#526 Packers Unscripted: Draft debrief, Part 1

knew everything that was going to happen. This was this was completely boring and and you know whatever, Yeah, it was exactly how you could have predicted it, and and certainly it played out just as everyone expected. Here's what I love about it. I mentioned I think on one of our live streams that I could not have been

more wrong on the Packers first three picks. I talked about the quarterback, the running back, and the tight end positions, and I didn't anticipate that those would been higher positions for them. I also talked about in the past death taxes and defensive linemen. Well, guess what twenty eight years streak ended during the draft, the Packers drafting a defensive lineman. So because as we know now there it appears that Jonathan Garvian is gonna be listed as a as a linebacker.

So all these things together it makes up what I think is the magic and sort of the uh, the process of the draft that you never can be too certain what's gonna happen. There's always gonna be a lot of passionate reactions to it. And here the Green Bay Packers are with a nine player class that you can listen to Matt with FLOORA and Brian goodakuins on Saturday

Evening that they feel pretty good about. Yeah, if if you had told me during all of our preview shows over the last couple of weeks, which in some ways I feel like you can take all those shows and just throw them in the garbage because what we previewed is absolutely not what happened. But that being said, if you had told me that the Packers would not select a wide receiver or a D defensive lineman in the entirety of their draft, which turned out to be nine picks, Hey,

that was maybe the one thing we got right. We both said they would take nine players, and I said they'd trade up. I said they'd up. That's right, You did say that, I said, I did. I said that would maybe be the least likely occurrence in the first round, so totally off there. But no, I I fully expected the Packers to take a wide receiver. I fully expected them to take a defensive lineman. That did not happen.

A lot of it had to do with the way things fell, obviously, and where the Packers had players ranked on their board, but quite frankly, West, we might as well start at the top because the first pick, and what the Packers did their trading up from thirty to twenty six, giving up a fourth round pick to select Jordan's Love, the quarterback from Utah State as the potential

air apparent to Aaron Rodgers down the road. That's really the move that sort of set everything else up, because then if the Packers had certain guys targeted and maybe wanted to move to some different spots in the draft, they didn't really have the draft capital to move around

anymore after what they did in the first round. And as I've continued to say, an inbox and otherwise Brian goodicunts knew the consequences of that move of trading up to get a quarterback in the first round, to set the stage to pass the torch somewhere down the road from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan's love. He knew the consequences, he knew the ramifications, he knew how it would impact and limit his abilities throughout the rest of the draft.

But he did it anyway. And I just think that speaks to how highly he thinks of Jordan's love and his potential for being that next great quarterback for the Green Bay Packers whenever it is, however many years down the road it is, that he eventually takes over. Yeah, And I made this point to you over the weekend, Mike, and I think it was on our Saturday or was

it our Friday morning livestream. Everything kind of blurs together a little bit after that, um, But I mean I made this point in that easy thing for Brian Goodkins to do would have been to draft the receiver at thirty or draft Ross Blacklock or all these other guys. I do. I do have to point this out though, because we were all about we're we're making the points here, and you know, I'm gonna play the old budsman of

some of this. All the Packer fans out there that were saying, why did you trade up to take Jordan's love at twenty six when we could have Denzel Mims at thirty. Well, Denzel Mims ended up going fifty nine overall. So it's not that we all are geniuses and and gms, you know, waiting in the wings. But be that as it made. The easy move for Brian Goodkins would have been to actually just take one of those positions. He

stuck to the courage of his convictions, though. They trusted their board, and that board showed them that Jordan's love was an exceptional value for them at twenty six. Now where this goes from here, I don't know, and it's gonna be a hot minute before we probably talked to Aaron Rodgers and hear what his thoughts are on this. We did see the pourts out that Rogers already has

reached out to love. They've communicated certainly, Brian Goodacin is also place that called the Rogers, So Matt Lafleur did as well. Matt Lafleur as well, exactly, And for that that's the way this goes. And and Rodgers knows it better than anyone. The value of potentially accepting a younger guy behind you that is a big prospect, much like Rogers was in two thousand five. He had to go the really hard way in the NFL for those first three or four years, a way that really no quarterbacks

should have to do. Because Jordan's Love didn't ask to get drafted by the Green Bay Packers. He just asked to get drafted and in the first round. This is a guy that has an exceptional story. He's overcome so much in his personal life, and he's a really good football prospect. He's raw. There are areas that he's going to have to refine in his game, and now he

has time to do that. Yeah, And the way I view this, you know, as I said before, Brian Goodacin is obviously thought very highly of him with the move that he made and what he sacrificed and everything to move up and get Jordan's Love of But I think he he sees, he sees the the entire situation, the parameters of everything, as the right situation for Jordan's Love, Because Brian Goodacuns just said on multiple conference calls throughout the weekend, Jordan's Love has a lot to learn. He's

got a long way to go. He is not ready to play in the NFL from day one, and he probably won't be ready to play in the NFL at day three sixty six. Either, what I mean is the start of year two for him. He sees Jordan's Love as a developmental guy with an incredibly high ceiling. Well, you have Aaron Rodgers under contract for multiple years. You have Aaron Rodgers not talking about retirement like Brett Farve

was fifteen years ago. So Jordan's Love does not have to play right away, barring an injury, of course, which no one wants to happen with Rogers. So you have a situation where Jordan's Love has the time to breathe, to learn to grow before the torch is ultimately passed. And so Brian goodacun is just trying to set up the franchise is for the future. But Goodakusta on the floor both made it very clear this is not starting

some ticking clock on Aaron Rodgers. This is not their message of some kind to push him out the door sooner than later. They want Aaron Rodgers to go after Super Bowls here with the Green Bay Packers, and they're just protecting the franchise for the inevitable when Rodgers is no longer at his at the peak of his powers, and they need to move on that. The Packers are still going to have a productive, winning quarterback at the most important and difficult position in sports. That's what this

pick was all about. Yeah, and I'm gonna remain accountable to my words and one of the things I said throughout the draft processes, you know, you look at these future Pro Football Hall of Fame teams are Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks, very few of them have hair parents, and right now, at this very moment, Tom Brady probably still doesn't. I mean, in with the New England Patriots, they didn't even draft one, so um to have an air apparent. It's interesting to set that up, to set

up that lineage. But the more after I heard Goody Kunsen Lafloor talk about the decision afterwards, the more its started to make more sense to me of why they went that direction, what they thought. First off, Brian Goody Quins is not going to talk about his board. He's not going to say what they felt. The value was

past number twenty six, past Jordan's love. So we're not gonna That's gonna be something probably for a book someday to understand, you know, where things were sitting at that point in time, Well, it's been fifteen years and nobody's gotten Ted Thompson to talk about his board two thousand five either, So I think we'll all be waiting to

eternity for those details to be released. But go on, I didn't mean to interrupt, you know, but I mean the thing is is that there are worse ways to invest a first round draft pick, because I think the way everyone's thinking is that number thirty, whoever that guy was, he's gonna be a pro bowler. He's gonna be hall pro. It doesn't work like that. This whole situation. It's all taking risk, it's all weighing the cost ben fit analysis to figure out if this person is going to be

able to play. And what they're seiling is sure, you want every single one of those picks in the late twenties to beat Kenny Clark, but it doesn't work out that way. Sometimes it's guys that just don't make an impact, so you have That's why it's important to trust your

board and trust your prospects. So what the point I'm trying to illustrate with all this is that they put an investment into a first round pick into a quarterback that is going to inherently hold its value because there's gonna be intrigue across the entire football uh the National Football League this year of and and beyond of where Jordan loves development is at, and potentially other teams that could be interested down the way. Brian Goodkuts. You've heard

me say it for the four hundredth time. He likes options. This is another option now, and that's just the way it goes. Yeah, Well, looking at looking further down the road, at the rest of the Packers picks in this draft, and we'll get to you know, of the of the Day three guys. But I think you talk about Jordan's Love as the potential air apparent, you know, quarterback of

the future. I think a lot of the Packers picks on Day three are guys who are going to be competing more for backup roles, special teams roles in terms of their potential impact as rookies. But if you look at the picks on Day two, I think those are the guys who have an opportunity to get on the field a fair amount in their rookie seasons. And we're talking about running back A. J. Dillon from Boston College the second round draft pick, and then tight end Uh

guavar Uh Deguarra Josiah. Sorry, I lost his first name for a minute there. Josiah Deguire, the tight end from Cincinnati was the Packers third round selection. And you know you said it West and you repeated it as well, Matt Goodakun. I'm sorry. Matt Lafleur made it very clear at the scouting combine that he wanted a third running back to go with Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams. And so when the receivers that the Packers liked at the top of the draft, a lot of them went off

the board. I think early in the second round. The Packers were down there at sixty two. They didn't have the draft capital to move up and get one of those guys, so they took the running back late in the second round. And this is a two seven pound back who runs a four or five three with a forty plus inch vertical jump, a ton of power, a

ton of speed, and a ton of athleticism. This is a really, really intriguing prospect who brings a skill set and physical attributes to the backfield that Aaron Jones and Jamal Williams don't necessarily have This is a completely different kind of guy. Yeah, I think he probably has forty pounds on Aaron Jones. I mean I don't. Did you get a chance to watch any of his prospect primate, Well, you wrote one of the but I mean, like the the fit, the footage that we had on our website.

I've only seen a couple of highlights. But can you tell Spoff and I are on like four hours of sleep at this point. By the way, it was long weekend everyone. Sorry, just bear with us. I took a nap on Sunday. I think that was the first time I'm taking a nap in like fifteen years. Uh No, But if you look at some of his his combine footage, talk about a guy who doesn't skip leg day. I mean just absolute treat trunks, uh in terms of his hips, in in his thighs, everything. This guy is built to last.

And that was his message, Mike. When he was talking, he answered all the questions. He was very polished. Um, it was very professional. It was he was interesting to listen to, very engaging. But he did make it a point in the middle of the news conference to actually speak out to Packers fans because the question was asked of him. Okay, you you ran the ball eight hundred plus times in three years at BC. You know what, do you think that takes some tread off your tires?

Do you think that's an indication of your durability? He said, Hey, listen, I am a workhorse. I am ready to be a workhorse in the that illustration that shows that I can handle whatever the Green Bay Packers want to throw at me. Aaron Joe Owns is the man. Jamal Williams is the great change of pace that was set up with the way that this offense has constructed last season. But we've seen it with the Baltimore Ravens, Mike, and we've seen it with the San Francisco forty Niners. Some of the

best teams in the National Football League. Now, Mike, they are not one yard rusher that's gonna make the All Pro team and have all these other accomplishments. It's awesome what Christian McCaffrey's done. Carolina Panthers didn't have a whole heck of a lot of success last year, though. Packers are trying to make this very dynamic. They're trying to spread this thing out there trying to be more versatile, and A J. Dillon brings a different compliment to those

other two backs. Yeah, it's kind of interesting. I mean, I don't want to get into fantasy football discussions because I don't even play that game. But I don't know if Aaron Jones is gonna be able to repeat his plus touchdowns, because when you have a tune and forty seven pound running back, once that balls inside the five yard line, I'm not so sure Aaron Jones is gonna get as many of those inside the five yard line

carries as he did a year ago. But that he said, I see A J. Dillon, you know, and Matt Lafleur said, hey, he's got to prove it. He's got to compete with these other guys on the roster. He's got to earn his playing time. But I think they envision him as a young running back adding a third dimension to uh to the backfield and to the ground game, and and getting playing time as a rookie. And I think Josiah Deguire, the tight end from Cincinnati, is is much in the

same boat. Now. The thing that's being thrown around here about Daguia is that is the term h back, and you're more of an xs and ose guy than I am. So I'm gonna throw this h back thing to you so you can explain to the fans, Okay, when they hear h back, what is everybody talking about? What? What? What does this mean? Okay, So there's two things to

this one. I think h back gets kind of a bad reputation because in the most literal standpoint of it, it's like a hybrid tight end that you can use in the backfield as sort of a pseudo fullback, and he can do some stuff off of that, you can do some motioning off of that. I think would be disingenuous, and I trust me, I've written part of it too. It would be disingenuous to look at and say, all the packers use a third round picked on an h BAC.

That means it's an undersized tight end that you're not gonna be able to use inline like normal. The thing about A. J. Daguerre and I had a chance to really look into him, you know, when I wrote the story on Friday night and then following up on on Saturday. This is a guy that was just an absolute Swiss army Knife and Cincinnati. He finished as one of only two tight ends in school history that finished with over

a thousand receiving yards. And that other one, as everyone's been saying, wasn't Travis Kelsey, it was Brent Sellek, who also had his own decorated career in the National Football League. He and I made this point in three things as soon as we were done on Saturday night, Mike, you want to know how excited Matt Lafleur is about getting a J. A. J. Josiah Deguara, get it right, getting him in the offense. Listened to his conference call on Saturday night. Lafleur was great. He he was awesome for

thirty minutes. I thought he touched on a lot of things that need to be touched on. But when the ast she was asked of him, of Daguara, it was the longest answer. It was the most impassioned answer. You could tell that this was something that Matt Lafleur and Brian Ludikins talked about. They wanted to bring in a guy between that Danny Vitality, J. Sternberger, somebody that fits right in the middle of all that that they think can be a playmaker and Taguara was that guy. Yeah.

I look at what the Packers did on Day two, and I know everybody you know was upset that they didn't draft a wide receiver, and you know there are other areas that they didn't address with their picks in the second and third rounds, But what they got was productive college players. A. J. Dillon had over four thousand yards and thirty eight touchdowns in three seasons at Boston College. And Josiah Deguara, you know you mentioned his receiving yards

as a tight end. He caught twelve touchdown passes over his last two seasons for the Bearcats. That's that that's legitimate production, and that that's as a receiver, not taking into account the blocking and the other potential responsibilities he's going to have there. So when it comes to this draft last I see the Packers picks on Day two as the guys that you might see the most on the field as rookies. They do have to earn it.

We don't really know where this offseason and the training camp and everything else is going to go from here and how it's going to lay out because there's so much uncertainty, But those are the guys that that I think, you know, when it comes to rookie impact, Uh, those day two picks are the guys. Yeah. And something else that I've touched on in the past Jay Sternberger last year, I preach patients with him. He was a young guy.

They had older veterans at that position, and it takes time to learn that tight end possession in this league. I think the way that Matt Laflour is gonna use Josiah Deguarre and we're gonna need months in months ahead to fully understand exactly what their vision is for this guy. But I think that is going to really hasten this whole process for him getting into the National Football League.

And they were asked to you know, is this gonna be a Danny Vitalily, This is gonna be a guy that plays fifteen snaps good cons and the floor both said no, I mean, this is a guy that he projects is so much more than that. And if you can just step back and look at what they've done with the tight end position, you still have Mercedes Lewis your traditional in line tight End's gonna be the big blocker, He's gonna be able to catch some passes for you

here and there, but beyond that, it's all hybrids. It's Robert Tony in a converted wide receiver. It's Jay Sternberger. Not the biggest tight end of the world, but he showed last year he could fit a lot of those move tight end tendencies, and I think that's one thing that led them down this road to just Joside Deguara. The last point I want to make. The receiving position is incredibly important. Davante Adams is one of the best

at it. But you've gotta understand. You gotta look into the sand a little bit and see what's coming up here with the tide. This isn't the four and five receivers spread anymore. This thing has changed. There's more running backs, there's more tight ends, there's more versatility. Adams, Lazard, Devin Funcius, Marcos Velda Scantling. These guys are still gonna get a chance to play, and they're still gonna be on the

field a heck of a lot. But I don't think you're at a position now, at least with the construct. Just reading the tea leaves here that you need to have six or feavers on the roster and all of them need to run four fours. There's a lot more that that's going into this right now than what I think people are giving credit for in the social media space. Yeah, and I think that's a good note to end on for today. I know I said we would get to the Day three picks that we've gone on quite a

while here. So yeah, let's say let's save our Day three discussion for our next show later this week. We will pick up where we left off, but for now, we're going to call it a wrap on this edition of Packers Unscripted. Thank you for watching, everybody. We will see you next time.