Hi everyone, Welcome to Packers Unscripted from Packers dot Com. I am Mike Spofford. He is my trusted colleague wes hodku Wits. We're coming to you here from our studios at lambeau Field and West. The spring right of passage in the NFL, known as O t a S is coming up, and just to give fans uh the lay of the land here a little bit. Starting next week, the Packers will have three weeks of O t a S, which stands for organized Team Activities. Essentially, it's nonpadded practices.
They can do eleven on eleven work, but shorts and helmets only, not full gear. And um so I want to use the next two episodes, this one and then our first episode next week to previ you O t a S a little bit, just to give kind of the landscape, the sense of what you and I are going to be watching for, what what the media will be looking for at these practices. Will have access to one practice per week over the next three weeks in terms of getting to watch practice and then also interview
players in the locker room afterwards. So with this show, we'll focus on the offensive side of the ball to preview O t A S And I don't know about you, but I think the one thing that jumps out at me that I'm gonna look for right away at this first O t A practice that we get access to next week is where somethings sit on the offensive line.
Because you added Billy Turner in the off season as a free agent, Cole Madison is back from taking what would have been his rookie year off from the NFL, and then you added Elton Jenkins, the second round draft pick at number forty four. Overall, I'm a little curious just to see in terms of the depth chart what positions these guys are lining up at. These new additions
on the offensive line are interesting. Yeah, Really, the only one that I'm kind of curious about is Billy Turner, just because you know, they left it open ended in terms of where he's gonna play in potentially where he could fit on the offensive line. I think we saw him a lot of guard during that voluntary mini camp. Right guards specifically, that's a spot that is open right now.
He could conceivably fit in there. From from the rest of that, it's all gonna depend on the health of the starting offensive linemen, and you know, you can't really read much into really where Elton Jenkins is going to be yet we know how this works with the off
season program. The story I always go back to is that people made way too big of a deal out of Alex Green being ahead of Eddie Lacey and two thousand thirteen during mini camp back then, and then two you know, two months later, you know, Eddie Lacey is right at the top of the depth chart when training camp begins. So those are the things they're going to give the veterans are going to give. The guys who have status, they'll get the top end of those reps.
But you know, I think it's gonna be really valuable for guys like uh, you know, got a guy like Cole Madison. He has been through the process before last year. He looked good throughout the offseason program, looked like he was going to be able to contend for a starting spot then obviously didn't report. But having him here getting back acclimated with a new offense, I think is gonna be really important for him. And then also, you know those guys lower down the depth chart, they are very
deep on the offensive line. Lucas Patrick is a guy that's going to have to defend his roster spot, justin McCrae, Jason Spriggs, a lot of depth, a lot of versatility, and a lot of experience there, Michael, with guys that are trying to show you know that they belong. Yeah, well, I think, uh, it's pretty clear at least, I guess I'll put it this way. I'll be really surprised if Billy Turner is not the number one right guard as as we start o t S. I think that's what
the Packers signed him for. That's what um the value of that contract would certainly indicate they signed him to be a starter from the get go. With Jenkins and Madison, I'm curious because the Packers are for the most part, as far as we know at this point, looking at them as interior offensive lineman, and we know that there's a lot of talk about Ken one of these guys
push Lane Taylor at left guard. Now. I talked to Taylor right after the season ended, the last open locker room we had after the final game against the Lions, and had an interesting conversation with him because he he said coming off of last year he had an offseason ankle surgery. It pretty much kept him out of all of the off season program. He was ready to play Week one. He got out there, he played the bulk of the season, but he actually admitted he's like, I
really didn't feel right. The ankle didn't feel right until you know about the eighth or ninth game of the regular season. And I mean, we saw Taylor didn't have the season that that he had had in the past. He and he was clearly dealing with something there. But now this is whereas a veteran, he feels like he's coming back healthy, but they're gonna be some young guys
that will potentially push him here. So I think that's something to watch as we and again, as you alluded to, you take a little bit of this stuff in O t S with a grain assault, especially with offensive lineman. They don't have the pads on, the hits aren't real and all that kind of stuff. But you get a sense of of kind of how things are going to
set up for training camp. Maybe it's the best way to put it absolutely and what what exactly these guys are gonna be working with in terms of who's available and whatnot. I'll be honest with you, Michael, and I don't know how you feel about it. At least during my time on the beat, which is about six years shorter than yours, I think that this is the deepest they've been on the offensive line in terms of the competition standpoint. When you talk about Lane Taylor, some of
these different spots where guys are gonna get pushed. Billy Turner, as you mentioned, he's going to be the slotted top guy there. He's gonna get pushed because they think about this. Michael, you have Alex Light that was on the roster all throughout last season. Adam Panky has been on the roster before. Uh. You obviously have Justin McCrae and Lucas Patrick and the number of guys that can play different positions. And that's
what it comes down to. And when you're talking about guys like Patrick and McCrae, you're talking about guys who have played in NFL games. They've taken the real lie have snaps that some of these other guys haven't. The story I always love to tell is the first year I covered this team in two thousand twelve, Jeff Saturday, about two years past his prime, was already starting at center. It wasn't much of a competition after that, you knew it was gonna be Evan Dietrich Smith and then Don
Barkley squeezed out the number seven spot. Packers went into the season with seven offensive linemen. This group, the way they're structured right now, you know, if if health is not an issue here, if guys stay healthy throughout training camp, there's gonna be nine ten guys contesting for roster spots that might be in contention to really deserve them in some tough calls that they're you know, general manager Brian
Dudikins is gonna have to make. But at the end of the day, that's that's the plight that these scouts want to have. Yeah, just one interesting little fact I'll throw out before we go on to another position. Um Elton Jenkins drafted number forty four overall. You know who the last offensive lineman was the Packers drafted at number forty four overall, Darren College Chad. Yeah, so just kind of one of those coincidental things, don't I don't know why.
I always thought Clifton was a higher second. I knew he was a second on draft was number forty. Well, if this one turns out as well as Clifton did have another Hall of Famer on their hands. Well, I think another position we're certainly going to be watching closely as O. T. A. S begin is the wide receiver spot. And just to give fans a sense of what you and I do when we go to practice and the eleven on eleven stuff is what we watch the most.
And again it's not full pads and these the eleven on eleven in full pads and training camp is much more indicative of where things are headed. But as soon as they started eleven on eleven period, you and I are there, We've got our notebooks, we're jotting down who's taking the first reps because for the most part, those are the guys who at that moment are at the top of the depth chart at those positions. So when it comes to wide receiver, I think you and I
are both going to be looking very closely. Maybe I'll look at the offensive line first and you look at the wide receivers so we don't miss anything. But if Geronimo Allison is indeed with the starting group as the number two offensive number two wide receiver, excuse me, and then the first time they have a three wide receiver set. Who's the third guy? Is it Marquez Valdes Scaling, is it eq St Brown, is it Jake Kumarro or somebody else.
Those are the kinds of things that you and I will watch for when the starters, when Aaron Rodgers is out there taking snaps and eleven on eleven, who are the guys that are with them? Absolutely, And it's a great point you raised there, because, as I was saying, when we're talking about the offensive line, there's not a lot you can draw from because you know who's going
to be out there. You know they're going to give veteran status to certain guys will get the reps, you know, and I would I would imagine unless something surprises me, that you're gonna see Lucas Patrick and Justin mccraie take reps before Jenkins, just based on that hierarchy. But at receiver, you have three receivers who are all the same age or all the same year. You have Jake Kumero having
the experience that he has. It will be very interesting to see what the first move is with these receivers and also what they're asking them to do. I don't know how many a routes we're gonna see. I don't know how many team periods we're gonna see, but you are going to get a feel for what the design is going to look like for this offense. My personal feeling is Geronimo Alison is that number two guy right now, much like the number three last year when he went
to training camp. I think he has a solid grasp on that and is gonna have to defend that in training camp. But those three young receivers Michael, based on every practice now and going into the summer, I can fluctuate and those guys are gonna be asked to do different things. And then also the guy I keep challenging people not to forget about is Trevor Davis. Trevor Davis is still in the thick of this thing as well.
He gives them the versatility on returns and he had his moments as a receiver, most of those came in his rookie year, but they're still there. So it is going to be a very compelling case to see exactly who from this this this room of opportunity kind of rises to the top of that. Yeah, it's a good way to put a room of opportunity. Absolutely um quickly though West the powerful noise canceling technology that helps NFL coaches block out eighty tho screaming fan can get you
closer to the music you love. Learn more at www dot bos dot com, Slash Packers Bows, the official headphones of the Green Bay Packers, and at Homer Here in the stands, we all know that Green Bay fans give it their all and that takes a lot of energy. So grab a warm bowl of Campbell's Chunky Soup. It's meaty goodness fuels the greatness of Packers fans everywhere. I tried the delicious classic chicken noodle soup. Just visit your local supermarket and ask for Campbell's Chunky Soup, Official sup
partner of the Green Bay Packers. Okay, sticking with the perimeter players on offense. I know we had talked on a previous show. Just our curiosity is to maybe how things are going to shake out at running back. I really don't think we're going to get any kind of a feel for that necessarily beyond Aaron Jones as the number one until we get to the preseason games. You know that we're we're talking August and well into August
before we know how this shakes out. But the thing I'm gonna be watching with regards to the running backs is the past catching ability. Um A, how smooth, how smoothly do they do it? And be how often in this offense are they asked to how much are they going to be repping those kinds of things, because I think that's something we might see a little bit more of. And I'm not talking about just the checkdowns, you know
when the guy is an open downfield. I'm talking about the design plays and not even necessarily screen passes, but designed passing plays for the running backs that I think could be part of this Matt Lafleur offense. And how these running backs Aaron Jones, Jamal Williams, Dexter Williams, Capri Bibs, these guys, how smoothly they can look in those reps when it's not full contact. That's gonna translate into maybe where they are on the depth chart comes summertime. It's
a new offense, new coach, new scheme. But I felt one of the things that Mike McCarthy did well during his time in Green Bays how that position evolved and how the running back and the receivers so to speak, in the backfield sort of became more of a prominent part of the offense. When the Packers had their most success right around two thousand and fourteen, they were getting Eddie Lacy and James Stark's involved in the screen game.
But then as time wore on, you had time Hontgomer, you had Randall Cob, You even had Vante Adams at some points lining up in the backfield with design Place being able to motion those guys out. See if you can pick up a few hints from what the defense is asking. I think that's gonna be a big thing in this offense with Matt Lafleur. What they're gonna ask those guys to do. It isn't just going to be the checkdown Charlie approach. It's going to be them going
out into space, finding holes and getting open. That is the key to this thing. I think of the NFL in two thousand nineteen, we can talk for so many for so long Mike about you know, you know this offense is doing this and Sean mcveigh's doing that. If you look at the teams that made deep runs in the playoffs, this year. I don't know how much playoff football you watched. I think I watched every game. I could they a lot of those, especially the Patriots, the
things that they do. The design it really, I think is incumbent on offenses now to maximize those running backs, maximize the James Whites of the world. Guys that because so often when you think about scrambled plays with quarterbacks right, well, sometimes and the quarterbacks gets free, it's because he's the guy that isn't really accounted for in the passing game,
running backs have sort of become the same player. So seeing how Aaron Jones, Jamal Williams, uh, you know, even Danny Vitality the fullback, these guys can handle that role. I think it's going to be paramount for not only getting the roster spot, you know, Dexter Williams and Capri Bibs, They're gonna have to prove themselves in that capacity, but who ultimately is going to be the one getting the bulk of those snaps, the bolt of bulk of those
touches in the opener against the Bears. Yeah, when you're talking about getting the ball to running backs in the passing game, a it's presumably higher percentage passes because they aren't downfield. They aren't they aren't highly challenged throws, and then be if the running back makes one guy miss suddenly four or five yard game can pick up a first down and off you go offensively. And I think that's going to be something that this h this Matt
Lafleur offense very well could be built on. And I remember talking to Aaron Jones at the end of the regular season last year, and one of the first things he's one of the first things he said is his whole focus in the off season, aside from his health and getting his body to where he can withstand a full sixteen game and and hopefully more schedule, was about improving his route running and his pass catching out of
the backfield. I think he was already sensing that that's the next step from a skill standpoint for him to become the complete, well rounded running back that you know, becomes that guy that you don't necessarily want to take off the field very often. Absolutely. And and and the other thing too, is that if the Packers are going to try to stretch the field a little bit more, you know, Davante Adams with that little quip about you know the
yards per catch, you're going to go up. What happens when you start attacking the second and third levels of a defense, it starts to open up things underneath, and that's where the tight ends. That's where you have you know, Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams. They have to be effective in that capacity, being able to become complete players because when you look at the guy, and this isn't just
for the Packers, this isn't just for the teams. When you look at the running backs now that are making money in this league's it's it isn't the guy that has eighteen hundred yards r sing anymore. It's the guy that has a thousand yards rushing in seven hundred yards receiving. It's a total yardage game now, Michael, or maybe even eight eight hundred split splitting. It isn't he isn't getting carries two carries a year and rushing yards. It's the
total package. And that's what I think makes these guys valuable. It's what also is going into summer. Guards is going to extend careers because the more you can do as a pass catcher, look at Darren Sprawls, the longer you're
gonna be Yeah, no question about it. Another position I want to touch on quickly before we go today West, and again I say this, uh in a very very preliminary sense, but we know that this coming summer, the training camp in preseason is gonna shape up as a potentially very legitimate battle for the number two quarterback spot between Deshaun Kaiser and Tim Boyle. With where the Packers are now and uh and Manny Wilkins has been added to that mix as a fourth quarterback at this point.
I'll be interested to see here when we first get a look at these guys in eleven on eleven for the first time, you know, which of these backup quarterbacks you know, looks the smoothest, looks like mentally they're picking up everything with the offense. We know the mental acuity and the experience that Aaron Rodgers has and everything is going to carry him a long way in this transition to a new offense. But these younger guys sometimes you
just don't know until you see it. And I'll be really curious just how it how it shakes out, how it starts for these guys when they get into some of these eleven on eleven reps. Right. And then the other thing too that I'm that I'm most excited to see is Tim Boyle. Uh and certainly seen Kaiser a lot of ability there. He's still only twenty three years old, and he's got he's got the playing game experience. I mean that whole season Cleveland. He got a couple of
games last year. I know they didn't go as well obviously as he would have liked, but he's got the most playing experience by far of the backup quarterbacks in this group. The reason why I'm really intrigued by Boyle though, is because last year this time I wrote the story when he came in for rookie right. I remember, this was a I that had a nightmare college career in terms of a guy when you look at committing somewhere. He did all the right things. He was a Connecticut
State Player of the Year. He went to Yukon, he wanted to rep his state, and things did not go there three different coordinators in three different years. He obviously moved on finished his career down at the FCS level, but all along, Michael, if you see Tim Boyle walk into a locker room, that's an NFL quarterback, his body, he looks his arm, and we saw it from the
get go last summer. Now he's still I'm not trying to put him in the Hall of Fame yet, but I just think when you look at the raw and tangibles, you just wipe out all the production in college. You just look at a guy that projects like a developmental quarterback. Boyle checks all those boxes. Seeing the strides he made. He spent his off season here in Green Bay. He obviously was able to be on the fifty three. He's not getting all those reps during the season, but he
is getting a chance to learn from Rogers. Seeing where he's at in year two now, where he's not just the intriguing, somewhat confusing college prospect, now he's a second year player, and where he's developed from there against Kaiser now, I think is going to be one of the more
compelling cases to watch. Yeah, I agree with you. Can you look at you look at his resume as a college player and you would not think that two years in he'd be a legitimate candidate to be backing up Aaron Rodgers to the Green Bay Packers, But he very much is. And as you said, it's it's all the
physical tools. And if there was a guy who needed a clean slate coming out of college and get to start over, it was Tim Boyle at the toughest position that there is on the football field, and thus far he's taken advantage of it because he's made the right first impression. Now we're going to see has he made
the strides he needs to make in year two. The only thing that my heart kind of goes out to boil over is the fact that can this guy just get the same offensive coordinator and think in a year to year basis, I mean the fifth year now, I don't even know how many different hope this will be his fourth or fifth different head coach. And you can say the same thing about Kaiser as well. Look at what he's gone through from what was going on at Notre Dame to too Now you know, then Cleveland and
Green Bay and and all the change. Another court, another young quarterback with a lot of talent, who's been dealing with nothing but change in transition for the last four or five years. And I would be remissis not to throw out there with Manny Wilkins. The thing I like about Wilkins is Okay, you have Kaiser, elite, blue trip prospect. You know in high school and college boil NFL prototypical, you know, pocket passer, strong arm. You want to have
a curveball in there. Manny Wilkins is that curveball. He succeeded at a su playing the game a little differently. I'm very intrigued to see how he responds now to this speed, to this level, and also what he could do. I don't know what the ultimate plan is going to be. Matt Lafleur says he does have some reservations about carrying four quarterbacks deep into training camp and everything like that, just based on him wanting to get reps to the
other guys. But if Wilkins gets a chance to be around here and be on this team, I would be really intrigued to see him playing the training camp in preseason and what he can offer as a quarterback. All right, Well, with that, we will get to our defensive preview of O. T. A. S In our next show, but for now we'll call it a wrap on this edition of Packers on Scripted. You should have follow all of our coverage of the team on Packers dot com if you like podcasts. You
can subscribe to us on iTunes. We also are back on Spotify. I know there were some technical issues there, so available on Spotify again as well as other podcast services and 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 you next time.