JosephC

Minnesota may have made a big error by not securing a better backup quarterback. I can understand that there comes a time where you have to go with an unproven player as a starter, but you need to have a reasonable plan B in place. Brett Rypien is not a good backup plan. The numbers with Darnold heading into last season were not impressive (78.3 QB rating, 56 starts, 63 TD, 56 INT), but they were reasonable enough to figure as a realistic plan B. Brett Rypien = 59.9 QB rating, 4 starts, 4 TD, 9 INT.

I've updated my top prospects spreadsheet over the last 48 hours. I wanted to keep including Brugler rankings (The Athletic), but nobody is spilling the beans on his update and I refuse to do business with The Athletic after they censored McGinn a few years ago. So since Brugler's list was so old (pre-combine), his data got dropped altogether. I replaced his data with Scout INC/ESPN. It had also been awhile since Trapasso at CBS Sports put out a ranking, so I replaced his with the CBS Sports consensus list. So this top prospects list is made up from the following...in a list of 150 players, bottom guy gets 1 point and top guy gets 150 points. Scout INC/ESPN (top 150) Jeremiah/NFL.com (top 50) Sikkema/Pro Football Focus (top 150) Iyer/Sporting News (top 150) CBS Sports (top 150) Ourlads (top 35) Zierlein/NFL.com (top 150 graded players) Edholm/NFL.com (top 100 players) Rang/FOX Sports (top 150 players) I wanted to insert round information in this list, but doing so messes up the formatting (it's a cut-and-paste job from an Excel worksheet), So I'm going to stick that in right here, ahead of the list. Picks 1-11 = Early Round One Picks 12-21 = Mid Round One Picks 22-32 = Late Round One Picks 33-43 = Early Round Two Picks 44-53 = Mid Round Two Picks 54-64 = Late Round Two Picks 65-77 = Early Round Three Picks 78-89 = Mid Round Three Picks 90-102 = Late Round Three Picks 103-114 = Early Round Four Picks 115-126 = Mid Round Four Picks 127-138 = Late Round Four Picks 139-151 = Early Round Five Picks 152-163 = Mid Round Five Picks 164-176 = Late Round Five Picks 177-189 = Early Round Six Picks 190-203 = Mid Round Six Picks 201-216 = Late Round Six 1 CB Travis Hunter Colorado 2 EDGE Abdul Carter Penn State 3 RB Ashton Jeanty Boise State 4 DT Mason Graham Michigan 5 OT Armand Membou Missouri 6 TE Tyler Warren Penn State 7 OT Will Campbell LSU 8 QB Cam Ward Miami, Fl 9 CB Will Johnson Michigan 10 LB Jalon Walker Georgia 11 CB Jahdae Barron Texas 12 WR Tetairoa McMillan Arizona 13 TE Colston Loveland Michigan 14 OT Kelvin Banks Jr. Texas 15 DT Walter Nolan Mississippi 16 EDGE Mike Green Marshall 17 EDGE Mykel Williams Georgia 18 EDGE Shemar Stewart Texas A&M 19 LB Jihaad Campbell Alabama 20 S Malaki Starks Georgia 21 WR Matthew Golden Texas 22 WR Luther Burden III Missouri 23 EDGE James Pearce Jr. Tennessee 24 WR Emeka Egbuka Ohio State 25 RB Omarion Hampton North Carolina 26 S Nick Emmanwori South Carolina 27 DT Derrick Harmon Oregon 28 OT Josh Simmons Ohio State 29 QB Shedeur Sanders Colorado 30 EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku Boston College 31 DT Kenneth Grant Michigan 32 OG Tyler Booker Alabama 33 OT Grey Zabel North Dakota State 34 CB Maxwell Hairston Kentucky 35 EDGE Nic Scourton Texas A&M 36 OT Josh Conerly Jr. Oregon 37 CB Trey Amos Mississippi 38 OG Donovan Jackson Ohio State 39 DT Tyleik Williams Ohio State 40 CB Shavon Revel Jr. East Carolina 41 WR Jayden Higgins Iowa State 42 EDGE JT Tuimoloau Ohio State 43 EDGE Landon Jackson Arkansas 44 WR Jack Bech Texas Christian 45 TE Mason Taylor LSU 46 CB Azareye'h Thomas Florida State 47 CB Benjamin Morrison Notre Dame 48 LB Carson Schwesinger UCLA 49 RB TreVeyon Henderson Ohio State 50 RB Quinshon Judkins Ohio State 51 S Xavier Watts Notre Dame 52 DT T.J. Sanders South Carolina 53 OT Aireontae Ersery Minnesota 54 WR Tre Harris Mississippi 55 QB Jaxson Dart Mississippi 56 S Kevin Winston Jr. Penn State 57 DT Alfred Collins Texas 58 EDGE Jack Sawyer Ohio State 59 TE Elijah Arroyo Miami, Fl 60 DT Darius Alexander Toledo 61 OT Ozzy Trapilo Boston College 62 EDGE Princely Umanmielen Mississippi 63 WR Jalen Royals Utah State 64 WR Jaylin Noel Iowa State 65 EDGE Jordan Burch Oregon 66 OG Marcus Mbow Purdue 67 RB Kaleb Johnson Iowa 68 DT Shemar Turner Texas A&M 69 WR Elic Ayomanor Stanford 70 LB Demetrius Knight Jr. South Carolina 71 DT Omarr Norman-Lott Tennessee 72 CB Darien Porter Iowa State 73 OT Jonah Savaiinaea Arizona 74 RB Dylan Sampson Tennessee 75 EDGE Bradyn Swinson LSU 76 DT Joshua Farmer Florida State 77 WR Isaiah Bond Texas 78 OT Charles Grant William & Mary 79 EDGE Josaiah Stewart Michigan 80 OG Tate Ratledge Georgia 81 OT Cameron Williams Texas 82 QB Jalen Milroe Alabama 83 EDGE Ashton Gillotte Louisville 84 OT Wyatt Milum West Virginia 85 TE Harold Fannin Jr. Bowling Green 86 EDGE Oluwafemi Oladejo UCLA 87 S Andre Mukuba Texas 88 EDGE Jared Ivey Mississippi 89 OT Anthony Belton North Carolina State 90 RB Cam Skattebo Arizona State 91 S Billy Bowman Jr. Oklahoma 92 CB Jacob Parrish Kansas State 93 TE Terrance Ferguson Oregon 94 EDGE Kyle Kennard South Carolina 95 EDGE Sai'vion Jones LSU 96 C Jared Wilson Georgia 97 WR Kyle Williams Washington State 98 OT Emery Jones Jr. LSU 99 DT Deone Walker Kentucky 100 LB Chris Paul Jr. Mississippi 101 RB RJ Harvey Central Florida 102 DT CJ West Indiana 103 QB Tyler Shough Louisville 104 DT Vernon Broughton Texas 105 S Lathan Ransom Ohio State 106 LB Danny Stutsman Oklahoma 107 LB Smael Mondon Jr. Georgia 108 RB Bhayshul Tuten Virginia Tech 109 DT Ty Robinson Nebraska 110 QB Quinn Ewers Texas 111 LB Barrett Carter Clemson 112 WR Tory Horton Colorado State 113 QB Will Howard Ohio State 114 WR Savion Williams Texas Christian 115 S Jonas Sanker Virginia 116 TE Gunnar Helm Texas 117 DT JJ Pegues Mississippi 118 CB Quincy Riley Louisville 119 LB Jeffrey Bassa Oregon 120 CB Nohl Williams California 121 OT Jalen Rivers Miami, Fl 122 DT Jamaree Caldwell Oregon 123 WR Xavier Restrepo Miami, Fl 124 CB Denzel Burke Ohio State 125 EDGE Barryn Sorrell Texas 126 OG Miles Frazier LSU 127 CB Dorian Strong Virginia Tech 128 OT Logan Brown Kansas 129 RB Devin Neal Kansas 130 DT Jordan Phillips Maryland 131 EDGE Elijah Roberts Southern Methodist 132 RB Jordan James Oregon 133 EDGE David Walker Central Arkansas 134 RB DJ Giddens Kansas State 135 RB Damien Martinez Miami, Fl 136 WR Jaylin Lane Virginia Tech 137 DT Aeneas Peebles Virignia Tech 138 WR Tez Johnson Oregon 139 RB Trevor Etienne Georgia 140 DT Ty Hamilton Ohio State 141 QB Dillon Gabriel Oregon 142 S Jaylen Reed Penn State 143 QB Kyle McCord Syracuse 144 EDGE Tyler Baron Miami, Fl 145 CB Cobee Bryant Kansas 146 CB Caleb Ransaw Tulane 147 CB Zah Frazier Texas-San Antonio 148 EDGE Que Robinson Alabama 149 DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins Georgia 150 CB Zy Alexander LSU 151 S R.J. Mickens Clemson 152 CB Bihal Kone Western Michigan 153 LB Cody Simon Ohio State 154 DT Cam Jackson Florida 155 LB Kobe King Penn State 156 WR Tai Felton Maryland 157 S Sebastian Castro Iowa 158 CB Upton Stout Western Kentucky 159 WR Dominic Lovett Georgia 160 QB Riley Leonard Notre Dame 161 WR Nick Nash San Jose State 162 C Seth McLaughlin Ohio State 163 CB Jaylin Smith USC 164 RB Jarquez Hunter Auburn 165 RB Brashard Smith Southern Methodist 166 OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson Florida 167 OT Jalen Travis Iowa State 168 CB Tommi Hill Nebraska 169 WR Isaac TeSlaa Arkansas 170 DT Warren Brinson Georgia 171 RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt Arizona 172 WR Kobe Hudson Central Florida 173 CB Mello Dotson Kansas 174 RB Jaydon Blue Texas 175 WR Dont'e Thornton Jr. Tennessee 176 CB BJ Adams Central Florida 177 WR Chimere Dike Florida 178 EDGE Tyler Batty Brigham Young 179 RB Woody Marks USC 180 CB Alijah Huzzie North Carolina 181 TE Oronde Gadsden II Syracuse 182 OG Joshua Gray Oregon State 183 TE Benjamin Yurosek Georgia 184 WR Pat Bryant Illinois 185 OT Ajani Cornelius Oregon 186 TE Jake Briningstool Clemson 187 OG Jackson Slater Sacramento State 188 OT Chase Lundt Connecticut 189 OG Caleb Rogers Texas Tech 190 EDGE Ahmed Hassanein Boise State 191 RB Ollie Gordon II Oklahoma State 192 EDGE Collin Oliver Oklahoma State 193 TE Mitchell Evans Notre Dame 194 C Clay Webb Jacksonville State 195 LB Karene Reid Utah 196 OT Carson Vinson Alabama A&M 197 CB Justin Walley Minnesota 198 TE Thomas Fidone II Nebraska 199 RB LeQuint Allen Syracuse 200 RB Tahj Brooks Texas Tech 201 CB Jordan Hancock Ohio State 202 RB Corey Kiner Cincinnati 203 OG Dylan Fairchild Georgia 204 EDGE Kaimon Rucker North Carolina 205 WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith Auburn 206 OG Willie Lampkin North Carolina 207 TE Jackson Hawes Georgia Tech 208 LB Carson Bruener Washington 209 OG Joe Huber Wisconsin 210 EDGE Antwaun Powell-Ryland Virginia Tech 211 EDGE Jah Joyner Minnesota 212 WR Elijhah Badger Florida 213 C Drew Kendall Boston College 214 TE CJ Dippre Alabama 215 LB Jack Kiser Notre Dame 216 DT Rylie Mills Notre Dame 217 C Jonah Monheim USC 218 CB Robert Longerbeam Rutgers 219 OG Luke Kandra Cincinnati

DT-Walter Nolen/Mississippi and DE-Jordan Burch/Oregon are reportedly in Green Bay today on official visits.

Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.

Kenneth Grant is a monster on film and there is no question of how good an athlete he is for his size. But his size is getting to be a concern. There were reports that at the combine he was talking and saying he was in the process of dropping weight and was going to show up lighter at Michigan's Pro Day and run a 4.8 40. He showed up at 330 pounds and ran a 5.07 (which is pretty good for someone of that size). Apparently it turned off a lot of people. When he first got to Michigan, he was so over-weight that they were initially going to put him in a conditioning program instead of having him practice, but once he did some athletic tests they went ahead and put him on the practice field. So these guys that are out of shape like this...lots of them play like gangbusters early on, but end up fading pre-maturely and when it happens it happens really fast. There does appear to be some Gilbert Brown in Kenneth Grant. People forget about what a good athlete Brown was when he first became a Packer, largely because for most of his career in Green Bay we was over 360 and his athleticism went down the tubes pretty fast. I'm not dismissing Grant, I would still give him a look and consider him depending on where Green Bay ends up picking and who is available at the time. But this is the biggest negative with Grant. IMO he may be top 10 if you just look at the film and his athleticism....there is a reason why pretty much everyone is putting him in the late round one area. Walter Nolen reminds me a lot of Rashan Gary in that both guys have been round one projections since they were sophomores in high school. And despite all the accolades, I'm not sure if Nolen lived up to that reputation, and I don't know if Gary has been all he could be and we are now finished with year #6 of his pro career. I will say this about Nolen, he seems like an ideal fit as a 3-technique in Hafley's defense. IMO, he'd be a better pick for the Packers than Harmon for that reason. Harmon just has that look of a 3-4 DE to me.

Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams in for an official visit. I think he's much more quick and agile than he's given credit for. One of those guys that plays like his hair is on fire, but sometimes it just doesn't seem like he gets very much done. Built like a nose tackle, but lacks play-strength and is more of a 3-technique. Was interested to see what he would do during the Ohio State Pro Day, but he cramped up running the 40 and wiped-out and then didn't do anything else. No way he is worth #23, but worth a look if the Packers trade down to something like #32. Current defensive tackle ratings on the consensus board- 1. Mason Graham/Michigan (#3 overall) 2. Walter Nolan/Mississippi (#15 overall) 3. Kenneth Grant/Michigan (#27 overall) 4. Derrick Harmon/Oregon (#28 overall) 5. Tyleik Williams/Ohio State (early round two) 6. TJ Sanders/South Carolina (mid to late round two) - also had an official visit in Green Bay 7. Shermar Turner/Texas A&M (late round two) 8. Alfred Collins/Texas (late round two) 9. Darius Alexander/Toledo (early round three) 10. Joshua Farmer/Florida State (early to mid round three) 11. Omarr Norman-Lott/Tennessee (mid round three) 12. Deone Walker/Kentucky (mid round three) 13. Jordan Phillips/Maryland (late round three) 14. CJ West/Indiana (late round three) 15. Vernon Broughton/Texas (late round three/early round four) 16. JJ Pegues/Mississippi (early to mid round four) 17. Jamaree Caldwell/Oregon (mid round four) 18. Cam Jackson/Florida (late round four) 19. Ty Hamilton/Ohio State (late round four) 20. Ty Robinson/Nebraska (early round five) 21. Aeneas Peebles/Virginia Tech (early to mid round five) 22. Warren Brinson/Georgia (mid round five) 23. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins/Georgia (mid round five) 24, Rylie Mills/Notre Dame (late round five/early round six)

I would not, largely because Watt turns 31 shortly into next year. I have no doubt he'll be good next year and the following year, but after that it gets sketchy and we'd be talking about massive cap numbers later in this type of deal. A 4 year, 160 million dollar deal, annual cap numbers would be something like 21 million in 2025, 26 million in 2026, 41 million in 2027, 56 million in 2028 and then they still would be responsible for a 16 million dollar cap number in 2029 due to the void year(s). The 2026 cap number likely forces Jenkins off the roster, but I have a feeling that's could happen anyway (by then I think Tom will have a big contract, Banks already has a big contract...I don't see the Packers keeping Jenkins with a 20+ million cap number to play center in 2026...there will be a renegotiation including a likely reduction in salary or he'll be released). But if Watt's play declines to "above average" in 2027...then we are talking about an "above average" player having a 41 million dollar cap figure in 2027 and the Packers would still be on the hook for 32 million that they would likely spread out over 2028 and 2029. Add in that we lose 2 first round picks and this is an easy no from me. If you are only talking about picks OR talking about money, that's a different story. But money and picks, I don't like the deal at all. I don't like this QB class at all and am perfectly content with Willis. Harmon could very well be the pick, but I think he would have been a much better fit in Joe Barry's defense as a 3-4 defensive end. In Hafley's defense, Harmon likely gets put in as a 3-technique with the Packers thinking he'd blossom into a legit pass-rusher...and I don't know if that's going to happen.

Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka in for an official visit. Egbuka has really grown on me, not because of any positive outstanding traits, but more because there just aren't any real negatives surrounding him. He has solid size - 6-0 7/8, 202 pounds, 31 1/2 inch arms Athletic ability is solid - 4.45 40, 38" vertical jump, 4.12 short shuttle College production was very good - 2677 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns over last three season, missed some time in 2023 with a sprained ankle Injury history - Had the aforementioned sprained ankle, that didn't have any negative impact on his play in 2024. Could not find any other information regarding any notable injuries. Character - No known character issues. For whatever reason, now that he has a solid link to Green Bay, I doubt he will be the Packer's pick. But I have really grown to like this guy. Golden was never very productive prior to this last season, and there were instances this season where Burden just didn't seem that competitive. The Packers also had Golden in for a visit, but looking at the history of production, I would much rather see them take Egbuka. Removing Travis Hunter from the equation, it's interesting how different the next 4 wide receivers are in this class. McMillan is the big guy with a huge catch radius and excellent ball skills. Golden is the speed guy. Burden is the dynamic run-after-catch guy. Egbuka is the smooth, fluid and precise route runner. I would throw Higgins into that group, but he's lagging far behind the others when assembling a consensus board. Right now the board that I assemble (from the draft reporters, not from me) has the receiver ranking at follows: 1. Travis Hunter/CB-WR/Colorado (#1 overall) 2. Tetairoa McMillan/Arizona (#8 overall) 3. Luther Burden III/Missouri (#13 overall) 4. Matthew Golden/Texas (#24 overall) 5. Emeka Egbuka/Ohio State (#26 overall) 6. Jack Bech/Texas Christian (early to mid round two) 7. Jayden Higgins/Iowa State (mid to late round two) 8. Tre Harris/Mississippi (late round two) 9. Elic Ayomanor/Stanford (late round two/early round three) 10. Jalen Royals/Utah State (early to mid round three) 11. Jaylin Noel/Iowa State (early to mid round three) 12. Isaiah Bond/Texas (mid round three) 13. Xavier Restrepo/Miami, Fl (late round three/early round four) 14. Savion Williams/Texas Christian (late round three/early round four) 15. Tez Johnson/Oregon (mid round four) 16. Tory Horton/Colorado State (mid round four) 17. Dominic Lovett/Georgia (late round four/early round five) 18. Nick Nash/San Jose State (early to mid round five) 19. Kyle Williams/Washington State (early to mid round five) 20. Elijhah Badger/Florida (mid round five) 21. Dont'e Thornton Jr./Tennessee (mid round five) 22. Pat Bryant/Illinois (mid to late round five) 23. Jaylin Lane/Virginia Tech (late round five) 24. Isaac TeSlaa/Arkansas (round six)

At first I thought he was the typical Rays type pitcher, a guy who throws a lot of high fastballs with good spin. That was his reputation a few years ago. The problem is the velocity on the 4-seamer is now about 93 MPH per Baseball Savant and the spin rate is not even average. He has evolved into a sinker/slider pitcher that also throws a curveball, change-up and still uses the 4-seamer. The curveball sits at 81 MPH but all the other pitches are right in that 87-93 MPH window. There is nothing that really stands out in the velocity/movement data that makes him seem like a real attractive guy to go out and get. Strikeout rate was only 5.98 per 9 innings in the majors last year, probably due to him now being primarily a sinker/slider type pitcher. Solid ground-ball rate but still has a HR/FB rate of 17.1%. Have to wonder if the Brewers will have him stick to this path, or if they have spotted some mechanical adjustment to bring some of that velocity back.

Actually, there are a few team that do that with top 5 picks. The Colts would be the most recent example.

If the salary cap situation for 2026 was so dire, I very much doubt Gutekunst would have signed a guard whose contract has a 24.85 million dollar cap number for 2026. Again, in my dream world, my signings for the Packer would have started with DT-BJ Hill and CB- DJ Reed. I have the overall money and guaranteed money 5% over what they got and the assumption that they would have taken the highest offer. BJ Hill contract = 3 years, 34.65 million, 11.55 million guaranteed 11.55 million signing bonus 2025 = 1.5 million salary, 2025 cap number = 5.35 million 2026 = 5.0 million salary, 3 million roster bonus (March), 2026 cap number = 11.85 million 2027 = 10.6 million salary, 3 million roster bonus (March), 2027 cap number = 17.45 million DJ Reed contract = 3 years, 50.5 million, 33.6 million guaranteed 25 million signing bonus 2025 = 1.5 million salary (guaranteed), 2025 cap number = 9.833 million 2026 = 3.0 million salary, 7.1 million roster bonus (March, roster bonus is guaranteed), 2026 cap number = 18.433 2027 = 6.8 million salary, 7.1 million roster bonus (March), 2027 cap number = 22.233 million Yearly cap numbers for Hill and Reed= 2025 = 15.183 million 2026 = 30.283 million 2027 = 39.683 million (releasing both would result in 12.183 million of dead cap space) Yearly cap numbers for Banks and Hobbs= 2025 = 15.020 million 2026 = 37.9 million 2027 = 36.3 million 2028 = 35.45 million I'd also be looking heavily at Amari Cooper, but really can't do a projection on him until he signs. Last year was not good but it sounds like a wrist injury pretty much derailed him once he got to Buffalo. I wouldn't be too concerned about the future impact of a wrist injury. In 2022 and 2023 combined he only missed two games, had 150 catches for 2410 yards (a very attractive 16.1 yards per reception) and 14 touchdowns. If he can be had for a bargain price, I'd be all for it.

I just don't think people were all that impressed with throwing big money at a guard, a guard whose play has been pretty "standard" by most measures and a player whose snap count has been dropping year by year. With how Over The Cap has players categorized by position, Banks has the 6th highest average value per year contract for a guard. Is Banks really a top 10 guard? I think that alone probably sums it up as how the general public feels. I don't think most Packer fans could probably give a hoot about Nate Hobbs one way or the other. Let me go more in-depth on him. When factoring in the money, I can see why they signed Nate Hobbs. Last year was, by far, his best season when taking a look at the various statistics. It's pretty obvious that Gutekunst sees him as an ascending player, because this is a bad signing if he reverts back to the form he showed from 2021-2023. But even if the 2024 Hobbs is the real Hobbs moving forward, it still seems like risky signing considering how many games he's missed. When looking at the stats, his performance last year fell somewhere between Nixon (who was very good) and Valentine (who the numbers show was very bad....the 80.2 QB rating against makes it appears that he was excellent, but that is because he didn't surrender a TD...completion percentage against...yards per target...all the other numbers were not good). So I had initially wanted a different cornerback, but in my dream world would have pivoted to DJ Reed after missing out my preferred target. Reed signed for 3 years, 48 million, Let's say the Packers would have to go 5% over that to sign him, it would make his deal 3 years, 50.5 million with 33.6 million guaranteed (again, a 5% increase there). Hobbs is similar money, but for an extra year. Average per year for the deals would be 16.83 million for Reed and 12 million for Hobbs. Considering the Packers salary cap situation, I would have gladly paid the extra money for Reed. 2024 Hobbs was by far the best Hobbs. In 2024 Hobbs played in 49.87% of the team's defensive snaps, completion percentage against him was 64.7%, yards allowed per target as 6.3, yards after catch per reception against was 6.5, QB rating against was 87.2, he allowed 2 touchdown, he had 1 interception and missed tackle percentage was 19.7% (in fairness, the missed tackle percentage was by far the worst of his career). In 2024 Reed played in 76.66% of the team's defensive snaps, completion percentage against was 57.1%, yards allowed per target was 6.4, yards after catch per reception was 3.1, QB rating against was 87.1, he allowed 2 touchdowns, did not have an interception, and his missed tackle percentage was 7.2%. I'd take Reed when looking at the 2024 numbers. If you want to take the average number from the last three years- percentage of defensive snaps played - Reed = 87.94%, Hobbs = 59.24% completion percentage against - Reed = 59.8%, Hobbs = 69.9% yards allowed per target - Reed = 6.3, Hobbs = 6.9 yards after catch per reception against - Reed = 3.6, Hobbs = 5.5 QB rating against - Reed = 83.5, Hobbs = 101.5 Touchdowns allowed - Reed = 6, Hobbs = 11 Interceptions - Reed = 2, Hobbs = 2 Missed tackle percentage = Reed = 7.5%, Hobbs = 12.7% A three year deal for Reed covers age 29, 30 and 31 seasons. To get out of the contract after the second year, it would be about an 8-9 million dollar cap hit in dead money. I wouldn't call Reed a declining player at this point, as some of those stats have trended positive over the last 3 years (completion percentage against). But I think this illustrates how Hobbs is a risky signing, a signing probably only made because Gutekunst sees him as an ascending player. Frankly, Hobbs was well below average prior to 2024 and his big jump in 2024 kind of sits him right about at average. IMO Packer fans have good reason to be disappointed by what happened in free agency this off-season.

"Urgency" is just trendy GM-speak. Just like 100% of NFL coaches will say "aggressive," and then 95% of them will play ridiculous prevent defenses when up by 9 points with 9 minutes left to play in the game.

Wait, I thought Nightengale had no credibility? Nice little story, but I don't see it happening. Attanasio has been out of lawyering for too long, and basically the job is now just to serve as the owner's top lawyer. Look at the write-up of MLB's current deputy commissioner. Does anyone think this guy won't get the job? https://www.mlb.com/official-information/about-mlb/executives/dan-halem

I wouldn't be interested in trading up for any player in this draft. Maybe Will Johnson if he checks out medically and he proves to be sub-4.45 (but if that happens, he probably shoots back up into the top 12 picks, putting him out of reach). I like McMillan and think he will be a good NFL player, but most reports from the pro day indicate he ran the 40 in about 4.55 seconds (I've seen some reports having him at 4.48...majority had him at roughly 4.55). That doesn't concern me at all, but it isn't good enough that it would motivate me to give up multiple picks for him. I think each of the top 4 WRs (not counting Hunter) - Golden, McMillan, Burden, Egbuka - all would be worth the #23 pick and I wouldn't mind seeing Green Bay end up with any of them, but I would not trade up. I haven't seen one mention of Emmanwori possibly being used as a linebacker. Even though he has strong safety dimensions, I'm thinking he's best as a deep centerfield free safety that can use his speed to cover a ton of ground and dissuade the opposition from throwing a bunch of deep balls. But could a team use him as a safety-in-name-only, but actually a linebacker who lines up over the tight end and try him as a tight-end-eraser? He does seem to have that skill set. Personally, at #23, I like Emmanwori as a top trade down candidate. I could see the Eagles, Jaguars, Jets and maybe even the Ravens all maybe willing to move up to pick him. A few weeks ago it seemed like trade down opportunities probably wouldn't be there. Emmanwori is a pretty good candidate, If Gutekunst doesn't want to go WR in round one, and if Burden or Egbuka make it to #23, that would be a pretty good candidate for a trade down. Classifying Jalon Walker as an EDGE, that makes Jihaad Campbell the top linebacker and there appears to be a pretty good gap between him and the next one (probably Carson Schwesinger), if there is a team that wants him they probably have to get ahead of the Rams at #26. I would currently list the Packers draft priorities as follows (in no particular order within a tier)- 1st tier = CB, DE, WR 2nd tier = DT, LT, TE 3rd tier = C, CB, LB, WR If the plan is to have Alexander back in 2025, then cross the 3rd tier CB need off the list. If Morgan is still viewed as the starting left tackle in 2026, then remove LT from the 2nd tier and put OT as a 3rd tier need. I think Jenkins is a potential candidate to not be extended with Banks getting the big money, so that's why center is on the 3rd tier list. I've just elevated TE from 3rd tier to 2nd tier after reading how much LeFleur used multiple tight end sets in 2023 and how his offense was compromised by the tight end situation in 2024, Musgrave just has too much of an injury history to ignore, and without him they have hardly anything at the position after Kraft. The reason I post that is there are 10 spots that need to be filled. I think they need to pick at least 8 players in this draft. If they trade up early, I think they will pretty much need to trade down later to regain some picks.

So does the SEC now own men's basketball too? I don't watch basketball at all, just couldn't help but notice that 4 of the remaining 8 are SEC programs.

Notre Dame pro day seemed to be a big bunch of nothing. CB-Benjamin Morrison did 17 reps on the bench and nothing else. DL-Rylie Mills did nothing after doing nothing at the combine. I think he's an interesting 6th/7th round candidate that could play inside or out and maybe turn into a decent depth player. TE-Mitchell Evans did everything after doing everything at the combine and the results were a bit better across the board. I saw some reports saying he looked pretty good when doing the drills and catching the ball. He might be a guy to look at once they get to round 5. LB-Jack Kiser showed up at 229 pounds and ran the 40 in 4.62, which was much better than expected. Opinions are all over the board on him.

Quick, one-round mock draft. No trades. I used this for the primary tool to determine need areas - https://www.nfl.com/news/2025-nfl-draft-order-for-round-1-top-five-needs-for-all-32-teams-following-free-agency-frenzy . Barron makes it to #23 in this one- 1. Titans – Cameron Ward/QB/Miami, Fl 2. Browns – Andre Carter/EDGE/Penn State 3. Giants – Travis Hunter/CB-WR/Colorado 4. Patriots – Armand Membou/OT/Missouri 5. Jaguars – Mason Graham/DL/Michigan 6. Raiders- Ashton Jeanty/RB/Boise State 7. Jets – Tyler Warren/TE/Penn State 8. Panthers – Jalon Walker/EDGE/Georgia 9. Saints – Will Campbell/OT/Louisiana State 10. Bears – Mykel Williams/EDGE/Georgia 11. 49ers – Walter Nolan/DL/Mississippi 12. Cowboys – Matthew Golden/WR/Texas 13. Dolphins – Josh Simmons/OT/Ohio State 14. Colts – Colston Loveland/TE/Michigan 15. Falcons – Mike Green/EDGE/Marshall 16. Cardinals – Tetairoa McMillan/WR/Arizona 17. Bengals – Shemar Stewart/EDGE/Texas A&M 18. Seahawks – Luther Burden III/WR/Missouri 19. Buccaneers – Will Johnson/CB/Michigan 20. Broncos – Emeka Egbuka/WR/Ohio State 21. Steelers – Shedeur Sanders/QB/Colorado 22. Chargers – Derrick Harmon/DL/Oregon 23. Packers – Jahdae Barron/CB/Texas 24. Vikings – Nick Emmanwori/S/South Carolina 25. Texans – Kelvin Banks Jr./OT/Texas 26. Rams – Jihaad Campbell/LB/Alabama 27. Ravens – Malaki Starks/S/Georgia 28. Lions – Nic Scourton/EDGE/Texas A&M 29. Redskins – Maxwell Hairston/CB/Kentucky 30. Bills – Kenneth Grant/DL/Michigan 31. Chiefs – Josh Conerly Jr/OT/Oregon 32. Eagles – Donovan Ezeirruaku/EDGE/Boston College

Johnson is definitely slipping. First it was he couldn't run because of the turf toe injury, now he can't run because he has a hamstring problem. Now I think people are questioning if he's really a 4.4 guy. If you are a cornerback who runs a 4.55 40, you are probably not a top 10 pick. Putting that injury cloud thing over your head doesn't help things. Lots draftnik boards around the internet has Alexander in the 40's. The board I put together from "high profile" sources (meaning that these guys are in a position to get feedback/input from NFL people) currently has Alexander at #86. Note that a still have a couple lists in there that are pre-combine, so I would expect him to be a bit higher than that. But I still think once the lists all get updated, he would probably be sitting around #75. I think it will take some extraordinary circumstances for the Packers to take Simmons. I don't see Gutekunst going left tackle two years in a row. Either Morgan would have had to thoroughly convince the Packers that he cannot play left tackle, or #23 would have to be so cleaned out of other need positions where Gutekunst just goes best player available. And as of now, I think Simmons goes ahead of Banks, which would put him in the top 20 picks. I wouldn't take Thornton. I would always gravitate towards wide receivers that were productive in college, and Thornton just didn't do enough.

My list is pretty close to that- Shemar Stewart (I think he'll be off the board) Jahdae Barron (I think he'll be off the board) Maxwell Hairston Shavon Revel Jr Landon Jackson

Revel only was measured and did 12 reps of 225 at East Carolina's pro day. He did not do anything else, still recovering from the torn ACL.

I'll keep my projection the same until I see credible evidence that suggests otherwise. I'll still project Hairston to be the Packer's first round pick (if they go cornerback first). Credible evidence does not even need to be directly related to Hairston. For example, if Benjamin Morrison runs a 4.38 40-yard dash during the Notre Dame pro day, then I would change my projection and guess that the Packers draft Benjamin Morrison in round one (if they go cornerback first). I'll wait until a civil suit is filed (likely about 7 days ahead of the draft for maximum effect) before I'd give something like this any consideration. Sorry, a post on Reddit with sketchy at best information is not something that I take seriously. If the TikTok "report" is the same as what I've seen, it is not an official report, just a screenshot saying a sexual assault was reported on such and such date without any corroborating statement or even a name. We will see what the national media has to say when the civil suit is filed.

The Packers have a pretty large amount of cap space left for this year if Alexander is off the roster, which I think is still pretty likely. If anything, I think if a trade cannot be made for Alexander prior to the draft, that Gutekunst will release him and not put a post-June 1st designation on him. If so, the Packers would still have about 35.6 million in cap space and that would be after paying the rookies. As currently stands, that would be the ninth highest amount of cap space in the league, so they have plenty or room. Just to put some numbers in, if Alexander is released or traded prior to June 1, and Tom is given this type of extension- EXTENSION #1 = RT-Zach Tom. 5 years, 110 million, 42 million guaranteed. 30 million signing bonus, and between base salary + bonuses the yearly earnings are 4 million in 2025, 10.5 in 2026, 15.5 in 2027, 21.5 in 2028 and 28.5 in 2029. Cap numbers break down as 10.126 million in 2025, 16.5 million in 2026, 21.5 million in 2027, 27.5 million in 2028 and 34.5 million in 2029. If those two things happen, the Packers still have about 28.9 million dollars in cap space for 2025 and that is after paying the incoming rookie class. Overthecap calculates the 2026 cap room to be about 36.5 million if the above happens. Assuming the Packers are dealing with about the same rookie pool in 2026 as they are in 2025, count about 10 million for the rookie pool and about another 10 million to complete the roster. That knocks them down to about 16.5 million, which seems like a really concerning number. However, just doing full restructures on the Gary contract and the Clark contract, and I estimate that the 16.5 million in cap space then becomes 35.7 million in cap space. That does not even look at the Jenkins contract (Jenkins will be in the last year of his deal, releasing him would create an additional 20 million in cap space, giving him a new contract would likely create at least 10 million in cap space, and as a last resort, they could just add a couple void years onto the current deal to knock off 4 or 5 million from the 2026 cap). In addition, McKinney has 13+ million and Jacobs has 11+ million in new money coming due in 2026, more options available to reduce the cap. I don't think they need to go that far, just redoing the Gary and Clark contracts should create enough cap space to get everything done.

Azareye'h Thomas posted a 40 in the 4.50-4.55 range during the Florida State Pro Day. It took a considerable amount of time to dig this up as the media has been a complete failure at providing useful pro day information. https://steelersnow.com/former-steelers-player-works-out-flordia-state-cb-at-pro-day/ I thought Thomas might emerge as a serious candidate for the Packers at #23, but I don't think that 40-time gets it done. Still need to see if I can find any numbers on Shavon Revel (East Carolina Pro Day is today) and Benjamin Morris (Notre Dame Pro Day is March 27). If the Packers go CB in round one, I would still project Maxwell Hairston to be the pick.

I pretty much agree. Pearce was 245 at the combine and likely played at a few pounds less than that. He definitely is a better fit as a 3-4 OLB and I really question if he's big-bodied enough to butt heads with NFL offensive tackles every down. I don't see him as a great fit for the Packers, especially with all of the character stuff floating around- https://www.sportskeeda.com/college-football/news-he-actually-crazy-james-pearce-jr-s-high-school-teammate-vouches-anger-issues-ahead-nfl-draft He had a very good performance at the combine and, best that I can tell, his stock has dipped a bit. He was #11 on the pre-combine board that I compiled from the reporters, and currently he is down to #16. At this point, I would slot him behind the other guys who seem to fit best as 3-4 OLB...Jalon Walker, Mike Green, Donovan Ezieruaku. Ezieruaku is a guy I think a lot of people have overlooked. Lots of talk about Green's sack numbers, but Ezieruaku posted 16.5 last year and he did it in the ACC. He didn't do the 40 at the combine, but he did do the 20 yard shuttle (4.19) and 3-cone (6.94) and posted plus-plus-numbers in both. Even if he's considered a big linebacker (248 pounds), the 20-yard shuttle and 3-cone were the top numbers in the edge group and also in the linebacker group.