#522 Packers Unscripted: Perimeter picture

have grown accustomed to. But I'll say this, it was difficult. It was weird. It has been something a challenge, you could say, not doing the show without headphones. Fortunately the comfort is back on my ears. Yeah, there we go. We're back in a little bit more in our element. Well, we're going to continue today with our pre draft series, taking a look at the Packers roster position by position

between now and the draft. There is a written series corresponding to this on Packers dot com if you want to check out what is there on the website. Today we're going to touch on wide receivers and tight ends and boy West, if there is a position that people are talking about. This entire offseason. With regard to the Green Bay Packers, it is the wide receiver position. Give me your take as of right now on where you feel this position group is heading into next week's draft. Well,

there is a lot of uncertainty After Davante Adams. I think you saw Alan Lazard step up in a huge way last season. But I don't know if a lot of people are expecting that a year ago at this time, maybe everyone other than Hakim Butler that I was talking to back at the combine. I remember him really, you know, praising Allan for what he did at Iowa, stating what

he could potentially add to the Packers offense. He got that opportunity, he end up getting cut at the end of training camp, ends up having you know, a really star spangled season for the Packers. So you have him in that mix, you have Marquez veld Is Scantling, who I think is we've seen Mike overtime is such a huge playmaker in this offense. He did go through some rough patches last year. The argument that I said at the end of last season, I will maintain this going

into next year. Kids still has all the talent in the world, though I think he was only one big play away from being back in his groove. As difficult it is to you, everyone wants to live in the moment. But if you remember what he did coming out of the gates in two thousand and eighteen, he's an increcredibly talented guy and also has some good speed that you know, when you when you bring everything else together, you know, can really make up a complete receiver in this league.

So I look at Lizard, I look at MVS, and then certainly you know this all revolves around Davante Adams. Davante Adams is one of the premier receivers in this league. Now, who can you find to complement his skill set to bring in a Randall cob At, Jordy Nelson, uh Greg Jennings and James Jones, those type of receivers that he can get on a run with, Because over the last couple of years here it's you know, basically Ben Davontae

Adams and a rotating crew. Finding more established playmakers in this offense, I think is one of the big keys regardless of what happens in the draft next week. Yeah, I think the way I see this Packers wide receiver group after Davante Adams is a question mark sort of with each guy, and they're each going to have an opportunity to answer that question you mentioned with Lazard and how he rose up into that number two spot by

the middle of the season and towards season end. I think the question with Lazard is can he continue to ascend? You know, will his arrow continue to be pointing up in terms of his development MVS that you mentioned. Can he bounce back essentially from a rough ending to a second season that had started pretty well at the beginning of nineteen Then you look at e q st Brown,

he lost his entire second season to an injury. Where is he Can he come back from that season ending injury and get back to where he was at the end of his rookie season when really he was ahead of MVS probably in terms of the playing time in the rotation. And then you have the new addition Devin Functious, who is also coming off of a significant injury. Packers

signed him as a free agent from Carolina. The question with him is can he get back to the production that he was putting up a couple of years ago with Cam Newton. But I'm sorry they signed him from Indianapolis because his his lost season injury was with the Colts after he had left Carolina. So there's that that question mark with each one of those guys. And you have Jake Crumero in that mix as well. He was,

I guess, I would say a part time contributor. He made a couple of plays for the Packers, but was never really a consistent threat. I think the Packers are trying to find that other consistent threat on a weekend, week out basis, who is going to influence defensive coordinators in some way. Uh, similarly to how Davante Adams is the guy who keeps the defensive coordinators up at night,

so to speak. The Packers need to find that other guy and then see what happens in twenty nineteen as far as how the pecking order gets reshaped or restocked. Where those guys ranked behind Adams. Yeah, because you want to have a wide open competition. You want that to bring out the best in this entire group. But at the same time, I think you want to have more established presence is in this offense, and I think that's where Devin Funch just kind of fits in because he's

a guy that he's only twenty five years old. He's not gonna turn twenty six until next month, but he's already played five NFL seasons or at least been you know, crude seasons. So for him to come into Green Bay right now and bringing his type of you know, body type and athleticism, I think so many people forget that Devin Funches, he was a second round pick five years ago. This is a guy that went twelve spots ahead of where the Packers ended up getting Davantae. Yeah, Davante Adams

a year earlier. So he has all the intangibles to be a big playmaker in this league. And the thing I really like about him in this offense, and I kept alluding to this since the day that they signed him, I just think there's so many opportunities when it comes to his versatility, his skill set, playing tight end at Michigan, playing receiver at Michigan, being a multifaceted receiver in the NFL, There're gonna be so many ways the Packers are gonna be able to use that type of player in this

offense with Matt Laflour. But it's funny, Mike, because you can throw all these guys in a hat together. There's also an incredibly enticing draft class that the Packers are gonna have to choose from as well, one that's I think a lot of people have said is probably one of the deepest that we've seen in the last decade.

So seeing how Brian Goodquins navigates these waters it those three days of the draft, I'm I'm convinced the Packers will take a receiver where they take a receiver to bring into that group, because you remember did Geronimo Allison's gone, that's six D fifty snaps out the door. The Packers have to find a guy to potentially help outfill that

and man, there are a lot of guys that choose from. Yeah, well, let's talk about that draft class a little bit, because, as you said, the analysts are saying, this is as deep as it's been at wide receiver in a long time. There are a lot of people wondering, will the Packers use their first round pick at number thirty overall on

a receiver. Others are saying, hey, as deep as this classes, you could still get a really potentially high impact receiver at the end of the second round, even maybe the end of the third round, you look at some of the names. I'm gonna just a glance off to my notes here. The top three guys at receiver in this draft Ceedee Lamb from Oklahoma and the two guys from Alabama, Jury Judy and Henry Ruggs most likely almost certainly will be gone by the time the Packers are on the

clock at number thirty. But then after that West you have this group of guys. It's about a half dozen guys that are ranked as far as the overall draft anywhere from like forty five, and with the Packers picking at thirty, it'll be interesting to see who's available and what choices there are, or is one of these guys potentially going to last all the way to the end

of the second round. And that group, in my mind is Justin Jefferson from l s U. T. Higgins from Clemson, Brandon i Uk from Arizona State, Leaviscus Chennault Jr. From Colorado, Denzel Mims from Baylor, and Jalen Reagor from TCU. That's six really really good receivers that how soon are they going to go off the board? How many will go in the first round, how many will go in the second round. I think it's gonna be really interesting to see how Brian Goodcounts plays this in terms of trying

to get the best value at receiver. And then I'll throw out a couple more kJ Hamler from Penn State and Chase Clayplo from Notre Dame. Those are guys that I think in other years you'd be talking about second round. For sure. This year as deep as the receiver classes, maybe those guys are there at the end of the third round when the Packers pick comes up uh late,

their last pick late on Day two. And then of course there are all kinds of trade possibilities if Brian Goodacoutz wants to work the board and get the best value, if he wants to take a receiver early in this draft, which I think the Packers are going to. But of course it's one of those things you never know, because receiver is not the only position on the priority list. Yeah, when I when I say that, I thought they're gonna

take on this here. A lot of that has to the fact that they didn't go that out last year after they took three the year before. So I just feel like that's a position that they're due to address It's the question in my mind is where do you address it? And as you were talking about me personally, my favorite receiver in this draft is Henry Ruggs. I think he's gonna be a fantastic player in this league. I love his makeup, I love everything he brings. He

reminds me of that Greg Jennings type receiver. He could play anywhere and make an impact. He's probably not going to be there at thirty, though, so that's where you get in the joke, you get into the Justin Jefferson debate, and certainly had an accomplished career at L s U. I think there's a lot of things there that you like about him. The Packers have had success with his type of body type in this offense. Davante Adams is one of them, So that that's a guy that could

potentially be there. That the one that I keep going back to those te Higgins because he fits more of the mold, at least the recent mold of what the Packers are looking for in receivers. Big, physical, and and you know, has some athleticism to him. That's the guy at six four that I wonder if he's there potentially at the end of the first round, maybe move around

early second. Would that be a guy that they bite on. Yeah, And the body type thing is an interesting question because we talked about this with Larry at the combine and whatnot. If are the Packers going to look for the different body type, more of the shifty slot receiver and add that to the mix. And that's where you're talking about Jalen Reagor or kJ Hamler or even Brandon i Uk to a certain extent, although he's he's not a small guy,

but he's a yards after the catch guy. One of these guys who's really tough to bring down, um really shifty once he gets the ball in his hands. So I think all of those are interesting possibilities. And maybe we're looking at a situation similar to two thousand eight when the Packers were sitting at thirty you trade back to thirty six, you pick up an extra pick, and

then you get Jordy Nelson. I could very well see a scenario like that playing out here because of the number of receivers who will be available end of the first beginning of the second. Maybe that happens again. Yeah, the part of it that I keep going back to them. We'll talk about a little bit with the tight ends, although it won't be as much of a pressing thing. But it has been eighteen years since the Packers have

drafted a receiver in the first round. Mike, I wasn't even in high school yet when the Packers drafted Javon Walker. It's not to make you feel old. It's just it's incredible to go eighteen years and a lot of that, And I was trying to figure out, Okay, why would that be? But when you look at the success they had in the second round, yep, that's where it all is. Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings, and then you found another stud in James Jones and the third.

When you have that kind of success in the second round, you don't need to draft receivers in the first round. So that's the chicken in the egg question here that we go into this draft. The Packers have had a lot of success in the in the second day finding receiver. Do they go that way again with a deep class or is there a guy at thirty or in that range that could really tempt them. Yeah, Well, let's talk about tight ends as well a little bit, so not a position that is I think is high on the

priority list, so to speak. Because the Packers did bring back Marcedes Lewis. Jimmy Graham signed with the Chicago Bears, so he has gone on. But we saw j Sternberger, the third round pick from a year ago, coming on pretty strong at the end of his rookie year, which was really impressive considering he missed half of the season due to an injury before he came off the pup list. And then you also have Robert Tony and another young guy the Packers are still hoping his arrow is pointing up.

He dealt with some injuries and never really found his you know, real spot or roll on a consistent basis in this offense. But that's a possibility as well. So I think the Packers will look to add another tight end potentially in this draft and add more competition to that room. And you know, Marcedes Lewis being the veteran

leader at the top of the bunch. But this is not the same tight end draft as a year ago West where there were two guys everybody was talking about in the first round, the top half of the first round. That's not where this draft classes. And there may not be a tight end drafted in the first round this year at all. Yeah, you're right, And I mean it's one of these deals where a lot of years it's like this where there is an a bona fide tight end prospect, or at least one that people feel really

good about as a first round pick. So you do look more internally. That's not to say you couldn't go get a Harrison Bryant or somebody in those middle rounds the third day or you know, third round that could potentially help you. But I keep going back to what I said last year when the Packers drafted j Sternberger. Packers did not need j Sternberger to be a Pro Bowl or his first year in Green Bay. They needed

him to learn. And if you followed his story at all, and and kind of how he just you know, soaked in everything from Jimmy Graham Orcedes Lewis and even to some extent Robert Tonyan, you understand how seriously he takes this in the competitor he is, and I thought you started to see that fire at the end of the season.

He's a guy that yeah, and his NFL regular season resume does not have a catch yet, but what he did in that game in San Francisco showing some of the you know, the versatility without having Danny vital with him getting the touchdown catch, there is a big playmaker there. And if you follow his trajectory throughout his career, it hasn't taken him long to catch on. So while well, this is going to be about Louis and in being that consistent you know, inline blocker and and all around

veteran tight end. And while I think Robert Tonyan also has to make a big jump this year, Jay Sternberger is the guy. He was the guy when the Packers use a third round draft pick on him and they want to see him make that next step. Is there a tight end that could come in and help replace Jimmy Graham filled that spot. Absolutely, Yeah, But I but I don't see it obviously happening in the first round. Yeah. A couple of things that I'll say with Sternberger as well.

One is that when he did get on the field in the second half of his rookie season, I think his blocking was better than a lot of people expected. The draft pundits all the analysts last year, we're saying he was really raw in terms of his blocking abilities, and as you said, he doesn't take a whole lot of time to catch onto things, and I think he was a very productive blocker in the way that Matt

Lafleur used him in the offense. The other thing is that I believe Larry maybe had mentioned this in one of our three Things videos. If Jay Sternberger had stayed in school another year, he might be the top tight end in this draft class. So that's another thing to keep in mind, just in terms of in terms of what the Packers invested there in a third round pick

last year. Just to throw out a couple of names that are at the top of a lot of tight end boards, cold commit from Notre Dame is pretty much the consensus top tight end in this draft. I think there are questions though, as to whether he'll be drafted in the first round or if he'll be a second round pick. Another guy to keep an eye on Adam Troutman from Dayton And you know, I like this guy west I wrote about him at the Combine. I just

really like his story. A triple option quarterback in high school couldn't get anybody at a Division one, a major Division one school to pay attention to him. He goes to Dayton and now he's going to be drafted, and he'll be the first football draft pick from Dayton in forty three years, nineteen seventy seven, which I think was before you were born. It was before I even started watching football games. I'll say that nine seventy seven the last time Dayton had a player drafted. And I'm gonna

throw one other name out there west for you. It's the name that Packer fans are familiar with. Thaddeus Moss. Yes, he is the son of Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss. He's coming out of L s U. And I don't want to make it a direct comparison, but in terms of the draft stock and whatnot, I look at this guy a lot like a Jamichael Finley, where he's only in college for a couple of years. There's all kinds of athletic ability, but it's not refined. It's very raw. He he is a guy who is going

to need to progress a lot in the NFL. But the ceiling with a guy like Thaddeus Moss appears to be really high and I'll just be curious to see where he goes in the draft, what team takes him and makes that bet on you know, the uh, the ascending young player who really didn't play a whole lot in college, but but towards the end of his two years at L s U was really really productive. So there's a couple of points I want to raise here.

First off, let's start off with Moss. The thing I like about him, now, certainly there's been some some footage, is that he's had to work through. I certainly had that fracture that I think he had to have surgery on right after the combine. But what I liked about his short time at L s U is he's a

guy that actually did a lot of the little things right. Uh. He was praised for his block and he was praised for his energy, um and then that, and then you factor in the fact that you know, he's Randy Moss's kid. I mean, this is one of the greatest physical specimens to ever enter the NFL, and he has those bloodlines.

I think Moss is a hungry guy, man. I think he's a guy that's going to come in and really, you know, open a lot of eyes so and and not just as a pass catcher like That's the thing is, he's a tight end. He plays the tight end position, and I think he really encompasses a lot of the grit that goes along with that. So I'm excited to see how his story plays out. I want to talk quickly about Commette, though this is my guy. I think Cole Commett is going to be a real stud in

this league. I feel pretty confident about that because so many times, Mike, over the years they talk about multi sport athletes, you know, they had a diverse back ground in terms of their athletic achievements, and Committ is that this is a guy that played baseball at Notre Dame two in addition to what he did on a football field. Six ft six two, arned sixty pounds, this is a physical tight end that I think with giving the fact and finally concentrating on one sport getting a chance to

develop those skills at the next level. I can see why he's not a first round pick and people aren't projecting him in those first thirty two. But in my mind, this is undoubtedly the top tight end on this year's board. I'm really interested to see how his story plays on the NFL. Yeah, well, those are positions not just for the fantasy football folks, but for a lot of teams looking to add those uh, those weapons to their arsenal, especially at wide receiver. Like we talked about, this is

a really deep draft class. Where we will continue with our position by position preview series later this week on Packers Unscripted. For now, we're going to sign off and thank you for watching everybody. We will see you next time.