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:47.080 where the cycle is kind of running its course. And yeah, 0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:50.320 the running game not a bad idea against defenses that 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:53.320 are set up to defend the past. And then also 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:57.800 these young fellows, they can't have an instant impact. And 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.520 with Barkley, you look at his numbers from Penn State, 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:03.960 over five thousand total yards from scrimmage in three seasons. 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:07.080 When you combine thirty hundred rushing yards and almost twelve 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:12.760 hundred receiving yards fifty Yeah, Oh my gosh. Yeah, the guy, 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:14.800 I mean, the thing about is two in a quarter 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:26.840 to quarter for a running bad look nothing maybe one? Yeah, 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:30.119 And it was interesting. He talked also, you know, about 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:33.439 going to a team, because he very well will be 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:36.679 drafted high, going to a team that's been struggling, and 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:38.840 he's like, hey, yeah, I want to be part of 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:41.280 something bigger than myself. I want to leave a legacy. 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:43.840 He's left a legacy at Penn State helping to pull 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:46.480 that program back and get to a Rose Bowl after 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:49.520 everything that had happened a handful of years ago. So this, uh, 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:51.399 this kid seems to have the right at it. And 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:52.800 do you know another guy that went to a team 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:55.359 that was struggling, Leonard for Net. I mean, that's just 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:57.239 how quickly this thing can change when you go from 0:17:57.240 --> 0:17:59.320 the fourth overall pick to becoming the type of type 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:01.760 of playmaker he was for them. That offense was different 0:18:01.760 --> 0:18:03.720 when he was going. It's set up the passing game 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:05.920 for Blake Bortles. Now Barkley going to the next level 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:07.080 is going to try to do the same thing and 0:18:07.960 --> 0:18:12.920 something Barkley whoever takes them, suddenly their offensive line got better. 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:17.840 No matter what they got, suddenly their offensive line got better. Yeah, 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:20.040 no question about it. Well, there's another top five guy 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:22.199 that we want to talk about, but we'll do that 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:25.000 after the breakback with more on Packers Unscripted right after 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:41.960 this Welcome back to Packers Unscripted from the NFL scouting 0:18:42.000 --> 0:18:45.520 combine in Indianapolis, Larry Mike and West. And another top 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:49.320 five guy that we heard from yesterday Fellas was Notre 0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:53.080 Dame guard Quintin Nelson. Now, guards don't always get talked about, 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:56.800 not very often with this sort of lofty draft status, 0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:59.280 but Nelson's being talked about as a guy you can 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:01.320 plug in from day one and he can play for 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:04.680 ten or twelve years in this league. Really impressive guy. 0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:06.719 Be interesting to see just how high he goes well, 0:19:06.760 --> 0:19:09.000 and it's obviously been a chess match there when you're 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:10.920 looking at drafting guards over the years. I think two 0:19:10.960 --> 0:19:12.600 thousand third team was a big year. That was the 0:19:12.680 --> 0:19:15.520 Jonathan Cooper chance Warmack year, and I think if both 0:19:15.520 --> 0:19:16.879 of those teams could have that back, they would have 0:19:16.920 --> 0:19:19.040 liked to have David back tr three rounds later. It's 0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:21.199 just the way that sometimes this things goes. It's a 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:24.720 guessing game. But really the best prospect I can think of, 0:19:24.840 --> 0:19:26.879 I think was also out of Notre Dame in Zach Martin. 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:29.679 He was moving from tackle, but everybody kind of acknowledged 0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:31.760 he was looking like a guard in the NFL, And 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:33.679 now you see what he's done with the Dallas Cowboys 0:19:33.720 --> 0:19:35.240 over the years, might be the best one in the game. 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:37.720 It's a It's a really interesting thing to see what 0:19:37.800 --> 0:19:40.399 exactly is going to happen with Nelson because he's so strong, 0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:43.760 thirty five reps on the bench, his his pedigree. You know, 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:46.520