#587 Packers Unscripted: Diving into the draft

our website. We'll see that you and I have been in the midst of our annual position by position roster review, sort of giving the overview of every position on the roster where things stand heading into the draft. Today actually wraps up the look at the offensive positions. Tomorrow will be the start of the defensive positions and carry into next week. But I'll just throw this out there to

you as a wide open question. We know the Packers don't ultimately make their draft decisions when it comes right down to it and you're on the clock based on what position you want. It's about how the board falls and the best player available. But what do you see as the Packers highest priorities position wise in terms of what this roster needs to get out of this draft.

I just have to start with I. Really, it would be really refreshing one year, if you know, because Brian Goodins is gonna talk on Monday, he'll do his dress. We're gonna hear from him on Monday afternoon. Yeah, a lot of a lot of gms are doing that right now. It would be really refreshing if the GM went up there and said, we're going this is like the pick in the first round. We're going receiver whatever, We're taking the best receiver available now. I don't care about the

other Just announce your intentions. Make it known to everyone. Receiver. Yeah, I think that would be actually the way you go about do this. We don't care how the board falls. I don't care if reivers have to take it. We're taking a receiver. No, you're right, because if you look at it from Green Bay's perspective, they always talked about best player available. Everybody talks about best player available now, but the Packers started doing it first. Let's just make

that known as well. But no, I always say this, Mike, I use history as my guide here. People mock drafters will go and they'll give the Packers a receiver in the first round. Packers haven't taken a receiver in the first round. And since I was an eighth grader, right to talk about inside linebacker, Packers haven't taken a first round inside linebackers. It's two thousand five, those type of things. So that's why two thousand six, excuse me, two thou

five was a different first round pick. It was. Man, it's been a rough start, you know, but it's been a minute, right, So there's two ways you can look at that. Either they're overdue for one or that just isn't the direction they're gonna go. So me personally, I use history as my guide. Packers have gone with a lot of offensive linemen, a lot of defensive lineman in some defensive backs in the first round. Into me Mike.

I said it in our offseason show with Larry. I look it off pensive line as a position where you're going to get a lot of bang for your buck. One with the strength of this draft and some of the guys that could potentially be available there at number twenty nine. But to also because and as I wrote in our Position by position that is running on Thursday.

The Packers have so much versatility there that if you find a guy that is a really good prospect that maybe he was left tackle, maybe he was a college guard, maybe maybe he was a center, although typically that's not been a position the Packers have used have drafted in the first round. You can move around the rest of your pieces. I think this offensive line looks really formidable. If you have Billy Turner at right tackle, I think you have a guy like Lucas Patrick that can play

anywhere inside. And then Elton Jenkins is going to be the ultimate wild card here throughout his time in Green Bay because you can play him in so different, so many different positions. So depending on how the board falls, that's the position right now I think really makes a lot of sense for Green Bay. We've heard all the rumblings about defensive line not being as as deep in this draft, so then that uses the question of do you go get one early, do you not get one

at all? And then certainly some intriguing outside rushers, some great cornerbacks that could be available at the end of the first round. It's gonna be really interesting, probably more than any other draft I've covered. Entering that final stretch of the first round, I think there's a lot of guys that can make sense for Green Bay. Yeah. I've been saying this for several weeks now that as far as the priority positions of need for the Packers to me,

there are three that jump out. It's offensive line, defensive line, and cornerback. Now that's not to say that I mean, yes, you would like to obviously add it inside linebacker, you'd like to You definitely like to draft a receiver this year after not drafting one last year given the contract situations and all that um at that position. But in terms of the highest priorities for me, it's the offensive line,

the defensive line, and cornerback. And when you look at what the analysts are saying about this draft, and with the Packers sitting at number twenty nine, it sure seems like there's a good chance that an offensive tackle or a cornerback, because of the depth of those positions, that there's gonna be a darn good one there that the

Packers could get at twenty nine. Could be a lot harder to get a defensive lineman because they're talking about this being a really thin class in that regard, and it also might be difficult to get a quality defensive lineman later in the draft. So then you start to wonder, well, if one of the top defensive lineman is there at twenty nine, can you afford to pass on that guy? Right?

If there, if there's greater depth that offensive tackle and cornerback, then of course there's always with Brian Gudacus, there's always the possibility of trading and moving around the board, right, I mean, does he trade up from twenty nine? Does the board look so strong at twenty nine? Does he trade back? You know, a few spots would put him in the top of the second round, pick up an extra pick somewhere. We'll talk about those possibilities and scenarios

on our next show a little bit as well. But the guys, the guys in the trenches, and then and then a cornerback, because beyond JR. Alexander, your next two cornerbacks, Kevin King and Shannon Sullivan at this point are only on one year deals for one so you've got to start looking at you've got to start looking at the future at those positions. And to me, you know, there's always that with regard to offensive defensive lineman. There's the

planet theory right there. You know, the Lord only makes so many big guys that can move and and do the things that offensive offensive lineman and defensive linemen need to do. Finding a franchise left tackle in the fourth round like the Packers did eight years ago with David bak Try, that's the exception, not the rule in this

in this game. And um so, you know, offensive tackle. Certainly, with bok Trs injury, the flexibility the Packers have across the offensive line is a huge asset, as you've talked about. But with bok tr Is injury, the fact that Rick Wagner has not been brought back, you've got an offensive tackle somebody, somebody, whether it's to back up both spots as a rookie or to potentially step in and start right away, depending on how you want to sort that

thing out. That's got to be a high priles. Yeah, And I don't want to turn this into like, oh, here's who the Packers are going to draft, but more than probably any draft maybe going back to two thousand fourteen, there's a guy fell in love with through this process, and that's Tevin Jenkins out of Oklahoma State. Now I'm not the draft guy here. You are, Like, if you go on Packers dot com, it says senior writer, and in really small four aerial print it says in draft analyst.

So you have that going for you as well. Okay, so I'm not that guy, but I think I'm as excited about Tevin Jenkins as any guy that probably going back to the C. J. Mosley Ryan Cheesier draft with with the safeties being there too, uh, with ha ha, Clinton Dicks ultimately being the guy the Packers picked. The reason I really like him is one, if you listen to him speak, I'm not even gonna talk about the xs and os right away. He just sounds like a

Packers type of player, a Packers type of person. We obviously, you know you touched on it. There's not a great history of offensive line play from from Oklahoma State, but the Packers got a pretty darn good one as an undrafted free agent in that thirteen after that thirteen draft, in Lane Taylor. But you know you also mentioned, you know, God only creating so many six ft six people, three twenty pomp people, guys that have good footwork that can

play multiple positions. To me, Jenkins really screams a guy that could go in, you could have an idea of where you wanted to play him. Last year they got John Runyon and Adam Stanovich kept him. I believe it was a left guard throughout training camp and that was his station. But I really, I'm not gonna be a guy that's gonna sit down and break down all these prospects for you. But he's one guy that just continually makes sense if he's potentially there at the end of

the first round. Yeah, I'm I'm with you there on Jenkins again, we've had since the beginning of April, we've had a series on our website that we that we decided to call Draft Digest new series this year. We weren't able to do prospect primers, the you know, the videos and voiceovers and all that fun stuff we've done in past years because there was no NFL Scouting Combine, which is where we used to gather all of that

stuff for prospect Primers. So a little bit of a condensed written uh series format with Draft Digest, which essentially I just did right at the beginning of April, actually late March, sat down, looked at a whole bunch of mock drafts from reputable national media outlets. Not you know, hopefully it wasn't. I wasn't looking at the guys doing

stuff in their basement. Com yeah, exact, yeah, um. But essentially, just try try to keep a tally in these national mock drafts of the guys most often projected to be selected in the bottom third of the first round, from pick number twenty to pick number thirty two. Because yeah, I mean a lot of a lot of guys are probably going to be picked in that but as we said,

maybe Brian Goudakuns decides to trade up. So so I wanted to, you know, just look at the whole bottom third of the first round there, and you're that guy you just mentioned. Tevin Jenkins is a guy who's who's He's projected in just about every mock draft to be drafted somewhere between like twenty and thirty. You know that that bottom third of the first round is one of those as one of those offensive tackles that's going to be available late in the first round. I think there

are very good odds there. The other one that I will mention going back to and this player will be in our in our draft. I just series. I'm not sure. I'm not even sure if Jenkins has been posted yet. If he hasn't, he will be because he's on the list. Another guy, I'm not sure he's been posted yet. But with regard to the the thin class of defensive lineman, okay, Christian Barmore from Alabama. Boy, this is a guy. Now, there are some questions about, you know, just his overall

experience because he hasn't played a ton at Alabama. Came on like gang busters in the college Football Playoff, you know, the biggest games of the year for the Crimson Tide. And when I look at when I look at the odds of their first off, there's a good chance he

won't be there at right. But it's one of those things that because of the Packers need on the defensive line, you'd love to get somebody paired there with Kenny Clark on the interior the defensive line, for somebody, a big time player that you have in the fold, like long term, and the fact that this defensive line class is pretty thin. If a guy like bar More is available at number twenty nine, I don't I have no idea. If the Packers like it, maybe maybe they don't. I don't know,

maybe they do like him. I have no idea, but it just seems to me that would be a guy that would be really really hard to pass up. Um based on the state of your ross and the state of this particular draft, based on what all the ant and now, obviously it's not it's not uncommon for you know, Alabama players to go out early. You know, they have some success and they want to go and obviously get what's coming to them. And Bar more than in a lot of ways, he's he's very much built differently than

Kenny Clark. But doesn't he kind of remind you of that a little bit in terms of the red shirt sophomore, a young guy that you might, you know, not expect him to come in right away and be like but throughout the course of a year, become a starter, become a contributor. Um obviously a good history there as well. And it is a short position, it's a short bench there.

So you do wonder, you know, what is going to be available to Green Bay in this draft and are you gonna be able to find the big body, the Mike Daniels type. Are they going to really slip into the fourth round um and really surprised people this year just because it makes a lot of sense, Mike, when we talk about all these various positions, Why is defensive line a little bit you know, thinner this year? Why

is defensive tack a little bit thinner? Because I think there's a lot of guys at the college realm wanted to go back. They're not going to have the twenty sax seasons. They wanted to go back and get a chance to really show what they can do before going out there taking that jump and going into the pros. And yeah, it's gonna be uh, you know, supplying demand and seeing where those guys could potentially fall. Yeah, And another point to make with regard to the defensive line.

I looked at I looked at drafts over the past ten years, essentially the last decade of drafts, and if you look at all the defensive lineman who were drafted late in the first round, it's really hard. I mean, the track record, quite frankly, is terrible. It's really hard to find a guy. I mean as far as defensive lineman drafted, you know, in the late twenties, late in the first round over the last decade. Kenny Clark is by far the best one like across the like it's

not even close. I mean, the Packers hit a home run. Finding a guy like Kenny Clark at overall five years ago in it's really really hard to do. UM. So that's that's why I've really got my eye on the defensive lineman exactly where they're going to go early in this draft. And if one of the top guys, you know, another one from Washington, Levi on Moozuriki is another one in our Draft Digest series. He's another one to keep

an eye on. Two. A guy that, you know, the a guy that probably is getting and I'm trying not to be disparaging here, because that's not how I want to come off, but a guy that's probably getting maybe more attention than he would in another year, just because there are so few defensive linemen who are considered, you know, a first or high second round, you know, type of pick he's graded in that area. But there just aren't that many of them, you know. So that's that's the

point I'm making. Their um quickly was before I forget a little bit of sponsored business. Serious x m NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to the minute NFL news That true what ball fanatics need? Seven three six? All right, you mentioned uh with regard to the cornerback position. I want to get I want to get your thoughts here, because there are a lot of guys, a lot of

corners being projected to go in the first round. It looks like they're certainly going to be a few that will go well before the Packers would be even really in range of of of legitimately trading up unless good Koons is going to make some huge sacrifice, which I don't which I don't necessarily see. But do you have your eye on any guys at the cornerback position if the Packers potentially uh end up going that route at the end of the first year. Yeah, I'll start with

Caleb Farley. A couple of reasons for that one. He's you're talking about not really knowing where guys are gonna go. Farley's one of them because he sat out this past year and for very good reason. You know, he lost his mother, wanted to protect his father, you know, all the right reasons, but had just an absolutely thrilling year before that. I mean, we're talking about a guy if you go buy credentials and what he accomplished in his college career. Um, you know, in terms of the position,

he checks all the boxes for you there. But he stepped away from the game this year, So now there's gonna be those questions about guys that didn't play. How does that affect their draft stock? Where did they end up going doesn't matter at all. But he's been a difficult one to kind of get your thumb on and where he's gonna fit. But I love the size for the position, has amazing ball hawking skills. I think positionally from a scheme fit could really fit what the Packers

vision is going to be here. But again, is that guy going to be there at twenty nine? The one that I think everybody at least because of the Big Ten connections are looking at his Greg Newsome And again a guy that has nice size for the position. Uh, incredibly intelligent, you know. You know, he's been a part of that renaissance here, not really a renaissance, but sort of taking it to the next level at Northwestern the last few seasons. Uh. And and a guy that we've

heard a lot about. If if you follow the Badgers, if you follow Big Ten football, you've heard of Greg Newso in the last few seasons. Now where does his star point in the NFL. I'm not sure, but he seems to be a guy that could be a plug and play type corner Certainly when you look at Green Bay and their history now with Northwestern, between Dean Lowery, Tyler Lancaster and also getting Danny Vitally a couple of years ago, there's been a footprint in a you know,

a connection between those two that state in this program. So, uh, those are kind of the two that I was looking at. But as you said, Mike, there's a lot of different guys that could potentially be in the mix there and seeing how that falls, because even you go back to like two thousand eighteen, I think everyone was kind of high on jyr Alexander and he was a riser throughout the draft process, but then there he is ends up being the number two or the second cornerback taken in

that draft. Um, and then you go back to two years ago and then you know Darniell Savage is the

first defensive back drafted. So it's always difficult to pinpoint which what is going to be the order when the time comes for guys to come off the board and what what exactly how that's going to shuffle up it when I was going through this process, and you might have a couple more names, but those were kind of the two that's stuck out to me in terms of has the size that green Bay looks for in the position, the ball hawking skills, and in a lot of those

athletic intangibles that the green Bay packers have looked for from that position. Yeah, a couple of other guys that that I did UM draft, I just recaps on UM Eric Stokes from Georgia and J. C. Horne from South Carolina. Now, very different UM evaluations here, because with regard to Stokes, the word on him is is maybe he's a late first round pick, but a lot of people projecting him

more as a second rounder. So then you wonder, you know, if Goudacoons were to trade back from twenty nine, if the board looks really strong, then early in the second round, is that where you grab a guy like Stokes? Now, just also to provide an example of how these things can change, I mentioned doing you know this National mock Draft research at the end of March, right well, at that time, J C. Horne, the cornerback from South Carolina and the son of former NFL wide receiver Joe Horn. Um,

he was projected. That's happening now, by the way, Sante Samuel Jr. I mean, like it's crazy. I know, I know that's happened to you for a while. But for guys like me that I grew up watching, now their kids are playing, that's gonna make me feel old real fast. But at the time I was doing the mock draft research, horn was Horn was picked a lot in like the early twenties. Like that's where he ended up sort of in my tally sheet as I was putting it together.

But now here we are a few weeks later, J. C. Horne is a guy who has risen up. He's projected a lot more often to be picked in the more in the teens and even you know, potentially in the in the upper half um of the first round, and the you know, the chances of him making it into the twenties start looking less and less here the closer

we get to the draft. So again, just it just shows you how how the perceptions and you know, whatever whatever uh in formation leaks that are, you know that are coming out in terms of in terms of how teams are viewing these prospects. Things can change all the way, just even in the even in the last month up to Draft day. But those are those are two guys that have been um, have been highlighted on our on our website in the Draft Digest series. If you want to go check out check them out as well. I

want to go back to UM. I want to go back to the offensive line a little bit too, just to get any thoughts you might have on other guys you mentioned Tevin Jenkins, the other one out to stick with the Big twelve. UM. Samuel Cozmi from Texts is another. UM. These are the two. These are the two guys when I was, you know, kind of researching and reading about him. These are the two guys that for offensive lineman sort of have been have been labeled as having like this

nasty streak, like whatever that whatever that exactly. I'm not sure um, but UM, but it sounds like these are these are kind of some like bad dudes when they put the when they put the helmet on. UM. So just just curious. But Kasmi is another one who strikes me a lot like Jenkins from Oklahoma State in that in that the size and all the physical characteristics are there, the experience, the number of games they've played, everything is there.

And also there's some flexibility there as to whether, you know, maybe it's right side, left side, maybe it's even guard if you want to go that route and move other guys around. Um, just another another guy to keep an eye on there. But I don't know if there any other offensive lineman that you've that you've heard about. We have to talk about Quinn Miners, right, you have to. This is what's what's great about his story, the white

Water War Hook. If there's anything that there was a state of Wisconsin has produced over the last twenty five years in the national it's offensive lineman. How does a kid from Wisconsin from Hartford end up at and all due respect white Water. White Water is a powerhouse Division three powerhouse my entire lifetime, basically right at least my adult life. How does no one catch onto this kid and then he goes to Whitewater has a great run there, and it's not just like oh, like, oh he might

get picked, might be a seventh rounder. I mean, this guy is probably gonna be a starting center in this league or at least a starting offensive lineman. I mean in his story and it's been kind of well documented here through the draft and obviously he's been on NFL Network and all these different appearances he's made. But you know, they joke about the short shirt and you know those type of things, and they makes good headlines and makes

good videos that you want to click on. But the guys are really good football player and it's kind of cool for a state that only has one Division one football program that a lot of times, if you're not going to Wisconsin, you're leaking out to the MAC, you're leaking out to you know, the Division two schools out

in Minnesota. Uh, this guy went to Whitewater and he made himself into an NFL prospect, and just seeing his story play out, I'm very curious to see a where he goes b which team is going to take him, because for Whitewater, they've had guys get to the pros, some of them have been done it in Green Day Wisconsin, but they haven't had like a big prospect in the National Football League a guy that has expectations on him, and Quinn is going to be that guy. Yeah, I

mean from what I'm hearing. I mean, it's it sounds like he's a Day two pick. They're talking second or third round for a guy out of u W. Whitewater, which is which is quite the quite the praise and quite the accomplishment. There one more question I'm gonna throw at you before we go for today. You mentioned right off the top the Packers have not drafted a wide receiver in the first round since two thousand and two, since your eighth grade year out there in the Howard

Swamicko School District, bay View. There you go, bay View Middle School. Um, but I want to ask you this question. If that streak were to end and the Packers were to draft a receiver in the first round, a lot of different guys being talked about. You have your you have like your smaller sort of slot guy is like the Cadarius Tony from Florida, Elijah More from Mississippi, Rondale

Moore from Perdue. You have, I guess what I would say, You're You're more full bodied like bigger receivers Rashad Bateman from Minnesota. A guy like Terris Marshall from l s U another example in that regard. So my question to you is, if the streak dating back to two thousand and two were to end, do you think which type of receiver do you think Brian Goodkins might go? It would be funny if the streak ended that they just go all in, they just go up and get Davonte Smith.

Let's just let's just get him. Let's bring him in. Davante likes him. Who weighed who weighed a hundred and sixty six pounds? I believe when he when he weighed in in Indianapolis the other day a hundred and sixty six pounds playing in the NFL. I mean, the guy is an incredible athlete and incredible football player. But man, when you step on the scale and that's your size in this league, it's gonna it's gonna raise some questions. Yeah,

Tavon Austin. It was funny last year when he came in and we were visiting when he came out in l a or excuse me, at the time. St. Louis made him, what was the eighth overall pick and he was a hundred seventy eight coming out and people were kind of wondering about that. So Smith is gonna have

to break down some barriers. Here for the receiver position, if he's gonna just to add to a lot of people wondered about Aaron Donald's size as well, and what look what Aaron Donald has done on the defensive line with multiple Defensive Players of the Year and all that. But we digressed. We're not going to be covering Davante Smith. The Packers didn't lose enough games for the you know, DeVante Smith to be in their their neck of the woods.

But okay, so Bateman is obviously if you look from a pure standpoint again going back to the track record of what the Packers have drafted, Bateman fits the mold. That's the type of receiver they've gone after. They've liked those you know, six three, six four receivers since Brian Goods has ben GM That's the direction they've they've tilted. That being said, Mike, the Packers, we don't there is no third running back right now. Tyler Irvin is still

a free agent. I wonder, like I said, with last year when they drafted Josiah Deguara, we learned at that moment how much that flex fullback tight end position is going to mean in this offense. In this draft, we're gonna learn a lot about what the that sweep jet sweep receiver means, because I think we learned with Austin coming in it doesn't have to be a running back. It can be a receiver. But what kind of investment

do they want to put into that? So that being said, Elijah Moore is my guy if they end up not saying he's gonna just do that, but I mean in terms of the shiftier, smaller receiver that can do a lot of different things for you sizes what it is, but I think you've seen guys if they can prove that their body can stand up to the hits in the week to week now seventeen games in a regular season,

that they can be really dynamic in this league. And he's the one that when I go through this list in terms of what is realistic for Green Bay at the end of the first round, he's the guy that jumps off the board for yeah, I mean to me, to me, the only the only reason that these that these you know, smaller, speedier, lot wide receivers are even being considered or mocked by the experts, some of them to the Packers at the end of the first round is all because of Matt Lafleur's scheme in my opinion

that that they see it. They see it. It's seen as as a need and Matt Matt Lafleur's track record is that he wants to have one of those guys. I mean, they went and plucked Tyler Irvin out of nowhere and boom he was. He was thrown into the offense right away late in twenty nineteen. They tried to do the same thing last year with Tavon Austin because Irvin was hurt, they didn't have that guy like Matt Lafleur wants that guy. So the question you just asked, like,

how big an investments are they going to make? Because I think the Packers are going to address that position in this draft. I just don't know what round or what pick you know they're going to use to do it. How big of an investment are they going to make? Because because Matt Lafleur wants that guy, he wants he wants that type of weapon in his offense to add to the openness of creativity and everything in the playbook. You got the cool stat about Minnesota. I want you

to say it now in terms of the Packers. How long had it been since they drafted with somebody from Minnesota, even though the fact that they've drafted more golfers than any other player in NFL history. Yeah, when the Packers drafted Kamal Martin last year, they had not drafted a player from the University of Minnesota since, and yet Minnesota still ranks number one in all time in terms of the number of players the Packers have drafted from that school.

So yeah, just an interesting tidbit I happened to come across when I was doing some research. I do like Bateman a lot. You know, the one thing about Minnesota is you don't really think and this is no disrespect to their program, but you know, they've been they've gone through some lane years. In my adult life, you haven't really been able to think of many guys that came out of that program that were like stars in the NFL. Plenty of guys that played at a high level in

the NFL, but not a lot of stars. Bateman has the star factor. He had it when he played for the Golfers, and I think he's going to have it at the next level. I'm very curious to see which direction he goes and as I said, Mike, I think the number one thing we're gonna learn whatever round the Packers draft receiver. And I'm not saying there have to, but if they don't, it'll be the first time in franchise history that they've gone three straight drafts without taking one.

It's never happened since the receiver position has been a designation basically. So when they do draft that guy, is it going to be another six four body or is it going to be someone that's a little bit smaller and shift here. That's the number one thing I think we're gonna learn about with this offense in the direction it's going in this season. Yeah. Alright, well we've gone way over time today are It was fun? It was fun. Our producer Marv is going to be mad at us,

but uh, forgive us Marv. With that, we are signing off on this edition of Packers on Scripted. Be sure to follow all of our pre draft coverage, position series, draft digest series. It's all there on Packers dot com for Wes. I'm Mike. Thank you for tuning in, everybody, See you next day.