WEBVTT - #703 Packers Unscripted: Draft debrief 0:00:07.240 --> 0:00:07.960 Hi, everybody. 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:11.960 Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:14.880 I am Mike Spofford. He is my partner in crime, 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:17.640 Wes Hodkowitz. We're coming to you here from different locations 0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:22.320 ATLINO will Field to review the twenty twenty three draft 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:27.560 for the Packers weston thirteen selections over a span of 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:30.680 three days, including nine on the third and final day 0:00:30.720 --> 0:00:34.560 on Saturday. I don't know about you, but only having 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.559 Sunday off before coming back to work on Monday was 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:42.000 not enough of a break. But that being said, it 0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:45.840 was quite the eventful weekend in packerland. 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:47.840 You know what the weekend reminded me of, Mike. It's 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:50.360 where I don't know how many like ten k's or 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:53.159 half marathons you've run, but it's where you know you're 0:00:53.200 --> 0:00:56.280 prepared for it. Zero. Okay, well I've run a couple now, 0:00:56.680 --> 0:01:00.960 but if you're not properly conditioned to pacing, you can 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:03.040 kind of hit that wall at the end. That's what 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.600 the seventh round was for me. On Saturday night, it 0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:08.240 was like, Hey, I knew we were getting thirteen picks. 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:10.039 I knew it was going to be a long couple days, 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:12.160 but when we got to that seventh round and it 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:14.760 was one, two, three, four picks right in a row. 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:17.520 That was sort of that last push over the hump, 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:19.920 the most picks the Packers have had in the modern 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:24.240 draft era, seventh round era, uh tying that with two thousand. 0:01:24.400 --> 0:01:27.560 When you know, you look at Ron Wolf uh drafting 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:29.960 thirteen players and on that what would now be the 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:35.400 third day, he got Nile Diggs, Kabir Baja Biamila, and 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:39.760 Mark Tauschman. Oh sure, yeah, three pretty good football players. 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:43.000 And certainly there was one big line. It came from 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:48.040 Milt Hendrickson, uh, Packers director of player Operations, when he 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:51.080 came out to talk about some of the picks and 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:53.960 he said, you know, if you're batting three hundred, it 0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:56.919 always it's better to have, you know, thirteen at bats 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:59.520 than ten. And it's true, I mean it does. Having 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:01.560 those extra picks gives you a couple more swings at 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:02.920 the play and the Packers hope that they hit a 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:03.560 home run here. 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:04.360 Yeah. 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:06.800 Well, it was a busy three days. 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:10.160 And as we review the draft class here, we'll break 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:13.400 it down by phase offense, defense, special teams. 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:16.560 And when you look at you look at what the Packers. 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:19.600 Did on offense West This was about This was about 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:24.800 an influx of young talent at the perimeter positions. The 0:02:24.800 --> 0:02:29.200 Packers drafted three wide receivers, two tight ends, and a 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:32.480 running back. All of them are going to have a 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:35.280 tremendous opportunity to make their mark on the depth chart 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:39.960 here in Green Bay as things currently stand. The offensive 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:43.280 picks started on Friday night with the two tight ends, 0:02:43.280 --> 0:02:45.000 one in the second round, one in the third round, 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:48.400 Luke Musgrave from Oregon State and Tucker Craft from South 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:52.560 Dakota State. In between those two in the second round 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:56.399 was wide receiver Jaden Reid from Michigan State. And then 0:02:56.639 --> 0:03:02.360 two wide receivers added on Saturday, Dante Wicks from Virginia. 0:03:02.560 --> 0:03:04.520 I believe he goes by Tay, so I'm just gonna 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:08.840 call him Ta Wicks and Grant Dubo's from Charlotte. So 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:14.080 at tight end and wide receiver, not unexpected. What the 0:03:14.080 --> 0:03:17.720 Packers did loading up, so to speak, at those at 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:20.680 those two positions, at a combination there of early round 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:23.839 picks and some late round picks. To see what these 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:24.400 young men have. 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:26.720 Well, and as you said too, Mike, you and I 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:29.960 we haven't had necessarily the opportunity to dive right into 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:32.040 this draft. Yet we kind of slept a little bit 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:34.280 on Sunday and then we came into the office today 0:03:34.760 --> 0:03:38.160 one of the little type of you know, little research projects. 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:39.960 I want to do. It won't take too long, I'm sure. 0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:43.160 On drafthistory dot com was the last time the Packers 0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:46.680 out of a draft drafted a quarterback, a running back, 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:49.720 a receiver, at least one receiver, and at least one 0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:53.119 tight end. Uh, they addressed everything, and I think when 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:57.040 you look at what the Packers needs were, they lost 0:03:57.080 --> 0:03:59.520 a lot of their depth in free agency. Right, So 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:03.920 many people focus on the Aaron Rodgers transition to Jordan Love, 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:07.600 but you lose Allen Lazard, you lose Robert Tunyan. At 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:11.640 this time, Mercedes Lewis has not been resigned. The Packers 0:04:11.680 --> 0:04:14.640 needed not only to find some potential playmakers, they needed 0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:16.200 to be able to build out the depth of their 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:20.640 skill positions. Brian Gudikunz did that, starting really quickly, just 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:23.400 mentioning Musgrave and Craft. You know, there's a lot of 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:26.560 people in inbox asking, well, if you like one, why 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:28.880 did you have to take two? Well, the fact of 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:32.039 the matter is Mike last year, Robert Tunyan and Mercedes Lewis. 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:35.960 They ate up almost fifteen hundred snaps together. They started 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.440 twenty combined games over the course of the seasons. The 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:41.880 Packers love their twelve personnel package and they would just 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:46.800 be completely thrilled if both Musgrave and Craft end up 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:51.320 being solid NFL contributors. They have different type of skill sets, 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:53.760 but yet they're both incredibly versatile and what they do. 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:56.400 It's not like one is just strictly an inline blocker 0:04:56.440 --> 0:05:00.400 and one is a perimeter Jermichael Finley type type receiving 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:03.240 tight end. A lot of flexibility with how the Packers 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:05.600 want to use that position. When you only had Josiah 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.240 Deguara and Tyler Davis coming back from last season, you 0:05:08.320 --> 0:05:10.359 had to make a move and the Packers did that. 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:14.640 Yeah, Musgrave is that is that, you know, big target, 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:17.440 but with the speed down the field, He's that. He's 0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:20.760 that kind of prospect coming off of obviously a really 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:25.599 rough knee injury from last season. But he talked in 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:28.240 his conference called the Zoom Call that he had with 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:30.440 the media after he was picked. He talked about how 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:33.039 he he really pushed himself to be able to get 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:35.640 back on the field for the Senior Bowl. He knew 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:38.640 he could be one of these one of the top 0:05:38.720 --> 0:05:41.320 guys in a very deep tight end class as long 0:05:41.360 --> 0:05:44.000 as he would have a chance to show what he's got. 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:47.120 And and even though he really didn't have much of 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:49.680 a season, just two games at Oregon State last year 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:52.279 before the injury, he was back on the field for 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:55.840 the Senior Bowl. He did everything at the combine and 0:05:56.400 --> 0:05:59.159 he and he did become one of the top prospects 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:01.200 that was being talked to about very much so as 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:04.400 a as a second round target for a lot of teams, 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:07.120 and the Packers swooped in there. Then in the third 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:10.600 round they add another tight end in Tucker Craft. Now 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:13.520 this is a you know, an FCS All American from 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:16.520 South Dakota State. He even talked about how he had 0:06:16.640 --> 0:06:19.800 he he had nil offers, you know, a chance to 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:23.200 transfer from the smaller school, go big time, you know, 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:25.720 make some money as a college kid in this new 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:30.120 landscape of college football. He's from Timberlake, South Dakota, population 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:33.200 of five hundred and thirteen people, and he wanted to 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:35.520 stick to you know, stick to his roots, stick to 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:39.560 the to the small town, the small town roots that 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:41.760 he has, and now he's going to He's going to 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:44.120 take all that background to the big time, so to speak, 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:47.279 in the NFL. Sounds like a very very confident young man. 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:50.360 I had asked Brian gudakunst okay, So if the if 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:53.440 the vertical speed, which is what John Eric Sullivan had 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:57.239 had pegged Luke Musgrave as sort of the standout trait 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:00.400 in a very deep class of tight ends. If vertical 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:03.080 speed is is Luke Musgrave's thing, what is what is 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:04.159 Tucker Craft's thing? 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:06.080 And uh? 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:09.279 And Brian Guducum said, it's probably the run after the catch, 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:13.120 the the ability to stay balanced, to break tackles and 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:16.400 and you know, turn shorter passes into uh into some 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:20.200 longer gains. Both of these guys can run, but it's 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:22.920 it's a it's an interesting compliment to talk about the 0:07:22.920 --> 0:07:25.320 two of them, one of them being the downfield threat, 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:27.680 the other one being a guy who can maybe uh, 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:30.760 you know, break some tackles and and turn shorter passes 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:32.320 into more productive plays. 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:34.880 Yeah, you never want to have injuries, but when you 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:37.760 look at Muskrave. The mcl I wrote about this, I 0:07:37.760 --> 0:07:41.320 think in our Insider Inbox column that is probably the 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:43.520 best case scenario in terms of when you talk about 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:47.360 knee injuries, because he did his did require surgery. You know, 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:50.000 many times sprains can actually heal themselves when it's in 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:52.840 you know, a medial collateral ligament. But the thing that's 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:55.440 cool about it from his perspective is he was able 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:57.160 to get healthy again. He was able to go through 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:01.520 the offseason program, the pre draft process in show teams that, hey, 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:03.920 this is the type of player I am. Because Mike, 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:07.000 you mentioned the two games before he got hurt, he 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:11.280 was already halfway towards his entire output from the previous season. 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:14.040 He was in the midst of a breakout season with 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:17.680 the way that he started his twenty twenty two campaign. 0:08:17.880 --> 0:08:20.440 And from Craft's perspective, so much respect for the kid. 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:23.040 We'll talk about Carl Brooks at some point too. These 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:26.680 guys that look at for the programs that really invested 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:28.840 in them, and they stayed true to them. And I 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:31.160 think if anything has been proven here the last few years, 0:08:31.160 --> 0:08:33.280 when you look at what South Dakota State has done 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:36.840 obviously last year, North Dakota State and Christian Watson, not 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:40.880 only is are they producing NFL talent and NFL ready talent. 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:44.880 The amount of opportunities these kids get is pretty incredible. 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.240 I mean, I believe Kraft played in like fifteen games 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:50.800 or something close to that last year. I mean, these 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:55.520 kids get such a huge opportunity to be the guy 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:59.319 in these offenses. And another big thing that mil Hendrickson 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:01.920 talked about, you look for it. You look for these 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:05.400 young guys that maybe don't play against Alabama every week 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:08.280 to dominate their competition. And Craft is one of those 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:09.160 kids that has done that. 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:11.880 Yeah, and by sticking around to South Dakota State, he 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:15.120 won a national championship and he had he kept you 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:17.120 talk about playing the fifteen games. You know, they make 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:20.480 the whole big playoff run, they win the FCS national title, 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:23.800 and then he's moving on to the NFL and ends up, 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:26.160 you know, still getting picked in the third round despite 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:28.760 not being you know, from one of those big schools, 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:32.120 a wide receiver. You know, it's it's it's hard to 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:34.680 contain the excitement in some ways for Jaden Reid. The 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:40.360 selection out of Michigan State. Brian Gudakunz took Luke Musgrave 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:42.480 at picked number forty two in the second round. He 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:45.560 also had pick number forty five, he had Jaden Reid 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:48.880 on his radar. He actually traded back twice, picked up 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:51.680 a couple of extra Day three draft picks, ended up 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:54.640 moving back five spots as a result of those two trades, 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:57.640 and then still got read. And I think what's really interesting, 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:01.240 what's interesting about re and this is what I said 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:04.760 in our Insider Inbox column for Monday morning, the Packers 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:08.319 haven't had a receiver with with this type of profile 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:12.400 in Matt Lafleur's offense. They you know, they gave it 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.640 a try, I guess, so to speak with with Amari Rodgers, 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:17.760 you know, trying to find that slot receiver who could 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:20.840 run the jet sweeps and some of those things. But 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:24.080 a Mari Rodgers doesn't run like Jayden Reed does in 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:27.640 terms of the speed. Amari Rodgers was not, didn't didn't have, 0:10:28.040 --> 0:10:30.960 you know, all these highlights of contested catches, going up 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:34.240 and fighting for footballs and doing the kinds of things 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:37.560 that that Jayden Reid did at Michigan State. So there's 0:10:37.720 --> 0:10:41.720 there's a very different profile here. While Tay Wix and 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:45.320 Grant Dubo's are those you know, six one six two 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:48.480 and two hundred pound more of those classic. Uh, you 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:51.439 know Green Bay receivers in terms of the physical profile, 0:10:51.800 --> 0:10:53.800 Jayden Reed is not. And this is going to be 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:57.720 a very interesting addition in in addition to what he 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:01.600 did as a return specialist at Michigan State as well. 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:05.000 This is a very very interesting addition to Matt Lafleur's system. 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:08.440 As I've said numerous times now, it's always interesting to 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:11.400 see what the Packers' off season emphasis is and how 0:11:11.400 --> 0:11:14.440 that ultimately correlates to the team that they build for 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:18.280 the upcoming season. With looking just strictly at Reid for 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:20.719 a second last year, Christian Watson, he did some of 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:23.280 the jet sweep stuff, he did some of the backfield stuff. 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:25.079 But right away at the end of the year and 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:29.800 especially getting reiterated at the NFL scouting combine, Matt Lafuer said, 0:11:29.840 --> 0:11:31.800 you know, they want to get him going downfield. They 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:35.080 want to get Romeo Dobbs the vertical routes going, expanding 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:38.520 their road trees, making them top perimeter receivers in this league. 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:41.400 You expected that there would be a slot type receiver, 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:43.680 a jet sweep type option that might come out of 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:46.760 this year's draft in Boyle Boy. Does Reid fit that? 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:49.320 I mean This is a kid that did and wore 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:51.920 a lot of those different hats at Michigan State. He 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:54.560 offers you some punt returning flexibility. He's a guy that 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:57.640 is willing to play on coverage teams, although if if 0:11:57.640 --> 0:11:59.520 he shines the way he did at Michigan State, he 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:03.360 probably won't have to very often. I'm just so excited 0:12:03.400 --> 0:12:05.720 to see him, you know, come into the picture here. 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:08.200 I made no bones about it, Mike. When you and 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:10.840 I talked last week, I was really big on Jackson 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:13.439 Smith and Jigba still really big on that kid. I 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:15.559 can't wait to see what he does in Seattle. Seattle 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:18.160 has such a great track record for developing, you know, 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:20.280 that young talent right away and getting him on the field, 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:23.479 whether it's a you know, a you know, a Metcalf 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:27.720 or you know the slot receiver there that they had. 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:33.600 I almost said the Randall Cobb, you know kind of 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:36.440 look alike, but no, I mean, the fact of the 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:39.440 matter is, I just feel like Jiden Reid is going 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:42.440 to come in here four four five speed, being able 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:45.200 to make an impact right away, that the possibility is 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:47.280 there for all these young guys to play right off 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:49.920 the bat. And uh, I just see Reid as a 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:51.600 guy that's going to really flourish in this scheme. 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:55.440 Yeah, Elsewhere on the offensive side, you mentioned how the 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:58.120 Packers kind of hit on all of the all the 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:02.360 perimeter positions. Loun Nichols drafted in the seventh round running 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:04.439 back out of Central Michigan, and then also in the 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:08.319 fifth round, Sean Clifford, the quarterback from Penn State. I'll 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:12.400 start with the running back first. Nichols really interesting guy here, 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:17.480 much like much like Tay Wicks from Virginia. Twenty twenty 0:13:17.520 --> 0:13:23.200 one was really his big college season. Nichols had eighteen 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:26.360 hundred rushing yard sixteen touchdowns for Central Michigan in twenty 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:29.160 twenty one. Then in twenty twenty two, he dealt with 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:31.520 some injuries, was limited a little bit, sounded like he 0:13:31.679 --> 0:13:34.400 was trying to play through, you know, playing in some 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:36.800 games where he wasn't close to one hundred percent. Central 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:40.920 Michigan also had two offensive linemen from the twenty twenty 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:43.480 one from their twenty twenty one group that were drafted. 0:13:43.760 --> 0:13:46.680 That doesn't happen every year at a school like Central Michigan, 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:49.920 where two offensive linemen are are drafted in the NFL 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:52.199 the same year so there was a lot of transition 0:13:52.280 --> 0:13:55.840 going on there. But Nichols, I mean right away, Packers, No, 0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:58.480 obviously it's the Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon show at 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:01.840 running back. But yeah, have Patrick Taylor, you have Tyler Goodson, 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:05.880 and now you'll have Lou Nichols in that mix. As 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:08.320 in that mix to see who the number three running 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:09.160 back is going to be. 0:14:09.720 --> 0:14:12.160 It's funny listening to Nichols to talk about it. You know, 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:16.440 Mike so many times, the small NFL circles, just you know, 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:18.920 the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, if you will, how 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:22.920 these things go. Nichols his college coach at Central Michigan. 0:14:22.960 --> 0:14:26.600 His position coach is actually the same one that Aaron 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:30.840 Jones had throughout his time at Texas El Paso. Just 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:34.000 funny how those dominoes work. So he's very familiar with Jones, 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:38.160 He's very familiar with AJ Dillon. And when you look 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:40.200 at it on paper, Mike, the way he matches up 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:42.560 from a measurable standpoint in the fact that he's five 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:45.120 to eleven, two hundred and twenty pounds. This has been 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:47.640 a recurring story for the Packers over the last ten years. 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:49.760 These are the type of backs they like as awesome 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:53.320 as Aaron Jones is and as incredible future Packers Hall 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:55.840 of Famer the career he's had here. They like those 0:14:55.880 --> 0:14:59.440 two hundred and twenty pound kind of bellcow you know backs, 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:02.480 and and Nichols has done it at a really high level. 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:07.840 Eighteen hundred rushing yards and sixteen touchdowns is awesome. You 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:09.680 need a good offensive line to do it, but it 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:11.840 says something about the talent of the kid as well. 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:14.680 And then just to close really quickly on Sean Clifford, 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:17.440 I don't know if I ever recall maybe Graham Harrell 0:15:17.680 --> 0:15:19.760 would be the last time someone's come in that's had 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:22.560 as decorated of a college career as Clifford had over 0:15:22.640 --> 0:15:26.640 ten thousand passing yards eighty six touchdowns. This kid beat 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:30.600 out Will Levis for the for Penn State's quarterback job 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:33.560 three years ago. He knows what it's like to be 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:37.520 in the fire and definitely carries himself with, you know, 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:40.400 a leadership and sort of a confidence that I think 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:42.960 you really need from that position. And just to mention 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:46.440 this too, because people asking, well fifth round, why fifth round? Well, 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:48.560 you listened to Brian Goodigun's talk about it, where the 0:15:48.600 --> 0:15:51.160 Packers got him. Not only did they feel like that 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:53.520 was the best value in the best fit, there wasn't 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:57.080 necessarily a lot of guys underneath him that they valued 0:15:57.120 --> 0:15:59.640 in that same way, and certainly they wanted to bring 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:01.560 in another their quarterback. And now they got a pretty 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:03.000 good prospect here in Clifford. 0:16:03.440 --> 0:16:07.840 Yeah, Clifford one. I believe it's thirty two wins during 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:11.000 his you know, he started forty six games I think 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:14.000 at the college level at Penn State, which is which 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:16.480 is pretty remarkable. There are actually a few guys in 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:19.720 this draft class that that really were four year starters, 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:23.640 in some cases five year starters, and Clifford will be 0:16:23.680 --> 0:16:26.680 thrown thrown right in there. It's it's Sean Clifford or 0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:30.120 Danny Eettling right now for the number two job behind 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:33.440 behind Jordan Love. So the so the Packers are going 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:37.240 to see, you know, see how that shakes out. Brian 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:41.800 Gudakunz did not close the door necessarily on signing a 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:45.720 veteran quarterback, but I think he's gonna he wants to 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:49.160 see what how Ettling and Clifford do with the reps 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:52.280 that they will be given during OTAs. As you know, 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:56.360 as the backup competition gets going behind love there, so 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:00.440 before we shift gears to the defensive side, take care 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:03.560 of the sponsor business. Here West Sirius XM NFL Radio 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:06.800 delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:10.200 news that true football fanatics need. Twenty four to seven, 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:12.639 three sixty five and I had Cousin Subs. We have 0:17:12.720 --> 0:17:16.000 something for everyone, like our Wisconsin Cheese cards, mac and cheese, 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:18.399 golden fries, and creamy shakes, all paired with your favorite 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:22.040 sub or sub in a bowl. Cousin Subs fifty years 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:26.000 of better. All right, on the defensive side, That's where 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:29.720 the Packers began this draft, sitting at number thirteen overall 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:34.720 in the first round, and things, you know, went fairly predictably. 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:37.000 Maybe there were a couple of surprises in there. But 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:39.600 you and I both talked about it quite a bit 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:42.719 in our preview shows leading up to the draft that 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:46.560 Lucas van Ness, the edge rusher from Iowa, was was 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:51.159 a potential, a very strong candidate for the Packers to 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:53.440 select in the middle of the first round. And sure 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.840 enough he was there and the Packers took him. And 0:17:56.880 --> 0:17:59.840 this is this is a young man. I'll say this. 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:03.360 It he's twenty one years old. He's going to turn 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:06.080 twenty two just before the start of training camp. He 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:09.400 really only played two years at Iowa. I don't want 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:11.440 to hear all this stuff about how he didn't start 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:14.040 any games or whatever. It's like, Come on, the kid 0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:16.800 played a ton of football, all right. The whole starting 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:21.560 thing was just because of Iowa's you know, procedure with 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:24.199 their fifty year seniors and their veteran players and all that. 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:26.440 Lucas van Ness was a star on a really good 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:28.600 Iowa defense. Okay, So I don't want to hear this 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:32.879 about the not starting games. But this pick feels a 0:18:32.960 --> 0:18:35.840 lot to me like the Rashaan Gary pick from a 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:39.639 few years ago. A young guy who the Packers believe 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:43.439 has not reached his potential at all, who has lined 0:18:43.520 --> 0:18:47.280 up both inside and outside, as far as along the 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:51.080 defensive front and getting after the passer. The biggest difference here, 0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:53.760 in my opinion, with the van s pick versus the 0:18:53.760 --> 0:18:56.600 Gary pick, is Gary was chosen right after the Packers 0:18:56.600 --> 0:18:59.439 had just signed Zadarius and Preston Smith to be the 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:04.440 starting out linebackers. Lucas van Ness is coming in at 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:07.840 a time that the Packers don't know when Rashawon Gary 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:10.760 is going to be back. You have Preston Smith on 0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:12.600 the one edge. This is a young man who could 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:14.720 come in and start right away. That was not the 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:18.199 expectation for Rashaon Gary. It very well could end up 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:20.480 being the expectation for van Ness. 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:23.920 Yeah. I've never really seen a situation like this before, Mike, 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:27.280 where you have a rookie that's coming in that could 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:30.840 potentially be playing right off the bat, I mean at 0:19:30.840 --> 0:19:32.840 the edge rushing position. I mean, even to go back 0:19:32.880 --> 0:19:36.199 and think about Clay Matthews, I mean Aaron Campman was 0:19:36.240 --> 0:19:39.159 also kind of you know peer, you know, earmarked for 0:19:39.240 --> 0:19:42.560 that outside rusher position. Clay was not a guy that 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:44.960 they even necessarily thought about that Nick Perry, you had 0:19:45.000 --> 0:19:47.560 Mike Neil and certainly as you talked about with the 0:19:47.560 --> 0:19:49.560 Smith bros. In Rashaan Gary. 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:52.080 Yeah, Clay Matthews, I don't think. I don't think he 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:55.560 started until like his fourth or fifth NFL game. He 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:57.560 was not a starter the first month of the season 0:19:57.600 --> 0:19:58.320 his rookie year. 0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:01.280 Yeah, so it's it. It is a process. But in 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:03.919 this case with Vaness, it makes so much sense. And 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:06.400 I talked a lot about you know my head going 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:09.280 with my heart with that first round pick. Certainly, as 0:20:09.280 --> 0:20:11.919 I've talked about numerous times, JSN was my heart. But 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:14.960 in my head it's always about tackles and edge rushers 0:20:14.960 --> 0:20:17.439 for the Packers. In the first round, you just don't 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:20.879 find that type of talent that separates itself from the 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:24.440 rest of its position, quite like outside rusher and quite 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:27.320 like tackle. Why because they're the ones that are most 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:30.680 directly tied to the quarterback, pressuring the quarterback and protecting them. 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:33.800 And Lucas Vaness where he really benefited last year mic 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:37.439 as everybody's so tied up on this starting business, is 0:20:37.440 --> 0:20:39.520 the fact that he was able to put tape out 0:20:39.520 --> 0:20:42.240 there against Paris Johnson, he was able to put tape 0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:45.840