Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from
Speaker 1: Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined as always
Speaker 1: by my trusted colleague Wes Hodkowitz. Coming to you here
Speaker 1: from our studios at lambeau Field for our final show
Speaker 1: of the off season, as the Packers are wrapping up
Speaker 1: Mini camp this week, which wraps up their off season
Speaker 1: program and Wes a lot of topics to get to here,
Speaker 1: but a couple that involve some stories that we've written
Speaker 1: there on packers dot com for those who want to
Speaker 1: read catch up on the details. A really interesting piece
Speaker 1: of news on Tuesday, when the players are going through
Speaker 1: the individual drills, they're separated into all the different position groups,
Speaker 1: and suddenly Number eighty in a white jersey is working
Speaker 1: with all of the cornerbacks in their green jerseys during
Speaker 1: individual drills, and we are all on the sidelines going,
Speaker 1: what in the world is going on? Well, bou Melton.
Speaker 1: They're experimenting a little bit here with bou Melton, the
Speaker 1: wide receiver and maybe maybe also a cornerback.
Speaker 2: What I enjoyed the most about that is it's not
Speaker 2: uncustomary to see the defensive backs and receivers working together
Speaker 2: during individual periods. I remember all the times for years
Speaker 2: it would be like Jyry, Alexander Romeo Dobbs be working
Speaker 2: off to the side together because they weren't involved in
Speaker 2: the special teams period or whatever. So I wasn't sure
Speaker 2: at first. It was, Hey, does Bou Melton have to
Speaker 2: go down there because they're going to try to run
Speaker 2: a specific type of route stem against the corners. And
Speaker 2: then next thing you know, it's like, oh, no, Bo
Speaker 2: Melton's in a back pedal right now, I dude, every
Speaker 2: I said this in three things, but it seems like
Speaker 2: almost every year there's something that catches your eye. Right, Yeah,
Speaker 2: Alex Magoo going from quarterback to wide receiver. You go
Speaker 2: back twelve years ago, Mike Neil showing up for training
Speaker 2: camp thirty pounds later than he ended the previous season. Yeah,
Speaker 2: mini camp from the previous season, and James Looney moving
Speaker 2: from defensive line to tight end, and the Packers have
Speaker 2: done some Herb Waters going from receiver to cornerback. A
Speaker 2: lot of different things that have happened over the time here,
Speaker 2: but this one's a little bit different because, as Bo said,
Speaker 2: he is a receiver, he is a wide receiver. This
Speaker 2: whole experiment they're doing was made with the idea that
Speaker 2: he is still going to be a wide out. Now
Speaker 2: that being said, if it works, it works to use
Speaker 2: Bo's own language, So some interesting backstory to this. Obviously,
Speaker 2: his younger brother, Max, was a second round pick pick
Speaker 2: plays cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals. They saw each other
Speaker 2: last year in that Week six matchup between the two teams.
Speaker 2: Bo mentioned he played two ways like a lot of
Speaker 2: high school kids do, you know, back in his early
Speaker 2: football days, but you know, kind of flirted with cornerback
Speaker 2: a little bit when he got on campus at Rutgers,
Speaker 2: but ultimately they kept him at receiver and that's where
Speaker 2: he's played in the NFL up and at this point
Speaker 2: he's been in Green Bay now for two and a
Speaker 2: half years. So we'll see where it all goes. But certainly,
Speaker 2: when you're looking for different storylines to follow during a
Speaker 2: mini camp in June, there's not a whole heck of
Speaker 2: a lot else going on. Bull Melton was a very
Speaker 2: popular man in the Packers interview room on Wednesday.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's been an interesting, interesting topic to discuss this week,
Speaker 1: and as you said, we will see where this goes,
Speaker 1: it's the kind of thing that, at least right now,
Speaker 1: for me, and maybe it's because I'm the old curmudgeon here,
Speaker 1: it's not something I take too seriously at this point.
Speaker 1: And by saying I'm not taking it seriously, I'm not
Speaker 1: saying that it's some kind of a jokeror whatever. But
Speaker 1: I'm just looking at it as this is highly experimental
Speaker 1: in what they're doing. Now, if we get to training
Speaker 1: camp and they're putting on pads in training camp and
Speaker 1: Bull Melton is taking eleven on eleven reps at cornerback,
Speaker 1: or if he gets into a preseason game at cornerback
Speaker 1: and he's out there guarding somebody at wide receiver in
Speaker 1: the third or fourth quarter of a preseason game in August,
Speaker 1: now we're having a different discussion about exactly what his
Speaker 1: path potentially to a roster spot is. So very much
Speaker 1: wait and see to to see where this ends up going.
Speaker 1: But certainly an interesting story. Another one we've talked about
Speaker 1: him a little bit on the show. Mkole Hardman, the
Speaker 1: free agent wide receiver who was signed by the Packers.
Speaker 1: It was about a week to ten days or so
Speaker 1: into free agency, like right in that range and he
Speaker 1: has made I guess I would say probably the two
Speaker 1: biggest highlight reel plays of the first two practices of
Speaker 1: Mini Camp. As the time we're recording this, we haven't
Speaker 1: gotten out to the practice field for the final Mini
Speaker 1: Camp practice yet, but the two minute drill at the
Speaker 1: end of each practice has been really the only eleven
Speaker 1: on eleven that's been full speed and competitive, not at
Speaker 1: the three quarter jog through type of speed. And at
Speaker 1: the end of those two minute drills, Mikole Hardman has
Speaker 1: made a couple of amazing plays with Sean Clifford at quarterback,
Speaker 1: kind of a desperation fourth down or or last play
Speaker 1: with the clock running out kind of thing. He's amidst
Speaker 1: all these bodies in the middle of the end zone
Speaker 1: and jumps up and hauls in Clifford's pass one hand
Speaker 1: for a touchdown. And then on Tuesday, he's in the
Speaker 1: two minute drill with the number one offense in Jordan Love,
Speaker 1: and Love gets off an incredible throw against the blitz
Speaker 1: and Hardman with his speed has beaten the defense deep
Speaker 1: and you know, runs under a perfectly thrown ball right
Speaker 1: over the shoulder, takes to the house, ends up, you know,
Speaker 1: right around a seventy five yard touchdown. And you know,
Speaker 1: with what's going on in this receiver room, we've talked
Speaker 1: about it so much, with the guys coming back. You
Speaker 1: sign a guy like Hardman, you spend two of your
Speaker 1: first three draft picks at wide receiver, it's gonna be
Speaker 1: unbelievably competitive through training camp in the preseason to see
Speaker 1: how this roster shakes out. But man, McCole Hardman, you
Speaker 1: can't make a better impression in June than a veteran
Speaker 1: guy coming into a brand new team and what he's
Speaker 1: showing out there on the field right now.
Speaker 2: And it's absolutely stacked and loaded position right So for
Speaker 2: Hardman signing and then the Packers drafting in the first round,
Speaker 2: in the third round guys at his position, that looks
Speaker 2: like an arduous journey to trying to make a roster spot.
Speaker 2: But it almost in some ways, even though Hardman has
Speaker 2: a lot of pelts on the walls, a three time
Speaker 2: Super Bowl champion, in some ways it almost reminds me
Speaker 2: of you know, back in twenty eighteen, Packers drafted three
Speaker 2: wide receivers, but yet Jake Kumero still made himself undeniable
Speaker 2: and ends up making the roster right at the end
Speaker 2: of that camp. I mean, the Packers have shown time
Speaker 2: and time again that if you make the plays, they
Speaker 2: will make room for you. And mcole Hardman when it
Speaker 2: comes to making positive first impression was very visible out
Speaker 2: on the field on both Tuesday and Wednesday. What impressed
Speaker 2: me the most about that second catch when it was
Speaker 2: ultimately a seventy three yard touchdown pass, which, like you mentioned,
Speaker 2: the Sean Clifford play was at the end of a
Speaker 2: two minute It was the last play they barely got
Speaker 2: the snap off fourth down in nineteen or eleven whatever.
Speaker 2: It was well play that they were able to pull
Speaker 2: off with Jordan Love was also with the offense up
Speaker 2: against it way back in their own territory after a sack.
Speaker 1: And Halfley was coming after him. He was sending, he
Speaker 1: was sending blitz's play after play in that two minute drill.
Speaker 2: It was.
Speaker 1: It was pretty amazing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, and that was one of the things too.
Speaker 2: Xavier McKinney wasn't ranging in the center field. He blitzed
Speaker 2: once got a sack. Was part of the other package. Yeah,
Speaker 2: Lucas van Espien right up there in Love's face, a
Speaker 2: little bit of debate about whether or not he got
Speaker 2: home or not. But for Love to be able to
Speaker 2: unfurl that pass and for Hartman to look through traffic,
Speaker 2: he had both Evan Williams and Gregory Junior on him
Speaker 2: pulling that ball in and keeping his stride. It could
Speaker 2: not have worked out any better when it comes to plays.
Speaker 2: As far as covering mini camp in the heart of
Speaker 2: the offseason program, it's about as pretty as you're gonna find.
Speaker 1: Yeah. And I want to say a couple of things too,
Speaker 1: with regard to McCole Hardman and his professionalism. He actually
Speaker 1: didn't have any idea when he signed that he was
Speaker 1: going to be the oldest wide receiver in that position group.
Speaker 1: That actually kind of surprised him.
Speaker 2: But in Green Bay.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I detail some of this in the story
Speaker 1: that I have up on packers dot com. So he signs.
Speaker 1: I believe it was March twentieth when when the signing
Speaker 1: was official, So a little more than a month later,
Speaker 1: the Packers draft two wide receivers in the first three rounds.
Speaker 1: Not exactly the situation he thought he was walking into
Speaker 1: in terms of trying to make the roster, because the
Speaker 1: Packers didn't sign any of the big name wide receivers
Speaker 1: in those first few days of free agents. They end
Speaker 1: up getting him sort of in Week two of free agency,
Speaker 1: but then they invest two of these top draft picks,
Speaker 1: two of the high draft picks at wide receiver. But
Speaker 1: what does Hardman do. He actually texts both of those guys,
Speaker 1: Matthew Goldman Saveon Williams, like, you know, and Hardman hasn't
Speaker 1: even been in Green Bay, but he texted them like, hey,
Speaker 1: congratulations on getting drafted, you know, welcome to Green Bay.
Speaker 1: Like let you know, hey, let's go, let's do this.
Speaker 1: I mean, you can't you can't be more professional than
Speaker 1: that to reach out to these guys that you're going
Speaker 1: to be competing with and guys that you didn't even
Speaker 1: know you were going to be competing with, and extending
Speaker 1: sort of like that you know, that veteran hand to
Speaker 1: say to say, hey, let's you know, let's go, let's
Speaker 1: do this together. The other thing I'll say from that
Speaker 1: Monday practice, he makes the great one handed catch in
Speaker 1: traffic in the end zone on a throw from Sean
Speaker 1: Clifford McCole. Hardman's a seven year veteran who's got three
Speaker 1: Super Bowl rings and scored an overtime touchdown in the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl to win one one of the most historic
Speaker 1: touchdowns in NFL history. But he's not out there saying
Speaker 1: what am I doing out here with the number three quarterback?
Speaker 1: In a two minute drill? What does he do? He
Speaker 1: goes out there, makes a play. You know, that's the
Speaker 1: professionalism of a player like McCole Hardman. And while I
Speaker 1: don't think there's any guarantee because of how crowded things
Speaker 1: are and you never know how these things are going
Speaker 1: to sort themselves out with the roster, there's certainly no
Speaker 1: guarantee that Mikole Hardman makes the fifty three. At the
Speaker 1: end of training camp. It will be a fight, it
Speaker 1: will be a battle, But you can't deny how professional
Speaker 1: this guy is and what he has brought since he
Speaker 1: arrived in Green and.
Speaker 2: The fact that he was as steadfast as he was.
Speaker 2: There's sometimes guys will get drafted at a player's position.
Speaker 2: They'll go to the front office and be like, hey,
Speaker 2: I want to do something different. I just signed here.
Speaker 2: That was under this It was under this standpoint. Now
Speaker 2: I want to go try to test the market again.
Speaker 2: We've seen that happen in places, but for Hardman, and
Speaker 2: credit to him that he's willing to go that extra
Speaker 2: mile prove that I'm going to show everybody that I
Speaker 2: can still do this thing at the highest level. And
Speaker 2: also it comes as no surprise to me whatsoever. I
Speaker 2: was talking to Kelsey Joan Tihan, our former social media
Speaker 2: intern here who's now the social media manager of the
Speaker 2: Kansas City Chiefs. Congratulations on that, Kelsey. Actually, Morgan Wallen
Speaker 2: even wrote a song about her at one point as well. Really, okay,
Speaker 2: be that as it may. Kelsey had told me the
Speaker 2: moment the day, within hours of the Packers signing Hardman,
Speaker 2: She's like, you are absolutely gonna love this guy. Now,
Speaker 2: we unfortunate we haven't been in the locker room because
Speaker 2: of the renovations of the construction, so we haven't been
Speaker 2: around these players as much as we usually have in
Speaker 2: the spring and summer. Yeah, but that type of reference point,
Speaker 2: and then hearing him speak and address the media on Wednesday,
Speaker 2: how comfortable he is in his own shoes. You can
Speaker 2: tell that this is going to be a very popular
Speaker 2: influence and a guy. I think that's going to be
Speaker 2: a good addition to this locker room.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I want to get to a few more takeaways
Speaker 1: from Mini camp in a minute, but I'll take care
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Speaker 1: All right. As I mentioned before, aside from the two
Speaker 1: minute drills at the end of practice, when they have
Speaker 1: been doing the eleven on eleven what are called the
Speaker 1: team periods, they haven't been going full speed. It hasn't
Speaker 1: been fully competitive. It's been more of the jog through
Speaker 1: the three quarter speed teaching speed whatever you want to
Speaker 1: whatever you want to call it. So there isn't a
Speaker 1: lot in terms of evaluation. But what we do as
Speaker 1: reporters is we're sort of we're watching personnel because it
Speaker 1: gives you at least a little bit of an idea
Speaker 1: of where things are with the depth chart and when
Speaker 1: certain guys are injured and not practicing you're watching who's
Speaker 1: stepping you know who's stepping up and filling in so
Speaker 1: one depth chart item. I just want to point out,
Speaker 1: and I don't want to make too big a deal
Speaker 1: of it because it is only June and and training
Speaker 1: camp will will certainly decide things. But with Aaron Banks,
Speaker 1: the free agent left guard, not practicing in mini camp,
Speaker 1: the guy who has been playing left guard with the
Speaker 1: number one offensive line this week has been Donovan Jennings,
Speaker 1: and I find that interesting. It's one of those things
Speaker 1: you make you make a note of it because because
Speaker 1: last year, when Elton Jenkins went down with the shoulder
Speaker 1: stinger or whatever you want to call it in the
Speaker 1: playoff game, it wasn't Donovan Jennings that the Packers turned
Speaker 1: to in that moment. They turn turned to some other guys.
Speaker 1: And the fact that that's the spot he's in right
Speaker 1: now in mid June, I think it's something that's worth watching.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Donovan Jennings was actually the undrafted rookie that I
Speaker 2: had my eye on last year, heard a lot of
Speaker 2: positive things about him coming out of South Florida, but
Speaker 2: unfortunately it was injured for most of the offseason program.
Speaker 2: Right early in training Camp ends up spending the entire
Speaker 2: season on the practice squad, and credit to him, decided
Speaker 2: to stick on with the futures contract afterwards, and now
Speaker 2: he's getting that opportunity once again. A very gregarious, pleasant fellow.
Speaker 2: We still haven't had a chance to really get to
Speaker 2: know him very well, but from everything that I've gathered,
Speaker 2: and he comes with serious credentials at that guard position.
Speaker 2: And when we talk so much about the Day three
Speaker 2: picks and the Packers finding guys in seventh round that
Speaker 2: could potentially become NFL players, we often overlook their history
Speaker 2: at the undrafted route as well. I mean, when you
Speaker 2: think back to the Lane Taylors of the world, a
Speaker 2: really productive, hyper competitive guy out of Oklahoma State that
Speaker 2: just didn't quite have all the measurables that NFL scouts
Speaker 2: wanted to see, but then ends up playing eight nine
Speaker 2: years in the NFL because he's just a football player.
Speaker 2: So Jennings getting this shot, and you remember, there's there's
Speaker 2: still a lot of depth there even without Aaron Banks
Speaker 2: on the field. You know, you have Kadem Telford last
Speaker 2: year was on the roster all season. They didn't turn
Speaker 2: to him at that spot. They didn't look at some
Speaker 2: of these other guys. They said, hey, we're going to
Speaker 2: take an extended look here at Jennings and certainly any
Speaker 2: of those reps you can get, even if they is
Speaker 2: the non contact, you know, shell practices of the offseason, right,
Speaker 2: those are still a chance to make an impression and
Speaker 2: show the coaches how far you've how far you've come.
Speaker 1: Yeah, any other depth chart items that have caught your
Speaker 1: eye this week as the off season program reps up.
Speaker 2: I think one thing. Oh okay, so two different parts
Speaker 2: of this. The first one is, and I've talked about
Speaker 2: this is when we've been discussing the cornerback situation, you're
Speaker 2: seeing the wheels turn with the Packers mind and in
Speaker 2: Jeff Hafley's mind with how these cornerbacks are going to go.
Speaker 2: And you've talked about in some of your content with
Speaker 2: Javon Buller being that nickel type cornerback option as well,
Speaker 2: depending on where Nate Hobbs is playing, and in this case,
Speaker 2: Hobbs wasn't on the practice field on Wednesday when we
Speaker 2: were out there, so that afforded Bullard some spot, some
Speaker 2: snaps in the slot. You have Keishawn Nixon that can
Speaker 2: play inside or outside. So while people I understand that,
Speaker 2: you know, they're a little bit nervous, a little bit
Speaker 2: concerned about what's all going to happen there. We were
Speaker 2: talking with Evan Williams in the interview room on Wednesday
Speaker 2: and he said he has no concerns whatsoever with this
Speaker 2: cornerback room based on what the proven guys have shown
Speaker 2: in the versatility of all those individuals. The packers can
Speaker 2: move around a lot of pieces there if that's what
Speaker 2: they want to do. And if I may close on this,
Speaker 2: you mentioned mchole Hardman earning opportunities. You know, doesn't matter
Speaker 2: if he's with the threes or the twos. What happens
Speaker 2: a lot of times he makes a big play in
Speaker 2: a twos threes period and in the two minute what
Speaker 2: happened the next day, Mike, he was working with the.
Speaker 1: Ones exactly exactly.
Speaker 2: That's that's what it comes down to. Matt Lafleur said
Speaker 2: at the podium, He's like, a lot of this is
Speaker 2: just finding people and giving them an opportunity. We're not
Speaker 2: reading too much into this with you know, we're just
Speaker 2: we're just trying to get a look at guys. But
Speaker 2: the more you make an impression with those looks. That's
Speaker 2: where you get into the second week of training camp.
Speaker 2: That's where get the family night. That'shere you get to
Speaker 2: that first preseason game against the Jets where now, okay,
Speaker 2: you start to see the pieces really start falling into
Speaker 2: place and who's really separating himself from the pack.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And the other the other note I'll make with
Speaker 1: regard to kind of depth chart that has sort of
Speaker 1: I think it's sort of been under the radar a
Speaker 1: little bit and maybe it'll get more attention in training camp.
Speaker 1: But obviously there's gonna be so much attention on the
Speaker 1: competition at wide receiver and Jordan Morgan battling with Rashid
Speaker 1: Walker at left tackle, with Sean Ryan at right guard
Speaker 1: for starting spots there and those those are gonna be significant,
Speaker 1: no doubt about it. But watching watching the rotation, uh
Speaker 1: with the edge rushers, Yes, but you said that any camp, yep,
Speaker 1: this week because most of the time when it's when
Speaker 1: it's the first unit, the two edge guys are Rashaan
Speaker 1: Gary and lukecaus Faness. But we have seen, we have
Speaker 1: seen some reps where kings Leannigbari is across from Hershawn
Speaker 1: Gary or Brenton Cox Junior is across from Lucas van Ness.
Speaker 1: I saw one yesterday where Baron Surrell, the rookie fourth
Speaker 1: round draft pick, was across from Hershawn Gary. So the
Speaker 1: Packers are going to want, in need a rotation of
Speaker 1: those edge rushers. They want to have a lot of
Speaker 1: depth there. But what exactly is the pecking order going
Speaker 1: to be at the end of training camp and as
Speaker 1: the Packers head into week one. I think that's a
Speaker 1: story that's worth watching because we're seeing a lot of
Speaker 1: mixing and matching going on here in the spring.
Speaker 2: It is And the one thing I did take away
Speaker 2: from though, I mean, Lucas Vans is going to get
Speaker 2: every opportunity to show that he can own that starting
Speaker 2: spot across from Hershauan Gary, Hunter Pursu's rotations have all
Speaker 2: been starting with Vanas. In addition to the fact that
Speaker 2: when you get to some of the two minute periods
Speaker 2: with the dime or the pass nickeled formations, it's Ben
Speaker 2: Gary lining up as a three ticket. It's Ben Lucas
Speaker 2: Vans finally doing that after two years of us talk
Speaker 2: talking about it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, some shifting around, Yeah, that he's starting.
Speaker 2: To get some of those opportunities those NASCAR looks, as
Speaker 2: Dom Capers used to call, the where we have a little
Speaker 2: bit more speed on the field and not so many
Speaker 2: defensive linemen. The Packers have a ton of options at
Speaker 2: their edge rushing position right now. I think, you know
Speaker 2: Brenton Cox junior the way that he finished last year.
Speaker 2: Baron Sourrell has had a sack already in the team
Speaker 2: periods that we've watched, So yeah, seeing who emerges from
Speaker 2: that is going to be very interesting. In addition to
Speaker 2: the fact with Quay Walker not practicing right now, with
Speaker 2: some injuries things going on, You've seen Tyron Hopper calling
Speaker 2: the defense. You've seen Edgrin Cooper calling the defense. We're
Speaker 2: seeing a lot of Isaiah Simmons in the number one periods.
Speaker 2: The Packers know Isaiah McDuffie can handle those responsibilities, but
Speaker 2: they're now giving some of those younger guys an opportunity
Speaker 2: to show that they can, you know, wear that headset
Speaker 2: as well.
Speaker 1: And I should say, with regard to the edge rusher situation,
Speaker 1: that another rookie draft pick, Colin Oliver, he has not
Speaker 1: been practicing. He's been in the rehab group, an unspecial
Speaker 1: fight injury. They don't you know, reveal injury details at
Speaker 1: this stage of the off season, but certainly another guy
Speaker 1: to watch come training camp, assuming everything's going to be
Speaker 1: okay there, But we have not seen him on the
Speaker 1: practice field this week. Last thing I want to get
Speaker 1: to before before we go. You and I have talked
Speaker 1: about you and I have talked about this on the sideline,
Speaker 1: and I saw you made You've made some comments on
Speaker 1: social media that very much echoed some things that were
Speaker 1: going through my head. No, no, not exactly on the
Speaker 1: football field.
Speaker 2: Oh okay, I thought they were just talking like shit.
Speaker 1: But I have gained through just getting to watch two
Speaker 1: OTA practices over the last couple of weeks and then
Speaker 1: mini camp practices this week, I have gained a new appreciation,
Speaker 1: which is kind of hard to believe because of what
Speaker 1: happened last year, but I will say I've gained a
Speaker 1: new appreciation for just how savvy a move it was
Speaker 1: by the Packers personnel department in how they acquired Malik
Speaker 1: Willis as the backup quarterback for this football team. Now,
Speaker 1: I mean, this is a guy who you know, he
Speaker 1: won two games as a starter last year, a third
Speaker 1: game in relief and almost won a fourth game in
Speaker 1: relief at the end of the season. But from our
Speaker 1: perspective as reporters, like he got here so late that
Speaker 1: we didn't see Malik Willis in any eleven on eleven
Speaker 1: in practice because once the regular season starts, reporters don't
Speaker 1: get to watch the eleven on eleven in practice. So
Speaker 1: this offseason ots in mini camp is the first time
Speaker 1: we've seen Malik Willis take snap after snap in practice
Speaker 1: and do his thing out there. And I could not
Speaker 1: be more impressed with just how the ball comes out
Speaker 1: of his hand with just his command and poise and everything.
Speaker 1: And this is a guy who he's you know, he's
Speaker 1: been able to use this offseason to obviously get to
Speaker 1: a different place in the Packers offense than where he
Speaker 1: was when he first derive. But my goodness, the for
Speaker 1: the Packers, for the Packers' personnel department, I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't know exactly who it was, and maybe I'll get
Speaker 1: a chance to ask Gooty sometime, and maybe it was
Speaker 1: Gooty himself, But whoever was watching what was going on
Speaker 1: last summer, and they they sensed and they knew that
Speaker 1: Malik Willis was falling out of favor in Tennessee and
Speaker 1: was not going to make that team, and they pounced
Speaker 1: and offered a seventh round draft pick. Rather because the
Speaker 1: Packers weren't high enough in the waiverclaim order to wait
Speaker 1: for him to be released and try to claim him.
Speaker 1: A quarterback like that, it's going to get clean before
Speaker 1: the Packers would have a shot. They pounced on the opportunity.
Speaker 1: They jumped on it. They offered a seventh round pick
Speaker 1: and brought this guy in here, and man, oh man,
Speaker 1: I'm telling you, like what we've seen, what we've seen
Speaker 1: from him on the practice field, getting to getting to
Speaker 1: see him more of in a day after day type
Speaker 1: of type of thing, I couldn't be I couldn't be
Speaker 1: more impressed with that acquisition by the Green Bay Packer.
Speaker 2: In the job that Tom Clements did last year, being
Speaker 2: able to get him up to speed as quickly as
Speaker 2: they did, and for Matt Lafleur to build a winnable
Speaker 2: game plan with him. I mean, you remember he'd did
Speaker 2: he did all this stuff in a matter of weeks
Speaker 2: that he had to win those games that and that
Speaker 2: was the difference really in the Packers season. If you
Speaker 2: think back on it. I mean being able to get
Speaker 2: off to the start that they did, and him kind
Speaker 2: of stemming the tide there until they got Jordan Love
Speaker 2: back the guy. I said this in Twitter yesterday. The
Speaker 2: more I watch him, the less I understand why the
Speaker 2: Titans were so hot about getting him out of Nashville.
Speaker 1: Yeah, don't. I don't get it.
Speaker 2: And again I'm gonna say the difficult part out loud here.
Speaker 2: This is when people are always like, hey, you need
Speaker 2: a veteran backup quarterback, and I've always pushed back against that.
Speaker 2: Ye look at what happened in Tennessee last year. They
Speaker 2: signed Mason Rudolph. And to be honest with you, I
Speaker 2: don't cover the Titans. I don't know their front office.
Speaker 2: I had no idea why they signed Mason Rudolph last year.
Speaker 2: But if you look at how they handled the preseason,
Speaker 2: and Willis has talked about it as well as a
Speaker 2: training camp, he was clearly the number three. They'd really
Speaker 2: zeroed in on Mac and Rudolph being the backup. I
Speaker 2: don't know what the circumstances were there. I don't Every
Speaker 2: situation is different. I think the Packers have a really
Speaker 2: good process here for developing and training quarterbacks with Matt Lafleur.
Speaker 2: But for them to ship him out and then end
Speaker 2: up with the number one overall pick and then draft
Speaker 2: a quarterback again, it just it's mind boggling to me
Speaker 2: from Green Bay standpoint, it was a godsend. And here's
Speaker 2: the other aspect of it too, Mike, we know how
Speaker 2: quarterbacks are going the NFL. If Malik Willis puts together
Speaker 2: a decent training camp, puts together a decent preseason, good,
Speaker 2: doesn't even have to play the way he did last year,
Speaker 2: but solid, he's going to get a contract next year.
Speaker 2: It's just the way that position goes, and those contracts
Speaker 2: for quarterbacks are going up. Daniel Jones got fourteen million
Speaker 2: dollars this past year from Indianapolis. Do you know why
Speaker 2: that matters? For the compensatory formula that could put you
Speaker 2: right up to the top of the list for a
Speaker 2: potential third round. So when people were asking all off
Speaker 2: season about well they trade Malik Willis, why this is
Speaker 2: the perfect insurance policy. In addition to the fact that
Speaker 2: now he gets to be here, he has a good
Speaker 2: working relationship with Jordan Love. You don't have to fast
Speaker 2: forward through every great moment. Sometimes take a second to
Speaker 2: enjoy them. Yeah, this is a really good position for
Speaker 2: green Bay to be in, and Malik Willis calming. We
Speaker 2: talked so much about Brandon McManus settling down the kicking job.
Speaker 2: What Malik Willis did behind Jordan Love last year does
Speaker 2: not get talked about nearly enough.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'm very curious to see after the twenty
Speaker 1: twenty five season what opportunity Malik Willis lands for himself
Speaker 1: to potentially become a starting quarterback in this league again.
Speaker 1: Because man, the tools, the tools are there and on
Speaker 1: the pois green Bay. Green Bay was a green Bay
Speaker 1: was a nice fresh start for him, a reset in
Speaker 1: terms of coming in and knowing exactly where he fits.
Speaker 1: And he's the backup, he's the number two and he
Speaker 1: found found and had success. Yes, right away, When Malik
Speaker 1: Willis gets his next fresh start, that's going to be
Speaker 1: worth watching. There's no doubt in my mind about.
Speaker 2: That very much. So you and I need to get
Speaker 2: to practice. I want to get out of here right now.
Speaker 2: I know Justin Alan, who's back. If you ever, if
Speaker 2: you're a big viewer of Packers on scripted, Justin's back
Speaker 2: as our producer after a one year sabbatical down in
Speaker 2: South Bend, Indiana, we brought him back, so justin happy
Speaker 2: to have you here. But I also want to mention
Speaker 2: this is the last day for our intern, Olivia Grover
Speaker 2: in the social media department. We've had some amazing interns
Speaker 2: in my time here, but Mike dollar for dollar, pound
Speaker 2: for pound. This past year in digital and social we
Speaker 2: had probably my favorite crew of all time with Olivia,
Speaker 2: with Anna Murphy Pochask who now works for Discover Osh Gosh,
Speaker 2: also Hailey Treina and that goes out throughout the building.
Speaker 2: But Live did a fantastic job here with us. Anna
Speaker 2: did a fantastic job. Hailey dealt with all of our
Speaker 2: bogus stuff withans it. As I get older, you've been
Speaker 2: in the seat a little bit longer than me, the
Speaker 2: more I appreciate what you know, those kiddos give us
Speaker 2: for that year that they're with us and UH and
Speaker 2: then seeing them go on and spread their wings elsewhere.
Speaker 2: That's how kel ct Hans started, right, That's right, well,
Speaker 2: social media intern.
Speaker 1: In here now she's now she's running the running the
Speaker 1: show in UH in Kansas City, and she's getting shout
Speaker 1: outs from you on Packer's Unscripted.
Speaker 2: It's the best we can do. Dick Bobery likes to say,
Speaker 2: I'm a name droper. I'm gonna drop names, but I
Speaker 2: will say this, having Justin back, excited to have him
Speaker 2: with us. I don't know how often he's actually going
Speaker 2: to be working with us on the show, but having
Speaker 2: him back in the building a fun thing as well. Well.
Speaker 1: And he's training a new intern Hannah, Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: going to be taking over the show. And then uh
Speaker 1: and then yeah, she's gonna have to put up with
Speaker 1: us for just.
Speaker 2: In training people. Yeah, I feel like the oldest man
Speaker 2: on earth. All right.
Speaker 1: Well, with that, we are gonna call it a rap
Speaker 1: on this edition of Packers Unscripted and for the off
Speaker 1: season on Packers Unscripted. We will be back at some point,
Speaker 1: right around the start of training camp. We we'll be
Speaker 1: back in these chairs. We will fire up the microphones
Speaker 1: and the cameras and get going again. But until then,
Speaker 1: for Wes, I am Mike, thank you for tuning in everybody,
Speaker 1: and we will see you next time.