HiAndTight

I don't think the Packers' OL is an unspoken key. I think it was pretty well talked about as the strength of the Packers last year. Though I think that was a little bit overrated. I think MLF and Rodgers getting the ball out quickly made the line look better. But even so, it's more like 1 of 5 as Wagner wasn't the preferred starter at RT, Turner was. Which I also think was a bit of a problem vs more athletic, versatile edge rushers. But the plan there should be the draft. That SHOULD be their top priority, but one they've been addressing the last couple of years. They used a early 2nd round pick to draft Jenkins. He may become an All Pro next year. I think he's that good. Bahk, they just invested nearly 100 million into...which was always a little bit much IMO, but even without the benefit of hindsight, you have to keep your All Pro LT. Then last year they added three OL in the draft, among them Runyan who played. And they've been developing Nijman the last couple years. It's possible they're really high on him and they think he's ready to be a starter. He was in the 99th percentile athletically for OL at the combine, so he's talented enough, strong enough, physical enough. Just very raw. So they've got replacements along the interior. Wagner or even Lane Turner could be back on smaller deals and Turner I'd think would be for the league minimum if he wants to continue playing. He'd have to earn a roster spot, but I think it's worth giving him that shot. I'm a big fan of Myers. He's a big, physical center, but I thought he moved pretty well also. His scouting profiles suggest he's more of a gap scheme type guy, but he looked plenty athletic enough to play in out zone/hybrid scheme. Not super excited about Cosmi as he kinda sounds like Spriggs to me. Very good athlete, not a real big frame. But he's certainly a much better prospect and more established. I've mentioned this before, but I think Spencer Brown from UNI has a chance to force his way into the 1st round at the combine. Given his size, physical ability, the only knock against him was the level of competition, but the scouts raved about him after the Sr. Bowl practices as he dominated many big school DL. He offers a ton of upside and could cement the right side for a long time. Mayfield, Jenkins are also possibilities there. And I could see Gutey moving up if someone like Darrisaw starts to slip. With 10 picks this year, I'd imagine we'd move up a couple of times. Trading up for Darrisaw would mean he fell in the draft for whatever reason and we'd still likely need to move up 9-10 spots, but above all else, finding a really good tackle has to be the top priority for this team this off-season. I think that's why people are talking about Aaron Jones and JJ Watt and even Gillmore. The assumption that the Packers will use a good chunk of their draft capital to address the OL. The coaching staff seems to have done a very good job keeping this OL playing at a high level, even protecting Turner at RT this past year. So I've got faith that they could coach up two rookies and start them this year. Even if it's just for the first month of the season while Bahk works to come back from that ACL tear.

They just spent nearly 200 million the off-season before last. Also, I would argue Watt's more along the lines of a Charles Woodson signing than a "top tier" FA. With regard to Adams, I'd be shocked if they don't extend him this year. He'll definitely have the leverage...both coming off the season he just came off of, but also having that nearly 17 million dollar cap hit that they'll want to cut by about 66 pct, but I still think it gets done. I'd guess it's probably one of their top priorities right now. Adams and then trying to extend or restructure Rodgers deal.

I really like the idea of a tag-and-trade as a result. I think you'd find immense value in moving a productive RB on that type of contract to another team. The more we talk about it, the most likely it seems like the Packers would tag him, if only to get some compensation this year for him. Otherwise, you'll likely wait until next year. The only problem is, I don't think Jones is going to have a very large market, and any team trading for him is going to have to work out their own long-term extension most likely. I don't think a team like the Jags or the Jets are giving up draft picks for a guy who's not guaranteed to be there in two years. So at that point, what are we looking at? Maybe a 3rd round pick, probably a 4th? That's pretty damn valuable given they're both picking near the top of the draft. Either way, I don't think Jones is going to get near the contract he's looking for. I wouldn't give him anything near Kamara or Cook...and I'm a big fan of him. I definitely wouldn't do that if I was rebuilding a young team. Well, that's certainly good news if you're a Packers fan that wants Watt to come to GB. Cleveland seemed like the biggest threat as they're in pretty good shape cap-wise with Mayfield on his rookie deal.

So a 2nd for Gilmore? Maybe a 2nd and a 4th for Gilmore and a future 3rd? I don't know, a 2nd is pretty high, but to be able to put a CB across from Alexander would be huge. And that's assuming his cap hit for us would be just the 7.3 million in base salary. He's coming to the end of the 5/65 deal he signed, so I think his base salary would be all that's owed, but I was wrong about Goff's cap hit. So much more appealing to me than going out and signing Patrick Peterson as a FA. He's projected to get 2/20. Sign JJ, trade for Gilmore, and Barry has absolutely zero excuses to put a top 5 defense on the field next year.

I haven't verified it, but I saw somewhere along the line that part of the 'benefit' of this year's cap situation is that the tag values dropped significantly, and the RB franchise tag was expected to only be $8m or so. They'd still need to rework the cap to make that happen, but a one year, $8m deal seems fairly ideal for Green Bay. No one is thinking Jones won't be productive and worth that type of contract next year, it's the middle to end of the 2nd contract that has most teams hesitant to give out big money 2nd deals to RBs. 1/$8m also gives the Packers a legit possibility of a tag and trade as well. That didn't seem plausible a month or two ago, even if it may be the ideal overall result. Edit-I did also see that the Franchise number for RB's was going to be about 8 million next year. I don't quite understand how that's possible or why the cap would play that big of a role on it as it's the average of the top 5 backs from the previous season as I understand it, but this article states that the tag will in fact be about 8 million for a RB. That certainly changes the equation quite a bit. https://www.nfl.com/news/2021-nfl-franchise-transition-tag-primer-who-are-the-no-brainers-debatable-candi There are so many unknowns, but even with AJ Dillon, a guy like Aaron Jones is so important for this offense. He just adds an element that Dillon doesn't. The way he's able to catch the ball out of the backfield and run routes. It's a huge aspect of this offense. Dillion looked pretty comfortable making the routine catches on swing routes or screens, but I don't see him running a wheel route and laying out for a ball or lining up vs a CB and going up on a 50/50 ball and taking it away like Jones did vs the Lions, shortly after he hit them with a back-breaking 75-yard run right out of the half in a 3 point game. I just read another article though that had the Packers as one of the favorites to land Stephon Gillmore. While I think that's just as unlikely as other suggestions, what would you give up to get one year of Gillmore? He'd cost 7.3 million for one year...I think, with the Pats eating the rest of the cap hit. Would we be better off spending on Jones...or Gillmore? Gilmore would likely cost a 3rd round pick and possibly another pick and is going to be 31 years old. He's still elite and as the #2 would be an enormous upgrade. But you're giving up a premium pick and precious cap space.

Speaking of which, ESPN just had their "experts" predict where Aaron Jones will play next year. https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/30839605/answering-2021-nfl-offseason-biggest-questions-experts-predict-super-bowl-winner-interesting-teams-more Rob Demovsky has him going to...the Steelers. Probably among the least likely destinations for him. They didn't want to pay a better back(at the time) in Bell and now in a worse situation than the Packers and apparently trying to push Big Ben out, they're going to go all in on Aaron Jones? The majority of the rest seem to believe that he will end up back in Green Bay on the franchise tag...which I think is the most reasonable/likely way he ends up back in Green Bay next year. More likely than testing the market and coming back and signing a cheaper deal. Even the writers that got it "right" in my opinion, the ones that have him signing with the Dolphins or Jets...their logic is flawed. It's because they're going to re-sign Linsley instead. I think most of us agree if they re-sign one of the two, it's more likely to be Jones than Linsley. I don't think they'd extend Linsley even if the Cap wasn't going to be much lower than expected. He'll turn 30 next year and they've loaded up on interior linemen.

That sounds a lot like Siakam. I watched a lot of his highlights at UV, and he looked impressive. I know it's a loooong shot, but maybe he overshoots the mark and can develop into a nice starter, or into that caliber of a player. The physical attributes, the shot. Given how raw his is, having just started playing ball 6 years ago, there is a lot to work with there. Even if it takes 3-4 years to develop.

Yeah, I love that idea. I've thrown his name out. Another is Curtis Samuel. I don't think we need a #1 like Godwin or Allen Robinson...as great as either would be. I'd love to see someone like Patterson. Someone who's elusive can play in the backfield. There are quite a few players who I think could give the Packers' offense a big lift. John Ross is another guy. People scoff because he has been a bust as a WR'er(though he did start to break out, then got hurt and went into the dog house). But Patterson is a great fit. He's likely going to be about half the price of someone like Samuel and he's actually played RB unlike Ross. But we should treat that position like a starter given how much better the offense looks when we have someone who's at least somewhat a threat in that role.

While it doesn't look like there any future Hall of famers in that class Embiid has had the best career so far. Embiid is on the path to be a hall of famer, as is Jokic. Is the Joker the most underrated athlete in sports? He's putting up nearly 27/11/8.5, shooting over 40 pct from 3.

What's the guys upside? I can read about the measurables, that he just started playing the game 6 years ago, his defensive ability...but I haven't watched him much and a lot of the draft profiles talk about the limits to his game. Does he have a chance to blow up like a Siakam or a Christian Wood? Not in that he'll be a similar player to Wood, but someone who can be more than just a role player at sit at the end of the bench? We're gonna have to find another contributor or even a star if we're going to contend over the next 4-5 years. Can he develop into one of them?

its a league wide issue. Stars get to play GM. This doesn't really happen elsewhere. Heck Rodgers couldn't even get the Packers to not draft his replacement rather than get him some help. you can get out of the holiday business after this season, but yes loss a lot of draft picks to get him. I don't envy Horst. Rodgers couldn't even get a heads up when they fired his own position coach. Stars in the NBA have the type of control I don't think NFL stars have in their own homes! Still, I want to see how this all plays out. I don't think they'll be moving on from Jrue Holliday unless Holliday doesn't want to sign. I also think it's a bit unfair to blame Jrue for the teams struggles this year. Lets wait and see how this team develops and how they play in the post-season. Holliday wasn't signed to be an upgrade during the regular season. Bledsoe was terrible in the post-season...for whatever reason. He had all the talent, but he tightened up. I'd rather see them bring in a new coach and try it again with Holliday. Even if they sign him to a max deal, it's not like we wouldn't be able to move him in the future.

This SI article doesn't seem to feel the Packers would have any trouble finding cap room to fit Watt, if that's something they really want to do. https://www.si.com/nfl/packers/.amp/news/money-isnt-issue-for-packers-watt They have Preston Smith restructuring. He's pretty much the exact type of player I would expect to be on the market and forced to sign for ~3-4 million this year. Maybe a Kirksey-type deal from last year. That seems like it'll be one of the most difficult decisions for the Packers this year. You have Gary and it seems obvious that he needs to step up and become a legitimate #1 edge threat for the defense to take the next step(that and addressing the DL outside of Clark and Keke). But do you really want Garvin or a likely mid-round pick to be your #3 option when these guys usually play at most 60 pct of the snaps? It's almost a starting position, that 3rd edge rusher. Far more important than a 2nd MLB'er. Could be talking about guys like Tonyan, Lazard and MVS, though all three should be pretty cheap this next year. If he IS referencing Linsley and Jones, then I'm not sure anyone should be putting any more weight into his words than anyone else's. It'd be great to have them both back, but they couldn't work anything out with Jones and didn't even talk to Linsley. I could envision a scenario in which Jones comes back, but it's pretty unlikely. Maybe they tag him, maybe he goes out and doesn't get the offers he was hoping for. A Melvin Gordon situation, I don't know. He'd have to want to come back after the team didn't meet his asking price. I'm guessing he just ends up in a Jags uniform hating life for 3 years until he's cut at which point AJ Dillon is about to be a FA and fans are on here clamoring to bring Jones back. The circle of being a fan of the NFL. I can't think of a worse situation for a RB to be a FA than this year. I'm also curious to hear what they do with the practice squad and the roster next year. 17 games and I haven't heard if they're going to go with the 16 game limit for the players, how that's going to impact the cap this year. 17 games is just going to make depth that much more important. The extended practice squad and the 3 week IR seemed to be a really good thing for players' health this year as well as for teams like the Packers who like to focus more on developing talent through the draft and UDFA signings.

I always enjoyed McGinn's articles that focus mostly on what scouts said about players, the player division rankings, the # of blue players, etc...basically when he relays what experts have to say. When he goes with his own opinions, they're often just bad takes. The one that stands out the most was the "the Packers are a 10 win team without Aaron Rodgers," in an article that was meant to praise Thompson. He went down the next week, they struggled with the likes of Senaca Wallace and finally Matt Flynn "saved" them and we understood what it was like to be a Bears fan for half a season.

No, I don't think they do. I don't think the team would be interested in him if they didn't believe they could sign him. Perhaps they were hoping he'd take a discount to play in GB, I don't know, but I believe he also said something about Watt playing in Pitt...so he's either just focused on the Packers or that doesn't make any sense. I really wish they'd just set the damn cap and everyone could stop speculating though.

It's like whoever said that they would only trade Hader for Tatis last year. It just means you're not trading Hader, then. I remember that...but I think it was Tatis AND Gore...or maybe it was Tatis and Paddock. I don't remember exactly, but it was probably the most unrealistic trade suggestion I've ever seen on here.

This would be my only hesitation in signing someone right out of the gate to a larger contract. Even Watt. I think I'd get over it, but there are going to be a lot of Pro-Bowl caliber players or good starers who will have to take much less this year to play. It's going to be the mid-tier players who feel the effects more than anyone else. The young studs we've seen are still getting paid. The superstars, they're still getting the big money. It's the Preston Smith types. Marvin Jones, etc... Guys like Goodwin, Robinson, Golladay, Shaq Barrett, Bud Dupree(and on) will still likely get big deals, maybe just more creatively structured. It'll be an interesting off-season.

Jenkins at Tackle makes the most sense to me. When we drafted him, I just assumed he wasn't capable of playing tackle...otherwise, he would have in College. But we've seen him play there and he was very solid. That and the fact that the Packers have Patrick, who played well at Center last year, Hanson, a young guy who could get a look, and a number of options at guard, at least until Bahk comes back, that's the move I'd make. I think it's a long shot he ever plays tackle in the NFL. Sounds like a pretty stiff guy, more of a mauler, but he could certainly fill in at guard.

Kirksey was as much of a lock as there possibly could be. Not shocked on Wagner, but did think there was a chance they'd keep him due to Bakh's injury. Yep, the question now is who is going to be the other starting tackle? Something tells me it's more likely that they are targeting several OTs with their 1st round pick (Leatherwood, Eichenberg, Mayfield, Radunz, Slater. Cosmi) than think that Nijman is ready to start. I wonder if Wagner will pull a Lane Taylor and there is an agreement to come back at a lower salary. This would be ideal. If the Packers could find a really good young tackle who could play either side, that would be the best thing they could do for Rodgers over the final 2-3, however many years he has left. I'd also add Spencer Brown to that list. Sounds like he's moving up draft boards pretty quickly and could end up being in consideration at the end of the first. That'd be a bigger risk, but could be worth it. Though we all know Gute likes to move up in the draft, so maybe he targets someone if a guy like Darrisaw is there around 20. When the Packers lose, they lose because the other team can put pressure on Rodgers(which I know isn't exactly a hot take), but that has to be their top priority and cutting Wager would seem to signal they're looking at Tackle as a position they want to upgrade. Get better at OT and DE and things get easier for everyone else. Also, agree on Kirksey. That was pretty much a given. Even if the Packers had 60 million in cap space, not sure he was worth keeping around. Martin looked really good at times last year. Barnes wasn't as splashy, but I guess he was more reliable. If you can upgrade the DL, not even Watt necessarily, but just a solid upgrade, with another year, they both look better. Summers is also a nice-looking young LB'er, though ideally more of a ST'er. I guess it's possible the Packers think Nijman can start. Us Fans haven't gotten to see anything from him since the pre-season two years ago, but, again, a great athlete, the size and ability to play Tackle. I also have faith that these coaches are pretty good at getting guys ready to play. So maybe they believe they've got a starting tackle in him. They have stuck with him for a while now...but again, you can take a tackle and they can always move inside.

Unknown is correct, however it won't be over $185M. Thinking the cap will somehow equal last seasons of $198M or magically increase to the ~$210M it would have likely jumped to in 2021 had their not been a pandemic that crippled gameday attendance revenues is pointless. If there will be some magic that sets the cap close to ~$200M we wouldn't be seeing starters-when-healthy on both sides of the ball on a team who made the NFC championship game get cut to shave $10M off their 2021 cap number. I really don't understand where this is coming from. It's just not true. There was speculation that the cap could reach 240 this year(prior to Covid obviously). There have been a lot of agents and writers talking about them splitting up the cap hit over 2 years which could see the cap go as high as 200 this year. The NFL by all accounts wants to wait until they finalize their next TV deal, which I know I'm repeating myself, but is expected to jump to over 100 billion for the next 10 seasons. They're adding a 17th game, they've added a playoff spot and as such extra playoff games. The Cap could be 180 or 185...I doubt it and I've said as much all year long. If it that low though, then it's a near certainty the Cap would make a huge leap next year. I'm guessing the NFL would also like to push off finalizing the cap as long as possible so they can get a better idea of what attendance would look like next year, though if there aren't fans in the stands, there are far bigger problems than the Salary cap at this point. Again, I believe the cap will end up being close to the same as it was last season, but that's obviously not a given. Why don't we all just agree that the Cap is going to be tight and while the Packers CAN sign players, no matter what it is this year, they're going to have to backload contracts and they'll have to take some cap hits in the future as a result....at least until we find out what it's actually going to be.

If Holiday is missing in the playoffs sure they won't win a playoff series. Sometimes I wonder if people even look at the starting lineups when making hot takes. I'm hoping this season is just the complete inverse of the last two. Flying high during the regular season just to crash in the post-season. Still...I bet the Bucks pretty big tonight thinking there was no way Giannis and Middleton would let them lose AGAIN. This was pretty troubling, but one thing you could really see was how much we miss any PG who can defend. Auggie is just terrible on that end.

Darnold just hasn't had a chance. I think Indy would have been much better off going after him rather than Wentz. On the other hand, while Wentz looked awful, he has shown he can be a good QB in the NFL...even play at an MVP level. In Philly he had a terrible line and no weapons. In Indy, he'll have a running game, a good OL and some weapons. I wouldn't bet on him returning to form, but he doesn't really have any excuses now. Even when he was good though, the most reliable thing about him was that he wasn't going to be healthy in the playoffs. Didn't he take like 3 snaps the one year he actually played in the post-season before getting hurt? I guess Andrew Luck isn't coming back. I thought he'd take two years off, feel good and come back. This would likely close the door on that. Not that the Colts wouldn't welcome him back, but I imagine if he wanted to come back, he'd have said so by this point and they wouldn't have gone after Wentz.

Yeah, I saw where you said you'd been watching ESPN. Stephen A is the only one I've seen insinuate that Dak's contract or lack thereof was in any way race-related. He went from arguing that Dak wasn't worth 40 million a year to making these strange arguments about how if this was Tony Romo they'd have gotten a deal done. The fact is, if this was just about anyone else in the league, they'd have gotten a deal done. Even Cousins in Washington didn't get to Minnesota by turning down a massive contract, he got there because they were noncommital. The whole point of the show is, "who's right, which side," nonsense like that. Both sides are "right." Dak wants the most money possible, Dallas wanted to minimize the cap hit. Arguments over what Dak is "worth," are also equally pointless.

It never made sense. They set the floor and it was taken for granted that was going to be the cap. https://pressboltnews.com/nfl-wants-to-finalize-new-tv-deals-before-setting-2021-salary-cap-in-march/ Seems like we might have to wait a while for the final number. I'm also guessing the front office was concerned about a potential strike if the cap was going to go down given the number of big name vets that would have been cut if the cap would have dropped to 175. But the TV money, the fact that it was expected to see a huge jump this year...which teams no doubt factored in, a 20 million dollar cut was highly unlikely.

I assumed you meant on here. Otherwise, the pushing back is against what people somewhere are saying? I didn't. Again, when you take a long post and take one sentence, it can fit many different narratives. Like most discussions, there's nuance involved. I said I believed they could push the problems down the road, but that I didn't think there were "no problems." I just haven't heard this narrative from really any Packers fans. It's possible I missed them, but the vast majority of fans seem to be in the "we're in cap hell," segment and have been stuck on the argument that the cap will be 175 all season(or at least most of it).

It's kinda funny, I remember before the season Todd McShay was talking about how Wilson was really going to surprise people this year. He said he was a similar talent to Jordan Love, but in a better situation(remember Love lost his top 7 pass catchers and his entire OL after his Soph year and got his 3rd OC in 3 years). In fact, I just looked back at this web site that takes all the mock drafts and prospect rankings and puts a "Surplus" value on a pick based on their overall rank. The only two the Packers have picked recently who had positive rankings were Love, +12, which I guess means a lot of people/teams had him rated higher. And Gary was a +. Otherwise Savage was a -13, Jaire a -10, Jenkins a - as well. It was on this site, but I couldn't find the actual values for the Packers recent drafts. They did do a pretty damn good job. https://www.footballoutsiders.com/nfl-draft/2020/grinding-mocks-meta-mock-draft