Who caught the Packers' attention at the combine?
The Packers have their types and especially at the top of the NFL draft, Brian Gutekunst has not wavered from them. So who does that affect most in this class?
Good morning!
We made it through the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine where the biggest stories aren’t always about the testing on the field (we are looking at you and your quarterback situation, Chicago Bears). Between athletic profiles and free-agency news, there’s plenty to talk about with the Green Bay Packers right now.
Here at The Leap, we’ll help you separate the wheat from the chaff after a busy few days in Indianapolis.
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Whose athletic profiles are making googly eyes at Brian Gutekunst?
Peter Bukowski: Like a recent college grad on Hinge, Packers GM Brian Gutekunst loves to look at profiles. In the case of draft prospects, it’s an athletic one.
Rather than single out one guy here, I’m going to bucket the entire top of the offensive-line class because it has far-reaching implications for how Green Bay ends up approaching the top of the class. And this class has a legitimate chance to break the record for most offensive linemen taken in the first round. That was true even before the testing.
Unlike most years, nearly every top offensive lineman put together an athletic profile worthy of his projection. Players like Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu may have company at the top of this draft after Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga and Washington’s Troy Fautanu not only blew up the athletic testing but also came in with arm lengths that put them squarely in the offensive-tackle conversation.
Even possible conversion candidates like Duke’s Graham Barton and Arizona’s Jordan Morgan came in right below 33’’ for arm length, a barrier for the Packers in the past, but is a quarter of an inch going to keep them from trying Barton or Morgan at tackle?
And that’s the crucial bit. If Barton or Morgan could credibly play at offensive tackle in the NFL, that makes them more appealing at pick 25 compared to 41. A guard in the first round lacks the same value as a tackle even if a guard is a bigger need for the Packers at the moment. Providing Green Bay with more possibilities at tackle gives them the chance to bet on one to improve what is already a solid tackle rotation with Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom. If it doesn’t work, give them a shot at guard.
What potential Packers target hurt himself the most?
PB: This is Miami safety Kamren Kinchens in a cake walk being performed by actual cakes (cheesecakes presumably).
Not only did the projected top-50 pick (or at least he was) run the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds, but his broad jump put him in the seventh percentile. Not the 93rd percentile where he was among the seventh best percentile of jumpers. No, seventh.
That’s non-NFL caliber athlete kind of testing. Maybe we’ll get some kind of medical explanation, but it’s the kind of the thing where even a virtuoso performance at his pro day probably takes a player who was in play to be a Day 2 selection by the Packers and drops them all the way down into Day 3. At that point, he’d be a worthy flyer, but this would have been a pick that sent Packers fans over the moon a week ago.
Let me reframe a positive here though: One safety with the tape to suggest he could play the post for the Packers did show out in Indy. Texas Tech’s Dadrion Taylor-Demerson measured in almost identically to Darnell Savage (5-foot-10, 197 pounds) and ran 4.41 with solid jumps. He may have put himself in that Day 2 discussion because his tape shows off the range.
Which piece of free-agent news most impacts the Packers' offseason outlook?
PB: While the reporting around the running-back market got the most run on social media, the answer is the future of the safety position. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Darnell Savage will get a “nice” deal on the free-agent market and, given the $ 5.4 million dead-cap hit Green Bay already ate when his contract voided, that won’t be with the Packers.
So, then what? Jason suggested last week the money movement Gutey and Co. have already done signals a push to make some kind of momentous deal in free agency. If Aaron Jones will be back, then that takes running back off the board, at least at the top and middle of the market.
It took some back-tracking from Tom Silverstein, but eventually, he landed at it being unlikely the Packers would cut Jones (after he first said it “would” happen if they couldn’t agree to a pay cut).
Even if Rudy Ford and/or Jonathan Owens return on small deals, safety becomes the most obvious place to spend free-agent dollars with Savage apparently on his way out. Keep an eye on Giants safety Xavier McKinney who can play just about anywhere in the secondary and has experience as a slot as well from his time at Alabama. If the Packers are going to spend anywhere, linebacker or safety fill the greatest need and the linebacker market is a disaster.
Safety offers a deep bench, so even if they can’t snag McKinney, mid-tier players like Jordan Whitehead or aging-but-still-quality veterans like Tashaun Gipson will also be in play. Given the consistent Charmin softness of the safety market, maybe the Packers could remake their entire starting safety room in free agency. They’re going to do something. It’s not just that they can … they have to.