#700 Packers Unscripted: Offseason recap

with right now. Hopefully they're only temporary, but we don't really know for sure how long we will have to do the show this way. But with the players returning for the offseason program, with the draft less than ten days away now, we thought even with the technical limitations, we would get the show going again. So welcome back, Weston. How are you, my friend?

the starting quarterback. Aaron Rodgers is going to be traded, as far as we know, to the New York Jets. He's expressed his desire to play there. The Packers and the Jets have both express their desire to work out a deal. That deal has not happened yet yet. We don't know if it's going to happen before the draft, during the draft, or perhaps after the draft. But you said it, Wes, this is going to be a year of transition in twenty twenty three for the Green Bay Packers.

There was a pretty big transition offensively last year when DeVante Adams was traded in March and there was a big shift in how things were going to have to work offensively. This is sort of the DeVante Adams transition. Transition excuse me times about ten or twenty or maybe one hundred when you're talking about changing quarterbacks and moving

on from the four time MVP. It's going to be a very very interesting off season here in Green Bay with OTAs about a month and a half away or so from getting started.

The Packers traded up to take him out of Utah State saw him as a long term prospect, and I felt like last season, while the sample size was undoubtedly small, we saw the progress in Jordan's game that maybe wasn't necessarily there as a rookie, maybe wasn't quite where you wanted to be in year two, but year three seemed

to really be a turning point for him. And from the Green Bay Packers perspective, obviously, you know, we don't need to go through everything that's been said between Rogers and the Packers, but this felt like, from both perspectives, the right time to move towards, you know, different directions. And obviously you look at what the New York Jets have done and where their position to be. I've said a time and time again in our Insider Inbox column, they are a team that is really just a quarterback

away from contending. Thought last year that was really the only thing that was holding that squad back, So on both sides, it does make sense. It just comes down to figuring out out the compensatory piece and and figuring out exactly, you know, what needs to be given up to, you know, transact a deal like this at the scale of this, with a four time MVP that is just one year removed from going back to back in that category.

scout team. You know, we get to see training camp practices, we get to see preseason games. We got to see that impressive fourth quarter in Philadelphia on in in prime time under the lights at Lincoln Financial Field. But but it's not just that short you know, as you said, small sample size against Philadelphia that gives the Packers the confidence that this is the time to move on to

Jordan Love. It's all the things with regard to practice and how he's conducted himself, how he's run things, what he's done with those opportunities that give the Packers the confidence that now is the time. And you know, we could do an entire show on history repeating itself in some ways when you talk about the three year timeline the New York Jets being the team that the Hall of fame quarterback is going to be traded to and

all that. But we've heard from some of Jordan Love's teammates that this sure sounds like very different from two thousand and eight, when there was clearly a split amongst younger players versus veterans in terms of who's behind Aaron Rodgers or who still wants Brett Favre to stay. And

I don't want to get into all that. What we've heard from the Packers' locker room to this point, and this is not kind of knocked against Aaron Rodgers, but this is a locker room that's going to be behind Jordan Love one hundred percent, and a lot of his young teammates certainly believe in him through and through Mike.

about him as glowingly as he has. You know, even going back to that interview with Pat McAfee last month, you know, he talked about how he thinks he's going to be a great quarterback in this league, and he's a young guy that you know, Jordan Love could have made this so much more difficult than it's been the last three years, but he never complained once about the situation he was in. He never publicly came out and said, hey, I want to be a starting quarterback. I don't I

want to be this starting quarterback. I'm I'm tired of sitting behind Aaron Rodgers. He has literally just been the guy he's needed to be when the Packers have needed him to be that individual. That's why I kind of found it funny when people were making a big deal and rightfully so I get it, he's the quarterback. But you know, Monday, players reported back for the off season program.

The video of Jordan Love walking into the building obviously drew a lot of eyes, got a lot of engagement on Twitter, but the reality is this has been no different than the last two years where Jordan Love has come in when Aaron Rodgers hasn't been with the team and ben the starting quarterback, the quarterback number one in these OTA practices, even in a mini camp, mandatory mini camp practice, he's been the guy running the show a

lot of the times. Now he seeded that position to Rogers in training camp, but Jordan Love has been preparing for this moment, and I think when you hear a guy like Aaron Jones talk about this, you know at the Packers tailgate tour on the kickoff last week, mentioning that the message he wants to convey to Jordan Love is we got your back. We are here to play for you. If it was Aaron Rodgers, it would be

the same situation. But letting the young guy know that if you are going to be QB one this season, we are going to do everything in our power to make sure that you're going to be put into a position to succeed. And if you're a young guy like Jordan Love who's going to have rough patch, who's going to make mistakes, that's the best thing you can hear that you have a veteran core around you that is really ready to rally around your leadership. Yeah.

team is taking shape around Jordan Love. You look at the guys that the free agents that have come back West, I'll just list them off here, Keyshawn Nixon, Dallan Levitt, Eric Wilson, Rudy Ford, Tyler Davis, Corey Ballantine, and Justin Hollins. There's a there's a theme to that list of players, right,

and it's the it's the connection to special teams. What the Packers did in turning around their special teams under Rich Basaccia his first year as the Packers coordinator last year, a guy with multiple decades of experience doing this in the league. There was the coaching change last year, there was also the philosophical the personnel change in terms of the types of players that the Packers want to be those core guys on special teams, and they're bringing them

all back. And obviously at the top of that list is Keishawn Nixon. Now, and we'll get into some of the guys who left in a little bit. But when I took a look as soon as the season ended, I took a look at the entire list of the Packers pending free agents, Honestly, the guy that was at the top of my list that I thought the Packers have to bring this guy back, no matter what was

Keishaw Nixon. I mean what he did for the return game, kickoff returns, punt returns, what he what he did on defense playing you know, settling in as a very reliable nickel corner that that that slot corner position. He became a very valuable piece to this team in two phases, in a very short amount of time, and that would have been a huge loss for the Packers if Keishawn

Nixon had signed as a free agent elsewhere. I think bringing him back was a huge step for twenty twenty three, even if you know directly he may won't necessarily be on the field with Jordan Love, although maybe he will be as we hear, you know, the little rumblings about him wanting to play offense and Matt Lafleur possibly being open to it. But what Keishaw Nixon means to the special teams and to this defense moving forward I think is huge.

this thing. You listened to Matt Lafleur last year talking about the special Teams design periods that they implemented last year for that very reason to get more out of that unit. When you look at the strides they've made and also the transition the Packers are going to make offensively this year, you could not be in a position where you have question marks with special teams. You need

to take the personnel. You had, the guys that contributed to that turnaround, and you need to keep them in this building because now you're going to have a young influx of players coming in who are going to learn underneath those trees with Rich Bisacia with his assistance, also with these players coming back like your down Levitts, your Ruby Ford's and as you were pointing out Keishawn Nixon.

In my mind, Mike, to see the Green Bay Packers go on a twelve month span from a kickoff return and a punt return unit in which people legitimately were nervous when the ball is being kicked to Green Bay, you were kind of worried that there was going to be a muff punt, there was going to be some kind of negative play that was going to impact the

rest of that game. Not only did Kishawn Nixon eliminate those fears, he completely turned it around on the other side of things, where now the Packers' special teams, the Packers' return units are the ones making the play, and he built up every single week. People forget this is a guy that really hadn't done a lot of kickoff returning

in the NFL. He obviously did it in Juco, he hadn't been punt returning really at all until they put him in there mid season, and in both phases he played fearlessly, he played tenacious, and he was able to be a big time playmaker for them, the biggest moment of all obviously coming in Miami and then Minnesota back to back at the end of the season. Keishawn Nixon is a heck of a football player, and you can tell how seriously the Green Bay Packers are taking his

playmaking potential by basically saying yes. In addition to the special team stuff, this guy's going to be the nickel going into the offseason program. He has to hold on to that position. He has to prove that he can grow into that spot. But the Packers are going to open up every door possible for Keishawn Nixon to be a playmaker in multiple phases.

to bring back Justin Hollins at outside linebacker. And this is a young man claimed on waivers from the Rams Tour.

Actually I think it was even beyond the midway point of last season, but in a short time in Green Bay made a pretty strong impression as to what he could bring to this defense and what he could do for Joe Barry, and with you know, the uncertainty surrounding exactly when Rashaun Gary will be back from the ACL injury, the fact that you have Preston Smith and then a fifth round pick from last year kings Leyanni bari As as two of your top outside rushers right now, bringing

back a guy like Hollinds just for that depth piece, you know, to be able to play, you know, even if it ends up only being twenty or twenty five snaps a game or something, and maybe it'll be more than that, depending on Gary's situation. We'll have to see. But I thought that was I thought that was a really like sneaky good move by Green Bay to get him back, considering the impression he made in that small sample size late last season.

himself elsewhere, and he did that in Green Bay. And I feel like with Rashaan Geary, you know what ecl injuries are like, you know for sure you're probably not gonna have him at the beginning of training camp. You have to be able to give yourself some breathing room there. So Yeah, Kingsleyanninkbari JJ the guy I thought played exceptionally well as a rookie. He contributed in ways I did not anticipate him to contribute right off the bat because

of Gary's injury. But it was Justin Hollins that came in and filled out that edge rusting rotation down the stretch. Preston Smith can play seventy eighty percent of the defensive snaps. He's shown even at thirty years old, he has no problem doing that. But you needed to be able to have another veteran presence in there. The year earlier, it

was Whitney Merciless. Last year it was Justin Hollins. I would imagine, Mike, when you and I are doing our preview for the draft next week and in these next episodes to come, We're going to be talking a lot about edge rushers, but we know how this game is played.

You need guys that know the defense. You need guys that have some veteran knack to them, and Justin Hollins checks both of those boxes with his past experience with Joe Barry, and I think it made a lot of sense on numerous amount of levels as he's also not only the Green Bay Packers, but Justin Hollins is looking to put himself in a better position next year as a free agent.

Jaron Reid, Al Mazzard, Robert Tunyan, and Chris Barnes. Starting with those first two on the defensive line, Dean Lowry, Jaron Reid. Lowry goes to NFC North rival Minnesota. Jared Reid goes back to where it all began. I guess you might say with the Seattle Seahawks, and it puts it puts an interesting spotlight on the Packers defensive line, no question about it, because a guy like Lowry, you know, six years if I have the math right, No, I'm sorry, seven years, seven years, yeah.

anything else, that they are going to be counting on TJ. Slayton, fifth round draft pick from a couple of years ago, and Davante Wyatt, a first round pick out of Georgia a year ago, to step up and play significantly larger roles on this defensive front in twenty twenty three, along with whoever else might be brought in via the draft.

And we'll get to that on some upcoming shows. But this is going to be about Slayton and Wyatt on the defensive line and those guys stepping forward into a level of responsibility they haven't quite seen yet in the NFL.

there is outside of Kenny Clark. And the big reason for that is I think the Packers needed to mix it up a little bit. Dean was a great player for this team for a number of years. I thought Jaron Reid had some moments last year, especially down the stretch. But you know, we know what the run defense has been like the past few seasons. We know some of the issues that Green Bay has had and sort of the inconsistency of it, and I'm excited to see what

a DeVante Wyatt can bring, what maybe TJ. Slayton can offer in an expanded role. Can he improve enough, Can he show enough as a one technique to maybe be a little bit more fluid with how they use Kenny Clark. Because as much as We've talked about Kenny and reducing some of the snaps and changing his role up a little bit. It's basically every season come back to him having to play the nose tackle position because he's the

most surest guy in there. Even though he's probably not as big as most no those tackles, especially in a three to four front, Kenny has had to kind of weather those storms. Can t J. Slayton show that he can be that guy, because structurally physically he definitely fits the bill with his size. DeVante Wyatt, I look at him in the same breath that I look at Rashaun

Gary from a couple of years ago. This is a guy that virtually redshirted that first year, didn't get a whole lot of opportunities behind that experience, behind the fact that TJ. Slat was basically the next guy up in the rotation. But Whyatt has a first round pedigree and if you look at his story going back to Georgia, there are a lot of parallels there with how he's going to be used this year in Green Bay. He's going to see a significant bump in his spike of

his playing time. Can his play go along with that? Matt Lafleur said it when we were down at the NFL Owners meetings. It is going to be a challenge for him to make sure he knows his cues, knows that he's not giving away any any tendencies to the opposing offensive line. Athletically, there is nothing to question there with Devonte White. The kid can be a playmaker. You saw that in the season finale against Detroit. It's going

to be all the little things at this level. If he can look to master and if he does, Packers have a lot of potential. I like where that group is going, if why it can live up to that first round potential.

you're not playing a matchup game. You're just playing this is where you know he has to he has to fit right now. So I'm sure that's something that that clerk will potentially look forward to forward.

Because with Lazard gone Randall Cobb unsigned. The torch is officially I guess you could say being passed now to the the two top rookies from that group last year, Christian Watson and Romeo Dobbs are are now going to be uh going to be the leaders in that receiver room. And and then with Marcedes Lewis unsigned and and Tnyan moving on, it's it's Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis right now who are the leaders in the tight end room now. I would think the Packers are going to be looking at,

obviously bolstering both of those positions in the draft. But we could probably do an entire show on the potential that Christian Watson showed just in you know, a month, month and a half span of time last season. The fact that he is now going to be the number one receiver on this offense heading into his second year. I don't think it's a surprise at all based on what we saw the second half of last season.

The fact that he had fourteen career games played is now the most experienced receiver on this roster, I think is incredible. Jeff Cotton, who they signed in January off the street, He's the oldest receiver in that room right now. But you know, as much as the Packers have talked about adding a veteran there, Mike, I'll be honest with you, I look at the landscape. I don't really know what's out there. Every time I look at a sheet that is like, hey, what are the top veteran receivers available,

It kind of looks like Randall Cobb. It kind of looks like, you know, some of these guys that you know they did the Sammy Watkins deal last year. So I don't really know where they go in that regard, but certainly I think the potential of that group is really high. It's just a matter of filling out the rest of that depth chart. If you lose a Watson, if you lose a Dobbs, making sure you have some other young guys that can step up into those roles.

Certainly they added bow Melton at the end of last season. Samori Ture came in had some moments as a seventh round pick. But it's going to be interesting how that goes. Credit to both Watson and Dobbs. Both of those guys did spend some time out in California with Jordan Love. Dobbs actually we trained with them what sounds like quite a bit in California and some of their downtime here Aaron Jones went out there. The Packers young guys and even a veteran like Jones, they're making sure that they

get those extra reps in with Jordan Love. I thought that says a lot about them. Tight End Tyler Davis is in the same position right now in twenty twenty three that Robert Tunyan was in twenty twenty. It's one of the stories I wrote earlier this offseason. If you look at their trajectories, their ages, everything, even going back to them being former college quarterbacks, they've gone along the same lines. The only difference with Davis is I think he fits the bill a little bit more as an

inline tight end threat. He had some down moments in the preseason last year. Certainly it ended up being on the back of his special teams work that he made the roster and stayed there the entire season. But if Tyler Davis wants to be an NFL inline tight end, the guy that gets legitimate work, that opportunity is there for him this season. Yes, Josiah Deguar's role is going to expand, but to Guara is still more of that

Swiss army knife. The Packers are going to need, especially if Marcedes Lewis is not back, They're going to need that inline tight end that can anchor next to the tackles. And for Tyler Davis, this is a golden opportunity to prove that he can do it.

And what I mean by that is last year heading into the draft, or maybe it might have actually been on Draft night or at one of the one of the news conferences during the draft, GM Brian Gudakunz made a comment about Tyler Davis saying, yeah, I think maybe we have something there.

he balled out on special teams all year long. He took everything that rich Basacia and all those other veterans on special teams were telling him in terms of how to do the job and how to excel and how to succeed, and he did that and because of that he was brought back now as a free agent to come back with another crack at this tight end position and trying to regain the spot on the depth chart that he lost last year that didn't work out for him.

It's an opportunity that not many guys get in the NFL when when there's a failure, so to speak, at a certain level. And Tyler Davis is going to get another shot. And I'm really really curious to see what he does with that opportunity, because you have to believe, as frustrating as things were, he wasn't happy about the way things went offensively, and you'd think it was you'd think there would probably be some some confidence issues there.

I'm really curious to see what he does with this chance now and how he bounces back, because you know, he has to have learned some things about what happened a year ago totally.

first and second round, although that is, you know, somewhat to be determined. I guess you could say with regard to when and when this Aaron Rodgers trade goes down. But I want to just get your thoughts quickly before we go. You went down to Phoenix, Arizona a few weeks ago to cover the leagues what they call the annual meetings, also called the Owners meetings. You were down there while I was burning my last few vacation hours

before I lost them. But just your impressions, any any thoughts that you brought back with you from those league meetings that you think are particularly pertinent to the Green Bay Packers in twenty twenty three.

to be. And you know, Brian did not equivocate. He was steadfast in terms of the belief in Jordan Love and also the Packers' position on where things stand with Aaron Rodgers, and I thought it was I talked with Rob Demofski, a ESPN reporter afterwards, and form my opinion call it what you will. I felt like that was Brian's golden hour right now as GM. I thought he

handled the situation perfectly. I felt like he came in and he delivered a strong message to the people inside this building about the belief inside this building of where this team can still go. Because let's be honest, Mike, when you have a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers, that will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. When Pete Doherty makes his case, much like with Brett Farv, it's going to take less than ten seconds to explain why Aaron Rodgers does be in the Hall of Fame. That is

a scary proposition for a lot of people. Because for someone like myself thirty five years old, as far as worry back, I can remember, it's Ben Brett favor It's Ben Aaron Rodgers. But time does press on in the Packers. All you can do is hope that Jordan Love doesn't have to be Brett Favre. He doesn't have to be Aaron Rodgers. He needs to be Jordan Love, and he needs to be the quarterback that was worthy of being considered as one of the top first round picks, not

only at his position but in the entire draft. Back then, so very excited about that. I felt like Gudakun's really set the table well for where the Packers are looking into the future. The last thing, because it got brought up time and time again, was a question to Matt Lafleur many of times over is about well, are you excited about how your offense is going to look the scheme of your offense? You know, maybe with having a younger quarterback that's going to stick to the script a

little bit more than maybe what Rogers did. And one thing I think people get so wrong about Matt Lafleur is the guy doesn't have an ego. He takes the game for what it is. He wants to put the best product down the field. He wants them to run the best play. He wants there to be the best opportunity. When you have a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers, you seed a lot of that to him in the moment because he's the guy that's ultimately out there with the pass rush trying to get to him in less than two

point five seconds. Rogers is going to see the field a little bit differently than a lot of quarterbacks, most quarterbacks, maybe every quarterback, you want to be able to use that. But with a guy like Jordan Love coming in, as much as people want to say, well are they going to run the scheme whatever, Love, It's not about Jordan Love. It's about what does Aaron Jones get out of this.

It's about what does someone like David Baktiari and Elton Jenkins on the left side of the offensive line, knowing that they have a young quarterback behind him that they have to protect. It's never been about one player. It's been about the sum of the hole. And I feel like that's one thing that Lafloor is very entrenched in.

Maybe you can say that's from working with young quarterbacks in washing or doing the job that he did in Tennessee or even LA, but the fact of the matter is, as much as this is a quarterback driven league, you need all eleven players offensively to get where you need to go. I feel like that's the most intriguing thing.

And I think when you listen to Lafleur, as grateful as he is for the four years he spent with Aaron Rodgers, the exciting thing for him now is the new challenge in front of this team in rallying around a young twenty four year old quarterback. Yeah.

young quarterback without the experience level. But he's made the adjustments to the system, to the player, to the quarterback before and now he has to do it again, albeit just in different circumstances. But you know that that's a challenge he's looking forward.

with Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love. You can be appreciative of the fifteen years of Aaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback here and everything he accomplished, the Super Bowl trophy that he added downstairs, the four MVPs, the fact that he did have one of the most remarkable careers in NFL history in Green Bay, and also still be excited about what the prospects are of watching a young quarterback

grow Mike, I haven't seen it yet. You have. You got to see Aaron Rodgers as a backup transitioning into a starter. I've only covered an MVP, a Super Bowl champion, so I personally am very intrigued for the better or worse, for the good moments in the bad of watching a young guy move into that position. A Gratitude is a huge thing in the sport. There's an incredible amount of gratitude for what Aaron Rodgers has accomplished and also excitement for what the next chapter holds.

We will see you next time.