#521 Packers Unscripted: They're back, to preview the draft

I still have some work to do. I got to remove the board games over here, and obviously you have that nice bookshelf in the background. We're all adapting, we're all adjusting, and we're all healthy, so that's the most important thing. Yeah. I just happen to have to move into another room from where I've been for some other videos because my wife also has video conferencing and things to do, and we've been sharing a home office. So we're making do here as best we can as we

restart Unscripted over this weekend. Next week, we're gonna be doing a series of episodes previewing the draft and in doing so, looking at the Packers roster position by position where how the positions are shaping up heading into the draft. There's also a written series on the website going position by position if you want to check that out as well. We will follow that along here during our unscripted episodes today, we're going to touch on the quarterbacks and the running backs.

We'll start there. So, Wes, I'm just gonna throw this at you. There's Aaron Rodgers, Tim Boyle, and Manny Wilkins right now in the Packers quarterback room and whenever they actually reconvene in a room, as we like to say, a lot of people wondering what exactly the Packers are going to do at quarterback, if anything, in the draft. Do you see that quarterback room changing in the draft after the draft, and if so, how high a pick

do you think Green Bay might use at that position. Yeah, I definitely think it's within the realm of possibilities that the Packers draft a quarterback this year. It will have been five years now since they drafted Brett Huntley, so

there is time to do that. The only thing that I keep coming back to those the people that are talking about a quarterback at number thirty now while Brian Goodacuin's has left all of his options on the table and has made sure to mention numerous times that no matter what happens, they're going to play the board as it as it stands. But the other way I look at it, too, kind of goes back to how I approach quarantining life, and that is with milk, Mike, I'm

sure you eat cereal. I eat cereal. My son drinks milk. You can only buy so much milk and actually consume all the milk. Sometimes it'll just end up spoiling on you if you don't get to it in time. I don't know if I necessaries necessarily see the point in drafting a quarterback Aaron Rodgers successor this year, this early.

The situation that I've tried to lay out you also pinpointed in your story as well, is that Roger's situation is so different from what the Packers went through with Brett Farve because he says time and time again he wants to play into his forties. He looks at a guy like Tom Brady with admiration of what he's been able to do in the latter half, in this final

stage at his career, and Rogers. The way that he trains and takes care of himself, there's no reason to believe that he's not going to be doing this for another four five six years, barring injury. That being said, I think the Packers have a lot of issue not issues, but a lot of areas where they could address in this first round, and that number thirty pick is very valuable, Mike. A lot of other people have talked about Aaron Rodgers.

They took him in two thousand five and they didn't really need him, but the thing was that he was the only guy left on their board with the first round great at that point, and they also didn't have the fifth year option. So if there is a quarterback available, maybe that's where you see another team draft up, trade up to get that pick. Those are all the things kind of going through my mind right now is the Packers have to make a really big decision. Are on

the next Yeah, I'm with you there too. I mean, we've seen lot of mock drafts that have the Packers taking a quarterback at number thirty, whether it be Jordan's Love from Utah, stage Jacobieson from Washington. Those are a couple of guys that some of the draft knicks have going to Green Bay at number thirty. But I'm with you with Rogers having four years left on his contract, with him being very clear about how long he wants to play, and the fact that the Packers just got

to an NFC Championship game a year ago. Rogers is not talking retirement at all. I just don't see necessarily the investment in that quarterback of the future right now. And I've said this inn inbox before as well. When if you do it now and Rogers is still going to play for three or four or maybe five more years, you have to make a decision on a second contract with that quarterback of the future before you've even seen him play. And so I don't understand that timeline really

working for the Packers in that respect. And the other

thing too, I've said this all along. I think that, as you mentioned, if a quarterback, one of the top first round quarterbacks, falls to Green Bay at number thirty, I think that pick becomes potentially really valuable as a trade piece for Brian Goodacons he can trade back maybe it's five or six or eight or ten spots still get a really good player at the top of the second round and recoup another draft pick to be able to use to address some of those other areas on

the roster that we're gonna be talking about here as the week goes along. Now that being said, a mid round or late round draft pick on a quarterback to add some competition for those backup spots with Tim Boyle and Manny Wilkins. I could totally see the Packers doing that with goodacoons coming into this draft with end picks, including five of them in the final two rounds, bringing another quarterback and uh and having a full fledged competition

for that number two job. I could definitely see that happening. Yeah, and and there's so many times I meant I made this argument and Insider inbox last month. You look around the NFL right now at these teams with quarterbacks, established quarterbacks over thirty five years old. How many of them have a handpoint successor you know, successor her a parent

at this point? They don't um Right now, the Los Angeles Chargers look like they're going to be moving into the season next year with Tyrod Taylor as their starting quarterback after he was a backup in a veteran that they signed last year. They don't really have that in Pittsburgh.

Certainly New England is going through right now in the post Tom Brady era, so it's not that uncommon, and it's almost a real strong luxury to be able to have a guy that you feel is going to be the next person to take the reins at the quarterback position. All that being said, so many times, Mike, I go back to what Ron Wolf did. He had a really nice plethora of quarterbacks coming through Green Bay during that time. None of them were Day one or Day two what

would be Day one or Day two picks. They were all fourth rounders, fifth rounders, six rounders, and they had opportunity and they took advantage of it. That's what I'm looking forward to. Maybe find somebody that can push Tim Boyle, can push Manny Wilkins, but not necessarily lock yourself into having to make sure that this guy's on the roster and is the next guy. Yeah, and I'll make one last point on this to the other approach to go

about it. When you look at this at the succession plan, so to speak, maybe you just wait until Rogers is done, you invest what you need to in the quarterback of the future, and then you try to do what the Seahawks did with Russell Wilson, what the Chiefs did with Patrick Mahomes, which is to win a Super Bowl on with a quarterback on a rookie contract because you can spend a lot of money salary cap wise elsewhere on the roster to build yourself up and make that run.

So that's the approach that a lot of other teams have have taken as well. So with that, um, should we move on to running backs? Yeah, let's move on to running backs. I'm excited to talk about this. Okay, Well, here's the interesting thing with the Packers at running back west. When you do what Brian Goodakoints did in the draft I'm sorry, what Ted Thompson did in the draft a

few years ago, and you stockpile at one position. Well, here now the Packers are with Aaron Rodgers or Aaron Jones excuse me, and Jamal Williams as you're one two punch in the backfield. But they're both entering their contract year at the same time because they were drafted in the same year. So the running back position, the Packers definitely have to look to the future here and I think make some plans for where this position is going to go. Because as much as Jones and Williams are

best friends, they're a great one to punch. They've been really, really close personally since the day they arrived in Green Bay. It's probably not realistic from a salary cap perspective to keep both guys beyond this year. Maybe it could happen. I don't know. It just doesn't seem likely. So planning for the future at the running back position, I definitely think that's on the table in this Drafford Green Bay. Yeah, because it's so rare that you actually get two running

backs that even go into a fourth season together. At some point, you know, you don't draft guys typically this same year. They end up being kind of, you know, helved off a little bit in terms of when they enter the league. And then here they are now and going into year four and both of them are established players. I firmly believe, and I've said it to you a numerous amount of times, I think Jamal Williams could be

a thousand yard rusher in this offense. I think he could be a thousand yard running back in the NFL. And I imagine he wants to get that opportunity. At some point, Aaron Jones became the prominent playmaker I think everybody thought he could be last year in this offense and multifaceted. It's not just as a running back. It's

not as a scatback. It's as a receiver, it's a as a power guy in the middle of the field when he needs to Aaron Jones, I look at this year that he's entering now in two thousand nine or two thousand twenty, excuse me, h, I look at this as an opportunity for him to not only show that last year wasn't you know, in operation or anything like that, that that was something that he actually can do angeibly

every single season. But I think it's also an opportunity for to show that, you know what, I'm one of the best running backs in the National Football League. At this point. Those two guys together in tandem, I think they're one of the top one two punches they have right now in the NFL. But all that being said, you also have to keep an eye on the future.

And while I still don't think number thirty is gonna be Jonathan Taylor or something like that, it makes sense, you know where they found Jamal Williams in the fourth round, Aaron Jones in the fifth round. You go back a lot of years James Starts. For as much as people kind of ragged on him about the injuries, he was a heck of a find in the sixth round. Those type of players are out there and they're ready to

make impacts. So when you have Dexter Williams Tyler Irvin obviously coming back, there's depth there, but maybe you find another prospect to bring into that to also have in the backshelf. Now, depending on what happens with Jones and Williams over the next year. Yeah, as you mentioned, the Packers brought back Tyler Irvin at running back. He's sort of that change the pace I guess I call it

a niche role in the offense. They're gonna be certain plays, certain packages that we saw where Matt Lafleur likes to use him in certain situations. He's also obviously the primary return man on special teams on the roster right now. Dexter Williams, drafted in the sixth round last year out of Notre Aim was inactive on game day for the better part of his rookie season. I think we saw West things like catching the ball out of the backfield

the past protection those things are works in progress. With Dexter Williams, I don't know if the Packers are necessarily going to feel like he can just step in and be the number two guy right away if either Aaron Jones or Jamal Williams were to miss time with injury, so so, as I said, planning for the future at that position, to see where this goes. I think with Aaron Jones and trying to get a new contract after this year, we all know that's not going to come cheap.

And as you mentioned with Jamal Williams, he may be looking for an opportunity where he's not second fiddle, so to speak, and he gets a chance to be more of a feature back somewhere. Jonathan Taylor from Wisconsin, you mentioned him, He's one of these first or second round running backs that's being talked about out there. I'll glance

at my list here quickly. Also DeAndre Swift from Georgia, J K. Dobbins from Ohio State, a couple of other guys mentioned that if the Packers are going to go running back in the first round or maybe the second round, those are the guys that that could be available, could be on the board there. And then I've also seen uh some you know, mock drafts in in the second round or beyond linking the Packers to cam Acres from

Florida State or maybe Zach Moss from Utah. As you mentioned, I think there are always the you know, when you look at the fact that Jamal Williams was a fourth round pick, Aaron Jones was a fifth round pick. You

mentioned James Starks being a sixth round pick. Those kind of picks don't always work out, but when they do, they really really help you because because the Packers have found a lot of production at the running back position over the last few years, and they did not have to spend what you would consider a premium draft pick in order to get that production. Yeah, it's just funny

when you go back and look at it. Over the years Packers of actually going back to two thousand, you know ten, they've had success finding running backs and finding different types of running backs to fit these offenses. Certainly, when they invested the second rounder with Eddie Lacy, he paid them off for that. I mean, he was a big part of those two teams. In two thousand, thirteen and fourteen and the success that they had on the

ground and really revitalizing the running game. And I think you've seen a very similar impact with Aaron Jones, Jamal Williams and what they've done since two thousand seventeen. So it is gonna be interesting, though, because there are gonna be guys up there that could tempt packers. I mean, you look at Swift. Swift is one of my favorite guys in this draft class. He's just a little, you know, brick house with you know, five ft eight two d

and twelve pounds. I mean, he brings everything you want and like a power type back, especially with the low center of gravity. He could be available. He could be interesting. And certainly, Jonathan Taylor is a guy that Wisconsin sports sports fans are really familiar with uh and had a prolific career with the Badgers, and I think no matter where it ends up, he's gonna make some teams running

game a lot better. For me though, when I look at Green Bay, there's just you know, there's so many positions we're gonna get to talking about them in the next few days that I think can making an address and immediate need out that you always draft for that. But if there isn't one guy that maybe is a top ten pick that falls to you, you know where you find comparable players. I see it as a luxury

position right now. But that being said, it doesn't mean that at some point during those three days you can't find a guy to make that room better. Yeah, I

agree with you. I think I think running back is a is a position that's on the priority list for the Packers, but not necessarily in the first round, unless you know, you compare it to the Aaron Rodgers situation of two thousand and five, unless one of these running backs is just far and away the best player in the draft and at the time that the Packers are on the clock at thirty. Otherwise, I'm with you. Some of these positions will be talking about as our preview

episodes continue. I think those are gonna be a little bit higher on the priority list for the Packers. So any final thoughts here on these couple of spots West before we sign off, I'd be remiss. I have to throw one more shutout for Ashwabinon's own. James Morgan, we

were talking about quarterbacks. You were asking about mid round guys, potentially the guy the f i U quarterback Um certainly has has done nothing but to improve his draft stock over the past month two months, and especially during a time Mike, if you look at a lot of these boards, a lot of these pundits divorce have pretty much stayed the same. There's no big pro days to wow anybody or or any kind of things that are leaking out that are making people look at Oh, this guy is

getting twenty five pre draft visit. So a guy like Morgan doing the kind of steady escalation that he's had, I think speaks a lot to his arm talent, a lot to his ability, and if you talk to him, he's a guy that knows how to carry himself, he

knows how to lead. And if you look at his last season at f i U, I know, statistically it wasn't as impressive as the previous here, but he also battled through a lot of injuries to to stay on the field for them, And I think watching his story unfold, whether it would be Green Bay or otherwise, it's gonna be really interesting because Green Bay not known as a big area for developing NFL talent, especially at the quarterback position, and here's a guy like James Morgan try to become

the first Green Bay Metro alumnus to be able to get draft in the NFL in three decades. Yeah, I think there will be a lot of folks in the Green Bay area watching the draft, will be paying attention to James Morgan and his story and where he ends where he ends up because for a guy who is not at a Power five conference, he's a quarterback who's certainly getting a lot of attention his his story will be fun to watch. So with that, we will sign

off on this edition of Packers Unscripted. We will continue this draft preview series right now. We're looking at this week next week Monday, Wednesday Friday kind of being our our schedule if all goes well from a technology standpoint, so we will do the best we can there For now, for West, I am Mike. Thank you for tuning in everybody. We will see you next time.