#288 Packers Unscripted: Hot topics

rattled through the show. Well, our producer, Marvin, he thought that was one of our best shows I've ever done. So I thought, why not do a show like that in the post draft world. So I've got my list of questions here, I'm gonna throw them at you. You give your answer, I'll give my answer. We'll see how

many we get through here. And then twenty two or so minutes, right off the bat, which of these eleven draft picks for the Green Bay Packers do you believe will have the biggest impact in back on the hot

seat over here. Yeah, uh, you know, Jarry Alexander. I think is the easy answer to this one, Mike, just because I think with his skill set, being able to play outside, being able to play inside, there's just a more direct path for him getting onto the field if you're a boundary type corner We even saw it to

some extent with Kevin King last year. It's more difficult to be able to get that spot right off the bat because of just you know, the mona competition and a lot of times it takes a more veteran player to excel out there. You saw Casey Hayward excel in the slot as a young player before Damarius Randall handled that position. Mike A. Hyde in two thousand thirteen, when Casey Hayward got hurt, ended up manning that position quite

a bit. So I think there's probably more of a direct outlet for Alexander to make a Day one contribution. But but even still, as we've talked about a million times, cornerback, it's a position that takes time to learn and develop. You can play off your instincts, you can play off your natural athleticism, but you need to pair that with technique and knowledge of the defense. So that'll be his number one hurdle when he comes to Green Bay, when he,

you know, gets involved in this. Mike Petton defense, But I just think given where he was taken, the amount of ability that he has, I think he's probably the surest bet to be able to make a contribution right

off the battle. Yeah, that's a good call. And I like what you said to about the difference between slot corner and boundary corner for young guys, especially in the sense that a lot of times defensive coordinators can be a little hesitant to put a rookie matched up against a number one receiver type out there on the boundary. That's sort of a job, an assignment that you that you work your way up to, So we'll see how

that evolves. My answer to this question comes with a bit of a caveat, and the caveat is if he wins the job, which is a little bit of a cop out. But my answer is j K. Scott, I think he could have a really big impact on this on this team if he indeed beats out Justin Vogel

for the punting job. And I'm not saying he's going to and with the rook he sees in Justin Vogel had and all the promise that he has shown, I think this is going to be quite a competition, and Justin Vogel is certainly not going to give up his

job without a heck of a fight. But you look at the pedigree of J. K. Scott in college at Alabama, all the big games, the bright spotlight type of games that he punted in, and how he performed and how he evolved from his freshman year as a punter through his senior year with improving the hang time and bringing the gross average and the net average closer together by you know, limiting if not eliminating most returns. I think he's uh. I think he's a rookie to watch on

this team again if he wins the job. Yeah. And the thing that really stands out to me about him more than any other character is just the fact that he is so darn big and for the you know, we've heard it a million times, those long lever type hunters. How much more leverage you're able to put onto a football, the things that you're able to do, the way you can harness that. Uh. He he checks all those boxes

across the board. And he also seems to line up per quickly with what the Packers have been looking for with their punters. Guys that can put the ball on the sideline, they get the proper hand time, they get the proper distance. Uh, Punting in Green Day, Wisconsin is a lot different than it was in Alabama. Yeah, the cold the cold weather is going to be is going to potentially be an issue. Vogel hand little King from Miami. Yeah, so Vogel had experience last year two and did just

fine in the month of December. But for both of those guys, I will say this, I challenge you, Mike, to go back and find me a better punting competition that the Packers have had in the last twenty five years. I mean, Craig Hendrick man that spot for a few years. Obviously Josh Bidwell was there. Um, you know, I guess you could kind of talk it's it doesn't doesn't match up though, even if you look at the years where you had Derek Frost and you know, and Sean John Ryan,

Jeremy Kapanos was in that mix. And this is as far as like one verse one, I think this is gonna probably one of the best summers to watch for that position. Alright, Question number two, which of these draft picks is the biggest unknown in terms of perhaps what his upside might be. Oh, that's a great question, Michael. I think I'm gonna probably have to say or in Burke's just because he really hasn't been in just one

spot for more than one season. Uh. He came to Vanderbilt and he was a defensive back, and he played that for two years, and he became a hybrid safety and then he became a full fledged inside backer. He seems and sounds like he's going to be able to carry two hundred and thirty five pounds naturally, Like it's not going to be a stretch to put that much

weight on his body. To give you an example in terms of a comparison, Jack Cichy from Wisconsin weighs two thirty eight and was considered, other than the injuries, one of the best pure inside linebackers in this draft class. So he is going to be able to check the box from the size the size component of it. It's just gonna be a question of you know where his speed is at, because you're no longer in that too

twenty range. But I just think when you put his numbers on the board, how he tested in the role that he filled at Vanderbilt, it just seems like he's tailor made for that hybrid position now in the NFL, with the way that things have sort of steered themselves. Yeah, and my answer to this one is the South Florida wide receiver Marquez Valdi Scantling. And I say that because of a couple of numbers six four and four three seven, and I've said it in our insider inbox. I'm really

curious what this is going to look like. I know, a couple of years ago, Packers drafted Trevor Davis, speedy wide receiver from cal The thought was he would maybe developed into one of these guys that could take the top off the defense. That hasn't happened yet, not to say that it couldn't happen in year three as Trevor continues to develop. But this is a this is a size and speed prospect that's that's really intriguing. And uh and again, I just I think there's a lot of

unknown with the upside here. Packers fans get all excited about Jeff Janice, and you know, Valdez Scantling has a faster forty and he's taller, so a lot to work with their All, Right, with that, we're gonna go to a break back with moreen Packers Unscripted. Right after this, Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford in this chair, Wes Hodkowitz in that one the hot seat again, some more questions come in your way. Okay, best value pick out of this team draft for the package, Josh Jackson

has to be. I mean, this is a guy that had a lot of first round grades by you know, a number of teams. He ends up falling to the middle of the second round. I don't know exactly what's going through Brian Goodquin's mind at that point. Um. I have to imagine they were pretty geeked about it though.

The fact that you know, as as I talked about Mike when you and I were in Indianapolis, I think a lot of people at that point in time thought he was the number two cornerback on the board as far as a pure corner here corner pushing Denzel Award for that spot. Alexander ends up testing through the roof. Some other things fall into line, but he has great size. Uh.

You love his competitiveness and you love the production. Again, I just I really wonder if he could have if that forty would have been under sub five or in the more around that five poor four point five. You know whether or not he probably is a first round pick. But uh, he had the one big year in Iowa. But I think that gives you a lot to work with and as we've talked about earlier this week, he's a he's an unfinished product, and now he gets to

work with Joe Wynne. I think that's an exciting combo. Yeah. I think Josh Jackson is definitely a value pick being there at forty five in the second round. There's also an argument to be made that the first round pick Jirie Ji Year excuse me, Alexander is a great value pick because essentially you traded a third round pick and got a first rounder next year and got Alexander. So Um. But I'll also say, as far as a value pick

in this draft, Equanimius st. Brown from Notre Dame at the end of the sixth round a compensatory sixth round pick if I'm not mistaken, Um, and I say value pick because most analysts across the board said this, This guy was projected as a third or fourth rounder. Um had a lot of success at Notre Dame when he had a legitimate NFL caliber quarterback there and in Deshaun Kaiser.

And as I said on the show the other day, I think this is I think I think the way he fell in the draft of the late sixth round makes him a very, very motivated player. And it's a question whether he channels that motivation in the right way, um to uh to start his NFL career. Probably gonna have to weigh probably ten or fifteen years to get an honest answer from Brian goodkinst on this. But I do wonder, you know, he said e q st. Brown said he was told by the Draft Advisory Committee had

a fourth round grade. I'm curious to see what great the Packers had on him. I gotta imagine they had him higher than the sixth round based on you know, one of the things I was working on this week for Packers dot Com. You know, good Can said, really

he went into that last day. It wasn't like he just wanted draft through receivers, but every time they came on the board in the fourth, fifth and sixth round, the receivers were the best value options for them, and he thought that was a way to really improve the team. And I've st Brown gonna be really motivated to show that he should have been higher in this draft. Yeah, all right. Most surprising pick of this draft for the Packers in your opinion, Oh, Mike, that's a tough one.

Most surprising pick. I guess if you're gonna tell me what the biggest surprise was overall, I have to say, Scott, just from the standpoint of I did not envision the Packers drafting a punter. To be honest with you, I knew nothing about the punters in this class. And I remember talking to a couple of the beat writers in the auditorium on on Saturday night. Really not very many did because I don't think we thought of it as a position of need. I thought a lot of people

were comfortable, myself included with Vogel. So I didn't do much research into these punters. But once you start to look up his bio and you go on NFL dot com and look up his draft page and see that I think they had a third or fourth round grade on the kid. Um they did get good value for him. And and I want to stop one thing right here, because I saw some things on Twitter about well b J. Sander two thousand and four. Brian Goodkins didn't trade up

into the third round to take J. K. Scott. He got him in the fifth round at his pick, you know, and in around the Packers had three picks. Yeah. So I'll be honest with you, I don't I don't get that argument at all. I think this kid's a lot of talent there. And in the fact that a third round pick, that's a different ballgame. Fifth round pick, I think you know that the board starts to open itself

up a little bit more. Yeah, And for me, the most surprising pick was the other specialist, Hunter Bradley from Mississippi State. And even though I know you predicted it did, I still did not. I just did not think the Packers would draft along snapper. I just I figured, you know, you you grab one of those guys in the undrafted route, you know, right after the draft concludes. But lo and behold, they used a seventh round pick on a long snapper

and made a little history. Marvin the production booth is gonna get mad at me here because he's probably gonna be telling me to throw the break. But I just want to make this point about Bradley. The reason I was not surprised is because you look at the past history when Packers have had injury problems at positions around positions, running back, offensive line, receiver, they address it in the draft. They make sure that that doesn't happen again. Safety being

another one of them. After what they went through last year, three or four different long snappers throughout the course of the year. It was a carousel, you know what. I think there's something to be said in the seventh round for taking the best available long snapper at that spot. And also keep in mind, I think the draft value charts, seventh round picks at that point are worth one point one point overtaking the guys trying to sign him as a prior having to compete for him, compete for him

potentially with other teams. All right, with that, we are going to go to a breakback with moreen Packers unscripted right after this, Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford here, Wes Hodkuhit's over there, okay, West. We just answered the question last segment about most rising picks. So the next question is most surprising non pick. What was the biggest surprise to you in terms of what the Packers did not do in this draft. You know what I'm gonna say,

tight end. I think pass rusher obviously can make that argument, but they did eventually address it in the seventh round. Tight end, and for the reason you and I discussed earlier this week, that's a position that takes time to develop. I don't care if your first round pick or your seventh round pick, it is going to be very difficult for you at that position to go into the NFL and just become a Pro Bowl type player. You need time,

and there's only so many Ron Gronkowski's out there. So I thought it made a lot of sense with having eight picks on the third day, that they would go and find one. They didn't do that. I think that is somewhat a reflection of the changing time in the NFL. We're seeing more three and four wide receiver approaches. Jimmy Graham in some ways could be considered a receiver. I know that's been a debate that's been had over the years.

So in one way it makes sense and then the other way though, I just think that this was a draft that it was relatively deep at that tight end position. There were lot of intriguing guys you talked about several of them in the pre draft process. I thought this would have potentially been a year to go find one of those guys. Yeah, I agree with you, tight end was was a surprising non pick to me, and I will I will also say pass rusher is the one

that sticks out to me. And nothing against Kendall Donnerson being taken from Southeast Missouri State in the seventh round, but I thought the Packers would use a much earlier

pick on a pass rusher. And I guess where where I got surprised the most is that when Brian goudacun has decided to trade that top pick in the fourth round on Friday night to get back into the third round to take a player, I thought, Okay, here's where he's targeted a pass rusher and this is where he's going to take him any any taking took Burke's the inside linebacker instead. So to me, that was the surprising non pick, that that a pass rusher was not taken earlier,

as we talked about. But a larger overarching question West, what is the most important thing that the Green Bay Packers accomplished with this draft when you look at it from a big picture perspective, We asked a lot of questions this week, Mike, We've talked about a lot of different topics. You know, the one thing that has not come up, what are the Packers going to do at cornerback? Uh, that that question has been answered. It's up to the players in that room now to play this thing out.

But the one thing, Mike, I don't think you're gonna be able to say going into two thousand eighteen. Going into it. The season plays out how it plays out. But I don't think you can say. I don't think Mike Petton could say he doesn't have enough options at cornerback. You have Alexander and Jackson, two guys that very easily could have both been first round picks. You brought back Trumon Williams, a guy that gives you versatility throughout the secondary.

Devon House is back, and you have a litany of other defensive backs that you return from last season. I think to me the fact that they did address that, even though there are some lingering questions about the pass rush, but they have prospects now in that pipeline at cornerback, and considering how deep they had to go into those reserves last year, I have to imagine that Joe Wait

and company are very happy about that. Ye. And if I were to say the next most important thing that the Packers accomplished in this draft, I think it's what they did at wide receiver, and it's for a lot of reasons. We saw the benefit of taking the three running backs on the third day of the draft last year and what that meant when injuries hit and you're

finding out what you've got in these young guys. The Packers are going to have an opportunity to figure out what they have with these young receivers that they took. Do you have potentially another Davante Adams, you know, moving up the pipeline here with one of these guys. Will it help you make a decision on Randall cob who's

in the last year of his contract. There are a lot of things here and maybe if things don't work out with the approach that you took this year, then it tells you we need to address wide receiver earlier in the draft. We need to get more of a top prospect to find the next Davanta Adams to to pair with him long term, potentially as a as a big body boundary receiver. So I think what they did at wide receiver was very, very important, and I did a little bit of a dive this week, Mike, looking

into the history of that. When the Packers overdraft at receiver and actually their turns have been pretty good. You're not going to hit on all three guys that, yeah, basically, but they did in two thousand fourteen. They got Davante Adams, they did, They got Robert Brooks they did, and Bill Schrader came out of that. So when you go and address a position like that, sometimes you can really hit

it big and maybe find a lot of playmakers. But I think the one thing it does it guarantees that at least somebody's going to rise out of that and become a contributor for you. All Right with that, we're going to go to another break back with more on Packers Unscripted right after this. Welcome back to Packers Unscripted. Mike Spofford joined by Wes Hodko. It's Okay West final segment here. Before we go the final question, I'm going to throw at you the best non Packers moment of

the two NFL Draft. I mean it has to be Sakine Griffin from Seattle. Not only does he get drafted, and we remember talking at the combine about what emotional, how emotion that was going to be for him, but he gets picked by the Seattle Seahawks, so he gets

to go play with his twin brother story. A really cool side note to that, Marquez Veldez Scantling, who the Packers draft of fifth round, was high school teammates with the two brothers as well, back at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, So a little bit of a Packer tie into that. But the fact that that Griffin is able to get drafted after testing the way he did, I think it was a foregone conclusion that was going

to happen. But then John Schneider ends up calling in his number and now he'll be able to be teammates with his brother. That's pretty special. Yeah, it is pretty special. And and there be a lot of people. There are a lot of people in the country rooting for Griffin no matter which team would have drafted him, a lot of people rooting for him. A lot of people are gonna be watching to see just just what sort of career develops here with with really an amazing athletic story.

And I want to see what kind of player he can become too, because he's gonna have to make a transition. He was an edge rusher kind of at at UCF. He's not gonna be able to do that in the NFL. Is just not big enough, so he's gonna have to be a hybrid type inside linebacker player. A lot to work with, but he's gonna have to adjust his game a little bit too. Yeah. Well, I will say as much as I loved Jerry Kramer's jab at the at the Dallas fans there, with regards to the Ice Bowl,

the question is the best non Packers moment of the draft? Um? Watching uh Ryan Shazier gets there on the stage and announce a announce a pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Um. Really good to see obviously what happened to him, very sad and tragic. Fortunately, Um, it looks like maybe not as tragic long term as as it looked on the field when it happened. So UM, just really a very heartwarming,

heartwarming moment, I thought. Yeah, And to be able to have that tie in with the Steelers and announcing you know, their first round pick, obviously, the emotions that go into that and there was so much going on for the Packers at that time because they were trading and moving around and we were trying to write stories and whatnot. But yeah, I did able. Did get a chance to watch a little bit then, obviously after the fact, and uh,

definitely an emotional moment after such a scary incident last year. Um. The other thing I want to just touch on two just the unpredictability of this draft was probably one of the more fun things. There was no Andrew Luck. I mean there there was no quintessential These are the top one, two, three, four or five guys. The first hour is gonna just fly off the board. You know exactly what's going to happen. A lot of stuff happened that I don't think people predicted,

especially when it came around to the Packers pick at fourteen. Um. You can run through all these mock drafts, Mike, but the one thing very few people take into account for, at least accurately gauge for, is the trades. And I believe there's forty nine trades in the top one picks. At some point those picks removed from one team to a different one. So, um, this was a year where I think from one pick to another. I was glued to the television because I didn't really know what was

gonna happen or what these teams were gonna do. Yeah, and I will I will end this with saying, on a much more lighthearted note, um that one of my favorite non packers moments of this draft was seeing the parrot on the shore of that the gal on the the pirate ship at Raymond James Stadium and all the hype about a parrot announcing a draft pick in the fourth round for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the parent never opened its beak, and then everybody went crazy about it,

like what, like what is this? Like everybody was everybody was robbed of this, you know, what was supposed to be this wonderful, you know, made for television moment. I just got to kick out of the whole thing. Six draft picks this year, Like nobody will end up being a bigger bust than that parrot, especially. I mean, I don't know if you remember that when they announced that that was going to happen. The list of unique places and people that we're going to announce these picks, it

was like a national sensation. Oh yeah, it was a huge story. Is the parent going to get the pick right? Is it gonna work out well? Is he gonna be able to do it? Are they gonna have to have a backup plan? And didn't even try at least tried? Yeah, complete epic fail, as my kids would say. All right, with that, we're going to sign off on 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 HM.