#589 Packers Unscripted: Draft debrief, part 1

how this is going to work out. What I do know is this you and I aren't going to solve the problem, So we're not going to spend time talking about it. Instead, we're going to talk about the Packers draft from this past weekend. Nine selections in all, one trade up. As the Packers had gone into the draft with ten selections, came out with nine. You did you did? You nailed? I? I said they would still get ten. I thought there'd be a trade up and a trade back.

We didn't get the trade back. We got the trade up, so they end up with nine. I want to break this down for today's show. At least into two segments. The first two days of the draft, the first three rounds, and then we'll move on to day three. The first couple of days, the Packers get Eric Stokes, the cornerback from Georgia, Josh Meyers center from Ohio State, and then

Amari Rodgers the wide receiver from Clemson. Brian Goudakin's trading up seven spots in the third round, surrendering one of his fourth round picks in order to get the wide receiver from Clemson. What were your thoughts here after the first two days, because when we went into this, we were talking, okay, you know the priority positions offensive line, defensive line, cornerback, and then kind of right underneath that

maybe would be wide receiver. Well, out of those four, the Packers came out of the first two days of the draft addressing three of those. I think things worked out about as well as they could have hoped. Yeah, the Packers never draft for need. They always say that it's not about needs. But I will say after the first five rounds, really they hit on all of them.

They hit on I think every position that you and I talked about, maybe with the exception of inside linebacker, but as you and I have also talked about, that hasn't been a position where they've put a lot of draft draft capital in, at least in the last five or six years. So that being said, I thought that this was exactly what Green Bay needed to do. The positions where they didn't necessarily have a pressing need, but they wanted more competition. They got competition at with Eric

Stokes coming in now from Georgia. Guy, It's so funny. For all those years it was always like, oh wow, he runs like a four or four two or something like that. These guys are getting faster and faster and faster. There's just more people now that are breaking sub for threes and it's just like all those pictures in Major League Baseball. I can throw ninety eight minur now, like

every team in Major League Baseball has them. Now every team in the NFL has these guys that can run four three or even sub four three in the forty is just the way athletics is going these Yeah, so you went you know you had you know Jyry Alexander and Darniell Savage, both of those guys were some four four guys. Well, now you add Stokes into the equation a guy that really I thought came on towards the end of his career, uh looked a lot more comfortable,

but can play a number of positions. I think when he comes into green Bay now a secondary that returns everybody at this point in time other than Raven Green, there is a great opportunity for him to build into that battle, whether it be with Kevin King outside, maybe they do some shuffling around with the nickel spot. A lot of things to figure out there. Josh Meyers getting selected in the second round kind of raised my eyebrow a little bit because that's the highest the Packers have

drafted a center in some time. Being able to acquire a guy though that also comes from Ohio State that also wore number seventy one for Ohio State, I thought was a big get for them though. And at six ft five Mike, there is some positional versatility there that he's not just kind of saddled into one position green Bay and again what we will talk about a Mari Rodgers at at great length here, but throughout this these three days, I just thought that this overall roster came

out a lot stronger than it was going into it. Yeah, it the the the Stokes pick is interesting to me because we talked a couple of years ago when Brian Goodakoints made the big splash and free agency signing the Smiths signing Turner, signing Adrian Amos, and he talked about, you know, the reason the Packers made the investment they did in those players is because they felt those were players on the rise. With the arrow pointing up right.

Eric Stokes is exactly that type of draft pick because you look, you look at his college career, it's like the speed was there, the cover ability was there. You see these stats that he's breaking up a bunch of passes and then but he doesn't have any interceptions. Then what does he do is last year at Georgia, in ten games, only ten games, picks off four passes, returns two of them for touchdowns. Suddenly it's like, here's where the arrow is pointing up right, and that's the guy

that Brian Goodacunts wanted to jump on. Now, a lot of analysts said you could, you could get Eric Stokes in the second round, maybe even late in the second round. He was the guy that analysts are saying, well, that was like a reach like late in the first round. Well, we'll see, because you know, again, it's it's about the projection. It's about the crystal ball. It's not about what the guy has done, but it's where they project him to

be headed. And Brian Goodakun sees Eric Stokes as another Jairo Alexander type that can be a big time cornerback in this league for a long time. Yeah, And sometimes, like there is something to be said for if you have a guy and he's your guy, to go get the guy, to get the player. I love that story that Brian Goods told Ted Thompson when they traded back into the first round to get Clay Matthews and what this is in relation to the trade with the Marie Rogers.

But you know him saying, I want the player, I want the player. It happens that way. Sometimes it's not that your overdraft him that that's what the Packers board read. He obviously had a first round grade or darn your close to it. For green Bay to feel comfortable staying there and drafting that guy, and again for the green Bay Packers to be able to add to that secondary I think is really big. There were a lot of strides that they made last year, but there were some

hiccups along the way too. To me, I looked at this draft is sort of a finishing time for this defense. Okay, this is We're going to give you a couple more pieces here that we feel like we need to instill here to be able to make the defense make another stop. Because because the rest of the band has been held together, there were contract restructures this and that, you know, to fit under the salary cap in and to keep the

unit together. You have a new coordinator now who's going to be running things, but for the most part, you're gonna have the same cast of characters on the field. And to throw Stokes in that room now, he said he's watched a lot of Jaire Alexander film, respects his game and that who wouldn't exactly. But I mean, but that also shows you, Mike, how far this thing has gone. I mean, it was only three short years ago that Jaire Alexander was the eighteenth overall pick and everybody's kind

of wondering, Okay, who is this kid? Is he too small? Is he is he going to be able to compete with receivers at this level? And then here we are aged twenty four and the guys arguably the best in the game. Now, yeah, well, in the second round, you couldn't have almost what could turn out to be the most serendipitous pick of of the draft for the Packers. The Green Bay loses Corey Linsley in free agency, longtime center here drafted out of Ohio State back in the

fifth round. So here comes Josh Meyers, center from Ohio State and lo and behold war number seventy one for the buck Eyes, just as Corey Linsley did back in his day. Now, I don't know if Josh Myers is going to be a starting center for the Green Bay Packers, in it sure sounds like he's going to be given an opportunity to compete for that job. Obviously, Lucas Patrick is in that mix. Patrick can also play are Elton Jenkins is in that mix. Jenkins can play anywhere across

the line. Myers can also play center or guard. And you talk, as we mentioned before, about the athletes and where things are going. I don't know if we've ever talked about a six ft five center guard, but yet we're starting to see that more in the NFL now to centers and guards are not. They're not the Scottie wells Is, you know, the six ft you know, more of the squatty like wrestler types. That's not necessarily who's

playing center and guard in the NFL anymore. No, I think I think Seattle was actually the one I want to make sure I give the right credit there that sort of opened the Pandora's box, the forbidden door, if you will, to taller uh centers. I think it was. It was a Justin britt Yeah, I think Britt Yeah. And he was six six or six five at least, and you end up being a very serviceable guy for

them for a number of years. As I mentioned with Myers, what's intriguing about him, There's a couple of things to a one. I love the tenacity. I love the fact this is this is a guy that got turf toe injury in the Big Ten Championship game, kept playing through it and again. Turf toe injury is difficult for anybody, just asked Davante Adams. But when you're anchoring game after game, snap after snap, you're not coming off the field. You're at that access point in the offensive line. He felt

his goal. The reason he chose to go to a house states. He wanted to win a national championship. He was that close to it. He wasn't going to let that take a mouth so probably aggravated it in the semifinals, didn't do himself any favors in the National Championship game, and ultimately had to have surgery. But to be able to push through that, I think says a lot about the man. And obviously the Packers felt good enough to draft him. They cleared him second round pick. That's a

big pick to use on a center. But furthermore, you know, and we'll talk about this probably on later shows, but Green Bay ended up going with three offensive linemen in this draft. They took three offensive lineman last draft. You don't know when you're gonna get David Botr back. Maybe he's back week one time will tell you know. You already lost an all Pro center, and you lost a really important veteran piece in Lane Taylor, who was a

starter one into last season. So Green Bay had to give themselves options and Mike pound for pound, just looking at it on paper, now, I'm not saying it's it's the most credential offensive line the green Bay Packers have had, but one through ten. Now, there's a lot of investment that they've made here and it starts with Myers in

the second round. Yeah. Absolutely that We'll talk about some of the other um draft picks as well, But the Packers drafted three offensive linemen in this draft, three in the last draft. Three offensive linemen amongst the undrafted rookies. That that will be coming into Green Bay as well. So that the position competition on the offensive line come this summer, in training camp, in the preseason games for the roster spots, practice squad playing time, like all that

is really going to be interesting. I you mentioned, obviously the injury with Myers and how he toughed it out through the end of the season, and that's actually when I wrote the story on him on Friday night, the full length story on our website. I kind of focused

on that. It It's something that struck me in the moment, just because in terms of doing all the draft research, and not just this year, but over the last couple of years, you always hear about these guys that they sit out, they sit out their team's bowl game and this and that, and I'm not being critical. I mean, guys are going to make their make their own decisions for what they think is most important for their future.

And as we went through the COVID season, you had a lot of players in college football opted out and didn't play. And everybody has their reasons for doing that. I get that, but what Myers did just really struck me because he knew he was potentially a you know, top fifty, top seventy five potential pick in this NFL draft, and he kind of put all that aside for his team, you know, to try to go for a national championship.

And when he got hurt in the Big Ten championship game, he didn't say, no, that's it, I gotta shut it down. I'm getting drafted in a few months, you know, I've I've got to get ready to move on. It's like, no, that wasn't That wasn't his approach. I just think that says a lot about his personality, because not everybody in that situation. I don't care if you play for Alabama,

Clemson or Ohio State or who you play for. Not everybody in that situation, with that significant an injury and with the draft coming up in just a few months,

would have would have made that call. And he's a. He's a guy that I'm really anxious eager to to get to meet and really get a sense of what he's like and get to know a little bit more about him, because unfortunately, because of that, he didn't test at the pro day at Ohio States, so we really don't know, you know, benchmarks are those type of things where he stands. But but certainly he did talk about,

you know, he knows Corey Linsley a little bit. Corey had a little bit of fun with him on Twitter as well, mentioning that you know, obviously that lineage of centers at Ohio State, but you could listen to Matt MoU Speed, I mean just how highly he spoke of that program, the way the develop offensive lineman. They hope that Josh Meyers is the next good one coming out of the Buckeyes. Yeah. Well, in the third round, the

Packers get Amari Rodgers, the wide receiver from Clemson. And one thing we know about how this went down is Brian Gouda Kunst was bound and determined to trade up in the third round to get a Mari Rodgers because he actually and he doesn't always do this, but Friday evening, after the second and third rounds of the draft who completed and Brian Gudacunt's addressed the media. He actually said in the second round he was choosing between Josh Meyers

and Marie Rogers. That was the choice he was making. At the end of the second round, they chose Myers, they bring in the offensive lineman, and then all he wanted to do in the third round was find a way to trade up and get a Mari Rodgers. He did not want to lose this guy, and Um sounded like there were a handful of potential trades that fell through.

Um eventually makes a trade with Tennessee to be able to move up seven spots from number ninety two up to number eighty five and get the wide receiver from Clemson, and uh, this is going to be an interesting piece added to Matt Lafleur's very creative offense. Most intriguing prospect. I think that Brian Goodcins is drafted to date on the offensive side the ball. Now, Packers have had a type here for a number of years with the type

of receivers that they look for. When you look at Alan Lazard and Marcus Veldes Scantling, there's a big difference between those two guys and between a guy like Randall Cobb that obviously had as much success that he had here, they've gone bigger, they've gone length here, but this is a little bit of a throwback. But as Goodkin said, this guy isn't small. He might only be in that five five eleven range, but a tuner and twenty pound two and twelve pounds carries his body well and has

some good length to him. But Mike, what did I say? I said it an inbox, I said it on this show. Everything that I was talking about going into this draft, we are going to learn a lot about what the Packers commitment is to having that jet sweep, gadget type receiver, running back, whatever whatever you want to call them in this offense. In a year after they go and take Josiah Deguara, who I mean, raise some eyebrows, but you know, a multifaceted Swiss army knife type of offensive tool player

in the third round. This year, in the third round they get another one of those guys, although in a different form. I'm so excited about Rogers. The more I learned about him, the more I hear about him out of Clemson. I mean this guy is absolutely beloved. Uh, he's an intriguing guy from an athletic standpoint that in and of itself, but then when you listen to his backstory and who his father is Team Martin national champion at Tennessee, you learn about the ways that Clemson used him,

the team leader that he was. The first two words in his bio on Clemson's website consummate professional, sky brings it all, And I know he left a really positive first impression on the Packers brass and that's why they

felt comfortable enough to go up and get him. Yeah, what really struck me about this pick not just the trade up and and the stories that Gouda Kuntz told afterwards about how determined he was to make that move and get this guy, but all leading up to the draft, we were hearing about, you know, these speedy slot receiver types.

In this draft was really deep in those type of guys, and there were a whole bunch of them out there that you know, we're between the hundred and seventy and hundred eighty five pounds, you know, the not just the short but smaller guys, and the Packers decided to go the route of that type of guy who can who can run like that, but as Gouda Kunst himself said, is kind of built like a running back at at

you know, five ten to twelve. And I just think that's a that that's an interesting decision on the part of the Packers because there were a whole bunch of wide receivers taken before Mari Rodgers who are not two hundred and twelve pounds, and they were they were the

not just the shorter but the smaller guys. And um, but in terms of you know, playing in the NFC North, playing in the cold weather in the wintertime, and then the way the Packers want to use, you know, use a guy like this in all these different facets of the offense, the jet sweeps, the slow even on the outside,

whatever the role might be. They wanted somebody who's they really feel is going to hold up over the course of seventeen games, and that's why they went and got the five ten guy who's two twelve pounds, not somebody who's won seventy five. Yeah, and I just I think it's the perfect time for that type of player. I mean, with all due respect Tyler Irvin, and also with you know,

Tivan Austin coming in last season. Both of those guys were on the smaller end of that spectrum explosive athletes, and I think Irvin had a great run here in Green Bay. He obviously is a free agent now, but got banged up with the wrist and with the knee and whatnot. Then you look at Austin comes in late in the season, and it was trying to figure out a way to get him in there. I think what we learned from that is that the Packers have to have a player that is drafted and developed and really

solidified in that role. Into me, again, this is just from the outside looking, but considering there are no other body types like him on the roster right now, this move screams that. To me, this screams a commit into that understanding the dimension that brought to the offense and how dynamic that potentially, you know, Rogers could be in

that role. Yeah, it feels like it feels like there's this section of if you know, I know, playbooks these days are digital and all that, but if you look at you know, the old big binder, you know playbook, it feels like there's this section of the of Matt Lafleur's playbook that just kind of got a key stuck into it and opened up with a guy like this coming on board, and we'll see, we'll see where where

things go from there. Quickly, the West before I forget serious, x M NFL Radio delivers hard hitting analysis and up to them in AE NFL News that true football fanatics need twenty four seven three And if I can close down that point as well. The other thing I like about this move and the fact that you drafted AJ Dillon last year too, The doors are wide open on Aaron Jones. Now how you want to utilize them? Where

you want to line him up. They had to have him do some of the jet motion stuff late last season that really you want to get the ball in his hands. You don't want him to be a this direction. You have the two back sets. I just I think the opportunities are just going to be in the possibilities

are going to be endless with Aaron Jones. Well, we'll spend the bulk of our next show going through Day three of the draft, but before we go on this one, I just have to ask you, as the biport graduate, I need your best I need your best Cole Van

Landing story. You covered this young gentleman as a high school athlete for the bi Port Pirates in multiple sports, and the Packers obviously make the make the phone call just a ten minute drive up the road to Cole Van Landon's house and draft the local boy in the sixth round. Um, just quickly your favorite Cole Van Landing story and we'll maybe get two more of them on

our next Yeah. You know what I love about Cole Van Landing, and I didn't get a chance to cover them as thoroughly as Andrew Pacaric, my former colleague did. He did so much great work on coal. But what happened was I was in the middle of transitioning over to covering Packers, but I was still helping out on preps here and their football and especially track and field. I would go and cover the track and field meat as the number two guy, just because I enjoyed it

and just because it was an opportunity to still. You know, I always like going back to my roots with that stuff. And I remember hearing so much about Cole Van Lannon and this kid, this sophomore that is just this a remarkable athlete and as a really big prospect in football, but it's also just a you know, just a complete gentle giant. And I had a chance to cover him and shot putting disk at the state tournament. And just the way he has always carried himself, the way he

has spoken, even at an early age. Um just knows how to handle himself. And I remember talking to people at Bayport in that right when he was I mean I'm not even talking about when he was an All f r C C offensive lineman and he knew he was going to Wisconsin. I'm talking even before that, people just saying that this kid is gonna be really good because he was one of those type of athletes where he just had really big pause, like you could see

this guy is just gonna have this. And he was tall from the beginning, and he just had this great aimed to build off of. And when you think about offensive linemen in the state of Wisconsin, I mean, this is what it looks like. Not that maybe Marv can put up a picture of Cole Van landing behind me, but this is what it looks like. The guy went to Wisconsin a two year starter at left tackle. He earned every rep that he took. I'm excited to write

something about him in the next two weeks. I just when when we we went on the clock, you know, and and it ended up being that, uh, you know, we're all getting ready to write our little bulletins and everything, and it ends up being Cole Van Land and you're like, wow, I mean, it just gives you this recall back to those moments. And the last thing I'll say on this Mike,

I know, we gotta go. But Mike, myself and Pocaric we were texting back and forth after the draft, and there were so many years Mike where it was just like, hey, signing date comes in February. We got anybody that's signing a Division one you know, scholarship, Okay, no Division two one uh FCS awesome. And there's just been this surge over the last you know, five six years with Alekin Old, with Cole Van Lannon. I give Drew Noah credit for this from to Pier. He's the one that I think

kind of helped open some doors. Drew vanderlind from Southwest. Uh you talked about Max Sharping now a second round pick that was out of Southwest that then went to Houston Khalil Mackenzie ended up being a really big prospect for Tennessee. It is really cool. It is very neat to see Northeastern Wisconsin, this this little you know, bio dome here finally getting some of that respect at the NFL level. Yeah, James Morgan the Eshwabas quarterback as well. Yeah,

that's another guy to another guy to put in that mix. Well, we will get to a lot more of Day three of the Packers Draft, rounds four through seven on our next show, but four now, we'll call it a wrap on this edition of Packers on Script, and we should have follow all of our coverage of the team. Everything you need to know about the Packers draft is on Packers dot com for West I Am Mike. Thank you for tuning in, everybody, See you next time.