#278 Packers Unscripted: Back from the combine

But I know Packers fans between now and the draft, and not that they haven't been talking about it since the end of the season. There's two positions in this draft. The Packers fans are focused on. It's pass rushers and cornerbacks. They want to know who's out there. Who do the Packers have their eye on? Who might be there at

number fourteen? If the Packers are going to use that opportunity to improve on defense, Let's start with the pass rushers and a couple of guys I know that have been attached to the Packers in various mock drafts and things like that. And those mock drafts are going to change here and there now now that the combine is finished.

As we lead up to the draft, but Marcus Davenport from Texas San Antonio and Harold Landry from Boston College a couple of guys projected as first rounders, maybe not necessarily top ten picks, but at the same time, Marcus Davenport when he ran a sub four six forty then at the combine, so you start to wonder, now if this guy from Texas San Antonio, who is kind of the consensus mock draft selection for the Packers at number fourteen, you wonder if he's even gonna last that long? You do?

I mean, when you when you run a sub four six is a pass rusher, it's gonna get you noticed. If I remember correctly, I think it was Clay was four six seven, but it was also his initial splits were phenomenal, which is eventually what got it to be a first round pick. The broad jump is exactly where you wanted to be for Davenport. Certainly, the size has all the intangibles you look for as an elephant type end. The thing that's and I wrote about this an insider inbox.

When we got back to Green Bay. The thing that intrigues me the most is and I'm not I'm no Mike Mayock. I'm not saying that I am. But I did find it interesting him talking about really what he sees a sort of a lack of depth in this draft class when it comes to edge rusher. That might be the case, but there are a lot of intriguing options for the Packers, whether it's Davenport, whether it is Landry.

If you go maybe a little bit farther back in the first round into the second round, I think there's some interesting guys there. Could Art and Key move up. He certainly has the frame that you look for, maybe to put on some weight. Sam Hubbard isn't in that conversation. Art and Key from l s U, Sam Hubbard from Ohio sty Ohio State. Just some guys that have phenomenal length. And I just remember a year ago, or actually known two years ago, when we were talking about the Packers

drafting Kyler Facral six five. It was just amazing. Well, this particular draft, including Davenport, there's a lot of guys in that four to six six range, and I think if you're an edge rushing coach, really are going to make you want to take a long, hard look at these guys. Yeah, I think that's the one thing that stands out to me about this pass rush draft class is is the size and the length of these guys.

They're all six five six six, it seems like, and yeah, there may not be a whole lot of depth to where you might not be able to find a Vince Biegel at the top of the fourth round in this draft. If you're gonna get one of these pass rushers, you you might have to you might have to grab him early. But you look at Davenport, really the question people have about him that the knock against him, so to speak, is the Texas San Antonio the level of competition that

he played in college. Now he went down to the Senior Bowl and went up against all the top prospects from all the major conferences there and held his own. It hasn't heard his draft stock. He's still being projected as a first rounder. So he's answered some of those questions. You look at a guy like Landry from Boston College

two thousand sixteen. This guy had sixteen and a half sacks west and then he was headed for probably another double bull digit sacks season he believes he definitely would have had double digits, but a knee injury middle of the season. He tried to play through it for a couple of games, couldn't get a whole lot done, just made it worse and they and they had to shut him down. Um no, I'm sorry. Maybe it was an

ankle injury. I believe it was. Yeah, yeah, lower body, but yes, uh so he uh but but this is a guy with with a ton of confidence. He's a you know, he's what they call a dip and rip type of pass rusher. He's got speed off the edge. He likes to go low around the corner and get around those offensive tackles. I think the question with him

is can you do more than that? Is he? Or is he's you know, the one trick pony so to speak, which you know, a guy like Kabir Baja Biamila, he made a heck of a career out of being basically a speed rusher off the edge, and he got a lot of sacks. But in this day and age in the NFL, scouts are gonna be you know, and Bla was a fifth round draft pick. We're not talking about a first round pick here, So you wonder. You wonder

with Landry, he says. You know, as he gets still gets bigger and stronger, he feels he can develop more strength moves with his pass rush. Right now, he's just a speed guy, and it's about the scouts projecting maybe what they see a bigger repertoire that he might be

able to develop down the road. Yeah. And one of the things, mich where I mentioned some of these guys with a little bit more length, including Davenport, is probably the post child for this sometimes can play with that elevated pad level have a hard time dipping and ripping, to use that phrase. Lander is probably on the other side of that, a little bit more traditional. At six ft three around two and fifty pounds, I think that puts him more in that, you know, Nick Perry, Clay

Matthews traditional kind of size for that position. But as Larry mccarren pointed out on one of the shows we did over the weekend, the question is how how that's going to translate against the David baktrs, against these top tackles in the league. Because I always go back to this, and I don't try to make you know, Darrell Worthy, you know, a step child for this kind of thing.

But you know, he had that initial burst. He was able to read the snap, the snaps and the cadences in the NFL or in college at Michigan State, and it just didn't translate to the pros Landry that type of rushing style. How is that going to be? Uh? In terms of how is he going to adapt that to the next level. A lot of ability and I think again, another guy that tested through the roof throughout this combine is going to be something that that teams

are really gonna have to think about and ponder. Yeah, when you mentioned Larry McCarron in those shows he did with us before we go to break here, I want to be able to say thanks to Larry for those those shows in India. I hope the fans enjoyed it. We certainly enjoy his u his storytelling him whatnot. It was great to have him on the set for a

few days. There's only one Larry McCarron. It's it honestly, it's like having you know, a Hall of Famer walked back into the studio for you, uh and come up. It was. It was a great, great time with him last week that was great. Well, we've got more from our trip to the combine. Back with that on Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford in this chair, Wes Hodko, it's in that one

and west. Moving on to the cornerbacks, which is the other big position on defense that Packers fans have their eye on, wondering who might be there at number fourteen, who to the Packers maybe have some interest in. Two guys that I wrote about on our website after they met with the media as the scouting combine was the media portion of the scouting combine was wrapping up over the weekend. Two guys from the Big Ten I was Josh Jackson and Ohio State's Denzel Ward, both of them

pretty consensus first round picks. But the interesting thing about it is these are two guys very different types of cornerbacks. Josh Jackson kind of a zone corner ball hawk type of guy. Eight interceptions this past season, five of them against the two teams that played for the Big Ten

championship in Ohio State in Wisconsin. Those were two huge games that he had, but questions about his overall experience because he was only a starter at Iowa for one year, and then also questions about his speed because he's not a man to man cornerback. He he was mostly a zone corner. Then you have a ward from Ohio State, no questions about his speed at all. He's uh, he's a burner, there's no doubt about that. But he's a little on the smaller side. Five ten. You know, he says, hey,

I think I'm five eleven. Um, take that for what it's worth. Um. But but but a fast guy, all kinds of man to man cover skills. But then only two interceptions on the stat sheet for somebody who uh um, for somebody who is is as talented as he is. And and I asked him, you know, well, what is the what is the thing that the coaches and the scouts in the NFL like want you to work on?

And he says, you know, finding the ball, tracking the ball, that kind of thing, which, of course that's what's going to lead to more interceptions when you're in those man to man situations. So two guys with a lot of talent and a ton of upside, but not perfect prospects either. So, um, just your thoughts maybe on how this is going to shake out, is maybe who is who's the top guy

who's gonna go first. Yeah, I can't sit here and say that these guys shouldn't have come out for the draft there one and two really probably with with Izzy Oliver out of Colorado in terms of the prospects at this position. But the questions that both I don't want to say they raised red flags for me, but it does from a Packers perspective make me slightly apprehensive. And the reason I say that is Packers are a man press man defense and now we'll have to see what

kind of adjustments they make ultimately underneath Mike Petton. But Joe Witt is still here. He's a press man coach. So a guy like Josh Jackson has the size six, that's the type of guy that you want up on the line, but he hasn't done it a lot. And then you look from words perspective to add more context to what you were saying, the old run wolf way of doing businesses the guys underneath five eleven. He really

don't want to shift from that. Yeah, you're taking a risk there, and the Packers the one him that they win against that with a mod Carroll. You know how the rest of the story wins. So uh, both of these guys I think are incomplete in that way. And that's why I think maybe if we were talking about the end of the first round, that's where I potentially be a little bit more comfortable. But I'm curious to see they have pro days coming up. There's a lot

of different things that are going to happen. But as far as number fourteen, I'm it just doesn't seem to me like this year there's a Jalen Ramsey type guy that is just okay, that's the guy. Top ten talent. There we are. It seems to me that cornerback position, there's depth there. But I just don't think there's a guy right now, at least on my perspective. Whatever that means that that just jumps off the page is a is a must for a top fifteen. Yeah, and you

mentioned Oliver from Colorado. He's another one of these guys being talked about in the mix. I personally don't know a lot about him. Can you kind of fill us in or what do you know about another guy that's big and lengthy. I mean that's six one and obviously two one or ninety pounds. I mean, the other thing that stands out to you about his game, he offers you some punt return versatility. Uh, there's other things he can do from day one to come out and help

a football team. The thing is, though, again it's another guy that think had like one or two in two interceptions during his his last season, another junior entry. So there's so much projection that goes into this. You go back to the last time the Packers have invested into this position. Last year, Kevin King gave you a lot of production, but again coming from that system of cornerbacks, didn't really have a lot in one specific area. He

played boundary. He started as a safety, he worked you know, the slot at times, and then the year before that, I mean it was just a total kind of crap shoot with de Marius Randall coming from playing basically a box safety and then Quentin Rollins had just transition to the position. So a lot of times I think that puts it puts some pressure on your scouts. It puts pressure on Joe Wit guys to understand, okay, what we want to do in this system and find people that

compliment that. The one thing that I think going back to Jackson, you can't you can't argue with eight interceptions in the Big ten and there were some big interceptions in some big games, and I know that was something that you kind of talked to him about, you know what he was able to accomplish and really only fourteen starts as a Division one, you know, starting quarterback. Yeah, he he basically played nickel corner for Iowa his first two seasons. Was was beaten out his second year by

another player for the starting boundary corner job. So then he was the nickel guy coming off the bench. And then in his one year as a starter three interceptions against Ohio State to pick six is against Wisconsin at Camp Randall ended up with eight interceptions overall, which led the country twenty six passes defense. I believe was that was the final statistic there for him. Just a stat that clearly jumps off the page. Another thing about Ward

two from Ohio State that I'll mention. Assuming war does get drafted in the first round, he will be the fifth defensive back and fourth cornerback out of Ohio State to go in the first round in a span of three drafts. Because two years ago, Eli Apple a cornerback was the first round pick, and then last year three Ohio State dbs all taken in the first round, Marshawn Lattimore who ended up being the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year with New Orleans, and then also the safety

Malik Hooker and the other cornerback Gary and Connley. So there's a pedigree here with in this these recent years with Ohio State and defensive backs and Denzil Awards. As Yeah, I want to I want to be the next guy. I want to carry on that tradition. Yeah, not to rip on ward. Two things I want to add, as far as to his credit four point three tot you can't coach that. That's just speed. That's the speed. The speed is not a question with him, whereas it is

with Jackson. Yes, and then also did the run Wolf way of thinking to be fair Ron Wolf retired in two thousand one. Is a gm a lot of boundary corner action. There wasn't a lot of slot play. There's ways now in a defense to really utilize those guys, even if they aren't six ft tall. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. But for now, we're going to toss it to a breakback with more on Packers Unscripted right after this, Welcome back to Packers Unscripted.

Mike Spofford right here West, hodko w It's all the way over there at West. One of the things that's always fun to do at the combine is you search through the list of prospects trying to find, you know, these different guys that maybe have some connection to Green Bay, some connection to the Packers somewhere in their history, and here they are trying to make their way in the NFL draft. Well, there's one that you talked to and you wrote about him on our website who grew up

basically a ten minute walk from lambeau Field. And here he is at the at at the scouting comment and who he was, I should say, trying to make his impression and state his case to be a to be a high draft pick. Tell us about him. Tennessee defensive tackle Khalil Mackenzie, the son of Reginald Mackenzie, the Packers former personnel executive and current Raiders GM. I actually had a chance to cover Khalil when he was still at

Green Bay South his two seasons there. I I live streamed some of his football games for the Trojans, and I'll never forget his freshman year. The first time, you know, you go to the game. You remember those used to cover preps. You get the roster sheet, right, and it said Khalil Mackenzie. I think he was number ninety nine. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but six ft two forty pounds f R freshman pounds Mike, I'm five eight on a good day and seventy pounds and I'm thirty years old.

I mean, it just shows you just what kind of both him and his brother Jalen, who's now attack on offensive tackle at usc UH. These guys had it in their blood. And what happened is after his sophomore year, him and his family decided to follow his dad out to California. So he only had his first fifteen years in Green Bay. But I asked him about that, what that time meant to him? Green Bay Southwest they won their first conference title in thirty seven years while he

was there. They had two deep runs in the w i A State playoffs, came up a little short of stay, but just some phenomenal memories he had. Goes on to Tennessee, played three seasons there was injured during one of them. In this past year really, I think started to come into his own. I think he's surprised some people when he declared for the NFL Draft instead of going back

for his senior season. But to him talking with his dad, this is a decision he felt was right for his future and now going to try his luck at the NFL. But he certainly has Packers in his pedigree for sure. Yeah. Well, and it's it's interesting because you know, and not to not to knock anybody, but there are certain things that you're blessed with that are God given. Reggie mackenzie not a small man. Reggie's twin brother, Raleigh not a small man.

And uh Khalil Mackenzie now Reggie's son and Raleigh's nephew, the two of the two elder ones obviously being you know, NFL veterans. Um Khalil not a small young man. No, he hasn't and he goes in about six three I think he waited in at three and twenty pounds. And I was he was at one of the pody or the one of the tables off to the side of the podage. He was talking in with the media and and I just the size of his calves and his lower body, what he has to work with. The bloodlines

are there. This is the guy who was a five star recruit coming out of high school. And even though you know, I know there was some setbacks for him at Tennessee. He said he wishes he would have won more. But like I said, the potential has always been there. So the neat thing for him right now is he spent his You know, he spent a ton of time as a kid inside the Packers buildings, going through game programs,

going through stat sheets, scouting players with his dad. You know, he recalled in two thousand and eleven being on the podium just off to the side when Aaron Rodgers is lifting the Lombardi Trophy with the belt on his shoulder. Just the memories that this guy has had and his short time span only twenty one years old. Uh, and now trying to make his own NFL dreams come true. It's gonna be a great story to watch. And he wouldn't bite on whether or not he had a formal

interview with the Raiders or not. I don't know how exactly that works in their household, but uh, certainly very excited now about this next step. First, we almost wonder, like how much would the Raiders really have to find doubt about him, because Reggie pretty much, you would think, would know everything there is to know. That being said, it is interesting though that he decided to declare earlier you play three years in the SEC. I mean, you've

definitely got something going there. But he's not being talked about it as as a high draft picks. Yeah, he's trying to trying to jump in there early, but I guess we'll see what happens with that. We'll go to a break back with more on Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford alongside West, Hidekowits and West. Quickly before we go, since this is our first show back in the studio after our trip to

the Combine, just wanted to get your thoughts. What was the single thing that made the biggest impression on you during the weekend? And well, I mean certainly it's Shack Griffin. Everything else is one B, one C, one D. And we'll get to talking about Griffin a little bit more on shows later this week. But Michael Joseph is a name I think people need to pay attention to. Uh. This is a guy that will not be going in the first probably first two days of the draft, is

hoping to get drafted all together. But he's a cornerback from Dubuque. And for those who haven't followed, it's a Division three school that's miles from where I grew up at there you go, just across the Mississippi River. Yes it is. I've been down there. It's a beautiful, beautiful town. But so interestingly enough, Michael Joseph ends up there. Didn't play hardly at all in high school. He I think

he had five tackles. Um, you know, didn't really ever get a chance to play a cornerback, and and kind of went to college feeling like, you know what, I never really got my shots. So he starts off on basically the JV version of their football team, uh, not even on their actual team, and just over time just gets more opportunities, more opportunities. Is sophomore year he starts starting, and then suddenly this guy ends up turning into a

legitimate prospect. Uh, and now getting this attention, I asked him if Dubuke's ever had anyone in the league. He mentioned there's a couple of guys that got tryouts, but this is a big opportunity for this young man trying to make an NFL dream come true and and going from such a small stage. He was one of the finalists for the Division Three Award last year for best Small school player. To now having a chance to to potentially make it in the NFL, just I think incredible.

It shows incredible amount of him and determination, perseverance. Didn't have the best grades in high school, but really worked hard at trying to make this dream come true. And I thought he was one of the most probably under the radar, but yet compelling stories to come out of the combine. Yeah, definitely will be. Uh will be an interesting story to follow and see just how that unfolds.

What I'm gonna say about my biggest impression, and this certainly doesn't come as a shock, but when you're there at the combine, the reality sort of sets in. And what I'm talking about is just all the attention that is on quarterbacks in this draft, and how different a draft is for a team such as the Packers when you're not in the market for a first round cornerback

because you don't have to find that franchise guy. And then the teams that are because you know, this year you're talking about Sam Donald from USC, Josh Allen from Wyoming, Josh Rosen, U C. L. A. Baker, may have Mayfield from Oklahoma, even Mason Rudolph from Oklahoma State. All these guys being talked about. Quarterback is always going to be overdrafted. The quarterback press conferences have the most reporters around him.

Everybody wants to talk to them, find out what's going on there, where they think they're going to be picked, and how they're gonna fit with this system or that system. The the attention on the quarterbacks is just never ending. It it just reinforces. It is the premier position probably in all of sports, and teams need to find him. Yeah, that continues next month. Alright, with that, we will call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted, but be sure to follow all of our coverage of the

team on Packers dot Com on Twitter. You can still find him at west Hod I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody. We'll see you next time m