The biggest prove-it opportunities on the horizon lie with five players

Mike Spofford

Jeff from Littlefork, MN

We have a Prospect Primer on kickers but not one on CBs? Gentlemen, it is draft week, quit toying with us! Mercy.

It's coming. We chose to post that position last in the series. We can be clever that way.

Dennis from Maryville, TN

Not sure there would be a natural life after a Deacon Jones head slap. When was it outlawed? Did Reggie ever get to use it? I shudder to think. Wonder what numbers he could have put up employing that technique?

Multiple head slaps weren't allowed beginning in 1976 imagine getting whacked by Deacon Jones twice on the same play and then the move was fully outlawed in 1977.

Paul from Manitowoc, WI

Greetings II. I was thinking, or more accurately, visualizing both of you being allowed in the draft room just for Round 7 when there's little risk of compromise. Would this be possible? Even if you agreed to wearing just compression shorts and a muscle tee so as not to sneak in any "devices"?

Ha. Honestly, the final round is when things are most chaotic all around for us, coverage-wise, as we're trying to keep up with stories throughout the final day with so many picks; and for the crew in the draft room, working the phones on the UDFA class as the draft winds down.

Joe from Shirley, NY

I know you don't get to see the inside of the draft room, but I am curious. Do the Packers list all of the players they expect to be drafted (250 or so) and then have their list alongside to see who has fallen off? Based on what you have shared based upon your history with the team I was wondering if you could share your own sample board based upon how you think it goes. No real names needed.

I don't have a sample board. The Packers have theirs, built horizontally by position and vertically by evaluation, and they remove guys as they're picked. But their board is the guys they're interested in drafting, not all expected draftees. Lots of guys that get picked aren't on a given team's board at all, for any number of reasons. Gutey made a comment a few years back that has stuck with me. I think it was when he traded Rasul Douglas for a third-round pick. He said any top 100 draft pick has a lot of value because you can expect to get a guy in the top 50 on your board.

Jordan from Osterdock, IA

Spoff mentioned Monday about the personnel department feeling out trade opportunities along the way for draft homework. Is that projecting trade scenarios or having actual pre-draft convos with other GMs "if our guy is there would you consider this offer"?

The latter, though the conversations aren't with the GMs specifically, but with those working the phones and reporting to the GMs.

Jerry from Fort Wayne, IN

Hey guys, in Spoff'spre-draft picture on our O-line, it was said thatZach Tomwas considering knee surgery, which would require an extensive recovery. That seems important to know now what's the latest?

Gutey confirmed Tuesday that Tom did have surgery and all is going well.

Tallon from Castle Rock, CO

I know you all aren't into predictions, but I have had one for months now. With one of our Day 2 picks we will take an OL.Anthony Beltonwas a shocker last year when we supposedly didn't have a need and it turned out to be very important. Gute loves keeping the pipeline for OL filled with young talent. I am trying to get over the supposed fact that Chris Johnson won't be available, but who is your favorite realistic corner for the Packers with 52?

An OL on Day 2 would not surprise me at all. Corner at 52? I love Treydan Stukes from Arizona. No idea if he'll last that long, and I know he's projected more as a slot or safety and may not fit the need for an outside corner. But man, so much to like.

Tyler from Cross Plains, WI

Hey guys, with J-ES and Hafley with the Dolphins now, I would assume they are very familiar with our draft board and theirs probably looks similar, so would you expect to see a lot of our targets picked by Miami, with them picking in front of us every round?

I'm sure there are some spots the board matches up, but Sully was building his board in Miami with the input from an entirely different scouting and personnel staff, so consensus views are guaranteed to differ.

Mike from Myrtle Beach, SC

I am sorry but I am confused. In the response about the use of selling shares Mike said private team owners "can dip into private equity for player acquisitions." How does that work? All teams have a salary cap. Does the private equity come into play if the specific team is not making enough through ticket sales, merchandise sales, etc., to cover the team salaries? If so, is that why the Packers have a "reserve" of approximately $700M (if I remember correctly)? Thank you.

I didn't say that, the reader did. But the point as it relates to player acquisition is teams need those massive signing bonuses on hand and are required to escrow contract guarantees, so large cash reserves must be available and constantly replenished. Yes, Green Bay's corporate reserve fund is the quasi-equivalent of what other clubs can raise through private equity, and the Packers will continue to funnel money into it to keep up.

Derek from Eau Claire, WI

Two Dereks were posted yesterday! Hats off to Derek nation. On a more pertinent note, I'm not sad that I'm not super excited for this year's draft. Last year I celebrated it with 600,000 of my closest friends at the happiest place on earth. It would be hard to replicate that experience.

Hopefully again someday

Tom from Bismarck, ND

The recent article telling of how GB has more self-drafted players on their roster than any other team is just confounding. Of course we do. Our GM(s) like to keep their underwhelming draft picks around in an effort to convince us they were good, but slow developing, choices. It's really a self-fulfilling exercise. The fact we have the fewest Pro Bowl choices, the least respected event in pro sports aside, hides more troubling points. Remove Favre and Rodgers and what have we really had?

Regarding the "no current Pro Bowlers among homegrown draft picks" analysis out there, I'll stipulate it's factually correct. But I'll also submit this list of names:Jordan Love,Devonte Wyatt,Christian Watson, Zach Tom,Jayden Reed,Tucker Kraft,Edgerrin Cooper,Javon Bullard,Evan Williamsall taken in the five drafts from '20-'24 and very much the foundation of this team. Is anyone disappointed those guys are Packers? I'm not, even if their current Pro Bowl total is zero, which I don't expect to remain so.

Randy from Bucksnort, TN

The discussion of better WR between Jordy and Tae got me thinking. Talking heads discuss best NFL WR in history and throw out names like Randy Moss, TO and others. In my mind, there are only two names in the conversation. Jerry Rice as the best in the modern era and Don Hutson as the best in the pre-Super Bowl era. Hard to compare the two because of the different eras, but DH almost invented the wide receiver position and was well ahead of his peers. He gets my nod. How would you weigh in?

As you just did. Rice had no peer, and neither did Hutson. More than 20 years after Rice retired, and with passing offenses exploding to a greater degree now, he's still more than 5,000 career yards and 40 TDs clear of the next-best receiver. It's the definition of being in a class by himself. With Hutson, who retired in '45, his NFL record of 99 career TD receptions stood for 44 years until Steve Largent broke it in 1989. The next-highest TD catch total for a receiver who retired in the '40s or '50s was 62 (Dante Lavelli).

Jameson from Longmont, CO

This may be too broad a question, but in your time covering the NFL, what has been the greatest draft class, I suppose of any team, you can remember? Perhaps a certain amount of star players. Or possibly a certain class who had a star, but all picks contributed in some way or another. First thoughts to any certain class that stand out to you?

As far as draft classes, the gold standards are the '74 Steelers and '58 Packers. Pittsburgh's '74 class included four HOFers (Swann, Lambert, Stallworth, Webster) plus a fifth as a UDFA (Shell). Green Bay's '58 class had three who wound up in Canton (Taylor, Nitschke, Kramer). As a Platteville native, the Bears' class in '83 (two HOFers in Dent and Covert, plus Gault and Duerson) was a standout. Since I got into the sports writing business, the ones most talked about in terms of fueling a Super Bowl title are the '96 Ravens, who got Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden in the first round, and the 2012 Seahawks, who took Bruce Irvin, Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson with their first three picks.

Kerry from Lakewood Ranch, FL

What are the odds of an NFC North team getting a real first-year difference maker in the draft? Lions have the earliest pick at 17 and the Vikings are next at 18. Doesn't theMicah Parsonstrade look even better now?

When the Bengals traded the No. 10 overall pick for a 29-year-old DT, I felt even better about the Parsons trade than I already did.

Mark from Canada

Happy Wednesday, Mike. I have been blessed to have been able to call Sean Dillon a friend for a couple of decades. Sean is Lubbock's Voice of the Red Raiders and has never once mentioned a player "for me." Until this year! Then I also read your Prospect Primer! If we really were in the right spot, at the right time to secure Jacob Rodriguez at LB, I might just be the happiest old man of them all! He seems to be the epitome of a very high-ceiling player.

When I researched Rodriguez forour Primer on LBs, I was blown away to learn he won every major defensive award last year (Butkus, Nagurski, Bednarik, Lombardi). I have no idea of the Packers' interest level or where he'll fall, but I am curious where he ends up.

Eric from Salida, CO

Good day! My son and I were discussing which player injury of the last 15 years had the biggest impact on the team, between Jordy, Nick Collins and Bakh. I maintain that Collins' injury hurt us the most. Bakh's came at a bad time, costing us a great chance at a ring. (And the loss of several more years of play, probably.) But Collins' injury I think cost us shots over a span of years. After all, our weakness has always been defense. What say you?

Not a fan of that three-word question. Consider yourself warned. Bakhtiari's injury, forcing him to miss both the '20 and '21 postseasons, had the most direct impact on a potential Super Bowl because the Packers had the NFC's No. 1 seed both of those years but lost in the postseason at home. Rodgers was sacked five times in each of those defeats (to the Bucs and Niners), so the correlation is clear and obvious. I'd say Collins' injury, which had immediate effects in '11 as the defense struggled, had a longer-lasting impact because he proved so difficult to replace for so long.

Mike from Aurora, IL

Other than the obvious (backup QB), after the free agent and trade losses, is there a player or position that you are concerned that the Packers will have a difficult time replacing even with the guys we have lining up for "their shot"?

I'm not overly concerned, but I'd say the biggest prove-it opportunities on the horizon lie with five players:Jordan Morgan,Sean Rhyan, Anthony Belton,Matthew GoldenandLukas Van Ness.

Sean from Palatine, IL

Good morning Insiders! Mike's response to Dave from Germantown brought up memories of the Bears playing their 2002 season at U of I. My dad took my brothers and me to Champaign-Urbana for their game against the Lions where Marty Mornhinweg famously "took the wind" in OT. And this was back when just a field goal was needed for the sudden death victory.

Famously, or infamously? If there's such a thing as a stamp on a 5-27 two-year tenure, that was it.

Dave from Hyde Park, UT

"ATMRWCBW" would indeed be great on a shirt. However, my favorite abbreviations in II regarding that subject were sent in by at least one person some time ago. "ATMR WIHD." According to my research which I haven't done. BTW we knew Mike's son while he was here attending Utah State University. After a year or so he told us his dad wrote for the Pack. I knew what he was talking about right away. GPG.

Still a bit mind-boggling to me that my son used to walk across the street from his campus apartment in Logan to watch Jordan Love play, and now he watches him play at Lambeau.

David from Hilliard, OH

Happy Draft Week II, what is one thing that would shock you if it happens this week during the draft?

That's easy. The Packers selecting a player in the first round. Happy Wednesday.

HAVE A QUESTION?