WEBVTT - #892 Packers Unscripted: Just rewards 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:10.239 Hi, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Packers Unscripted from 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:13.200 Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spafford, joined as always 0:00:13.200 --> 0:00:15.360 by my trust in colleague Wes Hodquitz. We're coming to 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:21.520 you here from our Pottawotomy sportsbook Studio and Wes. Just 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:24.280 a few episodes ago, we were sitting in these chairs 0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:28.280 talking about a contract extension for a young Packers wide receiver, 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:31.560 as Jaden Reid signed a deal that will keep him 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:33.960 under contract in Green Bay for a few more years. 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:38.320 And now it was actually during our last episode while 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:41.640 we were taping it, the news broke and the Packers 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:45.080 made it official later that day that Christian Watson has 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:49.080 now been signed to a multi year contract extension to 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:52.280 keep him in Green Bay for a while. Your thoughts 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:56.080 on this, I mean, from my perspective, I think we 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:58.400 were all hoping that this was going to happen, and 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:00.320 I think the fact that it got taken care of 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:02.600 in the spring, even before training camp rolls around his 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:03.760 great news for green Yeah. 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:06.400 And I mean, what a partnership this has been between 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:09.160 the Packers and Christian Watson, And certainly go back to 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:12.160 last year they did come to terms on that extension 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:15.400 that gave Christian a little bit more security, got a 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:17.640 little bit more money in his pocket, but also gave 0:01:17.680 --> 0:01:20.920 the Packers this offseason to potentially work out a more 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:23.080 long term deal. And that's what the Green Bay Packers 0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:26.960 did for Christian Watson. Yeah, everybody talks about the speed, right, 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:30.280 the size, but for me, it's also the fact that 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:35.400 he got to be there with Randall Cobb that one 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:39.120 season in twenty twenty two, his rookie year, and in 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:42.200 so many ways I felt like that was the continuation 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:47.280 of that DeVante Adams, Jordan Nelson Cobb era in Green Bay. 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:50.920 I think when you break it all down, the way 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:54.720 that Watson fits in this locker room, in his place 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:57.840 on this team. In addition to everything he does on 0:01:57.880 --> 0:02:01.200 the field, he exemplifies what it is to be a 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:04.400 Green Bay Packer and more specifically a Packers receiver. I 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:07.279 just love the way he's embraced this thing and for 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:10.880 all the adversities had to work through, and certainly a 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:13.720 big jump going from the FCS level at North Dakota 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:16.200 State to playing for the Green Bay Packers and making 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:19.200 that impact right away in year one and showing his skills, 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:22.480 It's just been an upward climb, and even when he's 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:24.280 had things that have knocked him back a little bit, 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:26.480 like the ACL, he came back even stronger. I was 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:28.760 talking to bow Melt about it last week in the 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:32.120 locker room before this extension. He said he came back 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:36.200 faster than he was before the injury. And those are 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:38.000 the type of things that you not only want to see, 0:02:38.000 --> 0:02:40.560 but you don't always expect. And I mean you and 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:41.920 I've talked about it for years. I mean, this guy 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:44.320 is an absolute freaking nature and he's in the cards 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:45.600 now for the Packers for the long run. 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:48.280 What you just mentioned that Melton said is what I 0:02:48.400 --> 0:02:50.560 was about to say, is that of all the things 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:55.280 that I've been impressed with regarding Christian Watson, his athletic ability, 0:02:55.600 --> 0:02:57.560 the way he treats people off the field, the way 0:02:57.560 --> 0:02:59.880 he deals with the media, everything, he's a true pro 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:03.840 in every sense. But I don't know, it's been a while. 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:06.600 I guess I would say since I saw a Packers 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:11.120 player come back from an ACL injury and almost immediately 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:14.400 the feeling is he's better than he was before. And 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:16.840 we saw it. You know, the Pittsburgh game was his 0:03:16.840 --> 0:03:19.160 first game back last year. About halfway through the year, 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:22.240 and as last as the rest of last season unfolded, 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:24.560 it was it was this is the best version of 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:28.040 Christian Watson we've seen, which makes me wonder, now that 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:32.000 he's another year removed from the injury and from the 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:34.520 rehab and everything, what are we going to see from 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:38.160 Christian Watson in twenty twenty six. It's a it's really enticing. 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:42.600 A couple of angles as far as the larger picture 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:46.480 here one at wide receiver. I mentioned Jaden Reid already, 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:49.560 Now Christian Watson, Matthew Golden is just in his the 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:53.000 second year of his rookie contract. The Packers act essentially 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:57.320 have that top three at wide receiver locked up for 0:03:57.520 --> 0:04:01.000 multiple years. Now, this is the group going forward, right, 0:04:01.080 --> 0:04:03.720 and you cross your fingers. You hope everybody stays healthy. 0:04:04.040 --> 0:04:05.840 You know, Reid had the injuries last year. We know 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:09.280 about Watson's history, but this is the group the Packers 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:12.440 are moving forward with. And then from a contract extension perspective, 0:04:12.640 --> 0:04:17.159 you know, looking wider at the roster, you checked off Reid, 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:19.880 you checked off Watson. Now Tucker Kraft is probably next, 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.080 maybe Devonte Why is in the mix. He's playing on 0:04:22.120 --> 0:04:24.480 the fifth year option this year coming off of that 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:28.719 really nasty injury from Thanksgiving in Detroit. A lot going 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:32.200 on here in Green Bay for one off season, but 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:36.480 setting things up here for multiple years moving forward with 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:39.400 Jordan Love as your franchise quarterback and leader. 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:41.479 Yeah, it's a great point you make, too, Mike, Because 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:43.880 we watched so many guys depart in free agency, right 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:46.880 we wondered, Okay, who are gonna be the guys that 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:48.720 in the twenty three class, the guys that are left 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:50.440 over from the twenty two class, who are the Packers 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:52.640 going to lock down and keeping their plans long term? 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:56.039 And it didn't take Brian Goodekunst in that personnel department 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:59.960 long to show, Okay, Christian Watson is our guy, Jada 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:01.919 and Read is our guy. And if not for that 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:05.160 acl last year, Tucker Craft probably already would have had 0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:07.440 an extension just based on the way he plays in 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:10.200 the position that he's playing. I agree, this guy is 0:05:10.400 --> 0:05:12.719 on the precipice of becoming one of the top tight 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:15.760 ends in the National Football League, let alone the Green 0:05:15.800 --> 0:05:18.719 Bay Packers roster. So I just think it's an exciting 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:21.120 time right now for the Packers, and even listening I 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:22.920 obviously at the time that we're shooting us. We haven't 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:25.440 talked to Jordan Love yet. He did offer some comments 0:05:25.480 --> 0:05:28.240 at his softball game last week, and I mean, there's 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:30.960 going to be when you reward a guy like Watson, 0:05:31.000 --> 0:05:33.159 who's not only a reliable receiver, but a guy that 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:35.280 has stepped up. I mean he is, whether he has 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:36.840 the Sea on his chest or not, he is one 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:38.640 of the captains of this football team. He's one of 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:41.159 the leaders of this locker room. And the way that 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:44.120 he conducts himself. You want to see those guys get rewarded. 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:47.839 So I feel like for the Packers, they've had so 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:50.159 many talented receivers come through here. But you and I 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:51.919 have wondered this for years. Who is going to be 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:54.800 the next one to get that extension? DeVante Wyatt? You're 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.159 not Defendive White, but DeVante Adams, I should say. You know, 0:05:57.200 --> 0:06:00.359 when after he got traded, it was this renovation of 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:02.640 the receiver room, and we've seen guys come and go. 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:07.920 Alan Lazard, you know, in that conversation Romeo Dobbs signed 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:12.600 Dantevin Wicks excuse me, ends up getting traded to Philadelphia, 0:06:13.160 --> 0:06:16.040 and the Packers made it known that Jaden Reid, Christian 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:17.800 Watson in their first round pick from a year ago, 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:20.520 Matthew gold Then that is going to be the nucleus 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:22.560 that they build this passing game around. And I have 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:24.600 to imagine Jordan Love's pretty darn excited about it. 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:26.920 Yeah, I mean he has to be. And I think 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:29.920 the fact that there's going to be at a position 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:33.280 as as you just mentioned, where there there's been turnover, 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:36.359 and quite frankly, there is constant turnover at the position 0:06:36.520 --> 0:06:39.560 in the NFL, because there is no position that the 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:43.320 college game cranks out more of than receivers who can 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:45.359 play at this level. They're all over the place. You 0:06:45.360 --> 0:06:48.039 can restock your wide receiver room in the draft in 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:50.599 any given year. But the Packers are now in a 0:06:50.600 --> 0:06:52.920 place where they're going to have some stability at that 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:56.119 position and maybe not so not so much a revolving door. 0:06:56.440 --> 0:06:58.960 And we'll we'll see what that means for Jordan Love 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:01.039 and the offense. I don't know if you saw what 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:06.279 I the question that I answered in Monday's Insider Inbox column. 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:15.080 A reader was asking, where does this Packers trio of Watson, Reed, Golden, 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:18.840 where does it stack up? And I didn't have time to, 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:21.640 you know, look at everything across the league, but looking 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:24.920 specifically at the NFC North. I think it's an interesting 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:29.640 discussion because the Vikings have Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:33.440 now Juwan Jennings of free agent that they signed the 0:07:33.520 --> 0:07:38.080 Detroit Lions. I'm on Ras Saint Brown, Jamison Williams, Isaac Teslaw, 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:42.120 all draft picks, all homegrown guys, just like the Packers 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:45.560 trio right. And then the Bears have Roma Dunze, Luther 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:47.600 Bird and the third and then they're kind of having 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:50.600 an open competition for their wide receiver three spot. But again, 0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:53.480 those first two guys for the Bears their own draft picks, 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:56.480 the homegrown guys. I think it's an interesting I think 0:07:57.160 --> 0:08:00.040 there there's a lot of close calls there in terms of, 0:08:00.160 --> 0:08:02.840 you know, which group in the NFC North is the best. 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:05.280 What stands out to me the most when I sort 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:07.840 of put all the names together is that there is 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:12.560 a ton of really impressive young receiver talent in the 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:16.040 NFC North, and Justin Jefferson is kind of the old head. Yeah, 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:18.480 now right, I mean he's the best, He's the best 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:21.400 of the bunch with what he's accomplished, but he's also 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:24.520 the kind of the grizzly veteran in this division at 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:25.120 wide receiver. 0:08:25.240 --> 0:08:26.960 Yeah, And as I was kind of reacting a little 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:29.240 bit to that and about the speed element in the 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:31.800 inbox that I wrote for Tuesday, it kind of made 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:34.200 me think a little bit about how, yes, it's very 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:36.000 impressive right now what's going on in the North, but 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:39.560 in some ways it's not anything too out of the ordinary, right. 0:08:39.600 --> 0:08:41.280 I mean, the Packers had a deal for years with 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:45.760 Megatron in Detroit, right, and then obviously Stefan Diggs and 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.000 the talent and the receivers. Obviously you want to go 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:51.720 even farther back, Randy Moss, Chris Carter right, the Bears 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:53.640 have been a little bit more come and go, But 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:56.640 this is just something that despite being the Black and 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:59.439 Blue division, they've had elite receivers for a long time. 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:02.880 When you compare these receiving cores, though, and if you 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:06.160 want to do by extension the quarterback situation, I think 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:09.600 it really is what I feel the most complete are 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:12.400 Detroit in Green Bay, and that probably goes back to 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:16.480 being heavily drafted and developed. Minnesota is following that path, 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:18.360 but you know, there's some questions there with Addison and 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:20.880 some off the field things that have kind of stymied 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:22.760 his momentum a little bit. And the fact that they 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:24.880 ran into the quarterback issues they had last season and 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:28.800 Justin Jefferson how that affected him. Detroit has a little 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:30.679 bit more known commodities. You know, when you look at 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:32.760 aman Ross Saint Brown now as an All Pro Pro 0:09:32.840 --> 0:09:35.040 Bowl player every single year, you know what you're getting 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:38.520 with him. I was extremely impressed with Tesla last year. 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:41.240 He made some big time catches, including against the Packers 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:43.080 in a couple games. I think he's a guy that 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:46.199 really compliments that room really well. They felt confident enough 0:09:46.200 --> 0:09:48.959 about him as that third option. Khalif Raymond I think 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:52.120 departed this year in free agency. They're going to build 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:55.520 around that nucleus now with Jared Goff. But for the Packers, 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:59.319 when you finally boiled down and kind of distill all 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:02.760 these receivers, all these options what they've had sort of 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:05.200 developed and uncovered during the Jordan Love era, now you 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:08.679 have a very defined number three, top three receivers, and 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:11.000 then also save On Williams who can handle the ball 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:13.760 the backfield. Bo Melton back in the receiving room this 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:16.600 season gives you an option as that guy who can 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:21.160 spell both Golden and Christian Watson to keep the downfield 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:25.400 plays in the playbook. I just I like the upside 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:28.920 of Green Bay's room right now and with the runway clear. 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:32.080 We've talked about it all off season, just how far 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:35.000 can Matthew Golden take this thing? When people ask us 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:37.320 all the time, what are your first impressions, what are 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:41.040 your early thoughts on training care, on OTAs and who's 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:43.240 impressed you? Well, we only see one practice a week. 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:45.400 This week we'll see a little bit more with mini camp. Yeah, 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:49.600 but Matthew Golden is catching passes. The Packers are drawing 0:10:49.640 --> 0:10:52.840 things up for Matthew Golden, and that is what excites 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:54.800 me because he can take a top off the defense, 0:10:54.840 --> 0:10:57.439 he can run a crossing route and burn a cornerback. 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.720 There's so many different ways that he can affect the 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:03.480 football game, and now he has the reps to do it. 0:11:03.559 --> 0:11:05.640 Yeah. And I had a story last week on Packers 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:07.600 dot Com. Folks can go check it out if they 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:10.320 want to. It was after it was posted, I believe, 0:11:10.360 --> 0:11:13.080 on Wednesday morning. After we had the open practice on 0:11:13.160 --> 0:11:17.560 Tuesday and Golden talked about how you know, he is 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:19.880 not to say he bulked up in some huge way, 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:23.160 but he put some weight on. He felt that his 0:11:23.720 --> 0:11:26.280 size and not you know, kind of having a little 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:28.520 bit of extra bulk on his body contributed to some 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:31.120 of the injury issues that he had last year, that 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:33.680 that slowed him down, that he wasn't playing at full strength, 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:36.240 or games that he had to miss, et cetera. And 0:11:36.320 --> 0:11:38.640 as you said, what we've seen on the practice field, 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:40.880 we see the ball going his way on a fairly 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:45.839 regular basis in eleven on eleven and and I think, 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:49.000 as I mentioned in an answer to an Insider inbox 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:53.120 question last week, even though he just got a contract extension, 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:56.880 like you know, a few weeks ago, Jaden Reid is 0:11:57.120 --> 0:11:59.920 kind of the guy everybody's sleeping on because because he 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:02.240 missed such a huge chunk of the season last year. 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:04.800 He scores a touchdown in the season opener, he gets 0:12:04.920 --> 0:12:07.800 injured in week two, he misses like three months, and 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:09.559 then he comes back and he's scoring a touchdown in 0:12:09.600 --> 0:12:12.960 the playoff game, you know, against the Bears down in Chicago. 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:16.320 But everybody you know, forgets in some ways just how 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:19.440 good Jaden Reid was his first two years when eight 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:22.160 hundred plus yards back to back years in a pretty 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:24.920 deep receiver room. He was the leading receiver on this 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:28.640 team his first two seasons in the NFL. So it's 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:31.800 it's an exciting group. It's what you envision, right when 0:12:31.840 --> 0:12:34.960 you spend in consecutive years, or I guess I would 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:37.920 say three out of four years, you spend a second 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.200 round pick, a second round pick, and a first round 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:43.320 pick at wide receiver, and now here are those guys. 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:45.560 Two of them have now signed their second contracts. The 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:47.720 first round pick is on his rookie contract, You have 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.079 that fifth year option with him down the road, and 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:53.040 you're moving forward with that bunch. This is exactly what 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:56.440 you envision if players develop the way you hope they're 0:12:56.440 --> 0:12:58.439 going to develop. And that's what's happening in Green Bay. 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:00.640 And the thing that'll be cool too, Mike, we're seeing 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:03.200 a little bit in these practices that that the guys 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:05.440 were going to step up to take those five six 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:09.080 spots on this roster too. Right when you you look at, 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:12.240 you know, the undrafted rookie. They brought Instra Divian out 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:14.960 of Florida, and in his upside, will Shepherd's back from 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:17.319 the practice squad. Isaiah Naor is a guy I wrote 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:21.000 about an insider inbox. I mean structurally, he's built the 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:25.480 same way as Christian Watson and runs in the same vicinity. 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:26.839 Of when he walked on the practice He was a 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:29.240 late arrival last year. When he walked on the practice 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.240 field last summer, and you started seeing him running routes, 0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:34.440 you know, with the threes and whatnot, you were it's 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:36.840 sort of like, oh, like, I can see why they 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:38.720 brought this guy in as sort of as sort of 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:41.160 like a flyer, right like where you're you're taking a 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:44.320 chance to see what somebody's got. The physical tools that 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:46.640 Isaiah Nayer has they definitely catch. 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:48.679 The eye and then that goes to tight end then 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:51.600 and running back in these various positions that the Packers have. 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.280 I mean, you it's just it's so difficult. There was 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:57.640 times in the middle of that run with Aaron Rodgers, 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:00.520 you know, he wins the second MVP where it was okay, 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:02.559 it was so clear that who the top three were, 0:14:02.600 --> 0:14:04.760 but you didn't really know who four was. You didn't 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:07.000 know who that next guy up was going to be. 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:09.560 The packers have intriguing options in that area too, and 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:12.880 certainly the tight end position is completely different than it 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:15.000 was a decade ago with a guy like Tucker Kraft 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:18.080 leading the charge. So if they get healthy, if they 0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:20.840 can keep guys on the field, it's just those three building. 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:23.680 Looking specifically at receiver, those three being able to build 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:25.960 together and grow together being as young as they are, 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:29.360 that's sure is enticing for the future. This Packer's passing game. 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:33.800 Absolutely. I want to ask you a couple questions regarding 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:35.520 Mini camp that we're about to head out to the 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:38.120 practice field to start watching, but we do need to 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:40.760 pay some bills, so let's first hear a quick word 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:44.600 from our sponsor, Serious XM. NFL Radio delivers hard hitting 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:47.400 analysis and up to the minute NFL news that true 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:51.040 football fanatics need. Twenty four to seven, three sixty five. 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:54.600 Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. All right, Wes. This week 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:58.120 is sort of the not officially but unofficially the end 0:14:58.160 --> 0:15:01.120 of the offseason program. With the three mini camp Tuesday 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:04.560 to Thursday. It'll be the last few days of media 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:07.760 access here before everything kind of goes dark until the 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:10.320 start of training camp. So we'll be heading out to 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:13.080 the practice field shortly to catch practice number one of 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:18.160 Mini camp. Just anything that I guess rises to the 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:20.320 top of your list as far as what you're watching 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:23.960 for here in these last couple of days of the offseason. 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:25.800 Per I'm gonna probably be keeping my eyes pretty close 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:28.120 on the edge rushers. You were a part of that 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:31.520 conversation last week with Michael Parsons and him addressing kind 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:33.560 of where he's at in his rehab process and again 0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:36.080 a mature approach that he's taking to this thing. It's 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:38.160 going to be, you know, still four months. He's at 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:40.160 the five month mark. He's got to get to nine 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:42.520 as far as the return to play aspect of it. 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:45.600 So we know pretty well that the Packers are going 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:47.520 to need to find pass rushers to get them through 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:49.600 the month of September to get to get that initial 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:51.760 push of the season. And you know, he talked about 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:54.800 Lucas Vans and the steps he expects him to make 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:57.120 and the growth that he's shown. And I mean, when 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.200 you look at the makeup and the prototype for an 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:03.960 NFL pass rusher, Lucas Fans is that poster child. He 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:06.560 has everything you want to see and now he has 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:08.160 a few years under his belt. I think is still 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:11.760 only twenty four years old. I mean, he's now much 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:13.760 like Matthew Golden on the offensive side of the ball. 0:16:13.920 --> 0:16:16.160 I think there's nothing but aaron opportunity out there for 0:16:16.240 --> 0:16:18.680 him and seeing how that's going to go. And we've 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:21.040 talked about it at various points of this offseason too. 0:16:21.040 --> 0:16:24.840 But I mean physically, Baron Surrell is just so impressive 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:28.120 with what he's done to build his body. I mean, 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:30.400 this is an incredibly young man that came in last 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.800 year just trying to find his way, you know, tread 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:36.120 some water and then you know, had some success at 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:38.320 the end of last season. Well now he looks like 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:41.000 a full grown man and adding him into the equation 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:44.080 with Brenton Cox, you know, and hopefully the Packers can 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:46.080 get Colin Oliver back on the field here because you 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:48.360 see the dimension he can add to this pass rush too. 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.440 That's going to be the main task. It's on both 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:55.560 Jonathan Gannon, It's on the personnel department, it's on the 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:57.920 players themselves. You need to show that you can survive 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:00.400 without Micah Parsons here, and the Packers a lot of 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:02.160 young men with the upside to do it. Yeah. 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:05.040 I was asked a question in Insider Inbox about you know, 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.919 looking at players when they come back after the off season, 0:17:07.960 --> 0:17:10.720 and you know, what do you notice physically? And I said, 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:13.080 you know, the first guys I always look at are 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:15.600 the draft picks from the previous year, right, because now 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:18.840 this is their first full off season as NFL players. 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:21.600 And the two guys physically that I noticed, you know, 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:24.199 looked a little bit different than what we saw last year, 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:27.199 were Matthew Golden and Baron Surrell. You can tell that 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:30.200 they've they've put in the time with their bodies. It's 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:33.760 made a difference. They physically have taken another step. So 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:36.960 then how does that translate to the field now in 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:39.880 year two? I think another thing we'll be looking for. 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:43.520 And again this comes with that caveat of during the 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:46.520 two weeks of OTAs, the Packers had three or four 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:49.680 practices a week, and we were only watching one practice, right, 0:17:50.200 --> 0:17:53.760 But in the two practices we saw we saw Trey 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:55.840 Smack have a pretty good day and we saw him 0:17:55.840 --> 0:17:57.639 have a rough day out there when it got pretty 0:17:57.640 --> 0:18:00.760 windy at Nichkie Field last week. So now that we're 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:03.080 going to have multiple practices in a row here to watch, 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:05.520 we'll see what they do with the kicking periods and 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:08.560 and and how smack does there. I'm sure that's that's 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:11.359 something that's going to be followed. And then for me, 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:14.199 it's also just wanting to get kind of that last 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:18.800 glance at the depth chart before you know, we take 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:21.800 that break, you know, the long break before training camp, 0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:25.360 because we've talked on this show about the guy the 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:28.000 the rookie draft picks that we've seen getting rotated in 0:18:28.040 --> 0:18:30.080 and getting reps with the ones. You know, we've seen 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:34.359 Brandon Cisa and Chris McClellan and Jagger Burton last week 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:37.479 on the offensive line. Do they hold Are they holding 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:39.639 those spots now through mini camp? Are they still going 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:42.560 to be rotating in with the ones? Is anybody else 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:45.840 you know, getting into that rotation when the first units 0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:48.920 are out on the field. It's it's that as I say, 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:52.000 that last glance at where the depth chart is right 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:54.560 now as the off season program ends, and those are 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:56.680 the mental notes that you make for when the guys 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:57.840 come back for the start of training. 0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:00.520 Yeah, it's in a stude observation and it is like this, 0:19:01.560 --> 0:19:04.520 I guess you'd almost call it like an elongated trial run, right, 0:19:04.560 --> 0:19:07.120 I mean, it's it's it's being able to show that, Okay, 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:08.600 we're going to get some reps because there's some other 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:11.000 veterans here at these positions that aren't available right now 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:13.800 for one reason or another. So what do you do 0:19:13.880 --> 0:19:16.040 with them? What is that first impression that you make 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:18.760 off of those snaps? And I think cs is a 0:19:18.760 --> 0:19:21.040 really interesting one because by all accounts, you would think 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:23.760 Benzaman Saint Juice, the free agent they signed, he'll be 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:26.400 a part of that conversation in that rotation, but he's 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:29.840 not available right now. So when Keyshawn Nixon was coming off, 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:32.320