#283 Packers Unscripted: First-time perspective

for him, obviously in his current chair. And I think if there's, uh, if there's one significant takeaway that I got from that, it's that in his twenty years, couple of decades, however many years he's been in draft rooms in his lifetime, he has been a very keen observer of how people act, the behavior under pressure, all of those things from Ted Thompson, John Dorsey, Reggie Mackenzie, others that he's been around throughout his career. He's really paid

close attention to how this works. Here's a great example of this, Mike um west Hogqoitts walks in the door at Packers dot Com in two thousand and sixteen, My grammar, my English has gotten exponentially better working underneath Mike Spofford. That's just the way it goes, though, Ted Thompson and had that relationship with Ron Wolfe, and he did it his own way. He didn't do it like wolf did,

but the principles were there. And in just commanding that room, you have to show confidence, you have to show authority because there's so many people involved there. You don't want a week leader in those moments. You need somebody that's strong and sticks to their convictions. And that was the one thing and and Gouda Coins didn't want to go into like example of player A or player B or well, this guy was a great guy that we drafted at the last minute and we weren't sure and he turned

out great. But he said with Thompson, the one thing you had every single year was just his calm, cool and collect approach. And ultimately I think that's what helped the Packers get to where they got. And right off the bat he was tested two thousand five. You go back. I think Andrew Brandt tells the story. They only had one guy left at number twenty four with the first round grade. His name was Aaron Rodgers. They didn't need

a quarterback. He worked the phones for a little bit, then he took him and I think that being the first kind of chapter written in that book set the tone for the way that Thompson did things. And now Goodacuns, again we'll lead in his own way, but he's going

to be guided by those principles. Yeah. Goodacuns talked about how you know, in draft room, especially in the first round, when obviously the stakes are the highest and teams are making phone calls and offering trades or you're trying to find a trade partner, things can get pretty chaotic and people can get pretty anxious, and you know, you're weighing this offer versus that offer. Do you stand patent? Do

you make a pick? And the thing that he that he took, I think maybe the biggest lesson that he took from Ted Thompson is to have that steady hand, because when you're the one who's the decision maker, you set the tone for the entire room. And if you don't want a chaotic room, then you can't let the chaos get to you. And uh, I think you know, and this is an interesting situation him being thrown into

his first draft here at the fourteenth pick. You know, you mentioned Ted Thompson's first one while he was at twenty four it's like you still have a lot of time to kind of wait and let things play out.

Being right in the middle of the first round, it's a lot of speculation as to who might be available, who might not be He's going through with his personnel, trusted personnel advisors John Eric Sullivan, John Wojikowski and others, all the different scenarios that might pop up at fourteen, because it's all about it's all about being prepared and not being shocked or surprised necessarily by anything, because then you can make that calm, cool, collected decision when it's

your turn. And it's all about preparation. And he mentioned too that is that you know, he's had conversations with Ted Thompson the week's leading up to the draft here about what to expect in the moment. He's been doing this, Brian has for a long time or two decades in the Packers organization. He's been around football since he was

a child. But until you're in that seat, I think in the advice that Ted Thompson has given to everyone, every single one of his personnel executives have gone on to GM jobs, is everything turns up, everything gets warmer because now the decision is on you. It's your name that's making the pick. You're the guy that has to go up to the podium afterwards and explain you're thinking. And that's a big situation for a young GM to

be in. So I think that's one of the big benefits that Gudkins has still having ted in the building. And obviously, as he mentioned too, wasn't able to get out to as many of the college you know pro days as he has in the past because now he's

in that new seat. But that's where he leans on John, Eric Sullivan, John Woodrohowski, all these scouts that he has around him, the sam Seals of the world that I have seen most of these guys live, and going to take all that information, put it on their board and trust it. Said, there's a big, big push to want to overcook things during the final week, but you have to trust that eleven twelve months you've put in too scouting this class and making the best decision for your

for the future, your franchise. And he talked about you know, it is about building that board so that you can trust the board. It's about all the preparation that goes into it, you know, you're grading the players you build, you know, the needs of your team into the value of certain players and where and and where they fit on the board. So you know, even when teams talk about, oh, we took the best available player, well, your rankings were also based on positions that you need and things that

you need to do in the draft. So it's not it's not just strictly best available player. I mean, fans I think sometimes get thrown off by phrases like that. But at the end of the day, it's his call. He's got to sift through all the voices in his head. It's easy for a scout too, as they say, stand up on the table and scream for somebody when you're yeah, when when you're not the guy who who's you know, whose reputation is on the line, whose job is on

the line to make that call. But he said, naturally, every scout, you know, you fall in love with certain players. Now, as the guy in the catbird seat, so to speak, he has to weigh, Okay, is it worth trading up to go get that guy? What's the cost? What all are you giving up to go get that guy you really love? Or you better off sitting back letting the draft come to you and then see what's there when

when you're on the Cali. And that's gonna be the really tempting thing for Brian Goodkins in this draft, because they do have a league high twelve picks. There are a lot of decisions, a lot of maneuvers that they can make now that you can trade those compensatory picks. I look at it. I wrote about this an insider in box. I think that number four overall pick, you're looking for best available playmaker. People have asked edge rusher, cornerback,

defensive tackle. I want the best available playmaker. And as that draft wears on, and as that pool of players probably starts to come a little bit more together, that's when you have to make those decisions. If you have a guy you really like, if you feel like you need to go up and get them like they have occasionally, you know, over the years. Yeah, well we'll we'll talk a little bit more about how the Packers are looking at this draft in terms of the overall roster back

with more on Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford here, Wes hodkuits All the way over there, Wes. Okay, So how are the Packers looking at this draft in terms of the way the roster is currently constructed. If you look at things on the offensive side of the ball, the trade for Deshaun Kaiser pretty much or at least almost took quarterback out of the equation in a sense for this draft, three

running backs drafted last year on the third day. Running back definitely low priority, if not, you know, somewhat off the radar. But everything else on the offensive side of the ball, Packers are looking for future playmakers, for depth guys to compete for starting jobs this year on the offensive line. Where is your top priority offensively for the Packers? Well, here's what's fun about this conversation. Like the last segment,

you talked about building the board. I have a difficult enough time trying to build my fantasy football board with guys who have already been proven in the NFL. And then I mean, you look at good to Quinston in these scouts and understand this is their life's work. But trying to put all those names up on a college board with even more questions, question marks, and projections, it's an inn enviable task. But for me, looking strictly at the offensive side, I think it probably starts with the

offensive line. That's not an indictment Mike of what happened last year or how they played. I think it's more a product of the fact that I think it was ten or eleven different lineups they had to use through the course of the season. They were very fortunate David baktr after shaking off that hamstring injury, Lane Taylor avoided an injury. Corey Linsley played every offensive snap. As you wrote about on Packers dot Com, the left side of that line pretty much intact. The right side is a

different question. Brian Balaga coming back from the torn a c l Justin McCrae played both right guard and right tackle. Could he be a potential fit well, Jerry Evans come back, and then you have Kyle Murphy and and Jason Springs coming off of injuries that landed them on injured reserve right. So my biggest thing when I look at this is just bring me another body, Get me another one of those those mid conference tackles that you can convert to

a guard or have some flexibility with. I don't know how high on the list of priorities that needs to be if that needs to be a second round pick, third round pick. But I do think at some point in there you need to add one of those, and then also just quickly receiver packers have had a lot of success picking receiver in the early rounds. Might be a good year to do that as well. Yeah, it kind of looks that way. With regards to the offensive line,

I'm with you. I think it's you have to bring in at least another you know, mid to upper mid round prospect to throw into one of these competitions for right tackle and right guard. And I say right tackle because there's just no guarantee that Brian Bulaga can be ready for Week one when his when his torn a c L was as late in And you don't want to rush to either, exactly, you don't. You don't want And I know he's come this is a second time coming back from an a c L. He's done it before.

We know all that. I'm not trying to question that at all. It's it's just there, there's a timeline with these things, and and as you said, there's no need to rush it. So I'd like to see another guy who then is in one of those competitions either for right tackle or right guard. You mentioned you know you've got Justin McCray. Jason Spriggs and Kyle Murphy are are tackles.

Mccraig can play tackle or guard. Lucas Patrick is a guy who would be in the in the mix at guard as well, So you have some options there, but you really want to set this set up both of those positions really through O t s and training camps. Hey, let's let's send some guys out there to go compete and see who emerges when you go back, because it's you. The chapter has been closed now. Ted Thompson is the GM anymore. Twelve out of the thirteen drafts he took

an offensive lineman. You and I have talked a lot about in the past what happened the year they didn't in two thousand fifteen and how that ultimately impacted them down the stretch. I just think that it's a place that you can fortify. There's a talent available in this draft.

And the nice thing is the two positions offensively that I think you can make the case for the biggest need receiver in offensive line are arguably the two best positions the Packers have drafted over the ten last ten years. Tight end certainly figures into that as well. But everybody asks about that, My only response to it is first or second round. I'll believe it when I see it. It's been eighteen years now since the Packers have taken a tight end that high third round, not out of

the Roman possibilities. They did it with your Michael Finley and Richard Rogers. But I look at that as something more later in the draft to potentially find a prospect and maybe receiver and offensive line a little earlier. Yeah, I see the Packers trying to fortify tight end here, certainly with with Lance Kendricks and Jimmy Graham both being aged thirty plus at this point, you have plenty of experience at the tight end position right now, but what's

your future at the position? Emmanuel Bird is certainly a prospect the Packers are going to take another hard look at this year. But you need some more guys in the pipeline, and I and I think you need some more guys in the pipeline at wide receiver as well. Jordy Nelson is gone, Jeff Janis has gone. You're not too sure yet about Trevor David s Geronimo, Allison d'angelou, Yancy. All these guys are gonna get long looks. Michael Clark another one, six ft six. All these guys are gonna

get long looks. But there's a lot of you know, unproven talent there. You have Davontae Adams, you know what you've got there. You have Randall Cobb, But Randall cobbs in the last year of his contracts, So you need to read. You need to restock things and and and rebuild that competition for the future and see where those positions go. In one last comment about tight end, just

to touch on this briefly. Other than quarterback, I think it's the position that takes the longest time to develop, which is why I think drafting one would be smart this year because you have Graham, you have Kendricks too, proven veterans at a young body behind them to kind of watch and learn right. And when you have when you're going into a draft with twelve picks, that gives you the opportunity to address a lot of areas that next year you may not have as many picks in

your back pockets. So with that, we'll go to a break and talk about defense after this back with more on Packers Unscripted. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford in this chair, Wes Hodkowitz and that one Okay West shifting gears to the defensive side of the ball, new defensive coordinator, and Mike Patton bringing his system. We talked on our last show about the additions of Mohammed Wilkerson. You've brought in, Turmont Williams, are brought back Tormon Williams.

I should say at cornerback, you're looking for a guy like Kevin King, whose rookie season was got messed up a little bit because of that shoulder injury. He was your top pick a year ago. But Packers need to need to look to the future at cornerback, and they also need to look to the future at pass rusher. And I'm talking specifically edge rusher because Clay Matthews drafted an OH nine, Nick Perry drafted in two thousand and twelve.

Both of those guys, you know, they've they've put in their time and they will be the bread and butter this year, but they won't be here forever. No, they won't be Mike, And here's the thing is that although Dayton Jones ultimately ended up moving to outside linebacker and Mike Neil did that as well, it's been a long time since the Packers have drafted a natural outside pass rusher. I think this is a year to do it. The question is it's it really is the chicken or the

egg here? Which one do you emphasized first? And as Ludacon has astutely pointed out, he's seen great defenses that have phenomenal pass rush and okay secondaries do okay. He's seen shut down, lights out secondaries and okay pass rushes and that defense turned out fine. There isn't one single blueprint. It's finding that equilibrium. That's where the Packers are challenged. Last year they didn't get enough of it on either side.

The pass rush wasn't consistent enough. The obviously we know the issues with the communication in the secondary in the litany of injuries and inconsistency on the back end, big opportunity this year. I still really liked the pick of Kevin King six pounds. If he can come back from that shoulder, I think is he is a prototype boundary press man. Corn fit the scheme well. He also runs well enough that he can go down the sideline. Who

does that remind you of Sam Shield? Not quite that level of speed, but probably a little bit more technique at this age. Yeah, pass rusher another big question. Because you do have Perry and Matthews, who do you have behind them? They have four or five guys who all spend time on the fifty three man roster last year. But who's going to be the one to grab that opportunity.

I think the best way to get those guys motivated, not that they already aren't, is to bring in another guy in those early rounds, a guy that you can add to that rotation. Because when this defense was at its best in two thousand fourteen, in recent memory, it's when they have the deepest rotation. This is an opportunity to make that happen. Yeah, it's about getting that pass rush in the past coverage to play in sync, no matter which one is maybe the strength over the other.

And that's what we have to see if if Mike Petton and the new scheme and everything is going to be able to accomplish that. When you look at this draft specifically, the word is and I'm no draft expert, I'm reading I'm reading this stuff out there. Yeah, I'm reading this stuff out there that everybody else is. The word is is this is not a deep draft in terms of edge rushers, but it is much deeper at cornerback.

So then it just it makes you wonder. Okay, So the Packers are sitting there at fourteen in the first round. If they decide to stand pad and not move around, if there's an edge rusher you really like at fourteen and a cornerback you really like at fourteen, it almost seems like you have to go edge rusher because you can. You'll be able to get some quality cornerbacks later on and those edge rushers might not be there. That's just the way it kind of looks from the outside right now, Michael,

I'm gonna give you a little history lesson here. It's never a good year fridge rusher. There's always a dearth of really good pass rushers in the NFL. Go back to any draft two thousand to back to two thousand three. Most of your top Pro Bowl type difference makers were taken in the first round, and usually high in the first round. Yeah, Now, the question for the Packers is who's going to be available there does a Tremaine Edmonds get to them at fourteen. I don't think Bradley Chubb

is going to be there. I know a lot of pack Your fans are hopeful. I think you gotta let that one go until we see differently. Marcus Davenport has gotten a lot of intrigue, and I personally wasn't sold on him. I end up talking to some people who really do know what they're talking about. They think he can be a player in this league, but it's basically having to wait for him to develop. I would be tempted if I'm the Packers. This is just West Hotwitz

sitting in Packers unscripted, not on the third floor. But I just think when you look at those three defensive backs high in this draft, Denzel Award, Minca Fitzpatrick and also Derwin James, if any of those are within grasp, if any of them can be taken, those are three potential difference makers. For one reason or another, they really need a star slot cornerback. I think those guys could potentially fit the bill. It's a great place for the

Packers of being at fourteen, but a lot of questions too. Yeah, and it's tough because when you talk about the edge rushers and how it's never a great year for adge rushers. Well, that's because in college, if you're two fifty pounds, you can play defensive end. Yes, you know, in the NFL you have to convert to outside linebacker if you're that size, And in college, if you're two ninety you're probably playing inside. You weren't necessarily playing on the edge of the Bradley

Chubbs of the world. There's a reason everybody's saying he's a top five, six, top seven pick, because guys like that don't come along every year. The same reason what happened last year with the Browns when they're making the decision that they did made at number one. You just don't have those type of body types and the guys that are that explosive, they just don't exist that much.

And Goodicins talked about it. Yeah, all right, Well with that, we're gonna go to another break back with more and Packers Unscripted right after this Welcome Back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford alongside West Hodgwits Okay, West, before we go today, a lot of talk about how the quarterbacks are going to dictate how the first round of this NFL draft goes.

And there's a former Packers personnel executive by the name of John Dorsey sitting in the catbird seed in Cleveland with the first and fourth picks in this first round. He needs a quarterback. Which one is he gonna go with? That's like the million dollar question right now. Yeah, And it's funny because as information leaks out. Brian Goodkin has talked about this during his news conference on Monday. There's some stuff that is legit and there's some stuff that

is just smoking mirrors. Goodin said, the Packers will do the same thing, trying to throw people off. What I really appreciate about this is the fact that over the course of the last three months, I think all of the top four quarterbacks, maybe with the exception of Josh Rosen, has actually been attached to the Browns, that the brown the Browns are taking Josh Allen. No wait, they're taking Baker Mayfield, you know. No, They're gonna go with Sam Darnald.

And I had heard Sam Donald early in the process was the guy. But now who's it going to be. The thing that's interesting from the Packers perspective is they don't have to worry about that sweepstakes. But it is going to be interesting, Mike, because we're going to find out on Thursday night how much of that is legitimate, who really wanted a quarterback and where these guys are valued. There was talks I remember back and what was the two thirteen of Gino Smith being a potential top ten

guy falls the second round. But whatever happens is going to have a big impact on the Packers because the more quarterbacks that go, the more value their pick has and the more prime prospects elite players could be available for them. And that's gonna be probably the most interesting domino to watch. Full Yeah, and this is one of the more unpredictable things because there is talk that maybe four quarterbacks are going to go in the top ten

or top twelve, maybe even a fifth one. Lamar Jackson from Louisville like slips, which then pushes more defensive players down. But then the flip side of it, not that long ago, a guy like Teddy Bridgewater was being talked about as a top ten, top fifteen pick. Suddenly he's there at the bottom of the first round. Minnesota trades back up and nabs him at the end of the first round because he's still there when everybody thought he'd be gone at least by number twenty. So it's as unpredictable as

it gets. But it's a quarterback driven league, which makes it a quarterback driven draft. Unbelievable. Great point, Mike, and and it is interesting because quarterback is the only position where you really see this happen, because sometimes you really do we talk about best a pailable players. Sometimes it is just having to get a little bit more invest a little bit more, draft a guy a little bit earlier. Because of the nature of the position. You don't see

that happen a lot of times at other spots. No, yeah, it's it's it's what it's what drives teams. If you don't have that guy, you are always searching for that guy. And the longer you don't have him, the longer it's going to take for you to become a contender. That's just reality. And the sooner you're gonna be out of a job. If you're a GM and it's like two,

you gotta be able to find the man. And you look back in the years, sometimes you find you know Russell Wilson, the third round, but oftentimes it's in the top ten. Yeah, no question with that. We will call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Be sure to follow all of our coverage of the team on Packers dot com on Twitter, He's at west Hot, I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, everybody. We'll see next time. Mm hmm.