Hi, guys. Well, that was interesting. Does trading up to take a kicker reflect more a lack of confidence in Brandon McManus or a lack of quality options in the last round? A million-dollar bonus and two draft picks seem to be a pretty large investment in “competition.”
It is, for sure. It makes me wonder, had the Packers known they could get Smack at the right value spot in the draft, would their offseason decisions at the position have been different? But you can’t guarantee you can get the guy you want where you want in the draft, especially with only eight picks going in.
Jeff from Indian Lake, NY
Does the selection of Smack signal the end of Lucas Havrisik‘s time in Green Bay? Or do you foresee a three-way competition at kicker, at least through OTAs?
Nobody gave an indication Saturday night there’s any rush to narrow it down. We’ll have to wait and see.
Kickers taken in the draft are fairly rare, right? I have a feeling that giving up two draft picks to move up to select Trey Smack is moving him to the front of the line, so to speak. If he’s not the guy, they essentially burned three selections. Thoughts?
I don’t think Gutey looked at it as burning anything. He said he didn’t like the value of what he was going to get late in the seventh round, which I took to mean he was just looking at guys they’d targeted as UDFAs anyway, and he opened up another spot on the 90-man in the process.
You’ll get zillions of opinions. My opinion is Domani Jackson in round 6 could be a steal. 6-1, 4.41 speed, playing against the best in practice and games at Bama. No. 2 ranked DB coming out of high school. Bet he was very disappointed to fall to round 6. These situations can really motivate a talented young man!
He’s been through a lot already, and in the media Zoom call with him, he struck me as both confident and level-headed. If he’s willing to work, he’ll get a legitimate chance to make an impact.
What are some of your favorite comments on draft picks? One of mine is … he can bend his knees.
Jon-Eric Sullivan had an all-timer last year after the Packers drafted Anthony Belton. “Big don’t get small.” I’ll remember that one forever.
When I saw Brandon Cisse’s reaction to being drafted, the word that came to mind was “humble.” When do the Packers assign uniform numbers? I want a Cisse jersey.
The rookie minicamp is at the end of this week.
When the Packers traded up from 84 to 77 by giving up their fifth-round pick (160), didn’t it sting for just a few minutes? But then two more DTs went at 81 (Albert Regis) and 82 (Domonique Orange) so it looks like Gutey got his guy ahead of other teams needing one. Well done.
Wes astutely noted that in the story he wrote about McClellan.
With no running backs selected by GB in the draft do you think it is reasonable to conclude that the Packers feel MarShawn Lloyd will be playing this year?
If he can stay healthy, he’ll be a big part of this team.
What were your biggest disappointments in the draft?
No tight end. Echoing Gutey, who admitted he wanted to add one, but stuff like that fails to work out during a draft all the time.