WEBVTT - #592 Packers Unscripted: Rookie recap 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:10.600 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:13.640 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford, joined by my 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:16.400 trusted colleague West Hodkowitz. Were coming to you here from 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:19.560 our studios at lambeau Field West here today to talk 0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:23.240 about Rookie Minicamp, which took place last weekend. It was 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:28.320 our first chance, the Packers coaches, first chance to see 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:32.440 this rookie class, particularly the nine draft picks um in 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:35.840 uniform going through some drills out there on Clarke Hinkle Field. 0:00:36.240 --> 0:00:39.320 What were your first impressions, anything that you walked away 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:41.800 from those two days of practice thinking about t J. 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:45.920 Slayton is a massive human being the first thing. Uh 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:52.000 Amari Rodgers Man, I saw it. I again, we have 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:53.920 a long way to go see what kind of pro 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:56.680 Marie Rogers is going to be. But it's funny you 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:59.960 go through this too when you do these stories on guys. 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:02.360 Is after the draft, he talked to some of their 0:01:02.360 --> 0:01:05.800 position coaches or a parent or a sibling. You get 0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:07.440 a feel for who they are as a person, but 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:08.800 you also got a feel for who they are as 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:12.000 a player. And it's one thing to look at a 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:16.360 biography or to look at an NFL dot Com scouting 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:20.600 report for a draft pick and see five ft nine 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:23.520 pounds and and try to make sense of all these 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:29.319 different measurables and times and backgrounds. But when you watch 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:32.320 him on the practice field, you understand why he's a 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:34.440 third round pick. You understand why this is a guy 0:01:34.520 --> 0:01:38.480 the Packers traded up to secure. It's you know, the 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:41.760 forty time four point five one or whatever it was. 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:45.920 Tyler Grisham swears he's a four or four guy. You 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:49.560 saw the explosiveness. You saw how when you're that, when 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:51.920 you're that size, Mike, you got to be able to 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:53.840 to catch the ball natural with your hands. You gotta 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:56.360 keep it away from your body. He did all that. 0:01:56.600 --> 0:01:58.720 It wasn't without flaw. I mean, there was a drop 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:01.320 ter in one of the asking drills from the receivers 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:05.080 to the quarterbacks. But I just I was really intrigued 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:07.600 by Maybe it's because we haven't seen a rookie draft 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:09.680 pick in one of these things in three years, but 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:12.400 I I just for me, that was the guy had 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:14.480 my eye on. I don't think he disappointed. Yeah, I 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:16.880 think there were definitely a few of the guys that 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:20.760 came in as as advertised. I guess I would say, 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:24.119 because when we first got to look at Eric Stokes 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:28.440 going through drills and whatnot, Um, his speed, his foot 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:32.000 speed is obvious. Like it it's it shows up immediately, 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:34.960 and uh sure it's not going to show up maybe 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:37.240 quite as much when he's on the same field as 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:40.480 Jayar Alexander and Darnell Savage and these other really fast 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:42.600 guys the Packers have on defense, but in a rookie 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:45.040 mini camp setting. That's why this guy was a first 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:48.560 round pick, because because his speed, um, you know, jumps 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:52.760 off the field at you. Um. Amari Rodgers, I would 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:55.480 also say, very much as advertised, we heard a lot 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:57.680 about his build. I didn't watch a lot of the 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:01.120 college film on Amari Rodgers. I wasn't really that familiar 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:05.040 with him. But then to see him live and impersonate, 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:09.040 you know, the build is exactly what he was described as. 0:03:09.040 --> 0:03:12.880 And then when you see the fluidity of the moves 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:17.280 of how he how he uses that frame and the 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:21.880 the shift nous combined with you know, some legitimate quickness 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:25.720 and speed there and then as you said right from 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:29.480 the top, T. J. Slayton, my goodness, is that a 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:33.560 large man. I mean Wow. You know we're around we're 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:36.200 around big guys all the time, right, But it's it's 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:39.440 one of those things where when when these are rookies 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:41.440 and these are young guys and you know that they 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:45.360 aren't necessarily I mean, we've we've seen what David Baktari 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:48.240 has become from when he was here in as a 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:51.360 fourth round rookie to the to the man, the human, 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:53.880 the player that he is. Now we've seen Kenny Clark, 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:57.040 you know, the same way when you see a rookie 0:03:57.080 --> 0:04:00.480 that looks like t. J. Slayton looks uh, it kind 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:02.320 of takes your breath away in a sense because you're 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:05.200 just like wow, like you wonder like what you know, 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:07.880 is there more room for growth or what exactly is 0:04:07.960 --> 0:04:09.960 his body gonna look like two or three or four 0:04:10.040 --> 0:04:13.200 years down the road. So those are the kinds of 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:15.680 those are the kinds of things that certainly jump out 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:18.359 at me. And getting back to Amari Rogers for a second, 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:21.360 you talked about, you know, the natural hands and whatnot. 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:25.600 We saw him, um not in a full punt return drill, 0:04:25.680 --> 0:04:28.599 but we saw him catching punts in in a couple 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:33.520 of different periods, and um, that certainly looks natural. He 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:39.400 looks like he's been catching wobbly, funny looking you know, spheroids, 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:41.800 you know, hurtling through the air. Looks like he's been 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:44.159 doing that since he was about six years old. Quite frankly, 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:46.880 because it just it it looked easy for him. And 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:50.400 we've seen plenty of situations with punt returners back there 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:52.960 where it doesn't always look so easy, and and that 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:55.080 definitely stood out to me as you kind of held 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:58.160 your breath at times. And there's a difference between watching 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:03.599 a series of players, receivers, running backs, defensive backs try 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:06.839 to go back and field punts, and there is a 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.800 difference between seeing a guy who has done it at 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:13.000 the highest level of college football for three years has 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:15.960 done it going back to high school. I just it 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:19.760 was it's like it's like being in no disrespect teachers, 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:22.240 but like it's like being in like a middle school room, 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:26.919 right and watching a history teacher explain to students, you know, okay, 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:30.479 George Washington and John Adams and then going and being 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:35.000 in you know, a graduate school level college course, and 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:37.120 it's just you just felt like you're in a different 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:40.359 room when you're watching him play the ball, and and 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:42.479 the other thing about him too. He has a low 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:46.520 center of gravity and it's just again five ft nine. 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:48.560 That might be something. You know, it's gonna be tough 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:50.280 to be a first round pick at five ft nine 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:54.040 in his position, But if you watch the way he 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:58.279 moves and just how deceptive he is with his speed 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:00.600 and his burst, and you can understand this guy is 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:03.760 gonna be effective on jet motions because he has the 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:07.400 Tyler Irvin type body with thirty more pounds of muscle 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:10.120 on it. You can understand why he's going to be 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:14.240 effective in the slot. There's just so many different aspects 0:06:14.279 --> 0:06:15.920 of him to like. But the one thing I wrote 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:18.360 it insider in boxes. I'm not saying you have to 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:20.920 chalk him down for a thousand all purpose yards or 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:24.960 you know, ten touchdowns as a rookie. But Mike, you've 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:27.760 saw Randall Cobb in two thousand eleven. I'm not saying 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:29.400 he has to be Randall Cobb out of the gate. 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:32.039 But you've seen how guys with his skill set in 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:35.080 his pensiont for being able to handle special teams. How 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:36.920 that guy could come in year one and make an 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:40.440 impact with this roster. Yeah, absolutely, Um quickly, here, what's 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:43.160 a little bit of sponsored business. Serious x M NFL 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:46.039 Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:52.599 NFL news that true football fanatics need. Seven three All right, Well, 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:55.960 one third of the Packers draft class three of the 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:58.920 nine selections were on the offensive line. Now, I will admit, 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:03.039 because most of the time the offensive linemen were doing 0:07:03.120 --> 0:07:05.160 drills all the way across the field from where we 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:08.160 were standing, I'm not going to sit here and say 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:11.120 I saw all kinds of things. Go, I have a 0:07:11.120 --> 0:07:12.840 scouting report on every guy. I can tell you that 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:14.480 what I was, what I was going to what I 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:16.960 was going to say is that even though I didn't 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:19.520 didn't don't really have a whole lot to say here 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:23.040 with regard to Josh Meyers, Cole Van Landon, and Royce Newman, 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:25.480 I did see Royce Newman's hair from all the way 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.960 across the field. Um. Sorry, I just had to throw 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:31.520 that in there. But uh, but no, the Packers drafted 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:36.160 drafted three offensive linemen. Um, certainly, uh certainly, size wise, 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:39.000 they all look like they belong. And as you know, 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:42.400 we've talked about this before, we're gonna see these guys 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.360 through O, T, A s and everything like that. But 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:46.680 until those pads go on in training camp, and you 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:50.320 start seeing these young offensive linemen, you know, banging it 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:54.720 around with veteran defensive linemen handling their one on ones. Uh, 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:57.120 you know, the one on one pass rush, pass protection drill, 0:07:57.200 --> 0:07:59.600 those kinds of things. We won't really get much of 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.080 a sense of of the offensive lineman, but certainly from 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:05.240 a size perspective, you can see how they fit the 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:08.320 type of lineman that Green Bay likes to bring in here. 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:10.440 No question, didn't mean to step on your voice either 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:13.760 with that punch line. That's a good one. Uh. Here's 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:16.480 the one thing I did notice you and I covered 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:22.800 Scott Wells, Jeff Saturday, Evan Smith, Corey Lindsley was an 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:26.160 upgrade in terms of size of those centers. Was a 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:31.120 bigger guy. Then you see Josh Myers, and while I'm 0:08:31.160 --> 0:08:34.000 guessing him and Corey are probably right around the same weight, 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:38.559 Josh is you know, two inches taller. Uh. Now, again, 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:40.960 nobody's annointing him the starting center. He's gonna have to 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:43.760 work for the Packers. The thing about how versatile and 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:48.079 how deep they are, that starting offensive line could basically 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:50.560 take any form they wanted to. I don't know if 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:53.400 going into training camp absent of David baxt R, who's 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:55.480 still coming back from the e c L. I don't 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.600 know if you can pencil anybody in at a specific spot. 0:08:59.120 --> 0:09:03.720 That being said, if Josh Myers does win the center job, 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:08.360 it's going to give them their biggest asset they've really 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:12.719 had at that position in decades. When you look at 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:15.560 where he was drafted, the size of that position, and 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.320 just his kind of legacy and pedigree, and what I 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:22.160 like about it is that's kind of the way the 0:09:22.240 --> 0:09:24.120 league is trended. You know. I even asked him that 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:27.000 on Friday. You know, when you look at your size 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:29.560 and your makeup, what allows you to sort of succeed 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:31.840 at that level? Because six ft five you would think, 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:35.160 you know, smaller, powerful defensive tackles are gonna be able 0:09:35.160 --> 0:09:37.559 to get up over the shoulders on him. And as 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:40.120 Meyer said, He's like, you know, I've just my athleticism, 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:42.920 my footwork, and my ability to get low. That is 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:44.959 what is what enabled him to stay at that spot. 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:48.120 He likes center, he embraces center, and Mike if that's 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:50.480 the way that this whole deck would shuffle out, that 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:52.640 is a body type that they've never had at that position, 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:54.719 at least as long as I can remember. Yeah, we're 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:57.360 certainly seeing a bit of a change in that direction. 0:09:57.400 --> 0:10:00.240 And it's and as we talked about on a previous show, 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:02.800 not just with the Packers drafting Josh Meyers, but we've 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:06.160 seen it around the league that that, you know, these 0:10:06.160 --> 0:10:08.840 guys who are six ft four, six ft five playing center, 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:11.520 it's not as rare as it used to be. At 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:13.280 starting to become a little more calm. Yeah, And I 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:16.520 just remember how like crazy people thought Seattle was when 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:18.840 they moved justin britt there. That was a big storyline 0:10:18.840 --> 0:10:21.400 when you had a six ft five center, And now, yeah, 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:23.200 that's that's the way these things go. If you have 0:10:23.280 --> 0:10:26.040 a quarterback that meets some of those those you know, 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:28.360 things of either being over that six two range or 0:10:28.400 --> 0:10:30.760 being able to escape the pocket, it opens up some 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:32.600 options for you there. And that's probably why you've seen 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:35.600 over the last twenty five years those rules and regulations 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:37.920 kind of change a little bit. On the offensive line. Yeah, 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:41.360 another interesting element we got kind of a close up 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:45.240 look at because the running backs were doing their drills 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:47.360 on our side of the field, you know, where where 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:52.840 we were stationed with the rest of the media Kylan Hill, 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:55.960 the seventh round pick from Mississippi State in the mix. 0:10:56.000 --> 0:11:01.280 But also because rookie mini camps will allow for certain 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:04.600 players if you if you don't have enough service time 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:08.120 on on a fifty three man roster, etcetera, you can 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:10.839 still participate in a rookie mini camp even though you're 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:14.680 not technically a rookie anymore. And that actually allowed both 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:18.440 Mike Webber and Patrick Taylor, two running backs the pack 0:11:18.520 --> 0:11:22.920 Packers are bringing back from last year to participate in 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:25.800 the rookie mini camps. So suddenly there, as far as 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:28.600 the running backs were concerned, you had you have three 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:31.360 of the four guys Dexter Williams was the one who 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:33.920 is not there, but three of the four guys who 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:36.400 are going to be competing for the number three running 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:40.280 back job behind Aaron Jones and a J. Dillon Um 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:43.080 And it's interesting, I guess I would say, you know, 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:46.520 no two running backs are ever exactly alike, right there 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:49.240 definitely definitely some some different body types, and I think 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:50.920 as we get in a training camp will see what 0:11:51.000 --> 0:11:53.760 some of the strengths and weaknesses are with regard to 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:56.480 these players. But one thing that stood out to me 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:58.840 from the two practices over the weekend is all three 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:03.120 of those guys, Taylor, Webber, and Hill all showed some 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:05.680 hands in terms of catching passes out of the backfield, 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.920 and not just not just making the routine one, but 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:11.720 making some tough catches on some throws that maybe we're 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:13.719 a little bit you know, to the sideline this way 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:16.520 or maybe a little high. They were snagging those and 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:18.520 and and bringing those in. It was actually, it was 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:21.400 actually a pretty pretty impressive set of drills for a 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:23.920 while there. Yeah, you're absolutely right on that. This time 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:26.400 of the year, rookie minicamp, a lot of it is 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:28.840 just trying to get acclimated, trying to get these guys 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:30.959 up to speeds so when they bring the vets back in, 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:32.920 they don't have to skip a beat. They don't have 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:35.880 to take you know, time to show these guys what's expected. 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:40.760 They know it. But occasionally in these summer practices you 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:44.480 see the competition begin, and in this case, I thought 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.120 that was really true. With running back. Uh, we don't 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:49.079 get to talk to them. We did talk to Kylan 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:52.360 Hill on Saturday, but you definitely got the field, like, 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:54.719 you know what those guys are running routes out of 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:57.240 the backfield. You know, you saw Kylan Hill and Mike 0:12:57.280 --> 0:13:00.760 Webber both really extend to catch passes. Maybe weren't right 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:03.200 where they were supposed to be because that was what 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:05.160 the expectation was and they want to show that they 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:07.960 can handle it. Guy like Patrick Taylor, Mike he's a 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:09.720 guy whos been very high on since the beginning. Not 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:12.200 trying to pat myself on the back, but anybody would 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:16.080 tell you this. I mean, six ft two seventeen pounds 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.040 almost kind of reminds you of a little bit thicker 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:21.160 James Starks in that way, and a guy that was 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:23.920 really going to be the bell Cow, at least it 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:26.199 looked that way from Memphis going into his last year 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:28.680 there he has I believe it was the List Frank injury, 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:31.360 the foot injury, and then it kind of wipes him 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:33.599 out for most of that season and caused them to 0:13:33.720 --> 0:13:36.079 MRS Rookie Season in Green Bay. But the Packers knew 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:38.880 that when they signed him as an undrafted free agent 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:41.440 they wanted him in the fold. He was around all 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:44.280 last year on pup. He practiced a little bit at 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:48.280 the end of last season. I'm really excited about watching 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:51.800 this running back battle happened because you have Aaron Jones 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.559 and AJ Dillon, you have the h back types that 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:56.920 will help with some of the blocking. But Matt Laflora 0:13:57.040 --> 0:14:00.439 said it, he wants three options back there, and then Wells, 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:03.280 Hill and Taylor, and then also throwing Dexter back into 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:05.120 that equation. Once they get back to O. T A. S. 0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:08.400 You have four different types of running backs to choose 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:10.000 from there, and it's kind of up to the Packers 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:12.319 to pick their own adventure. Yeah, I think this is 0:14:12.320 --> 0:14:15.240 gonna this This number three running back competition is going 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:18.000 to be really interesting, and I know we mentioned before 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:21.600 a lot of it will probably come down to the 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:24.840 preseason games. As these guys get you know, get carries. 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:27.960 They're not necessarily running scripted plays like they are in practice. 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:30.560 You get to see, okay, how quickly can they hit 0:14:30.600 --> 0:14:33.080 the whole how how can they can they break tackles, 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:35.440 you know, make guys miss what do they look like 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:38.720 in that live action in the preseason games. But the 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:40.680 one thing that I think is going to be watched 0:14:40.760 --> 0:14:45.440 really really closely in practice, uh this summer, as opposed 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:47.600 to the preseason games, we may not see as much 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:50.800 as the past protection because in the preseason games. Now, 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:54.080 maybe Robert sala as a good friend of Matt Lafleur, 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:56.720 when his Jets are playing the Packers in the preseason, 0:14:56.760 --> 0:14:58.640 he'll dial up some blitz is there to test the 0:14:58.720 --> 0:15:03.280 young running backs, but doesn't happen very often in preseason games, right, 0:15:03.320 --> 0:15:06.600 So the blitz pick up drills and in the eleven 0:15:06.640 --> 0:15:10.040 on eleven in training camp, that's where these young running 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:11.560 backs are going to be put to the test in 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:14.160 terms of in terms of the past protection and will 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:17.480 and we will see potentially some separation there. You think 0:15:17.520 --> 0:15:23.400 back to with the three running backs the Packers had drafted. 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:26.920 They had the three rookies there, Williams, Jones, and DeVante May's. 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:30.720 We saw Jamal Williams separate himself immediately because he was 0:15:30.800 --> 0:15:33.240 a step ahead in the past protection part of it 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:36.600 right from the beginning as a young player. Aaron Jones 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:39.760 is certainly more than caught up in that respect over 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:42.680 the last few years. But that's I think something we're 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:47.440 gonna be watching closely come August as as the past 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:50.560 protection drills take place out there in training camp. And 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:52.560 you saw last year, Mike, I mean when the you know, 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:55.640 injuries hit and then unfortunately the COVID issue flared up 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:58.680 with both you know A. J. Dillon and Jamal Williams 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:00.760 being a close contact, had to go on that that 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:03.480 list and miss a game that that originally meant that 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:05.200 it was gonna have to be dexter Williams and then 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:07.400 they had to make some shifts and things of that nature. 0:16:07.440 --> 0:16:09.200 But you never know when your number is going to 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:11.520 get called, and that's why it matters. But Kylan Hill, 0:16:12.120 --> 0:16:14.200 I'm really excited to see him try to get his 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:18.480 career back going here. He obviously had that tremendous season 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:22.320 two years ago. He opts out after three games after 0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:25.400 Mike Leach takes over, so he's sort of an unknown 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:28.800 commodity in some regards despite being a former All SEC 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:33.320 running back. So again, you talk about storylines and training 0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:35.560 camp in preseason games, running backs always one of them 0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:37.280 because it's the most easy to point to, it's the 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:38.960 most easy to the naked eye to be able to 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.840 look and understand and see who could potentially separate themselves. 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:43.760 And in this particular case, this is one of the 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:45.800 more captivating battles that we're probably going to see at 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:50.280 that position. And sometime, yeah, absolutely anything else from rookie weekend. 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:52.200 You want to touch on here before we sign off 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:54.400 for the day. Yeah, I mean, you know, the Packers 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:57.880 were in an interesting spot. They had up to five 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:00.440 trial players that they could have brought in. They only 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:03.320 chose to use three of those. Certainly the COVID things 0:17:03.440 --> 0:17:05.960 changed it. The Packers went from two thousand nineteen having 0:17:06.000 --> 0:17:09.680 forty nine players at that rookie orientation camp. Surprisingly, Alan 0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:11.600 Lazard was one of them. It just shows you how 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:13.920 fast time moves, considering the role that he's carved out 0:17:13.920 --> 0:17:17.560 for himself to this year, they you know, could only 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:19.679 use twenty eight. So how did they use those spots? 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:22.040 But with only having two quarterbacks on the roster, or 0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:24.600 at least that were eligible going into the weekend, that 0:17:24.640 --> 0:17:26.600 meant that they had to bring in some tryout players. 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:29.760 So Chad Kelly, former seventh round pick, had an opportunity 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:32.960 and Kirk ben Kurt Kurt ben Kurt, I gotta make 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.400 sure I get that right, was the other tryout guy 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:39.520 spent three seasons with Atlanta and then also Elvin Jones Jr. 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:42.520 Eron's twin brother at linebackers also brought in and Ben 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:44.360 Kurt was the one that ended up getting the job 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:47.320 the ninety spot on the rosters. So a guy that, 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:50.080 as I mentioned, had been developed for three years with 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:52.000 the Falcons if Falcons thought enough of them to keep 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:54.680 him around, played two seasons at u v A. Was 0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:57.960 very successful, They're very productive. So excited to see what 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:00.880 he brings to this competition. But with Blake portals four 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:04.040 quarterbacks on the roster, Uh, it's gonna be an interesting 0:18:04.080 --> 0:18:06.280 summer as we get into the height of the off 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:08.560 season program. Yeah, and we will get our first look 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:11.400 at Blake Bortles in a Packer uniform next week when 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:13.960 O t A s begin. I believe we're going to 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:16.760 get to watch maybe one practice a week and uh, 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:18.720 and you know, we'll see what see what we see 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:21.320 at the quarterback position. Any predictions on the numbers yet, 0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:25.960 Bortles has only worn number five, and as we know here, 0:18:25.960 --> 0:18:28.399 it's unofficially retired, so very curious to see which one 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:32.920 he picks. Can't pick fifteen either. Yeah, I've never been 0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:35.680 a big numbers guy, but in this particular case, especially 0:18:35.680 --> 0:18:38.520 with eight already being taken by Marie Rogers, Marie Rogers 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:41.240 taking number eight, it's all my eye on that one. 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.960 All right, sounds good. Well, with that, we will call 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:46.600 it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be 0:18:46.640 --> 0:18:48.520 sure to follow all of our coverage of the team 0:18:48.800 --> 0:18:51.520 on packers dot com for West, I'm Mike. Thank you 0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:53.840 for tuning in everybody. We will see you next time.