Packers 2024 Draft Breakdown w/ Ben Fennell

Join Andy Herman & Ben Fennell as they break down the Packers 2024 draft class and how they’ll fit with the team this season and beyond. Enjoy!!!

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[Music] what’s going on everybody Welcome in to an all new episode of the pack a day podcast I’m your host Andy Herman you can follow me on Twitter at Andy Herman NFL you know my guest already he’s the one and only Ben fennel you can find him on Twitter at Ben fennel NFL Ben congratulations on another amazing draft run your 10th one now in the books I know you’re already planning your golf trips worldwide uh but first of all how was your draft and how have you been it was great Detroit was a great weekend great week out there awesome crowd energy Midwest weather spared us just enough to get off those three days uh and getting to this point in my calendar is just such a great feeling you know 20 weeks on the road at Thursday night CBS right into senior bow combine draft to hit this Tuesday as we sit here April 30th it’s just a really good feeling and to have this draft in the rear viiew uh and to do some post-draft analysis is a really good feeling and then you can kind of move forward with our Springs and summer and uh 2024 we’ll be here before you know it yeah it’s going to be the draft in Green Bay which is going to be interesting in and of itself we’ll see how Green Bay handles that but that’s exciting I just want well first of all like I said congratulations and awesome to see you get the shout out on live TV I know CD mentioned you a couple times you got the uh the camera pointed at you a couple times which is really really cool but yeah the shout outs have become you know they’re kind of the norm you know combine draft I’m not on camera too often I still don’t know how I feel about that a little bit I’ll be you know pulling the curtain behind that the scenes there but I don’t know if I was camera ready it was a long day it was a little humid there on Saturday as well uh but it’s certainly nice to be appreciated there are few more appreciative people in this industry than Charles Davis he is a incredible human being incredibly polite incredibly appreciative great on the air and it’s a pleasure to call him my friend as well he’s just a model citizen uh he gave a speech to the crew before the day what he said to Rich for his charity efforts what he says all the people behind the scenes he is just as appreciative a talent on camera person as I have ever seen and I love working with them that’s awesome to hear you never obviously you know we get to see people on camera and see how they interact with you know on camera but you never know behind the scenes and he always seemed like that sort of dude but just to kind of get that pull behind the curtain is awesome to see as well and kind of speaking of that just kind of before we jump into obviously everyone wants to know about the Packers draft and things like that but what does a NFL draft look like for you kind of behind the scenes and what do you kind of helping out with and what are you sort of doing to to get Daniel and CD and those guys all set for Draft Day well a lot of it’s preparation in the leadup preparing for following that bouncing ball on draft night so it’s doing all those breakdown tapes in in collaboration with DJ and what he wants to see as far as player traits so a lot of that stuff is kind of built once you get there and then you just need to hit the buttons when things happen but during the course of the draft I’m actually helping CD and DJ with some research and DJ has a laptop on his screen there that I’m actually mirroring and anything he needs any information any notes I just pull it right up and we’ve come so far since having May on the desk with a giant binder and someone gets drafted in the fourth round he’s flipping that binder like it’s a giant you know uh you know encyclopedia it’s just not always great TV so it’s like you know what anything you can do for them and keep them hands off their notes their laptops their binders let’s go with that so this has kind of evolved throughout the years and the draft is an animal and coning all these trades and the movements and these guys are trying to keep up with the draft by hand on the desk so it’s a lot of kind of updating them on what happened what has happened yesterday their current roster things like that who’s left on their big board who’s left at certain positions any quick snap thought or information we try to be there for them and as you know the three days we’re on TV a lot random thoughts come up all the time there’s a lot of Need for us uh Jack Andre is kind of the lead researcher from NFL he handles a lot of the needs that Rich Eisen has being the host of that whole group and it’s definitely a machine behind the scenes and following that bouncing ball on draft day it’s an animal and Rich gave up his cards a little earlier than normal this year because of all those trades it was really hard to keep up yeah it was incredible especially on you know what was it like round four round five there were just trades all over the place I what Philly moved like a thousand times I think it was just unbelievable and just to see you guys pull all of that off um I can’t even imagine the time effort and energy that goes into all of that so again kudos to you and the entire team it it’s so um yeah I obviously I’m doing the live stream during the draft but then I go back and I kind of watch it afterwards and just the the transitions between everything and how you guys are able to analyze everything it’s it’s a s such a well-oiled machine I don’t necessarily miss the huge encyclopedia binders but I do miss the uh the Mayo getting upset with like orangutangs calling the pcks or whatever it might be those were some of the all-time draft moments so I do miss a little bit of that but you guys are incredible and it’s rolls like kudin football guy on the crew was a great balance you know he always wants just get back to talk about the players evaluate it it’s their day enough of the zoo picks and things like that uh but this broadcast has evolved and day three you need a little of that you need some guests on the set you need some puppies as we’ve had the past few years you need some stump the truck you get a little loopy there in round six round seven having worked on that you know the TV set for all those uh all those hours but I definitely love the draft more personally because I’m on the set as opposed to the combine I’m in the trucks combine it’s a long dark week in the truck in there so I just like being on the set and you remember two years ago we’re on the bagio fountain you know it’s just a little bit nicer out there a little more air get to see the people and the fans so I absolutely love the draft and it’s a pleasure to be right there offet as you guys saw now we again transition on to Green Bay in 2025 should be a blast can’t wait to see you in town let’s jump into this Packers draft though because there’s a lot to discuss um it’s interesting I I went back and I listened uh to our episode prior to the draft and one of the things that you mentioned quote versatility is value and the Packers listen to you Ben fennel because they went very versatile heavy throughout the course of the draft it was something they obviously valued a ton players that can play different positions have different roles on the team special teams value all of it jump into any of that that you want but I also just kind of want to hear your general thoughts on how the Packers navigated this draft as a whole yeah I thought they did a good job you know a bunch of tradebacks there on day two day three acquiring some extra picks I believe if the count ended up right with that trade at New Orleans um but getting the tackle in the first round seemed like a main objective to at least add some competition some young depths some kids with some upside to compete with Rasheed Walker and the guys they already have there we’ll figure out where guys to land as far as Zach Tom and the shuffling the o line and then it seemed like a pretty deliberate address of the down the pipe of the defense which a new defensive coordinator I’m sure he has some new views and FL opies on who he wants and they were not shy about adding some new bodies particularly linebacker safety hybrid you know nickel safety as well like you were saying guys I can do multiple things and I think this Packers team had an objective and they checked those boxes so I like that they had a intent goal and don’t forget Andy we have a lot of exciting sophomores out there yeah so this isn’t necessarily the team that needs to influx itself with all this Youth and rookies out there you have some sophomores that earn playing time that are potential Superstars stars in this league and you want to see them in year two grow so I don’t think this draft was necessarily about reloading or retooling the roster just finding those right spots to compete maybe add some high level players get younger at spots and add some competition I think the Packers did a great job yeah we talked about some of the you know similarities between last year and this year with the the Packers draft but the the difference the key difference for me is last year the Packers had a roster that needed a little bit of everything you know goody had everything at his disposal he could have gone pretty much any position that he wanted to and he’ be like yep that room needed some work this year to your point with the intentionality of sort of going some of those positions that you did see holes with the safety position they triple up on the linebacker position they get two in the top 100 um they go running back which was clearly a need three offensive linemen which they needed depth for I sort of went into the draft thinking like there’s seven or eight spots that you could clearly see them going specifically based off of the needs that they absolutely have and that’s exactly what they did so it definitely seemed like they were intentional about it and it definitely felt like they filled those holes and made it so that there weren’t those huge issues going into if like you mentioned prior to the draft if you had to play a game this Sunday they seem a lot more ready now yeah and I think when you get a new defensive coordinator with a new philosophy it’s that nucleus so it’s those linebackers those safeties that are probably the Forefront players to change and to try to be embodiments of what that new scheme needs and I think this Packers team is going to look very different down the middle and I think a lot of Packers fans welcome that not only from scheme but personnel and hopefully execution on the field Ben you spend so much time breaking down the tape and analyzing these players you do it as well if not better than just about everyone let’s start with Jordan Morgan I know everyone wants to kind of hear your thoughts on Morgan and we’ll kind of go you know round by round through some of these picks but what is Jordan Morgan good at what does he struggle with and what does he going to bring to the Packers well first and foremost he is a prototype NFL left tackle height weight spe spe size I mean 65 320 with quick feet he is the part of left tackle now he has some technique flaws and he has some length issues that kind of get heightened because of those technique flaws yes he does have a shorter profile with arm length but I think that gets exacerbated with his occasionally we late and wide hands which if you have 36 inch arms and you play with wide hands it’s going to hurt you too so I think technique matters so much more with tackles than arm length so I have some issues with this technique but he has great quick feet can really absorb power rushes with that size has really good awareness against blitzers stunts really good in space with his angles getting to the second level the screen game kicking out corners and those pin poles um I think he could do a lot of things for an offense he just needs to clean up some technique aspects like a lot of kids do particularly in the trenches coming from Saturdays to Sundays and you hope the pro coaching will take him over the edge there and I think the exciting thing with Jordan Morgan being a three year starter he got better each season with an ACL tear in there in 2022 so if you’re going to keep betting on the come up and keep betting on that he’s going to keep Rising that’s a great value pick there at the end of the first round I think the Packers wanted a tackle that was the hopper of player available to him at that tier in the draft and if you didn’t go get a Jordan Morgan there it’s gonna be a severe drop off after that so I think getting one of these players was imperative for the Packers maybe wasn’t the flavor or the guy certain fans wanted or personally wanted but that’s what was available and how the draft played out so I’m glad they added a body there and now let’s just bet on the development bet on the come up and hopefully it adds competition to the offensive line room and the best man you know emerges on week one yeah you mentioned two things that I wanted to point out one is as you mentioned you continue to get better through all three seasons the thing that stuck out most to me was coming off of that ACL so many times we see guys coming off in ACL take a bit of a step back and you’re wondering all right is are they going to be better the year after that um because it just takes them time to kind of get back to themselves and the fact that he was ready to go right away to start last season and played as well as he did right out of the gate coming off the ACL like I can only imagine if he didn’t have that ACL injury what last season potentially could have looked like if he never had that setback and now if he takes a jump after this you know in his second year removed from it that’s a a really fun thought to think about and then you the other thing that you mentioned is the technique stuff outside of the little bit of the shorter arm sort of thing everything else that you want in a tackle he has as you mentioned but the thing things that he maybe needs cleaning up are all coachable and teachable things which we’re hoping that he can get to Green Bay and those coaches can kind of tweak everything else out that they need out of him yeah absolutely and you know I thought he played well at the Senior Bowl did some good things in one-on-one had some good reps against high level rushers in the Pack 12 this past year he looks the part against NFL Talent now it’s just can the NFL coaching really refine you know those traits and the technique and get the best out of them he has the tools he has the traits he has the ability like a lot of these kids do in the first round now it’s how coachable are you how much can you be that immediate professional how much do you love the game how much are you willing to work at it and I think that’s the Enigma that the draft is that each of these guys are Unique Individuals they each bring their own kind of luggage with them and hopefully Jordan Morgan’s uh one of the guys we could check the box and look back and laugh that we got him late first round that’s the hope and that’s the exciting aspect if he can reach that ceiling let’s jump to round two uh Jeff Halley gets a couple of big time last attacking players at the second level obviously Edan Cooper at linebacker and then they get Javon Bullard in the second second round pick that they had um your thoughts on both of those players well exciting players add down the middle in the nucleus to the defense and I was welcoming a change uh or added competition added Youth and we’ll start with the backside of that I think Javon Bullard is very similar to a darnal Savage y however he is not as explosive as Savage but he’s a much better football player he’s tougher more instinctive better FBI better technique better tackling better coverage Savvy but Savage had the 4-3 speed and jumped 40 inches and all those exciting traits and upside but he never materialized that onto the field Javon Bard I think is a much more NFL ready nickel safety player to play day one I think Packers fans are going to see that and feel that day one you see it on his Georgia tape for the last three years physical high energy player variety of spots whether he was playing half field on the back end some center field down in the Box covering the SWAT played a lot of different roles there for Kirby Smart’s defense which is an NFL style defense there’s a lot of NFL techniques and principles that should suit him well going from Saturdays to Sundays and I’m really excited to see him hold down that nickel spot maybe that safety spot and just be a interchangeable versatile playmaking player for Jeff Halley’s defense I don’t think we need to find a say the nickel you know for 600 snaps in 2024 he’s going to play a lot he’s going to play a variety of roles and I’m excited for it and I think it’s an upgrade with what they had yeah so with um you kind of you mentioned at the end it doesn’t necessarily matter where he plays and we know that they’re going to use him in a versatile um in a variety of different ways with playing him a little bit in the slot a little bit at post safety a little bit in the Box everything like that one of the questions I have seen from people is do you believe that if they wanted to use him as a primary nickel does he have the cover coverage ability and everything that he needs to succeed in the NFL being just a primary nickel I think so you know and he may not be that 43 player he may not be 62 and super long and rangy but he’s a well-rounded football player which to be in that nickel spot whether you’re teron Johnson’s or Kenny Moors or those guys you have to be tough you have to be versatile you have to be able to cover but you be a to better be able to Blitz and run support and tackle and be instinctive those nickels those linebackers those are victims A and B on the uh opponent’s offensive coordinators each week on how do we attack them it is a brutal spot in today’s NFL with misdirection and rpos and things like that that it’s a really tough spot to play I’m really excited for Javon bowler to hold that down if he wants to but I think he can play a variety of spots on the defense so uh whether it’s a combination of kesan Nixon um or maybe some of the later guys they got in the draft I think he’s going to play a lot I just don’t know if we need to say he’s going to be this spot or that spot or this position he’s probably going to be out there in the nickel slot quite a bit I don’t know if he’s going to be the full-time nickel though so we’ll see yeah it’s going to be interesting I think just giving Halle those options of how he wants to use them one of the things I was most impressed by with half in his press conference was just basically saying we’re going to you use guys to the best of their abilities but we’re also going to try to counter what the other you know team has and what we need to do to stop the other team this is going to be uh very similar to what I think Matt laflor does on offense to attack attack mismatches and figure out what his offense needs to do to attack the posing defense with Joe Barry it felt like we’re going to play our style our brand of Defense there’ll be a couple tweaks in there here there but this feels like with half Le they’re going to attack the opping offense with what they need to do to stop that particular offense and some days that might be Jer in the slot some days that might be Nixon in the slot some days that might be Bullard and I just think having all of those different flavors and options is what’s really going to make this hopefully make this defense go you almost have to because the variety of players in the lot and the way they’re attacking defense is just so different week to week you might have a 66 tight end one week then it’s Debo Samuel in the slot the next week then it’s j Gibbs then it’s Justin Jefferson but you’re G to keep the same nickel player in there you know for 700 800 snaps he’s just going to Feast their famine based on the matchup you have to be able to match up you know tip for Tat based on who the offense is throwing at you and there is no bigger variety than that slot interior spot with your opponent so I love the versatility mindset going in with that nickel spot and the defensive back room could not agree more I think the nickel spot’s the hardest spot as you mentioned and I can’t even imagine the the variety of different players you could see in a week to week not to mention having to stop the run against tight ends fullbacks use checks kles pulling tackles it’s just a nightmare I think it’s crazy when when rookies are in there too like Brian Branch played a considerable last year Christian is isan kid from Ruckers played for Tampa Bay as an undrafted in the slot quite a bit I’m not sure to pronounce his last name he’s like i z i n yeah I I don’t know either you’re you’re right but anyway yeah anyways I know what you mean uh let’s talk a little bit about Edge Cooper what is he going to be able to do next to Quay for this defense well he’s a very similar player to Quay very explosive SE ball get ball linebacker he’s high cut with the skinny lower half he’s really exciting there QB spy the Blitz the Run sideline the sideline he’s going to make a ton of tackles played almost 600 special team snaps down there for Texas A&M he’s really exciting playmaking linebacker that’s going to be able to shoot gaps and make a lot of plays in the alley now he does you know take some cheese at times he gets caught up in misdirection at times a little undisciplined at times trying to shoot back door gaps and make too many plays but that’s okay it’s typically what you get from a team like Texas A&M with high level players that’s a little underachieving get guys trying to do too much out there so I think uh a guy like Edan Cooper has a lot of traits a lot of ability just need to settle him down a little bit with his instinct his FBI his reads things like that but he brings an explosive high energy presence just like Javon Bullard from the that’s seen a lot of NFL level Talent he’s seen a lot of NFL running backs tight ends offensive lineman blocking schemes that that s uh should you know suit him well now where he’s gonna play on Sundays I think that’s a really big question whether he’s a true Mike linebacker whether he’s a will linebacker whether he’s a Sam linebacker maybe he’s a rush end on third down I think what he’s going to do at the next level is really up in the air right now I think he’s a runand Chase will linebacker yeah which means I would want more of a CEO type of linebacker at Mike calling the defense being more of that nail and then he can be the guy that or excuse me being that hammer and then he could come and kind of make a lot of those plays as a lot of those linebacking pairs or that one twoo so he is a little bit of a skinny lower half doesn’t take on particularly well loves to Slit blocks with his you know his athleticism and his quickness and Agility so maybe that Mike linebacker could be somebody a little bit more you know 61 230 you know much built uh much better built in the lower half to kind of do those take on rolls and then let you know Edan or Quay or some combination of the two make all those plays and those tackles and have all that range that we know they have I would love that I don’t know that they necessarily have that flavor of linebacker on the roster currently but goody has been pretty adamant that they’re going to be playing a ton of nickel they don’t see it any longer as a Mike Will and a SAM they want two linebackers that can do a little bit of everything and I guess to that definition they kind of have that with Quay and Cooper it’s funny you bring up um sort of how he plays the game one of the things I had in my notes pre-draft is he’ll he’ll kind of do his own thing sometimes and kind of just you kind of do a little hero ball and kind of want to go make a play um which is a negative um but I also put under that like but a lot of times it works like he also just like finds ways to make the play even when he kind of goes off script a little bit little like Caleb Williams on the opposite side of like yeah I might do my own thing but I’m going to also make it work um but we’ll see how that works in the NFL yeah that’s always a risk reward on Saturdays especially with high level players playing against guys that probably aren’t throws you can get away with that and it’s exciting and it’s just a matter of how do you evaluate that you know if he back doors a gap and makes the play is that a plus or a minus and I love that evaluation it’s in the eye of the beholder of yeah you get away with it on Saturday he made the play but down the road that’s an undisciplined play there you should do your job and that may eventually come back to bite you but it’s nice to know he can show those high level to go make those plays when he sees it and believe me not every playmaking linebacker is incredibly disciplined on Sundays you got to take some chances here and there when you see it you hit it you go you trust yourself and he did and you know on a team like A&M that needed some help and needed some playmaking he uh was kind of onea to make those plays so uh you know risk reward let’s jump forward to the third round then come back and get Marshon Lloyd the running back out of USC and then finalize their day two with Tyron Hopper the linebacker thoughts on those two picks yeah really exciting addition in Lloyd you know potentially the best running back in the class maybe mixed in there with you know Jonathan Brooks or Blake corm depending on how you viewed it but he’s really loose explo explosive creative in the open field catches the ball well I think he run some Gap schemes that he’s shown with some really good patience and explosiveness he’s run some Zone schemes too where you can kind of read things out put his foot in the ground and read off linebackers and safeties you know filling the line of scrimmage I think he’s a playmaking running back maybe not a guy you want short yardage you know not that physical bruising type I don’t think he’s going to you know knock linebacker heads off and pass protection I want someone to guard this guy on third down make him you know uh you know be a threat to the other side not the other way around so very much like a Aaron Jones style of running back that I think he’s really well-rounded and you want to put the ball in his hands in a variety of ways so I’m excited for this new era of pony package we’ll probably see with Josh Jacobs and Marshon Lloyd particularly in the past game as we’ve seen Matt floor completely turn this Green Bay offense on its head with it you know involving the running backs in the past game you know considering where we were with McCarthy so I’m really excited for this new backfield in Green Bay uh and I think Marshon Lloyd maybe one of the steals of the draft looking back on it yeah I think the two things uh the fumbling and the pass Pro if he can get those two things good he’s going to see a lot of the field and then all of those explosive traits are just going to take out over seven yards per carry a season too has the playmaking ability and just the the change when Jones was out last year of not having that secondary playmaking back and the offense just never quite looked the same having somebody that can do those things when Josh Jacobs is off the field or if he gets hurt for some reason I think he going to be super valuable to this offense then they again they get Tyron hopper in the third round to round things out um interesting pick here I know a lot of people thought this was maybe a little bit of a reach probably going to be a course special team where to start maybe compete with Isaiah McDuffy for that number three linebacker spot but uh what do you see on tape yeah and one last thing with Lloyd and the fumbles when you go back can watch them he isn’t a guy that finishes runs with his Pad level and you know lower half but he finishes runs with fighting you and a lot of times he likes to use that off arm at the end of runs to kind of stiff arm guys and try to get more leverage for extra yards as opposed to bracing and finishing so leaving that arm at contact points only at one arm I think a lot of balls came out late because of that so I think that’s just a technique flaw and something that he’ll get better at finishing runs kn when that play is over which we had talked about Edan Cooper doing too much sometimes he was doing too much as a ball carrier and when you are an exciting playmaker and can make guys miss you think you can make everybody miss and the run is never over so I think I would rather those guys that are trying to do too much and let’s gear them down as opposed to the guy that’s tentative and we need to gear him up this is a big philosophy in scouting on whether you want the timid guy and ramp him up or the overaggressive guy and ramp him down I think it’s always easier to to kind of wind down the overaggressive guy so I think Marshon Lloyd will know you know when to pick those battles and finish runs and stay efficient but Tyrone Hopper he may be that Mike linebacker we look at in the future you know to be that Green Green Dot signal caller the guy that can maybe do some more take on roles we’ll see but he is a bit undersized linebacker doesn’t have Elite Speed doesn’t have Elite length but he is a tackling machine with really good instincts he’s a SE ball get ball guy that seems like he’s always a step ahead of the running schemes which he has to be and I thought he was a really smart player out there not only for Missouri but that last half year for Florida before he transferred as well so nice to see him in two different schemes out there he’s a guy that can lateral scrape really smooth run siline the sideline and make a lot of tackles and get ball carriers on the ground which I know that sounds boring but that’s what linebackers are out there to do so um I think he has some issues and another guy with some technique flaws a bit of an arm tackler out there um you know he’s a bit of a drag down tackler as opposed to snapping his hips through a ball carrier you want to see two different tackling techniques watch edrian Cooper watch Tyrone Hopper you know edrian Cooper is a guy that’s going to snap his hips through the ball carrier and you see it and you feel it the way those ball carriers go backwards Tyron Hopper is more of a drag down guy more of an arm Wrangler so different guys have different ways of getting those ball carriers down and uh you know I think it’s exciting just to add some new bodies to that linebacker room out there I think they had Isaiah McDuffy and not a whole lot else you know next to him a Quay Walker so I think adding Hopper and Edan Cooper are a welcome upgrade to that room yeah Eric Wilson primary special teams guy around age 30 journeyman in his career Christian Welch primary special teams guy Christian young a former safety move to linebacker that was it so getting a couple guys like this in the first uh two days of the draft was super important for Green Bay all right Evan Williams fourth round they move up aggressively to get him some interesting safeties that were still on the board at that time but they go and get one of the Senior Bowl standouts I think he won a Senior Bowl player the week I think uh um Bullard was on the opposite side for the other team for both of them winning on defense so your thoughts on Evan Williams yeah Senior Bowl in general had a great draft good job Jim Nei down there think over a 100 guys draft in nearly every Senior Bowl participant but Evan Williams was actually on my radar after being like a three-year starter at Fresno State transferred over to Oregon this past year really versatile player tough player good siiz at safety can really run over running backs or sacks as a Blitzer but he can cover the slot tackles well sing the sideline in the alley good Pursuit speed that senior bull week I think he had the interception on the back end of a broken play as well so he showed some range and some ball skills he’s a name that just kind of got caught in the wash of the safety class that wasn’t particularly inspiring to begin with um outside you know Bullard and Tyler nuban and some of those upper guys but Evan Williams is right in that tier two of safeties that was kind of looking around why aren’t more people talking about him so I just don’t think he had that eye popping trait to hang your hat on he wasn’t 215 he’s not 63 he doesn’t run 44 doesn’t jump out the gym he’s just a really good experienced football player so they’re sitting there on early day three take those types all day long going to play special teams can play a variety of spots for you and has a lot of film on Saturday to make sure you’re you know what you’re getting out there so I’m really excited for the Evan Williams Edition yeah he’s gonna be an interesting one and I think Rich basashi has got to be pretty pleased with a handful of these guys and what they’re going to be able to bring to the special team room like you mentioned earlier even Edan Cooper he usually get a guy that early in the draft and that specializes at a position you’re usually not looking at him playing a ton of uh special team snaps like he did but um they’re going to have a lot of options with how they want to utilize these guys on teams as well we get to the fifth round they get Jacob monk the offensive lineman out of Duke and then katano adopo the safety out of Oregon State um thoughts on these two picks yeah monks is very similar to you know Evan Williams in that structure of a guy that’s you know started for 4 and a half years 58 starts 3600 snaps played versatile offensive line pretty sure he’s played three different spots there on that offensive line just without any high-end redeeming traits or quality outside of just a really experienced solid football player that’s ready to join an NFL roster and compete these are the guys you take flyers on day three all day long this isn’t a 20-year-old red shirt sophomore that you’re betting on the traits and the come up and you have to hope the maturity kind of checks that box and he’s ready to be a pro now these guys are adults already these guys are grown men they’re ready to compete and I’m really excited to add these types of competition to the offensive line room I think the Packers should you know like every team go after these types every day three I just it’s one of my core philosophies of always take a day three quarterback always take a day three versatile lineman always take a day three versal defensive back with experience so I like what the Packers do here on day three it seems like this is their bread and butter and I know fans are saying Oh but you know Royce Newman didn’t work out and he didn’t work out and he didn’t work out many of them did work out though too and these are just lottery tickets they’re Flyers they’re not all going to work out but you got to keep playing that lottery so i’ like the Packers keep going to the well for these types and we’ll see who comes up at the end of Camp JC treder did work out Corey Lindley did work out Zack Tom did work out Mark touser TJ Lang Josh siton there’s been a variety of players that have worked out with this sort of philosophy for Green Bay um hopefully uh he can be the next and then katano ladapo uh safety yeah really excited for him it’s a massive leggy strong safety box player can probably play some sub linebacker for uh for the unit if he needs to he can mirror tight ends physical tackler can play that top down role in quarters his arms really disrupt catch points I wrote in here he punches so hard at the catch Point really good length there in the seams and to play the ball down the field bunch of Red Zone pbus in 2023 I think he had four or five uh against pretty much every high-end quarterback too I saw one against kale Williams one against Bo Nicks as well um so he’s a guy I’m really excited to add into that room as well and definitely takes on a different kind of size tone you know personality than the other defensive backs he’s different than kesan Nixon different than Bullard you know he’s a little bit different than Evan Williams this guy might end up being 220 pounds by the end of Camp so he’s going to take on a much different uh style as far as everybody else you know he’s going to play special teams out there and let’s just see where this team views him he could be that Joe Thomas Dy linebacker type you know that we remember from years back so I think he’s a ball clay right now but he’s a really exciting football player and another one just in that next tier of safety that you really didn’t know where to peg him you didn’t know if he was a late round three player if you didn’t know he was early round six player and I think safety running back tight end it was really hard to forecast and project where these guys were going to go in the draft even the Martian Lloyd it’s like you’re about to send that card in and you look around the room like are we too early on this are we too late like when are running backs about to go you almost want to just quickly forecast the league and like okay I guess that’s good value there in the third or Maron Lloyd same old you know old dppo it’s just like uh are we early on him did everyone miss this guy like why is he still sitting here um but I just think some of those positions that are taking on different structural value in the draft are very very tough to project but you could get some good values like Marshon Lloyd like a Katan sitting here and what do you get him in round five round yeah so Green Bay had some experience taking some of these bigger safeties and moving them inside Josh Jones they tried it with as a second round pick I think it may have worked a little bit better moving him to sort of that linebacker role except Jones never wanted to do it and never really took to it so that sort of kind of got Dead on Arrival there uh Raven green they moved into that box safety role and that actually worked for a bit but then he had a bunch of injuries and just couldn’t stay healthy Tariq Carpenter they also wanted to move in that linebacker role he also didn’t seem to really want to do it they ended up up having to release him he goes to Pittsburgh and what do they do they put him at linebacker so um they definitely have had some experience here and we’ll see what happens with alapo if they keep him at safety they have that conversation of maybe being that dime linebacker either way it should give them versatility and should give them another course special teams guy we can go lightning round here at the end if you want or you can take as much time as you want whatever you’d like to do Ben but we’ve got three picks left Travis Glover the offensive tackle Michael Pratt the quarterback and kin King the corner who at this point last year was at a totally different tier uh at least thought but go in any direction that you’d like yeah Katan reminds me a lot of jron kurur who spent some time with the Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys coming out of Clemson I believe big big box safety to come down and really knock your head off can’t do a whole lot going backwards but we’ll see Travis Glover guy really good size NFL prototype tackle size just a mess with traits or mess with technique and execution he’s just a guy I think you’re going to bet on uh you know the the the coaching at the NFL level and hope he can add some competition there you know a day three pick Packers typically like adding these guys in the fire whether it’s you know the know it was a Virginia Tech kid the Yash eans and the Kadeem Tel fors and those types of guys hopefully could slide him to the practice squad and keep working on him down the road Michael Pratt this is what you do in round six and round seven you take a four-year starter with NFL QB uh size and arm strength just like they did with Sean Clifford last year maybe not the NFL arm as much but a guy with a ton of experience in the Big 10 Sean Clifford guy with NFL size just looks prototyped to be an NFL backup I think you should take one of these types every year from that Ron wolf School thinking that you should always kind of take a flyer on one of these late quarterbacks and Pratt throws a really beautiful deep ball he can play the position from the pocket his accuracy is just a little bit up and down to be desired he’ll thread one in through the seam and then miss like a swing pass on you so but he’s 63 220 with a live arm and a four-year starter those are traits and boxes you like checking there as a round seven quarterback and kayin King I think he’s been one of the hot button you know prospects picks of the Packers here coming in round seven a guy that I was highly touted on you know coming into the 2023 season did not have the season as expected and it wasn’t just me if you look at Max Chadwick who does a lot of uh recruiting stuff PFF stuff he had him 15th overall in his two early mock last year so right after the draft a lot of people try to throw some you know names on the wall for early mock he had him 15th overall and that’s how he was trending if he had a good season and locked up Marvin Harrison Jr and ran 454 something like that he’s probably a round two type of player or maybe a back end of round one um but he didn’t have a great season didn’t test well an up and down senior bull week and this is where you find yourself on day three here but his 2022 tape was really exciting and there’s been some other guys in this mold in that height weight lacking speed kind of Department like a Logan Ryan like a Casey Hayward that played a lot of ball in the NFL and played a lot of corner played a lot of nickel played some hybrid roles as well so I think kayin King can do that for you and I think it’s an absolute steal sitting here in round seven and we were about to find out with a kayin king too of like how does he respond to this and it seemed in his uh post um draft interview that he was fired up about this that he’s going to prove everyone wrong that he should have never been a seventh round pick sometimes that’s exactly what guys that were having that hype going into a season and it didn’t go according to plan sometimes that wakeup call is all they need and if they get the kin King from a year ago that again was protected you know projected to maybe go the top two rounds of the draft uh what an absolute steal that would be here at the end of round seven and I love those comps too like Logan Ryan was a corner slot safety guy he moved all over the place and obviously Casey Hayward um went on to have a tremendous career in the NFL uh for a variety of different teams Chargers I think he had a little bit of run with the Falcons obviously after the Packers as well but um if he could turn into either of those guys it would be a massive steal for Green Bay yeah Ian two guys two guys without exceptional size length they ran the mid four FS they just had kind of ho hum NFL profiles really good smart instinctual football players though so I think sometimes you get a little bit hung up on you know the the height weight speed scouting as opposed to just watch them and you know Casey Hayward had an up and down career in college too I remember him getting torched on occasion uh where you play Vanderbilt yep yeah out there in the SEC and you play some Gauntlet receivers out there so you’re going to have your lumps just like in the Big 10 Kay King he had to face some really tough receivers you see those Ohio State kids the Michigan kids out there some high level players you have to go against he’ll be better for it yeah Marvin Harrison beating you isn’t exactly the the you know end of the world he’s gonna beat a lot of people that he’s across for the remainder of his career sometimes but we’ll see what he can do in Green Bay I with all of those uh breakdowns being said just kind of your overall assessment of this entire draft for Green Bay well I think they you know checked the boxes that they wanted to I think they wanted to fix the down the pipe with the defense linebacker safety and not just fix but add new bodies New Life in there it’s going to be a new philosophy new scheme so now you have to start adding some of the bodies you prefer from a Jeff athley perspective I like the offensive line address particularly at left tackle as they had a seventh round Rasheed Walker holding it down for most of the last season Yash Nan holding it down the year before I think they just want to add a higher level player into the mix there as opposed to maybe taking a flyer in free agency so I like adding some youth in there they haven’t gone to the offensive line well in the first round in quite some time since the Derek sherro Brian bulaga years if I’m remembering correctly but remember Packers fans they are ahead of the curve on development they had to thrust a lot of young guys in the lineup last year and now they are ahead of that kind of learning curve and that developmental curve so I don’t think this was a draft they were necessarily looking to retool the entire roster and find all these rookies that need to play meaningful snaps there are some exciting sophomores in that locker room that have earned playing time and are really excited to be on that field and I think are just scratching the surface with what they can do so I think uh what you got last year was maybe taking some of those toys out of the package a little bit before they were ready now they’re better for it and now they’re heading into year two ahead of that kind of timeline as far as where young players should develop and I think they have some exciting talent that they are excited to get back on the field so this wasn’t a draft they had a lot of needs because of what happened last season so I think this Packers team is in great shap they’re excited to get back on the field I’m excited to watch them I can’t see wait to see what they’re going to be in 2024 and 2025 I couple quick ones uh before we get you out of here really quick anything that surprised you about this draft anything that you loved anything you didn’t like not about the Packers but just the draft in general any anything that just stood out to you in any direction you want to go you know outside of just the unique results of the quarterbacks being thrust up I’m glad offensive line eventually you know uh put their stamp on this draft and all those guys end up going in the first round and put pushed up there trades Galore on day two and early day three and I think that’s going to be the trend for another year or two as the draft Pool isn’t as deep I think it’s really important for some of these teams to go up and get the guys they want in those middle rounds because there is such a round six round seven priority free agent drop off uh and I thought What Hoe Roseman said yesterday was really reflective and that you know they only signed seven undrafted free agents they went to the well to practice squads you know if you few months ago so they were picking guys off other teams practice squads that are more experienced have tape out there in the NFL because this player pool isn’t as deep because of that covid year because of nil because of a bunch of other reasons that guys are staying back in college a little bit more than they had that means the prospect Pool isn’t as deep which changes some thinking and some philosophy so I like the Packers continue to move around the board add some leate Capital but they also went up and got guys they felt passionate about so I think really like the aggressiveness and if you feel like you know Jake monk is a good value sitting there in round five they traded up you know a couple picks ago get him and I think there was a couple other guys he traded up I’m blanking on which ones Willam yeah EV Williams is another one so I like that cat and mouse of trying to acquire more picks and then seeing that good value when you see it and going to get that guy so um I think they did a you know a great job here in Green Bay uh but collectively the draft the movement in these GMS and finding value inside the draft getting players that you want and also adding some future capital is kind of the name of the game and I think the best GMS out there the hoe Roseman the Brian gun I thought did a great job this past weekend yeah I thought so too last but not least what should we know about the 2025 draft what are we what are we looking forward to what’s strong what’s weak anything that you already know about it well typically these things have in flow the quarterback group next year doesn’t look as exciting on paper right now but there were a lot of veterans I mean we just put 25-year-old Michael penck and Bo Nicks into the n NL Caleb Williams is around college football we’re going to have some new guys in college football this season there’s going to be some red shirt freshman and sophomore that are getting the keys of the car some are going to fall in their face some are going to be new household names in December and October so I’m not I don’t have a lot of names for you right now I could run some off but just going to be a little bit of a new landscape in the quarterback obviously Carson Beck at Georgia Quinn yers at Texas sador Sanders will be the headliner names but we’re going to learn some new guys the receiver group exciting versatile explosive once again Luther bir in the third at Missouri really exciting receiver he looks like he’s a combination of like Odell Beckham and Malik neighbors this past year speed all over that receiver group Fun Edge rushers all over college football they got bendy loose guys like James Pierce at Tennessee and then Stout run through your face guys like the JT Tu motello kid from Ohio State Ashton Gill up from Louisville Nick scon went from Purdue to Texas A&M he’s got the spin Cycles um so it’s an exciting group there and corner is really exciting as well this past year wasn’t that deep of a class at the top I know quinan and Teran were kind of the headliners but there’s a lot of really exciting players that are finally draft eligible like Benjamin Morrison Notre Dame will Johnson at Michigan is kind of the headliner really exciting class so I think every position has someone to get excited about this tight end class should be a flow year after an e year last year EB flow flow e I’m not sure which one ‘s up which one’s down but it was kind of a Down tight end last year should bounce back up next year as a lot of those guys went back to school a lot of Buckey went back to school as well so that’s kind of the general profile good tackle class once again LSU might have the best tackle pair in the country uh and Will Campbell and Emory Jones on the other side they forced a highle kid to transfer to Tennessee I’m pretty sure so the transfer portal the movement in college football it’s tough to keep up my 2025 sheet is a mess right now but we have all spring and summer to get those squared away Phil steel put your catalog out so I can get caught up please uh and we’re going to hit the uh hit the hit the ground running here pretty soon on 2025 Ben you are absolutely amazing you are free go enjoy the rest of the summer too open-ended Andy you can’t just ask me about a whole draft class all right I hey I’ll give you as much time as you want to talk about the next done I’m done no you’re the best I appreciate it a ton and thank you so much for taking the time both before and after the draft um my favorite conversation every uh you know time this year and every time you want to come on it’s always a joy and pleasure talking to you tell everyone where we can find your work and where you’re going to be golfing this summer you can always find me on Twitter Ben fennel NFL the service is a little shotty on the course so I may not be uh tweeting and posting here over the next few weeks take a little bit of a break as Work Hard Play Hard is still a philosophy in my life so time to go play out there GNA be playing up in the Poconos quite a bit Pocono Farms Country Club anybody’s around for some reason out there in northeast Pennsylvania give me a call also living down here in Philadelphia so if anyone’s in the area I’m off all summer you want to golf you want to Garden you want to watch some film you want to hang out give me a ring shoot me a DM and uh I’m definitely in play mode here Andy all right well enjoy the heck out of it I can’t wait to see you for the 2025 NFL draft maybe we’ll see you for a Thursday night football game or something this upcoming season um enjoy your summer I’m sure we’ll be in touch before you know it follow him on Twitter at Ben fennel NFL you can find me at Andy Herman NFL of course you can find the podcast at paday podcast that’s going to do it for Ben and I but until next time and as always go Paco