PACKERS TYPES: What NFL draft prospects helped, hurt themselves with Green Bay at the NFL combine

Whether you like it or not, the testing in Indianapolis matters to the Green Bay Packers,

a couple hundred guys tested, and they don't even know it, but some of them are just not

going to be Green Bay Packers.

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We're going to talk more about Cam Atchord, who is the new Packers special teams coordinator.

We're going to talk about the Packers running back position because it looks like a manual

Wilson is out the door in Green Bay.

So what does that mean for this draft for free agency, a lot of potential things on the

table here for the Packers, but let's start with the leftovers from the combine.

We talked about the linebackers, we talked about the defensive tackles.

We mentioned the tight ends on Friday, Thursday, maybe about the kinds of players, the depth

of players that were out there in this draft class and the tight ends did not disappoint.

It is a really, really, really athletic group of tight ends.

And I think on day three, you're going to see the Packers grab one or or maybe even multiple

tight ends in this class.

I don't, I don't want to dig too much into the tight ends in this particular instance,

but I do just want to flag one name Sam Roush from Stanford.

Not a lot of guys can block the way that he can in all of this.

I don't want to preempt too much of what we're going to say at the end, but one of the big

winners of the weekend is a name that we flagged last week for you.

As we were talking about the running back position, Mike Washington, Jr. from Arkansas,

tested as the most athletic running back ever measured at the combine, six, one, two,

23 jump, 39 inches, broad jump, 10, eight, those are 94th and 96th percentile numbers.

And at two, 23 ran four, three, three, this dude was hauling major weapons grade ass.

And it is, it is very easy to imagine the Packers watching the workout, watching the tape,

seeing the size, seeing the pedigree and going, that's the player we thought AJ Dylan was

going to be, but wasn't he is so much more explosive than Dylan was.

And that was really the big problem for AJ Dylan was, you know, he had the big body,

never ran quite like that.

I don't think Washington quite runs like he's 223, but if he gets in the open field, he

can just be gone.

And that was something that AJ Dylan just didn't have.

And so we've talked about this running back issue in the past.

I think there's a good chance.

This is Josh Jacobs last year as a Green Bay Packer, even if it's not, we've seen Green

Bay prioritize RB two with premium draft capital, if they find value there, this is

a very shallow running back class, which could end up putting Washington, you know, into

the top 50, which would put him out of reach for Green Bay.

But I couldn't have this conversation and not mention that he was spectacular.

Okay.

One of the names I was really interested to see was Iowa Center Logan Jones.

And he did not disappoint in the testing tested really well, ran really well.

The problem is he's got really short arms and you might say, well, Peter, who cares?

Like it's just, you know, it's just the number.

It's not the size that counts.

It's how you use it.

Why are you worried about length, Peter?

That's what you're saying.

Well, the Packers are not size horses when it comes to these things.

They have drafted and been okay with offensive tackles.

For example, that don't have, you know, the 34 plus inch arms that are maybe, you know,

they regair in the NFL.

But I went back and looked and I thought, you know, Coilins, he had short arms, didn't

he?

Well, 32 inches Logan Jones, well below that.

So he was also under 300 pounds.

The Packers over the last couple of years in particular have been looking more at guys

three 10, three 15 and above.

They want to get bigger along the offensive line.

So are they willing to make some sacrifices here?

I don't know.

Now someone who we've talked about on the mock draft Mondays at the offensive line position.

Chase Byzantis from Texas saying, we didn't know how he was going to test six, five,

15 right in that range where you want him 31 and three quarters on the arm length.

So just below 32, which is would be still on the, you know, the sort of medium to short

end for a guard, but a 9.85 unofficial relative athletic score and elite athlete and a really

good three cone again, something the Packers care about.

So I like someone like that on day two.

If they're going to take an offensive lineman, remember, they don't generally take, they

like to take guards or tackles, excuse me, that become guards and centers that they will

take actual centers to Elton Jenkins played center, played guard, played tackle, played

all over the offensive line.

They took him early on day two.

I think it would make all the sense in the world if they thought he could play center

to go that route now without digging into tape and, you know, all those things, the transition

from not playing center to playing center is much different than a guy who played center

to go play guard.

There's less responsibility to go play guard.

Like if you played center, they're like, hey, we'd like to move you to guard.

Like, look, I've never done it, but there's less responsibility as a guard.

You don't have to set protections, you don't have to snap and then block.

You can just, here's the guy got a block and block them.

So I personally would be more comfortable taking someone who was a center and making them

a guard than taking someone who was a guard and making them a center.

It's just a different thing.

So early on, maybe you don't want to do that if you want to drop to center.

So let me introduce you to Jagger Burton, who I've been calling Jagger, like he is a hockey

player.

Apparently, it's Jagger.

It's even cooler.

It's even cooler, man, that he's Jagger Burton, 9.91 relative athletic score, 64312, right

in the range where you'd want him, 32 and three quarters inch arms, right in the range

where you would want him, ran a sub five second 40 at 312, which is moving, man, 97 percent

tile at center.

And that's before you account for the fact that he was 312.

If like profile focus really likes him, the consensus has him much lower.

If the Packers could get Jagger Burton on in round four, in round five, and you could

add, you know, some more premium position players earlier in the draft, I mean, talk

about a home run opportunity for the Packers here.

And Jordan Reed from ESPN reported just to just to put a bow on this, Bo Stevens, the

tackle from aisle was one of the guys that they asked to play center, did not play center

at aisle.

This could be the move.

He's a tackle.

You let him play center, you move into center, but you can get him third, fourth round,

tested really well, has the requisite size that you would be looking for.

Maybe that JC Treter plan for the Packers is something that works here.

Just one last note before we move on.

The cornerback situation I wrote about this today in the, the leap.

We got a pitiful amount of data on these corners.

And that could leave the Packers with either a smaller field from which to choose or just

less confidence in their evaluations.

And that's adding to the risk profile.

You might say Peter, you know, I don't, I don't really care if they run the 40 and we

have tape and all that stuff.

Okay.

But it adds to the risk profile.

If you don't know for sure, the tape can suggest something.

It's nice to have a clean evil.

Okay.

The test shows a fast guy.

He tests fast.

The tape shows a fluid athlete.

He tests fluid.

It's nice to be able to stamp it and say, yes, we can believe our eyes on this stuff because

you can never be too confident in your own evaluations of these things.

That's just the nature of the business.

So to have it when it's clean all the way through, that's, that's a wonderful thing.

Now, we also don't know if this new special teams coordinator is going to be any good.

But we'll talk about them a little bit more next unlocked on Packers college basketball

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The backers have a new special teams coach and I don't know that it matters right.

We talked about this with Brandon on the Friday news dump excuse me on the Sunday OT I'm

getting our new segments confused here.

But I do think we need to dig into the background a little bit here and see exactly what's going

on.

There are these special teams rankings that Rick Goslin did for a long time Dallas morning

news I believe and he was the gold standard for these things.

And so remember cam was the again I believe it's a short that was the way that I was told

to pronounce it until we're told differently you know maybe we'll get some some pronunciation

data here shortly but I'm going to call him cam for the moment because I want to be respectful

and I want to say his name the right way.

This is someone who was a dedicated special teams coordinator.

So he's actually done this job despite the fact that he's 39 years old.

There are coaches out there that are 39 and they get an offensive coordinator job.

They've only ever been like the quarterback's coach Sean Manion that just happened for

him.

So you're adding someone who's got dedicated experience was the assistant to Joe judge

who was at the time and I understand what happened in New York.

You know he became a punchline Joe judge before he got that New York job was considered the

gold standard of special teams coaches in the NFL.

It was like Joe judge Dave Taube like those were the guys that everyone's like yes.

We know that's the Sean McVeigh of special teams seriously.

And so you learn at the feet of the master and if you're Joe judge you're also learning

at the feet of the master with Bill Balecheck.

He ends up being the special teams coordinator in New England for four years.

Gets fired by Drod Mayo who wants to bring in new staff when he gets the job from Bill

Balecheck and then so for the last two years.

Cam has been in New York.

Now what I think is useful to know here are how good were those teams now in 2020 this

was the best special teams in the NFL.

I don't know how much credit we get to give him right like it was his first year.

And then after that according to Rick Gosling's rankings which again speaking of the gold

standards.

So 18th and 2021 16th and 2022 and 13th and 2023 now.

Packer fans would kill for those rankings like if the Packers had we just average those

out forget the first place rankings 18th 13th 16th like if they just had the 15th or 16th

best special teams ranking in the NFL Packer fans would throw a parade.

They would they would commission a statue in solid gold.

If the Packers could just have midling special teams they have not and this has been the

problem.

Now if you adjust for schedule it gets a little weird they were they were last in 2022 despite

being officially in the Gosling ranking 16th 28th and 2023 now I do wonder about special

teams rankings like you know is that small sample size theater we're talking about 6 8 10

plays a game maybe 15 if there's a lot of puns in the game how many kicks did the opposing

kicker miss like did they just get lucky with some of these things I tend to in the case

of the the Gosling rankings like I tend to put a little bit more into that just because

it is a small sample size.

But like look it's not it's not a perfect system by any means if you look at the profile

ball focus numbers more in line sort of with the DVO A rankings though 6th in 2021 on

special teams grade 27th in 2022 so qualitatively PFF sought more like DVO aided 20th in 2023.

So below average but still not heinously terrible.

Now what I like is if you look at those special teams in New England they were able to make

chicken salad out of chicken something else when it comes to returners.

General Shusky Marcus Jones big time punt return productivity both first team all pros

in New England.

So they they are able to create return opportunity something the Packers have not been able to

do outside of Kishan Nixon in 2022 basically in the rich basatia area era.

They have been good in cam's career whether it's been with the Giants or New England

at returns and that is something if you're the Packers like it would be nice to give

Jordan love an opportunity to have some short fields to go and say okay instead of starting

at the 25 which seemed like every time they're they're getting the balls at the 20 it's

I don't know when to return I don't know when to do this I don't know when to do that

when do I take a knee when do I return the details I think are going to be taken care of

and that's an important I would say essential part of being a coach but it's not something

that we've been seeing in Green Bay and while you know my pal Justice Miscata has been

evangelizing that this is a Packers organizational problem it is a team problem.

I do think there have been some limitations that have caused the Packers to come up short

but I also know some of those limitations have nothing to do with some of the problems

that have come up and that it is a failure of imagination that is a failure of problem

solving and it seems to be a failure of detail like the failure of imagination of plan

of process is directly related to the detail it just doesn't seem like the detail is there

do I take an inside step first do I take an outside step first when am I returning the

ball from the end zone and when am I not when are you kicking it deep versus when are

you trying to kick it in the landing area what is the thought process behind that when

are you trying to cough in corner versus when are you trying to sky one when are you trying

to put like do you believe the processes that have led to those decisions in the past have

been sound because I don't so even if there were some deficiencies even if Matt LaFlora

is saying you can't have my starting offensive lineman or you can't have Keisha Nixon.

We don't know he's been doing that but let's just let's be you know maximally charitable

and diplomatic to rich basaccia let's say he's doing that has everything else been like

super buttoned up to the point where you're just like well I can forgive it because he wasn't

given the best players hell no hell no you got Evan Williams, David McKinney, Javon Bullard

covering kicks they're playing special teams like you don't don't give me the excuses

you wanted to draft unders Carlson you let an injured kicker play for a month or more hurt

because you brought in a kicker who performed better than him and he was like I don't crap

I got I got a perform and even though you're the assistant to the head coach you couldn't

say hey I really think we need to sit this guy he needs and we need to tell him hey Brandon

you're our guy you got to sit get healthy and we'll get back to you don't worry he's

not going to take your job and maybe what a but you still you still that's a decision

you have to make and the packers did not make it expediently they did not make it efficiently

they did not make it effectively and they were left with what they were left with doesn't

look they're to make a change of kicker so they just got to figure it out can they do

it well I guess we'll see they're going to have to figure it out at running back to we'll

talk about that next unlocked on packers we live in a world where we can stream anything order

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work out of buying tickets download the game time app create an account and use code locked on

for twenty dollars off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code

locked on for twenty dollars off download game time today a couple different free agent reports

trade reports contract reports that are relevant to the green map hackers coming out of the

combine remember the combine is about so much more than just the draft in what's going on there

it's an opportunity for like literal proximity so there's agents there there's general managers there

there's owners there there's presidents of football operations there there's you know the people

who run the contracts there there's players there so guys can get into them not current NFL players

but you get it and you can get in a room and have a conversation over a shrimp cocktail over a

dry gin martini dirty but not too dirty and so we get a a feel for the market at certain positions

or the market for certain players or what's going to happen with color Murray or to a tongue

of I lower Malik Willis how does one affect the other it sounds like Malik Willis is going to get

paid paid like we could be talking about thirty million dollars a year from Malik Willis

which is kuku bananas considering how little experience he actually has when compared to someone

like color Murray at what is going to be a not dissimilar price all things considered if he

just gets cut which would be you know pretty tough for the cardinals it makes so much more sense

for them to trade him my guess is the the report that he could be cut was an attempt from the cardinals

to get him cut so that they could pick his destination because the guaranteed money has already been

paid and then he can then maximize his leverage on a new deal and maybe earn back more than what

was going to be owed to him moving for just my low stakes conspiracy but if Malik Willis makes

30 plus million dollars then the packers are going to get a wonderful compic out of that

a third round compic in all likelihood and so that's that's big news for Green Bay there's also

this insinuation that you know hey color Murray to him who knows what could happen there Jimmy

Garoppolo apparently on the packers radar don't love that honestly but if they feel like they need

to have a veteran I can understand that they raved about Jimmy G in LA he just seems pretty physically

cooked to me so I don't really know what the the upside there is it seems like Quay Walker is going

to be out of town I could have told you that based on some of the conversations that I've had and

based on what I've heard he's not going to get Devon Lloyd money Devon Lloyd probably going to get

upwards of 20 million dollars but Quay Walker looking at 15 plus you look at the market that's

sort of what the market bears out well the packers had a chance to sign him for 15 back there was

14.75 on the option and they declined to the option now I understand 14.75 fully guaranteed on

the option versus you know 15 APY where maybe he doesn't get actual 15 on the cap for three years

on the contract I understand that's all different but if the packers thought he was worth that much

money just sign him on an extension given three years 45 and make the first two years fake

so that he's not on that actual cap number they could have done that and they made theoretically

still do that I it doesn't seem like they're going to and because if they wanted to they would have

that's that's where I think the packers are with this which means you're going to have to add

somebody and there are some veterans at the linebacker position there are some players that I

really like at the linebacker position we may have some very good options if they don't want to go

into the draft and feel like they're being handcuffed by their roster and having to draft somebody though

it's also a very good linebacker draft so the packers aren't a very good offseason cycle to need a

stack linebacker. Maybe the most important for a long term development for the packers is that

Emmanuel Wilson is not going to get a restricted free agent tender the packers could restrict you know

offer him a low tender bring him back and and he could be playing for peanuts just the way the

restricted free agent tender thing works and it sounds like they're just going to let him walk which

is a little surprising though I told you I thought that this was the likelihood not because he's

not a good player not because he's not worth a low-round tender but because he could get significantly

more on the open market and I think the packers would like to get someone else in there

so they can say hey look Emmanuel we're going to do you solid and we're not going to tender you

and you can go you know go on your merry way the restricted free agent tags are designed to avoid

that if a if a team is just sort of like yeah we don't really know why don't we just we'll give you

a low a low-round tender and if someone wants to you know pay it you know whatever whatever

but if they're just not going to tender him then he's gone he essentially becomes an unrestricted

free agent and they have a need at running back well they have that need probably anyway right

because beyond this season Josh Jacobs we don't know Emmanuel Wilson we don't know Chris Brooks

we still don't know that's for just this year even

and it's not a good running back class so do they have a trick up their sleeve do they know

Marshall Lloyd is is making progress in ways that we're not privy to do they like this running

back draft class when no one else does as I'm telling you 52 a running back is in play

I I don't know what else I don't know what else to say I think it's in play

and if it's my Washington junior I'm not going to be mad about it because I think he's a dynamic

football player I watch him and I go that guy can be a three-down back that can be your lead back

in the NFL he's big enough he can handle the rigors and then he can create the explosives good

enough in the passing game not a not a you know Christian McCaffrey receiver but he could swing it

out to him you throw a wheel route to him he can catch it on his body and and have no problems with

it and the explosiveness you give him a crease he can hit it and beat off get him in space he can

just be gone and these guys don't want to tackle him in space you see it corners do not want to

hit him in space I'm going to spend a lot of time talking about him and someone else going to draft

him and that's fine but it's a name to be cognizant of there are some other ones out there

and we'll talk about them as we move through the draft process much more this week the packers

and the rest of the NFL open the new league year opens basically in a week

because there's the tampering period and the new league year is going to be starting here

before you know it so this is all moving very fast and that's the way we like it because it

can get a little tedious in the offseason it's just like the combine new league year which means

free agency got a couple weeks and I guess that that period is about a month it's about six weeks

that period between the free agent market and the draft is probably two or three weeks too long

but I'm fine with it because it gives me more time to watch the prospects and I want to be

able to watch the prospects I want to be able to give you informed takes on all of the prospects

I do my best to do that so thank you for tuning into Lockdown Packers I gotta go watch tape

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