JosephC

Should have hired Braun's lawyers, proven performers at finding technicalities to get testosterone abusers out of trouble (at least until the distributor gets busted)!

I don't see the Packers 2026 cap being a big problem at this time. I'm not sure of all the rules surrounding cap carryover from one season to the next, but they are significantly under the 2025 cap now, so it wouldn't surprise me if they had a solid 20+ million to carry over from this season to 2026. Add in all the players that you had mentioned that can be restructured, I think they are in pretty decent shape for 2026.

Using the information available and the calculator at overthecap.com, it looks like Thuney's new contract puts the Bears about 8.75 million over the 2026 cap after they pay next year's rookie class. The Packers are approximately 11.6 million over, the Lions are approximately 53.6 million over and the Vikings are approximately 53.7 million over. Overthecap have 10 teams over the 2026 cap when including the Bears, It's interesting that 4 of them come from the same division. I don't see this as being a big issue for the Bears as they have a whole bunch of players that will be seeing "new money" in 2026 which gives them a significant amount of wiggle room to restructure deals. DJ Moore = 23.5 million. Montez Sweat = 21 million. Jaylon Johnson = 16 million. Tremaine Edmunds = 15 million. Jonah Jackson = 13.5 million. Drew Dalman = 12 million. Cole Kmet = 10 million.

I'd throw them a offer of Doubs for a 5th round pick plus CB-Corey Trice Jr. Trice was a 7th round pick in 2023, a tall, linear...best fit as a press corner player who was raw coming out of Purdue...so maybe we'd get lucky and catch him right when he is rounding into something. Has only appeared in 6 games in 2 years so he is still a big unknown, no doubt about that. He scored an 85 in the Next Gen Athleticism rating, so I already know the Gutekunst likes him. I also think trading Doubs leaves the Packers one receiver short. I wouldn't be all that interested in trading him if it wasn't for the past suspension and that peripheral stuff. But as it is, if I could get a pick and a young guy at a position of need..........

I also don't see Jenkins playing in 2026 on his current deal. He's either getting an extension that lowers the 2026 cap number, or he will be released. He and his agent likely feel the same way, which is why they are pushing this now.

I think the Brewers only have 2 veteran pieces that would bring back any type of meaningful return. Freddy Peralta and William Contreras. Those are the only guys that have the potential to bring back a top 10 organizational type player. After that, depending on how their performance goes, Hoskins and Quintana could bring back a lower role-player type prospect or a younger fringe prospect with some upside (think of a players that are in the #15-#25 range on an organization's top prospect list. And even to get that type of return, the Brewers would have to pick up the mutual option payout in those deals (so expect to see the other team get a multi-million dollar cash payment from Milwaukee). I've no doubt that the Brewers will get phone calls about some of the younger players (Turang would be an example), but I don't see them trading any of those guys. Unless the Brewers decide to trade Peralta and/or Contreras, I wouldn't expect any type of big organizational gains from being a seller this season (and that assumes they continue to play mediocre at best ball, which may or may not happen).

Kind of surprised the Brewers structured Woodruff's deal like they did. The mutual option payment will likely be about 8% of the team's total payroll next year.

Yes, which is why I continue to make the argument that MLB needs to contract and not expand. If the owners want to continue with the same lopsided economic system, and all indications are that they want to, there is no reason for small market major league baseball to exist. Just think, the Brewers are the model that teams want to emulate. This is Attanasio's 21st full season of being an owner. In the first 20 seasons they have won 0 World Series, have won 2 playoff series and have won the division 5 times. If that is the high-level mark that teams should shoot for, then why even bother?

Reminds me of Ohio State safety Zack Dumas. Back when football was football and actually fun to watch!

I'm classifying Belton as a tendency-breaker. From NFL.com- The Packers have drafted 14 offensive linemen during Gutekunst's seven-year tenure as GM, 2nd-most in the NFL during that span. Out of the 13 OL picks who were invited to the Combine, the average weight was 309 pounds, lightest among any team's OL draft picks over that span. Only one weighed more than 313 pounds (Sean Rhyan at 321 pounds). That and Belton's Next Gen production number was higher than his Next Gen athleticism number. He was the only player in this draft that had a higher production number. The running total for Gutekunst picks are 63 athleticism, 16 production.

Simmons is 95% athlete, 5% football player. He is terrible. He's been tried as a rush backer, off the ball linebacker, safety, slot defender and pretty much has crapped out in all those roles. The Cardinals spent a top 10 pick on him and then turned around and dumped him for a seventh rounder. In 2023 he played in 33.42% of the Giants defensive snaps and in 2024 that number dropped all the way down to 16.53% despite appearing in all 17 games. That pretty much says it all right there. I'm looking at Collin Oliver as serving in a dual 10th defensive lineman (pass-rush specialist), 6th linebacker (developmental) role. They will get him in practice and he will get more practice time at whichever spot he looks better. So I don't think he plays into this discussion despite being the low man on the depth chart. I hope the Packers did not sign Simmons thinking he'll be a slot defender. If he's viewed as a linebacker, he battles it out with Welch for the 5th linebacker spot. Cooper got the Packers 4th most snaps at linebacker last year at 45.09% and Hopper was 5th most at only 1.65%. So if Hopper is a legitimate NFL player, and Simmons or Welch is the fifth linebacker, they probably won't see many snaps on defense. If Hopper is a bust, there could be some significant snaps there...maybe not 45%, but anywhere from 33-40% is a real possibility (and more if other players get injured). If the Packers want to use Simmons all over, based on his history, I think they will end up regretting it.

I'll go with the Eagles as having the most impressive draft on paper. I was a bit skeptical when people started putting LB-Jihaad Campbell in the top 15, but #31 is probably a little lower than he should have gone. Versatile guy who may be able to play ILB or OLB for them (looking at the rest of their roster, I think they will probably start him out at OLB). S-Andrew Mukuba had a mid third round grade on my board (#82), but he wasn't going to make it to their third round pick and I think he's a solid pick at #64 because he seemed to be a bit under-rated. Has a good blend of production and athletic ability. I thought there was a strong case to be made that he should be the third safety picked, and he turned out to be the third safety picked. Trade downs start and they end up with a bunch of extra picks. They grabbed DT-Ty Robinson in round four and I love this pick. He could fit in their line in a couple different spots (not nose tackle), and should be a solid player for them, He won't unseat Jalen Carter anytime soon, so he'll likely begin at DE. Fifth round they took CB-Mac McWilliams, LB-Smael Mondon Jr and C-Drew Kendall. McWilliams is just sort of an average pick. Sturdy built guy that runs well, could end up being a good nickel back. Mondon is light (most the linebackers in this draft are), but can run and has a ton of experience. I think one could make a strong argument that he should have been the fourth linebacker off the board and is a solid round four guy, so to get him in the mid-to-late round five area seems to be good value. I didn't mind Kendall as a late round flyer pick, and wouldn't have minded seeing the Packers grab him with a 7th rounder, but round five may have been too high for him. IMO, the most questionable of the Eagles selections. Four picks in round six: QB-Kyle McCord, OT-Myles Hinton, OT-Cameron Williams, EDGE-Antwaun Powell-Ryland. I'm not really a fan of McCord (not really a fan of any of the QBs in this draft), but round six seems like a pretty reasonable spot for him. Williams was a borderline first rounder when I started playing with mock draft simulators back in January. Obviously he wasn't that good, but he has perfect offensive tackle size and only one year of starting experience, so there are tools to work with. Decent enough value in round six. Hinton has significant experience at both left tackle and right tackle, and looked like one of the best late-round swing-tackle prospects available in this draft. I was expecting Powell-Ryland to go a bit higher than this. Workout numbers showed more athleticism that the tape does, but the guy was a sack machine at Virginia Tech and he could wind up being a pretty good 3-4 OLB pass rusher. In summary, I thought Campbell, Mukuba, Robinson, and Powell-Ryland were good-to-great picks. Only one I thought was really questionable was Kendall.

Gutekunst on Jaire Alexander in yesterday's post-draft press conference- "Yeah, no real updates on that, again, we'll work through that as we go. But no updates there and he's on our roster right now and that's how we'll proceed, but, um, we'll figure that as we go along."

Player versus athlete. All of these numbers only apply to players who were at the combine. I started and noticed one thing immediately. Matthew Golden's Next Gen number for production is 74, for athleticism was 87. Much better athlete than player then, right? Well, not really. When looking at the rank, the 74 ranked 9th on the production chart and the 87 is ranked 9th on the athleticism chart. I thought this could say the player versus athlete evaluation dramatically, but it ended up only impacting Golden. Matthew Golden / Athletic = 87, rank = 9 / Production = 74, rank = 9, RESULT = EVEN in terms of rank Belton / Athletic = 72, rank = 19 / Production = 73, rank = 10, RESULT = Production Savion Williams / Athletic = 83, rank = 12 / Production = 72, rank = 15, RESULT = Athlete Sorrell / Athletic = 78, rank = 8 / Production = 64, rank = 27, RESULT = Athlete Oliver / Athletic = 80, rank = 7 / Production = 69, rank = 20, RESULT = Athlete Brinson / Athletic = 76, rank = 13 / Production = 65, rank = 22, RESULT = Athlete Robinson = Not at Combine John Williams / Athletic = 78, rank = 10 / Production = 67, rank = 15, RESULT = Athlete

One other interesting thing to note for those who follow the old Badgers. The Colts drafted Hunter Wohler as a linebacker, not a defensive back.

I'd go a little lower- Golden = B. Board said he was worth the pick (#21), but I have some reservations over the lack of great production at Houston and the fact that it sounds like he has some work to do on his game. Belton = B+. Board had him at #91 so this appears to be an over-draft. But I like him. I think he has a chance to start at left tackle although most don't. Should be a starting guard at worst, and provides some insurance at left tackle if Walker leaves and Morgan is not up to the task. Williams = D-. I hate this pick. Only upside I see is that he looks fairly good on those red-zone, jump-ball type plays. Otherwise he seems like a guy with bad hands, gear-down when making cuts, need to install gadget plays in order to get him involved. Sorrell = B-. His workout numbers show better than his field athletic ability shows. But not a bad player. Could be one of those guys who gets 7 sacks a year and holds up well against the run. The more you look at him, the more he looks like a lower-ceiling, higher-floor type player. 4th round pick, probably hope the guy is on the field for 65% of the snaps (which is a good number considering how much DLmen are rotated in the modern game), and this looks perfectly achievable. Oliver = C-. Gutekunt's press-conference talks about him as a pass rusher and SAM. I like him a whole lot more as a situational rusher than a SAM, as the reviews I've heard about his one year as a off-ball linebacker were not great. Seems like a better fit as a 3-4 OLB. Brinson = C-. I can appreciate the competition at Georgia is top-notch, but it's still concerning that he only started 8 games in 5 years. But this is pick #198, and there is enough athletic ability there where I don't hate the pick. Robinson = C. Only 1 year at Tulane, was at Furman before that. Actual height is 5-10 3/4, 184 pounds, ran a 4.39 at Tulane's pro day. Second team all-conference this past season. Other than that, I don't know squat. Williams = C. Another left tackle that pretty much everyone says will be a guard despite good workout numbers and long arms. We'll see. Sounds like his play while at Cincinnati was pretty average. So what does that come out to? Probably a C+ when just looking at the players? Final grade = C- So I'll knock it down to C- for the following reasons. Gutekunst said he would like more picks but failed to add any when it looks like there should have been several opportunities available. Almost everybody had pass-rushing end, cornerback and wide receiver as the three most pressing immediate needs, and it was round four before defensive end was addressed and round seven before cornerback was addressed. After adding a round one wide receiver, was wide receiver still such a need area that it needed to be addressed again in round three?

Undrafted signings are starting to trickle out. From Acme Packing Company, which has been a pretty good resource this off-season- RB - Amar Johnson/South Dakota State RB - Jalen White/Georgia Southern WR - Julian Fleming/Penn State OL - Tyler Cooper/Minnesota OL - J.J. Lippe/Northern Illinois OL - Brant Banks/Rice DT - Nazir Stackhouse/Georgia LB - Jamon Dumas-Johnson/Kentucky CB - Tyron Herring/Delaware CB - Kahzir "Buggs" Brown/Florida Atlantic S - Johnathan Baldwin/UNLV Tryout- QB - Taylor Elgersma/Willfrid Laurier https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2025/4/26/24418295/green-bay-packers-2025-undrafted-free-agent-tracker-signings-news-rumors-roster-update

All three of the picks have been top-30 visits. So for today's predictions, I'm throwing out everything that I previously did and focusing on guys who have been linked to the Packers. 4-124 - Elijah Roberts/EDGE/SMU A top-30 visit. 5-159 - Jason Marshall Jr./CB/Florida A top-30 visit. I've been looking at Marshall since early February and have always liked him as a late-round candidate. I think this would be a round too early for him though. 6-198 - C.J. Dippre/TE/Alabama No connection to Packers (that I know of). 7-237 - Dalton Cooper/OT/Oklahoma State A top-30 visit. Could also be John Williams, Esa Pole, Jacob Bayer who were also top-30 visits. 7-250 - Zeek Biggers/DT/Georgia Tech Not a top-30 visit, but did meet with the Packers at the combine and they haven't taken a DT yet in this scenario....

I like Belton and think he's under-rated. Guys get to a certain size and the experts just assume they can't play left tackle. I think he could stick there and be pretty good. Interesting to hear Gutekunst talk about him. He just would say "can play all the spots except center." I almost get the vibe that they picked Belton to play guard. On more than one occasion Gutekunst said, he can handle guys inside. But again, they could have taken him to play left tackle but Gutekunst doesn't want to say it because that makes his last year's #1 pick look not so good. In any event, he certainly should be insurance for tackle considering both have free agency coming up. I'm not a fan of Savion Williams at all. Size and straight-line speed but not much else. Stiff as a board and is a gear-down player when changing directions in his routes. Fairly nasty piece from Acme Packing Company (linked below) where their writer just pretty much says Williams cannot play the position. IMO, that's going too far, but when reading various reports he does seem to be that size/speed guy where people think speed = athleticism but in this case it does not. https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/green-bay-packers-draft/2025/4/23/24414725/nfl-draft-2025-most-overrated-wide-receivers-luther-burden-savion-williams-isaiah-bond So yesterday I wrote a little note about the Panthers and Bryce Young. I looked at the picks last night and just couldn't help but think, has Gutekunst realized his 55 million average per year quarterback is really just an "above-average" starting NFL quarterback, so now he is going to throw all of his resources into players that hopefully will elevate the play of this guy? Kind of looks like it to me. And Big-Time credit to the media in Green Bay...the very first question Gutekunst got yesterday was a roundabout way of asking this. Instead of being so direct, the reporter did the old, "you have a still developing quarterback, how much did that influence these picks." Gutekunst did the typical GM-speak, "that's the way the board fell."

Round one impressions- I would have had a real hard time as a Brown's GM getting off Travis Hunter and moving down. But Jacksonville are no guarantee to be good next year, so getting their first round pick could very well mean two top 10 pick in 2026 because the Brown's have no chance of being good. Considering they still need a QB, this should give them the ammo to get about anyone they want in next year's class which I would imagine would have to be better than this year's class was. As far as the Jaguars, Trevor Lawrence was supposed to turn that franchise around but he's been average and the team as a whole is still faceless and seemingly irrelevant. I think it was about time for them to make another big splash move, and Hunter seems like a reasonable guy to do that with. Everybody, including me, had kind of fallen into the idea that the Panthers had to go with a rusher since their defense was historically bad last year. They went with WR-Tetairoa McMillan. There is no question that WR was a need for this team. Still, even with an overhauled front office, it just goes to show when a team drafts a mediocre guy as their "franchise quarterback," the lengths they will go to try and prop that guy up. I still have serious doubts about Bryce Young, although I will acknowledge his numbers in the back part of last year were much better. Kelvin Banks was top 5, then seemingly dropped down to the early 20's, but had been on the rise again recently. He was #15 on that last board I put together. But I was very surprised to see him go in the top 10. It was a great night for offensive linemen last night. Everyone that could have gone in the first round did go in the first round...and then a few more. Top remaining offensive linemen on the board are Aireontae Ersery (#52) and Ozzy Trapilo (#62). I didn't like the Bears pick of Loveland at #10. I'm glad they did not wind up with Ashton Jeanty, as it was heavily rumored that they were looking to make a move. Even after free agency, I don't think that DL is what it is hyped up to be and DT would have been a better pick. I figured the Cowboys knew that they would lose out on Jeanty to the Raiders or Bears (I had the Raiders moving up in my last projection to secure him), and would take a receiver at #12. McMillan or Golden? In they end they took Tyler Booker, which was a real shock to me. IMO, very similar to the Packers and Aaron Banks. A need area, but do you really want to throw that many resources into an area that does not seem to be a PRIMARY need area, and then come out with a player that just really doesn't seem worth the investment? I do think Booker will end up being no worse than a solid player for them and could be really good. Falcons. Between last year and this year, I just don't get this team at all. Not at all. Either this front office is brilliant, or they don't know what the hell they are doing. I tend to think it's the latter. The Seahawks #1 need probably was interior offensive line. But with the way they cleared out the wide receiver group (even though they still have a real good one), I thought Egbuka or Golden or Burden would be a better pick than Zabel. I like Zabel, but to me he's late first round early round two material. #18 seems to high when there are other team needs to address. Egbuka at #19, there goes my guy. I figured it was 50/50 at best that he would have made it to the Packers. I do think if he was available at #23, that Gutekunst would have taken Golden ahead of him, but I definitely preferred Egbuka. Derrick Harmon to the Steelers at #21. He should be very, very, very good. Not sure if he would have been an ideal fit in Green Bay, but as a DE for them, absolutely perfect. Not a bit surprised by this pick. I think the Vikings did pretty well with Donovan Jackson at #24. My offensive line friends really, really like him and thought he was vastly under-rated as a mid to later 30's type player. Now we'll find out. Really, really surprised the Commanders went with Josh Conerly after trading for Tunsil. I'm not sure Conerly fits at anywhere else on the line other than LT. Commanders were short on picks and still have some significant need areas. Again, great day to be an offensive lineman.

Updated guesses: 2 - 54 - Ashton Gillotte/DE/Louisville LouisEly's projection of Darien Porter looks more likely now and I thought hard about him here, but he hasn't played that much and it doesn't sound like he's played up around the line much at all. Gutekunst is probably all in love with him because of the athleticism, but he doesn't seem like a good fit. I still think the safest projection here is Jordan Burch, but I'll stick with Gillotte even though his ranking is way down the board. 3 - 87 - Jacob Parrish/CB/Kansas State A bit of a risky projection because he is short. 5-9 3/4. Outside from that, reports are that he has played press and zone, plenty of experience playing inside and outside. Even though he is short, he weighed in at 191 pounds at the combine and the workout numbers were plus-plus across the board. 4 - 124 - Ty Hamilton/DT/Ohio State I previously had him on my list of players I'd like to see the Packers pick. Now in this projection with the Packers taking Parrish instead of CJ West in round three, I can project Hamilton to the Packers in round four. One-gapper seems like a good fit for the direction Hafley wants to go. 5 - 159 - Caleb Rogers/OG/Texas Tech 6 - 198 - Teddye Buchanan/LB/California 7 - 237 - Jalin Conyers/TE/Texas Tech 7 - 250 - Melvin Smith Jr./CB/Southern Arkansas I had previously projected LSU OG-Garrett Dellinger here. I've been considering more and more how the Packers have used so many "30" visits on lower-ranking offensive linemen. Jacob Bayer, Dalton Cooper, Esa Pole, John Williams. None of these guys made the board that I put together (list ended at #224), and just to pick a number, I don't think any of them have a greater than 20% chance of being drafted (but certainly the Packers could take any since they have two very late picks). I just get the vibes that the Packers are leaning towards drafting one offensive lineman, and then hope to get lucky and fill another spot with an undrafted guy. So instead of projecting two offensive lineman, I'm going to flip and project two cornerbacks.

I'm not a fan of Golden. Of the "big 4" receivers (not including Hunter), I liked him the least. Drops too many passes, sounds like his route running needs significant improvement and his production while at Houston was pretty average. Thing I do like is that Golden had a 162 yard game in the second game against Georgia this year, so a big-time performance in a big game against top competition. But when looking at the game-by-game numbers this year, there are also a lot of games where he just didn't do much. I would like to think that the Giants were in contact with Green Bay, and if not Green Bay certainly should have been calling the teams early in round two that still might have been looking for a QB (Browns, Giants, Jets, maybe even the Saints) to see what they could get in a move down scenario. I would have taken the deal the Giants made with the Texans. Two third rounders for an 11 spot move down the board in this area is just a tad bit light, but an 11 spot move down would have been easy for me looking at needs and the rankings of what was left on the consensus board- 1 - Will Johnson/CB/Michigan 2 - Mike Green/DE/Marshall 3 - Matthew Golden/WR/Texas 4 - Luther Burden III/WR/Missouri 5 - James Pearce Jr./DE/Tennessee 6 - Josh Simmons/OT/Ohio State 7 - Donovan Ezeiruaku/DE/Boston College 8 - Maxwell Hairston/CB/Kentucky 9 - Nic Scourton/DE/Texas A&M 10 - Josh Conerly Jr/OT/Oregon 11 - Trey Amos/CB/Mississippi 12 - Donovan Jackson/OG/Ohio State 13 - JT Tuimoloau/DE/Ohio State 14 - Shavon Revel Jr./CB/East Carolina 15 - Tyleik Williams/DT/Ohio State 16 - Landon Jackson/DE/Arkansas 17 - Jayden Higgins/WR/Iowa State Worst case scenario is 10 of these players come off the board and you are left with only 6 to pick from (moving down 11, but you would know that one player would be the QB the Giants are taking), but there would still be enough there for me to bail on #23 and take the two third rounders. Actually a pretty easy decision IMO. So as it sits now, only the Browns would be picking ahead of the Packers (probably pretty likely as this point that they take Shedeur Sanders or another team deals up to that spot to take Sanders), and all these guys are still left on the board, ranking is the overall ranking on the consensus board heading into the draft. 9 - Will Johnson/CB/Michigan 16 - Mike Green/DE/Marshall 22 - Luther Burden III/WR/Missouri 29 - Donovan Ezeiruaku/DE/Boston College 35 - Nic Scourton/DE/Texas A&M 37 - Trey Amos/CB/Mississippi 39 - JT Tuimoloau/DE/Ohio State 40 - Shavon Revel Jr/CB/East Carolina 42 - Landon Jackson/DE/Arkansas 44 - Jayden Higgins/WR/Iowa State Offensive line and defensive tackle are now off the board, but at #34 there are 2 wide receivers, 5 defensive ends and 3 cornerbacks to pick from. There is enough left where I would consider moving down again, but would have to think long and hard if it was more than six or seven spots down. If I'm stuck at #34, then I'd pick Will Johnson. Workout numbers are a definite concern, but the college resume is so impressive that he is worth rolling the dice on at #34.

Here is how I hope things would go if I were sitting in the GM's chair- 1-23 - Emeka Egbuka/WR/Ohio State 2-54 - Jordan Burch/DE/Oregon 3-87 - Nohl Williams/CB/California I struggled with this one a bit. I don't have any concerns about the 4.50 40 time, but I don't like the 33.5 inch vertical and 10'0" broad jump. I do like "instincts" guys, and hopefully that won't fail him when he gets to the NFL. 4-124 - Ty Hamilton/DT/Ohio State IMO Hamilton is a bit overlooked, seems like a natural one-gapper and should be a good fit in the direction Hafley wants to go. 5-159 - Caleb Rogers/OG/Texas Tech The first of my athlete flyer picks. I just like all of his experience playing tackle and when looking at the athletic profile, he seems like guy to gamble on thinking he'll be a much better guard if he gets a chance to settle in and play there full-time. 6-198 - Thomas Fidone II/TE/Nebraska I really thought this guy would shoot up the boards after the combine but it never happened. 6-5, 34" arms, 10 5/8 inch hands, and did very well across the board in the athletic testing. I'll gladly take him here. 7-237 - Drew Kendall/C/Boston College I am not a fan of the centers in this draft, but I don't know how much longer Jenkins will be here because his contract will need to be re-worked after this season. Monk doesn't seem to get talked about much, that can't be a good thing. This is more of an insurance pick than anything, which I figure I can afford to do at #237. Of the remaining centers, Kendall seems to be as good as any and I'm hoping the NFL bloodlines factor works in his favor (his father Pete was a first rounder who played in the NFL for 13 years, 188 starts). 7-250 - Melvin Smith Jr./CB/Southern Arkansas The second of my athlete flyer picks. I would really have liked to take UNLV WR-Ricky White here, but am so unimpressed with the Packer's cornerback situation that I feel it necessary to grab a second cornerback in this draft, although I acknowledge that expecting a player out of Southern Arkansas to be solid contributor from day one is a pipe dream, Hopefully he can make the team and be in the mix 3/4's of the way through the season.

Can I put my predictions in here? Mods, please move to the 2025 NFL Draft Discussion thread if you feel it's more appropriate there. I'm not doing big write-ups on players. Profiles on these guys are easy enough to find. NFL GMs draft on need and Gutekunst draft athletes, so that is pretty much how this projection goes. 1-23 - Maxwell Hairston/CB/Kentucky I'm going to flip back to Hairston. I'd guess Gutekunst has the cornerbacks in this order - Hairston, Shavon Revel Jr., Trey Amos, Azareye'h Thomas. 2-54 - Ashton Gillotte/DE/Louisville The smart choice would be to project Jordan Burch as he is 22 spots higher than Gillotte on the consensus board. But Gillotte really, really impressed on his pro day, just a gut feeling that Gutekunst will pull off a surprise here and go with Gillotte. 3-87 - C.J. West/DT/Indiana I went back and forth between West and Maryland WR-Tai Felton here. I think wide receivers with the combo of good college production and good athletic ability really falls off past the early portion of round four, so #87 might be the Packers last chance to get one. But I have the Packers passing on Felton for just about the dumbest reason imaginable, he's only 6-1 1/8. 4-124 - Dont'e Thornton/WR/Tennessee I'd hate this pick...I just see Gutekunst thinking Thornton is an immediate fill-in for Christian Watson. 5-159 - Caleb Rogers/OG/Texas Tech I stumbled across Rogers when I first starting doing projections for this draft, and he just seems to fit Gutekunst's preferences so perfectly that I haven't been able to get off him. 6-198 - Teddye Buchanan/LB/California 7-237 - Jalin Conyers/TE/Texas Tech 7-250 - Garrett Dellinger/OG/LSU I've been hearing that teams are looking at Dellinger as a guard/center swingman, and that convinced me to make him my guess here. The Packers have brought in a few offensive lineman that are projected to be undrafted, so I'd guess the approach is to actually just to draft one offensive lineman and then hope to hit on a second one via the undrafted route, but decided to take flyer on Dellinger based on his athleticism and guard/center potential. Joe Huber is another one that is getting some talk as a center, and I thought about him, but decided to go with Buchanan at #198 instead (Huber was #202 on the board).

PFF seems to get ripped to pieces by a lot of the "veteran" sports writers and the big-time football fans that I know that watch a ton of football. Whether that is justified or not, I don't know. But I will say this about Valentine, at year's end he only played in 50.23% of the team's defensive snaps. Eric Stokes was slightly higher (53.99%). But what is really concerning is that Pro Football Reference has Valentine's 2025 Yards per Completion at 13.1 and Yards Per Target at 10.1 and those are ugly numbers. Packer fans I talk to say that Valentine was better in 2023 than he was in 2024. Valentine appears to be somewhat of a question mark. So the 3 CBs that will be on the roster next year: Nixon played in 93.66% of the team's defensive snaps, Valentine was at 50.23% and Hobbs was at 49.87% for the Raiders (missed some games, in the games he appeared in, he played in 79% of the teams snaps). How much guys see the field says a lot. This is why I was thinking that Alexander could be back until Silverstein's article put me back to thinking Alexander is very likely gone one way or another. After Nixon, Valentine and Hobbs we are down to practice squad level players. I think the cornerback situation is far weaker than many Packer fans think.