Speaker 1: Yeah, hi everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com.
Speaker 1: I am Mike Spofford, rejoined by my trusted colleague West Hodkowitz.
Speaker 1: He was out of the office on assignment and that's
Speaker 1: something we will eventually reveal as time goes on, but
Speaker 1: we have to keep it under wraps for now exactly
Speaker 1: what you were working on. But in the meantime, West
Speaker 1: John Coon sat down with me here on our last
Speaker 1: show to recap the Packers drafted. An excellent job. I
Speaker 1: really appreciated his insights. Before we move on to some
Speaker 1: other topics, just want to get your overall thoughts on
Speaker 1: this two thousand nineteen draft for the Packers, which ended
Speaker 1: up with an eight player draft class. Yeah. I liked it.
Speaker 1: I liked the kind of balance of it. I think
Speaker 1: if you and I three months ago would have said
Speaker 1: what are the big needs for the Packers, I think
Speaker 1: a lot of people would have said it was edge rusher.
Speaker 1: A lot of people would have mentioned the tight end
Speaker 1: position and obviously getting some more depth on the offensive line.
Speaker 1: They addressed all of that throughout the free agent process
Speaker 1: and also the draft. I thought going into Day three
Speaker 1: they only had four picks, but I like the fact
Speaker 1: they were also able to get the safety Darnell Savage.
Speaker 1: I think there's a lot of people out there that
Speaker 1: would agree that that was the top safety in this draft,
Speaker 1: if not the top defensive back pound for pound in
Speaker 1: this year's draft. I like his speed, I like everything
Speaker 1: he brings to the table, and to be able to
Speaker 1: add some really intriguing prospects. When you look at Rashan Gary,
Speaker 1: when you look at Um, you know Elton Jenkins, a
Speaker 1: guy that has a lot of flexibility, could potentially fill
Speaker 1: a lot of different holes for them. I know it's
Speaker 1: such a cliche to talk about how a team gets better. Theoretically,
Speaker 1: all thirty two teams are going to get better after
Speaker 1: an NFL draft, but I just feel like this where
Speaker 1: I wanted to see this roster get deeper going into
Speaker 1: offseason program and more specifically training camp. I feel like
Speaker 1: the Packers achieved that. Yeah, I think they did too,
Speaker 1: and we're gonna get an up close look at this
Speaker 1: draft class for the first time this weekend. The Rookie
Speaker 1: Mini Camp will be taking place here at lambeau Field
Speaker 1: and across the street at the Don Hudson Center. So
Speaker 1: next week, after getting a chance to talk to some
Speaker 1: of these draft picks. Will We'll get some more insights there.
Speaker 1: But the other thing I want to move on to
Speaker 1: is taking a look at the Packers biggest rivals in
Speaker 1: the NFC North and exactly what they did in the
Speaker 1: draft and your impressions there. We can start with the
Speaker 1: Detroit Lions because they had the highest pick of any
Speaker 1: NFC More team. They were at eight overall in the
Speaker 1: first round. They took t J. Hockenson, the tight end
Speaker 1: out of Iowa, which, um that selection might have been
Speaker 1: the worst kept secret in the entire draft. There was
Speaker 1: probably ninety five point six percent of all mock drafts
Speaker 1: had t J. Hockinson going to Detroit at number eight,
Speaker 1: and that's exactly how it played out. There are other
Speaker 1: top pick, Um, I hope I'm pronouncing this correctly, Jelam
Speaker 1: to Vay, a linebacker from Hawaii. I admit I don't
Speaker 1: really know anything about him, and I admit I don't
Speaker 1: know if you pronounced that correct. Yeah. But um so
Speaker 1: the Lions getting another weapon for Matthew Stafford on offense
Speaker 1: and seemingly continuing to build their defense through the linebacker
Speaker 1: position with to Bai joining Gerard Davis and a couple
Speaker 1: of other young guys that Detroit has been building at
Speaker 1: at that spot. Yeah. I have no idea who Tobay is,
Speaker 1: and I assume he's going to go on and have
Speaker 1: a nice little career as a second round pick. I
Speaker 1: wish him well. I want to focus more on Hockinson. Sure,
Speaker 1: because so many times, Michael, you and I would come
Speaker 1: on this show, we do insider Inbox and we basically
Speaker 1: tell fans for all intensive purposes, you know nothing about
Speaker 1: how to draft NFL players. Hockinson's probably exception to that.
Speaker 1: I think that that was a no brainer for the Lions.
Speaker 1: I don't think you need to be a guy that's
Speaker 1: been in the NFL for twenty five years to understand
Speaker 1: not only was that the best fit for Detroit at
Speaker 1: that spot, that was the best pick they could make
Speaker 1: at that spot. Hogginson has is probably is highly touted
Speaker 1: as well rounded as a tight end prospect that I
Speaker 1: can recall in the last fifteen years. I was trying
Speaker 1: to think about it. Maybe Vernon Davis. Vernon Davis is
Speaker 1: Vernon dave Us is the other one that comes to mind,
Speaker 1: And I guess another one I think who was pretty
Speaker 1: highly touted, but his career didn't work out really for
Speaker 1: more off the field reasons. But Kellen Winslow Jr. Was
Speaker 1: another guy coming out that had a lot of hype.
Speaker 1: But I think Vernon Davis is maybe the best comparable
Speaker 1: here just because of all the well rounded nous as
Speaker 1: you said, the blocking and the receiving and and and
Speaker 1: let's face it, I mean, you look at the last
Speaker 1: couple of years for the Detroit Lions. Calvin Johnson retired,
Speaker 1: they traded Golden Tate. Now, nothing against Marvin Jones Jr.
Speaker 1: And Kenny Golladay, but you need to get another weapon
Speaker 1: for Matthew Stafford. And this was a position that of
Speaker 1: dire need for the Lions skill position wise, this was
Speaker 1: the best weapon this draft had to offer. And the
Speaker 1: other thing I like about Hockinson too, as opposed to Winslow,
Speaker 1: and even to some extent, as opposed to Vernon Davis,
Speaker 1: who had to work through some maturity issues in his
Speaker 1: formative years. Sure, Hockinson seems like a really well polished
Speaker 1: young man. He seems like he checked all the boxes
Speaker 1: in terms of professionalism and has everything you look for
Speaker 1: in a tight end you can really build your offense around.
Speaker 1: He's going to be the best friend for Stafford and
Speaker 1: unfortunately for the Packers weapon that they're gonna have to
Speaker 1: take into account moving forward. But for my money, eighth
Speaker 1: pick overall, it just made a lot of sense for
Speaker 1: them to go that direction. One other guy just down
Speaker 1: the road to keep an eye on for the Lions.
Speaker 1: They also drafted in the middle rounds Austin Bryant, a
Speaker 1: defensive end from Clemson. Now, this Clemson defense had four
Speaker 1: players drafted in the top forty picks, I believe of
Speaker 1: the draft now, Bryant was sort of the extra guy
Speaker 1: who had to wait a while, and he was drafted
Speaker 1: in the middle rounds. And with the there's been so
Speaker 1: much change over on that Lions defensive line from what
Speaker 1: we remember of the the Endomic and Sue Days and
Speaker 1: Nick Fairley and and those guys. So I think he's
Speaker 1: one to potentially keep an eye on down the road.
Speaker 1: Thought it was a really good value pick. I know
Speaker 1: I'm jumping over you there, but that was the one
Speaker 1: out of their entire draft class other than Hockinson that
Speaker 1: stepped out to me. I just felt like when you
Speaker 1: look at Clemson and how strong that defensive line was,
Speaker 1: and we got to know them a little bit at
Speaker 1: the NFL scouting combine, getting a feel for all their personalities,
Speaker 1: all of their various skills. Brian isn't going to get
Speaker 1: the same kind of notoriety of those guys taken in
Speaker 1: the first round, yeah, Wilkins and Lawrence. But he's a
Speaker 1: good rotational hand. I think he's going to add some
Speaker 1: death for them, and we'll see what he can offer
Speaker 1: as a pass rusher down the line. Yeah, alright. Moving
Speaker 1: on to the Minnesota Vikings, they end up taking a center,
Speaker 1: Garrett Bradberry out of North Carolina State with their first
Speaker 1: round pick. I believe he was eighteenth overall. They had
Speaker 1: in another offensive lineman in the fourth round, Drew Semiah
Speaker 1: out of Oklahoma. Coincidentally, yeah, well, and coincidentally, that Minnesota
Speaker 1: pick was originally one of the Packers fourth round picks
Speaker 1: that was traded to Seattle, and then Seattle traded it
Speaker 1: to Minnesota. And then the other kind of big name
Speaker 1: they got in between there, the tight end from Alabama
Speaker 1: or Smith Jr. So um NFC North kind of loading
Speaker 1: up on tight ends. The Packers get Ja Sternberger, the
Speaker 1: Vikings get IRV Smith Jr. And the Lions get Hawkins. Absolutely, Wait,
Speaker 1: what is that? What's that? All the Vikings just made
Speaker 1: their last pick. I didn't realize that they I think
Speaker 1: I just heard them. Yep, they have their all their
Speaker 1: their draft classes done, All twelve picks are made. What
Speaker 1: long weekend for the beat writers covering the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 1: I can't believe it. A good friend of ours, Kim
Speaker 1: at Polito, now works out there. She was an intern
Speaker 1: for US, got hired full time out there starting, extremely
Speaker 1: talented young lady. I felt for her on that Saturday
Speaker 1: with all the picks that they ended up acquiring in
Speaker 1: this draft, and I got to be perfectly honest with you, Mike,
Speaker 1: I think Rick Spielman did a really good job with
Speaker 1: this draft class. For me, these were a lot of
Speaker 1: names that I recognize. I thought brad Berry was a
Speaker 1: perfect perfect pick for them in the first round. They
Speaker 1: needed to get that center spot taking care of Here's
Speaker 1: my question, though, are does that mean they're moving Pat
Speaker 1: elf Line to guard because hasn't he been there their
Speaker 1: center well for so many years? Um, it was the
Speaker 1: guy out of Michigan Tech. What is his name? I'm
Speaker 1: trying to remember it? Off to uh, No, not John Sullivan. No,
Speaker 1: maybe it was well, whatever the case, Maybe I don't
Speaker 1: want to look like too much of an idiot here,
Speaker 1: but brad Berry does give them a lot of versatility inside.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure what their plans are for these guys. Well,
Speaker 1: I see how everything works out, because they spent a
Speaker 1: fairly high pick on elf line to be there, to
Speaker 1: be their center a couple of years. I'm assuming somebody's
Speaker 1: playing guard there. Yeah. I don't know what their plan is,
Speaker 1: but the selection of Bradbury was enough for the Viking
Speaker 1: social media account to talk about how excited Kirk Cousins
Speaker 1: is going to be about this young man snapping the
Speaker 1: ball to him. So we'll figure out how it goes there.
Speaker 1: IRV Smith Jr. Fifth What would end up in the
Speaker 1: eighteenth pick of the second round. Overall, really good value
Speaker 1: pick for them, I think as well. Um, you know,
Speaker 1: Kyle Rudolph has been a staple that offense for years
Speaker 1: to come. They're probably starting to look towards the future there.
Speaker 1: I like Samia getting to know him a little bit. Uh,
Speaker 1: there's some questions about exactly where he's gonna fit in
Speaker 1: the NFL um how natural it is for him to
Speaker 1: carry that much weight. But that's a question that's gonna
Speaker 1: be answered. And then again getting back to what you
Speaker 1: said about the Lions. I don't know how to pronounce
Speaker 1: this guy's name, but the tackle lot of Elon that
Speaker 1: really I think he did get an invite to the
Speaker 1: combine was a huge just a big, massive dude that
Speaker 1: a lot of people think are going to be able
Speaker 1: to make that transition. The Vikings have liked bet on
Speaker 1: big bodies with their offensive line, and they get another
Speaker 1: one with I think it's udo well. I think all
Speaker 1: of the focus in the off season for the Vikings
Speaker 1: has been talking about that offensive line, and you just
Speaker 1: you look at you look at the track record. The
Speaker 1: Vikings win the NFC North in in twent sixteen. They
Speaker 1: start the season five and oh, but their offensive line
Speaker 1: falls apart, mostly due to injuries, and they they fall
Speaker 1: off the map inteen and can't make the playoffs despite
Speaker 1: starting five and oh. Then in seventeen they make some
Speaker 1: free agent signings, they get that offensive line short up,
Speaker 1: they get all the way to the NFC Championship Game.
Speaker 1: Then they have problems on the offensive line again in
Speaker 1: twenty eighteen and they end up eight seven and one,
Speaker 1: and they missed the playoffs. Again. They're in this this
Speaker 1: back and forth, you know, one year in, one year
Speaker 1: out as far as the post season is concerned, and
Speaker 1: it always seems to hinge on the performance of those
Speaker 1: guys up front on offense because they keep changing quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: They've had solid receivers, they've keep changing running backs. But
Speaker 1: it's when the offensive line isn't up to snow, so
Speaker 1: to speak, that the Vikings struggle. Yeah, the Vikings, but
Speaker 1: based on one thing I'm reading too, it sounds like
Speaker 1: they haven't committed anything, but the logical move would be
Speaker 1: elf line moving to left guard. So well, but you're
Speaker 1: right with all the changes with as deep as their
Speaker 1: defense has been, as much as many skill position players
Speaker 1: that they brought it in the quarterback obviously with cousins
Speaker 1: Um offensive line has been the common threat in terms
Speaker 1: of their weak spot here over the last six, seven,
Speaker 1: eight years for the most parts. So they're trying to
Speaker 1: get more stability with that. They addressed it in the
Speaker 1: first round. If you take an interior alignment in the
Speaker 1: first round, it signifies that you need to make a change.
Speaker 1: That doesn't happen with every team every year. So we'll
Speaker 1: see if Bradberry can be the fit for them, all right. Well,
Speaker 1: also in the NFC North, then you have the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 1: Now they did not have a first or second round
Speaker 1: pick in this draft because of trades they've made. And
Speaker 1: I don't remember which picks were involved in which trades,
Speaker 1: but the Khalil Mack trade, it's Traubinsky trade. The Bears
Speaker 1: have have spent some of their top draft capital. But
Speaker 1: then they actually end up trading up in the third
Speaker 1: round for their first selection of this draft, and they
Speaker 1: get Iowa State running back David Montgomery. And boy, you
Speaker 1: hear the talk coming out of Chicago. Now, they signed
Speaker 1: Mike Davis from Seattle. They have Trek Cohen as you know,
Speaker 1: sort of your scat back change a pace guy. You
Speaker 1: hear what's coming out of Chicago. It's like Montgomery is
Speaker 1: getting thrown in there. It's gonna get twenty carries a
Speaker 1: game all of a sudden as a rookie. I don't
Speaker 1: know if that's how it's gonna play out, but they're
Speaker 1: excited about this. You know. The thing that's scary about
Speaker 1: it too. I could totally see him getting twenty touches
Speaker 1: a game. I also could see Cohen getting ten touches
Speaker 1: a game. And then you also, as you mentioned, Mike
Speaker 1: Davis has kind of rebounded with his career and become
Speaker 1: a pretty good bell cow back when they need him
Speaker 1: to be. This offense is going to run through the
Speaker 1: running backs. It's going to run through the middle of
Speaker 1: the field. I think we've really seen that. They've been
Speaker 1: very upfront about that in recent years. And I'll say
Speaker 1: this right now, Mike, if you're gonna make your first
Speaker 1: pick at number seventy three in the third round, you
Speaker 1: could do a lot worse than David Montgomery. This is
Speaker 1: a really versatile player. You and I talked about it.
Speaker 1: I mean, Packer fans made jokes about it. If the
Speaker 1: Packers would draft him, could they throw number eighty eight
Speaker 1: on him too? Just because of the multitude of things
Speaker 1: that he can do. I really liked the idea of
Speaker 1: having Montgomery and Cohen in the backfield. I think that's
Speaker 1: something that's gonna give defenses a lot of trouble. At
Speaker 1: the same time, this is all hinged on Mitchell Troubisky,
Speaker 1: and it's also hinged on the fact that this defense
Speaker 1: can be the same type of unit it was last
Speaker 1: season with really no new parts and a new defensive
Speaker 1: coordinator taking over. Yeah, and another name just to keep
Speaker 1: an eye on down the road again for the Bears,
Speaker 1: Calvin Ridley's younger brother. I believe it is it pronounced
Speaker 1: Cavin Ridley, Kevin Cavin. I don't he spells at Calvin
Speaker 1: without the L. I'm not sure how it's pronounced. But
Speaker 1: wide receiver out of Georgia was taken in the fourth
Speaker 1: round by the Bears. And he's the younger brother of
Speaker 1: Calvin Ridley, who was the first round draft pick and
Speaker 1: had a big rookie year for the Atlanta Falcons. So
Speaker 1: does he go by Riley? Maybe that that's his middle name,
Speaker 1: So yeah, he goes he goes by Riley. When I
Speaker 1: looked up the name, I saw his first name is
Speaker 1: actually Calvin without the L. Yeah, so yeah, I knew
Speaker 1: him as Riley. A lot of people in the draft
Speaker 1: process for him as that another really talented kid, pretty
Speaker 1: much the same size as as uh, you know, Calvin.
Speaker 1: For the most part, We'll see what he can do.
Speaker 1: I mean, the Bears have made some significant changes with
Speaker 1: the receiver position in recent years. Um. Again, this is
Speaker 1: another guy that gets added too. That fold, and I
Speaker 1: know there were a lot of people out there that
Speaker 1: felt more comfortable with them taking him in the fourth
Speaker 1: round than last year when they took the receiver out
Speaker 1: of Memphis. So Anthony trying to remember his last name, Yeah,
Speaker 1: but Anthony Miller, Anthony Miller out of Memphis. So a
Speaker 1: lot of people very high on this pick. Again, like
Speaker 1: I said, I think if you're gonna miss those first
Speaker 1: two rounds, the two skille position players that they ended
Speaker 1: up with, you know I'd be pretty happy with that. Yeah,
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Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers. Okay, one other topic. I want to
Speaker 1: get to here West before our week is out. Ted Thompson,
Speaker 1: former Packers general manager, is being inducted this weekend, Saturday
Speaker 1: night in a ceremony here at Lambaufield being inducted into
Speaker 1: the Packers Hall of Fame. Um. Certainly a well deserving
Speaker 1: and a no brainer type of honor for the architect
Speaker 1: of the Packers Super Bowl forty five roster. Um. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna put you on the spot here. Okay. In his
Speaker 1: drafts as general manager of the Packers, how many Pro
Speaker 1: Bowlers did Ted Thompson draft? Do you know the number?
Speaker 1: I looked them all up while you were gone. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna not quite. I'll read them off here. Um. Two
Speaker 1: thousand five. Aaron Rodgers, Nick Collins two thousand six, Jay Hawk,
Speaker 1: Greg Jennings two thousand eight, Jordy Nelson, Josh Sitton two
Speaker 1: thousand nine, B. J. Rodger, Clay Matthews, T. J. Lang
Speaker 1: two thousand eleven, Randall cob two thousand twelve, Mike Daniels,
Speaker 1: Eddie Lacy, David back tr haha, Clinton Dicks, and Davante Adams.
Speaker 1: Now that number is fifteen and potentially counting because Kenny Clark,
Speaker 1: I think that's the guy who's headed to a Pro
Speaker 1: Bowl someday. And guys like Blake Martinez, Kevin King, Aaron
Speaker 1: Jones certainly have that potential in their future as well.
Speaker 1: But I'm gonna put you on the spot again because
Speaker 1: I did well. This is this is what I this
Speaker 1: is what I get to do when you're out of town.
Speaker 1: All right. Three other players Ted Thompson acquired as general
Speaker 1: manager of the Packers, not draft picks, went to their
Speaker 1: first Pro Bowl as members of the Packers. So I'm
Speaker 1: not talking about the Julius Peppers and Charles Woodson's and
Speaker 1: those guys. Three players acquired by Thompson, not draft picks,
Speaker 1: who went to their first Pro Bowl as Packers. Can
Speaker 1: you name all three? Man? I don't know if I
Speaker 1: can name one off the top of my head. To
Speaker 1: two of them are undrafted players and one Sam Shields
Speaker 1: would be one of them. Two undrafted players ended up
Speaker 1: making Pro Bowls, Oh Truman Williams. Williams and then the
Speaker 1: other is the waiver claim John Coon. There sitting in
Speaker 1: the seat. I'm still a little foggy, like we'll explain
Speaker 1: here in about a month about you know, why I
Speaker 1: was gone and the lack of my sleep deprivation over
Speaker 1: the last three days four days. But you're right, I mean,
Speaker 1: those are three great picks. And I want to just
Speaker 1: quickly talk about Truman Williams for a second. You want
Speaker 1: to talk about a guy. Uh this came up a
Speaker 1: few years ago, probably about four or five, six years
Speaker 1: ago now when we're talking, I think it was Gary
Speaker 1: Kubiak about Williams is actually probably six years ago. And
Speaker 1: the fact that the Texans cut him, they had signed
Speaker 1: him as an unrestricted or undrafted free agent, and then
Speaker 1: he comes to Green Bay, makes the practice squad, and
Speaker 1: then a year later ends up becoming the player he did.
Speaker 1: It takes some serious skills to not only find those players,
Speaker 1: but find a spot for them on the fifty three
Speaker 1: roster to give him a chance to show what they
Speaker 1: can do. That's a pretty good let. It's funny when
Speaker 1: you mentioned the Pro Bowlers. You get so far into
Speaker 1: this thing you sometimes forget that Sam Shields Tremont Williams
Speaker 1: were picked over two or fifty six times and end
Speaker 1: up having the careers that yeah they yeah, they ended
Speaker 1: up not being they ended up not being draft picks.
Speaker 1: But I think it'll be a neat ceremony. Um not
Speaker 1: very often. It's only in special cases where there's only
Speaker 1: one individual who's inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: in a given year. They did it obviously for Brett Farve.
Speaker 1: They'd also did it for Mike Holmgren people like that
Speaker 1: in recent years. And Ted Thompson getting that sort of
Speaker 1: recognition here with his induction into the Packers Hall of Fame,
Speaker 1: it should be should be an interesting night. It sounds
Speaker 1: like he's being introduced by Mike Reinfeldt, who a former
Speaker 1: Packers executive who was I believe, um not just a
Speaker 1: teammate but also a roommate of Ted Thompson's with the
Speaker 1: Houston Oilers. When you know, back in the day, both
Speaker 1: of those guys making their way in their young NFL careers,
Speaker 1: they've known each other for a long time and they
Speaker 1: both carved out, you know, careers as NFL executives that
Speaker 1: have been are impressive. Yeah, And I mean when you
Speaker 1: look back on the totality of Ted Thompson's resume, when
Speaker 1: you factor in Seattle what he did out there building
Speaker 1: a Super Bowl contending team there as well. It's it's
Speaker 1: an extensive list, and it's fun when you go back
Speaker 1: and realize where this whole thing started. You know, Ron
Speaker 1: Wolf kind of given him that foot in the door.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think he was what in like sales
Speaker 1: or something like that. Don't remember his eye for talent,
Speaker 1: his conviction. I've actually even gotten into a kind of
Speaker 1: a scuffle with some people on Twitter in recent days.
Speaker 1: I don't think I think it's very few times. I
Speaker 1: probably would say it's less than one hand as far
Speaker 1: as the most difficult decisions and NFL executives had to
Speaker 1: make in this league's history, than what he did staying
Speaker 1: true to his convictions, saying, you know what, we are
Speaker 1: going to press forward Aaron Rodgers as our quarterback. When
Speaker 1: Brett Farve said he wanted to come back, there are
Speaker 1: so many fans, so many people out there that wanted
Speaker 1: him to just open the gates up again. But Thompson
Speaker 1: stayed true. And there's so much belief that you have
Speaker 1: to have in your scouting process. What you saw in
Speaker 1: Rogers coming out of college, what you've seen from him,
Speaker 1: the three years in practice, you don't know truly what
Speaker 1: a guy is going to be able to do until
Speaker 1: he gets under center, until he finally plays in a game. Thompson,
Speaker 1: everything that he did up unto that point his career,
Speaker 1: he wagered it all on number twelve, and it came
Speaker 1: up aces and it ushered in one of the most
Speaker 1: successful periods in Packers history. And I think one of
Speaker 1: the things that people forget. It's easy to forget about
Speaker 1: that time because you're talking about obviously a Hall of
Speaker 1: Famer in Brett Farve, and how contentious all that was.
Speaker 1: The two thousand seven Packers team came an overtime away
Speaker 1: from going to the Super Bowl. You were right on
Speaker 1: the precipice. It would have been very, very easy as
Speaker 1: a general manager, as a head coach. Mike McCarthy was
Speaker 1: obviously involved in it as well, to just say, hey,
Speaker 1: we came really close, our guy wants to come back.
Speaker 1: Why upset the apple cart here? I mean they were,
Speaker 1: they were right there, and uh but you know, as
Speaker 1: you said, they went with the courage of their convictions
Speaker 1: with Aaron Rodgers, and three years later they won a
Speaker 1: Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers and and ended up in
Speaker 1: the postseason eight consecutive years. Yeah, and Thompson put him
Speaker 1: in a position to do that. As you mentioned, all
Speaker 1: the Pro Bowlers that he drafted, all the All pros
Speaker 1: he drafted. Finding David bok Tr to me is probably
Speaker 1: still the number three best move he made in the draft,
Speaker 1: and maybe even as up there with Clay Matthews with
Speaker 1: what he did, I mean, box tr in a draft
Speaker 1: class in which so many offensive linemen were taking me
Speaker 1: for him to find a franchise left tackle, a guy
Speaker 1: that looks like he could play that position for a decade,
Speaker 1: if not longer, that's that's skill, that's talent, that's believe
Speaker 1: And Ted Thompson did it with a way in which
Speaker 1: there was never an I told you so moment. He
Speaker 1: was always very humble with the successes, humble with the
Speaker 1: you know, the misses, and just really understood what it
Speaker 1: meant to be in that chair, what it meant to
Speaker 1: lead an organization. And obviously I had a lot of
Speaker 1: passion for this game and they'll be neat to see
Speaker 1: him honored on Saturday Night. And without a doubt, I
Speaker 1: think his boldest move in the draft was in two
Speaker 1: thousand nine when he traded back up into the first
Speaker 1: round after taking Rogie at number nine. Trades back up
Speaker 1: into the first round uses one of the picks that
Speaker 1: he acquired in the Brett Farve trade in a deal
Speaker 1: with the Patriots to get Clay Matthews out of USC.
Speaker 1: Now this is a linebacker. I mean, what did Matthews
Speaker 1: have ten sacks and one year as a starter, and um,
Speaker 1: you know, targeted that player, believed in him, made sure
Speaker 1: to get back up into the first round to get
Speaker 1: him and and another Packers Hall of Famer. Obviously, Matthews
Speaker 1: now has moved on to the Los Angeles Rams, but
Speaker 1: he will be in the Packers Hall of Fame without
Speaker 1: a doubt at some point as well. The two thousand
Speaker 1: five and two thousand nine drafts, I mean those are
Speaker 1: up there and in the annals of this history of
Speaker 1: this organization is the best, you know draft classes that
Speaker 1: they ever had in namely for you know, some really
Speaker 1: talented players like Rogers, like Nick Collins, like b J.
Speaker 1: Raji and and Matthews who won a super Bowl. It's
Speaker 1: not easy to win a super Bowl in this league. Michael,
Speaker 1: I think you see it every single year. They're thirty
Speaker 1: one disappointed teams and Thompson put this team in an organization,
Speaker 1: put this team and organization in a spot to claim
Speaker 1: that Fourth Land party. Yeah. Well, congratulations to Ted Thompson
Speaker 1: on a well deserved honor. With that, we'll call it
Speaker 1: a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure
Speaker 1: to follow all of our coverage of the team and
Speaker 1: of the big ceremony Saturday night on Packers dot com.
Speaker 1: On Twitter, He's at west Hod, I'm at Mike Spofford
Speaker 1: at Packers for the team account. Subscribe to the podcast
Speaker 1: on iTunes and other podcast services. Thanks for tuning in, everybody,
Speaker 1: See you next time.