PACKERS SQUAD SHOW: Did the Packers Make a MISTAKE Ignoring Offense in the Draft? | What Comes Next?

0:00Welcome, my name to the locked on Packers squad show. I am your host. My name is Brandon Snyder. Look, competition is a buzzword being tossed around Green Bay. And to me, I think there's real optimism to think that the Packers have added real value and potential day one in pack players to this roster following the 2026 NFL draft. I'm Jacob Westendorf from Packers on SI and the Packers added a boatload of defense. But is that because the core of their offense is already locked in? I'm Jason Hirschhorn from the leap and looks like the Packers are going to pick up the fifth year option for Lucas Van S. Is that good? Is it impacting the free agent moves that they could still make? We'll discuss. Go pack go. It's the Packers squad. Everything Green Bay Packers every week, covering all the big hits and game-changing plays from title town. The way only the locked on podcasts network can from the frozen tundra with all the cheeseheads. The Packers squad show starts now.

1:12You are locked on Packers parts of the locked on podcasts network your team every day. The NFL draft has come and gone. We'll tackle the big questions tonight. And why the Packers invested the least draft capital on offense in the entire NFL? And what does that say about Jordan love and this roster later on? Well, now that the draft has been completed, what holes are still left to fill for the Packers? What free agents actually make sense that they can add to their team before the season begins. That will be at the tail end of the show. But gentlemen, I wanted to begin with this question. After the draft, did the Packers just get better or did things get a little bit more complicated? So let's start with that rookie class. Pick by pick. I would love to go player by player and examine each of your thoughts on if that guy can come in to Green Bay day one or say day 100 and contribute for the Packers this season. Then later on in the segment, we'll discuss where this rookie class stacks up against other rookie classes under Brian Gutenken's in Green Bay. But Jason, let me get your thoughts. Let's

2:13start with round one. Well, I should say round two for the Green Bay Packers, 52nd overall pick. Brandon C say the cornerback out of South Carolina. Is this a guy? Do you think that has a chance to be impactful in year one in Green Bay? You worded the question, can he be? And the answer is definitively yes, he can. Now, Keisha Nixon, still there, still in position to start character valentine and Benjamin St. Juiced are going to be a part of that discussion as well. And C is a could plausibly play in the slot. So you have to factor in Javan Bullard here as well. So it's not as though he's in the pole position for any one of those jobs, at least at the start of camp or certainly right now as we're speaking. But if the question is, can he do it? Yeah, he has the talent. We have seen him in college play very physically in a way that we know that the Packers like. And I don't think that's something unique to Jeff Halfway. I think that will apply also to Jonathan Ganon. So again, if the answer, if the question is, can they, I think the answer with Brandon Cisa is yes, he can. Will he? I think we should

3:18say that for another part of the segment. Jacob, your thoughts on Brandon Cisa, 52nd overall selection for the Packers. Can he come in to Green Bay and contribute for this team this year who has Super Bowl aspirations? Yeah, he can. I think we talked about it on OT on Sunday after the draft and saying like, he's the most talented cornerback in this room. And again, you can rebut that to me by saying, that's not a very high bar to clear. And I understand that the joke is understood at that point. But it is still true. And if it is still true, like there comes a point where I know the Packers typically don't like to play rookies under this regime. They've even talked about that. Matt LaFoura said, these guys are swimming upstream and just drowning in information and all these kinds of things. But there does come a point where the rookie is better than the guy in front of him. And they make it such to where it doesn't matter that they want to make him wait or whatever. They just simply cannot do it any longer. We saw that with Elton Jenkins, for example. He was a rookie.

4:20He was better than Lane Taylor forced his way into a rotation. And then ultimately onto the field, he was the starter at left guard by I think the quarter pole of that season. Eric Stokes is another example. He was better than Kevin King, probably day one. An injury to gyro Alexander certainly helped that. But Kevin or Eric Stokes started in that game. Kevin King eventually was relegated to bench duty. He was the team's dying back at certain points during the season. All of those sorts of things. You've seen guys force their way under the field as rookies because the Packers simply couldn't ignore the fact that either one, the guy in front of him is not better than he is or number two. And more importantly, in the better option is that the guy behind him is much better than the one in front of him. And you prefer that, right? You want the guy behind him being better, not the guy in front of him being worse. And I know that sounds like they're the same thing, but they're two different things with the way I'm thinking about it at least. Not this guy is so bad, we have to put him on the bench. It's the guy behind him is so good. We have to put him on the field. And I think that that's something that could certainly play out

5:21in Green Bay secondary, the latter, the other side of that coin could certainly play out in Green Bay secondary as well. Look at, I mean, last year, the injury gods simply would not allow the Packers to bench carrying to Valentine. They tried. They tried. That Baltimore game was hilarious. It's not the right word because both guys got hurt, but just a funny display of Valentine gets benched for Eric Stokes. Stokes hurts his knee. Valentine comes back in for a minute. He gets benched for Kamal hat and Kamal hat and hurts his ankle. I think that was on like his first snap or something like that. So CSA is somebody who certainly can step in. And I think with this Packers team, good to come to talk about urgency. Good guns talked about all these different things. Guys getting different opportunities being put in the mix and all those types of things. I think you're going to see that where maybe a little less loyalty, if you will, from the coaching staff, and guys just saying, Hey, we got to win. And we got to win right now. So put the best players in the field. Jason, let's move on to round three for the Green Bay Packers defensive tackle out

6:23of Missouri, the 77th overall selection. The Packers moving up a couple of spots in a raid. Chris McClellan. Can Mr McClellan, Mr. Horshorn come into Green Bay and make an impact this season? He definitely can. And there are a lot of like no worthy defensive tackles on Green Bay's roster right now. And I know Brian Guterkin's tried to like blur the lines between like, well, yeah, they, you know, these guys, these veterans could play nose tackle. And to a certain degree, that will be true in a bigger way. It's kind of not. If we're talking about the nose tackle position, and that is ostensibly what Chris McClellan was drafted to be long term, I don't know how much is saying ahead of other than his own inexperience. Devante Wyatt is not a full time nose tackle. He'll play snaps there, but that's not your real nose tackle. It's certainly not on like running or like play script neutral situations. The same applies to Javon Hargraph. I mean, his issues, stopping the run in Minnesota led to that like soft benching he had down the stretch in 2025.

7:25So those guys are, you know, they're defensive tackles officially as well, but they're kind of playing another position in practice. Karl Brooks started the same thing. So that doesn't mean that it's Chris McClellan's job because he is a rookie most, I mean, not just that it's the most rookies aren't good, but like it is really difficult to be an effective nose tackle in your rookie season. I made this point before like Kenny Clark, who was a first round pick in 2016 played 32% of defensive snaps that year. So I think we have to be very careful what we expect out of any rookie defensive lineman, but especially one who might have to play mostly over the center. So yeah, there's definitely opportunity there and there's not really a lot blocking him. It's just what is he capable of doing as a rookie? But if the question is again, can he do it? The opportunity is absolutely there for him. You can make the argument. Maybe he's the, it has the clearest path of any of these rookies to play a major role in 2026. Jacob, he's now going to be number 55 for the Green Bay Packers. The Packers finally releasing the Jersey numbers. I forgot to

8:26mention CSA will wear number two, which is awesome because it's where he was drafted in round two, but also because it's just an elite cornerback number. Jacob, your thoughts on McClellan day one day 100 and whenever you see him this season type of impact he could possibly have for the Packers. Yeah, I don't play in Jersey number discourse because I still can't believe people are complaining about Matthew Goldman's Jersey number damn near a year later. But number two, number two, a college cornerback, one of Heisman trophy wearing that number once upon a time. So that is pretty cool to answer your question about number five. You had to do it. Of course I did. Of course I did. Only defensive player to everyone, Heisman trophy. Travis Hunter doesn't count. Travis Hunter doesn't count because I said so. Anyways, to answer your question about number 55, Chris McClellan, like Jason said, the opportunity is I think most open at that position. And that even includes in my opinion, because the conversation when you have these kind of comes with like the asterisk of like when you say, Oh, who will play the most snaps as a rookie? Everybody

9:28will be like, well, does the kicker count? It's like, I think this even includes the kicker because I know I said I don't buy that it's a competition, but let's just take their word at face value. Is there a world that exists where trace map comes into camp, misses every kick known to man and loses his job to the veteran, McManus, who by the way reminds you, if this is a real competition, McManus was automatic in training camp last year. Like it was a new story when he missed a kick for the first time in practice. There was a, I believe it was Rob Demovsky's prediction, his bullet. Grant, this was a bull. I know your own predictions are far less, but that he wouldn't miss a kick all season. Like there is a world that exists for that happens. So the point I'm getting at with McClellan is I think he has the most opportunity, like Jason mentioned, because let's just say pure nose tackle. Jonathan Ford is a journey man, a fringe roster player in the NFL. And his earstack house may not even be a rosterable player in the NFL. We really don't know. He was on the roster all of last year, but what does that mean? Like he was a healthy scratch

10:33by the antecedent and the packers were going out of their roster to not put him on the field during a seat like Jonathan Ford was picked up because they didn't want to play his earstack house. Ditto for Jordan Riley as who that someone they signed off of practice squad during the season as well. So from that perspective, McClellan has an opportunity. I think if you just ranked him purely as, you know, ranked defense tackles one through ten or whatever, he falls in behind Wyatt and Hardgrave, obviously Brooks. And I think Warren Rinson as well. So that part might be where it gets a little wonky, just because how are the packers going to divvy up those snaps? And Jason mentioned Kenny Clark, Peter mentioned this on Sunday, and I've talked about it too, but Jordan Davis was a guy who the Eagles traded up for. So like, you know, you move up for a guy, you pull it on court, have to play him, right? He played like 20% of snapsets. He's not, didn't play a lot. And during the year, that Eagles team picked up in Dominic and Sue and Linbal Joseph, not entirely an indictment of Jordan Davis, but because they were trying to strengthen a defensive line on the roster. But if Davis was making this huge impact as a rookie,

11:37they're probably not bringing in mercenaries like Linbal Joseph and Indomac and Sue during the season as well. So I do think he has the most opportunity. That being said, I think it was John Wojcicowski who said this during the weekend, and forgive me if I'm misquoting. But somebody talked about how the two most difficult positions to transition to in the NFL are cornerback and defensive time. And the packers, the first two picks just happen to play up both of those positions. So that's where this thing gets a little bit interesting. But I do think there's an opportunity there if he's ready. Jason over to their fourth round. I think you're Jason, you're Jason today. You're both Jason today. I didn't call you Jason today. Did I? You didn't, but since you did last time, I don't, yeah, I know. I just had to pause. I just had to pause. That's fair. You make one mistake. You never let me forget it. That's totally fair. Anyway, Jason, as we move on from Jason's comments, original move on to Jason, her short. The packers fourth round selection. My favorite pick in the 2026 NFL draft, Deny Dennis Sutton, he will don number 51 this year for the green

12:42and goal. Jason, your thoughts on how he slots in. And can he be impactful in year one for the packers? He definitely can. And his situation is actually a little different from the other guys because his best opportunity might come at the beginning of the season, rather than later on. He is a rookie. He's a rookie who is technically won't be a defensive lineman on the roster. But we know what he is, you know, that offside linebacker position in their current configuration is effectively a defensive end. And it is unclear as we are speaking when Michael Parsons is going to come back. And especially when Michael Parsons is unavailable, I mean, they were going to rotate a matter of what, but they will rotate more with him out of the lineup. So if you are anywhere in that 2D at that position, you are going to play a meaningful amount of snap. So even if for sake of argument that Deny Dennis Sutton is the fourth of those guys coming out of training camp out of free season going into week one, he's still going to see real snaps. He might actually see double digit snaps

13:43right out of the gate in that situation. And you know, what if he's, you know, the first guy off the bench or a starter in week one with Michael Parsons out, then you could see that go up. Now, the calculation will eventually change for all of those guys when Michael Parsons comes back. So that's why it's a little harder to like compare one to one with some of these other guys. But the opportunity for him to contribute in your one is definitely there. And it's probably there earlier than almost anybody else in the draft class. They did extend or pick up the option for Lucas Van S's fifth year option. I love Jacob that edge room. And for the talent for the trajectory of what those guys could be, I think, is high. The ceiling is certainly high. But the competition in that room, right? You had Colin Oliver in the fifth round last year. You had Baron Sorrell. Another one of my guys in the fourth round last year. Obviously, the night Dennis Sutton is included in that group. Michael Parsons stands on his own island. LVN, as we mentioned, is a part of that as well. Do you think Dennis Sutton is a guy that in year one, this season, as a rookie can contribute for the Green Bay Packers past rush? Yeah, I think in terms of the rookie class, there may not be a player that training camp

14:48is more important to than Dennis Sutton in terms of getting out of field. Just because as Jason said, that opportunity is ranked. You just mentioned all those guys, but what have they proven? Not a whole heck of a lot, right? I think in this in this group, this Packers team has a Batman, Michael Parsons. They are searching for a Robin. We kind of think they have one in Lucas Van S. But I have to see that man. I still am holding my Lucas Van S stock. Like as probably one of the last people clinging to that is somebody who really liked that pick. You're the champ. You're the champ, Jacob. He's I'm cutting that. Oh, yeah. Oh, no, that's absolutely going in. Thank you. Keep it in. You keep it in. Yeah, that's how to stay in. What? You think you got that behind him, those guys? Like I think the point I made before the draft was like Sarell Oliver, Aaron owes me to a lesser degree. Brighton Cox, like a lot of those guys really are just more myth than player at this point. And Dennis Sutton is the same way. He's a rookie coming

15:49in. The high end flashes of Dennis Sutton from his college tape are probably better than any of those guys I just mentioned. And those guys all, I mean, they got drafted for a reason, right? Like they all have some of those high end. But the high end stuff from Dennis Sutton, combined with his athleticism, make him look like a top 20 pick. Now he obviously wasn't a top 20 pick. He was barely a top 120 pick, but getting him into the role early. Jason mentioned the word starter. Like it's possible because right now, if the backers line up tomorrow against whoever it is, they play week one, who's starting? Lucas Van Ness, I know that. Then it's Breton Cox. Is it very strong? Like I don't know. You know, I don't know. So that means if you can't answer that, like if you can't defend it, like I know, Green Bay starting quarterback, Jordan Love, starting running back. Josh Jacobs, like that stuff's easy, right? Anything after that with these guys, you don't know. You know, you know, during the season that Lucas Van Ness is going to start across from

16:51Michael Parsons, once he's healthy, but Parsons probably isn't going to play for the first month. So if Dennis Sutton has a huge camp, I will not be surprised at all if he's starting across from Lucas Van Ness when they, when they line up to play whoever it is, they're playing. When did we get the schedule? So you're not even later, right? A couple of weeks, I think three weeks. Third, is it second or third week of man? I don't know. My travel plan is to get a schedule. We have a schedule to get a schedule. I love a plan and make a plan. Six selections for the Packers were halfway through the class. Jason, that leaves us to the fifth round. Jagger Burton, the center, number one, 53 overall out of Kentucky. You guys know how I feel about this pick. I do believe there is a chance he could come in day one and be a starter, but that is what I think. Jason, I'm curious what you think about Mr. Burton out of Kentucky. It's what Blanket time, Brandon. Now, it's not as though there is no path for someone like Jagger Burton to be a starter at some point this season.

17:51I think other than if injuries intervened, it is asking so much of a day three pick to come in and compete for a starting job right away, especially when that job is likely to be at center. Now, we can talk about like the Corey Lenselies, the David Bach Tiares, those guys, and yet those did happen. They count, but we don't really talk about the Kofi Amichias. We don't talk about the Kyle Murphy's, those guys who in many cases were as physically gifted an experience coming out of college as someone like Jagger Burton, but they never made a dent in any starting lineup, even in the preseason. So we have to keep in mind what is a reasonable expectation for a guy who is, yes, physically gifted, but did have an up and down career is going to have to deal with a different level of competition in the NFL, which is true for everybody, but like it is just very different when you're at center. You have all those responsibilities and they just paid Sean Ryan. They want him to play. They recently paid their left guard, Aaron Banks, Farring injury, which I suppose

18:51is possible with him, but they are going to start him. And they are going to give Belton every opportunity to be the starting right guard because they spent a second round pick on him a year ago. So you add all those things together. It's like, where would he most likely break in? I suppose the answer is center. And I just don't think that job is like truly open in any way at the moment. So outside of injuries, I don't think we're talking about him starting early in the season. And you know, even if Sean Ryan's like mediocre, I think they're probably just going to go with the veteran presence, therefore as least as long as they can. All right, Jacob. Jason doesn't agree with me. Do you agree with me? No, I agree with Jason for the same reasons that we were just talking about is I know anytime that I said, I think I said this last week, but anytime the Packers have tried to give Sean Ryan anything, they've tried to take it away from him as fast as they've given it to him. And that is still true. The difference now is you can, well, it drives me nuts when they do it, but you can play the rotation game at Garden Tackle. It is hard to do that

19:51at center. It just is. It's just different. Like don't ask me to explain that too much, but it is just different when the quarterback is taking snaps from Sean Ryan on one series and the next series having to go with Jagger Burton or whoever else they is, it is that they decided his backup. That is an adjustment. That is why during the injury timeouts for the center, you see them taking snaps from the guy because it is just a different feeling. Every guy snaps a little bit different, just how it is. With Burton, the good news if you want him to play as a rookie is that the offensive line is a famously healthy position. I like to make that joke. And that it's very rare that you use the same five from start to finish. I talked about that 2014 line not that long ago where Belaga missed one game and the rest of that group played all 16. And I don't think it's a coincidence that that's the best offense. Was that the year they also drafted a center in the fifth round? It would have been the year they drafted Corey Lindsay. Yeah. Interesting. Or wait a minute. I think no, that was two years before.

20:53Well, we'll clarify on that because this is great radio. But either way, they put all those guys together with Burton, his goal in trying to find a way out of the field is can you be the seventh man? Because if you're the backup center, if you beat out Jacob Monk to be the backup center, there is a path to getting on the field. Because I think right now, if somebody goes down or performance doesn't up to snuff, whatever, Daring Canard is the answer to, hey, Aaron Banks is ding. He's not playing this week. Who's jumping in? It's him, right? This guy's not playing, you know, whatever it is. The other guys, though, like you said, Zach Tom, Zach on wood, if they can keep him on the field, these are their best offensive line. He's not going anywhere. Jordan Morgan, I think we'd have to be, think of the worst left tackle you have ever seen play. That's how bad it would have to be for the Packers to bench him. And it would have to be that way for a pretty decent stretch, right? Like I go back to Don Barclay, maybe? Yes. And Josh Walker in the same game where I thought, I think the Packers were losing by 30 and thinking they needed to take Rogers out of the game solely because he could

21:57survive by the end of that game. But that is the way that those guys would have to be for him to get benched, right? Sean Ryan, I think that's kind of the same deal. It would have to be really really, really awful for them to put him on the bench in a Super Bowl window and start a rookie. Anthony Belton's a guy who, I think he ended up starting seven games last year as the final number. Thanksgiving onward. And it was a position that he didn't really start cross-training at for God knows what reason. Until the middle of the year, they said that in two microphones. That's a real thing that happened. They're going to give him an opportunity. He's very talented. And he's like kind of the new, if you will, model of what they want in the middle of their offensive line with that size, is somebody who can hold up and protect the middle of that pocket with a guy like Jordan Lovey wants to play. So all of that to say, yes, Burton has a chance to play but it is going to acquire injuries. He could be the best rookie that we are talking about a year from now as a guy like he just never saw the field. He could be the best for him. And he could be the best one. He will wear number 52. So I should clean that up. That's his jersey number going forward.

23:02Also to clean up real quick. Corey Linsley drafted in 2014. So I think that is the year. It was a rookie that year then. Yeah. So he was drafted in that year. Let's go on to round number six this year for the Green Bay Packers. And Peter pointed this out. Jason, to us on Tuesday and Jacob, for you, this may or may not be new information. Last year at this time, Todd McShay does his early mock draft going, you know, looking at it was 2025 when he did it looking at the 2026 class. And he had Demani Jackson at number 16 overall that year to come out, you know, during that his early mock draft for the 2026 draft. So there was a lot of talk about Demani Jackson potentially being a first rounder. He obviously falls to the Green Bay Packers, the quarterback out of Alabama, Jason, your thoughts on what his role could be for the Packers in 2026. Well, I think with this point in the draft, you have to start with will they make the roster before you worry about will they impact the team? And looking at what the roster is as as we are speaking,

24:04his main competition is probably come all had in Bo Melton for a roster spot. And if you're having that conversation, it's you are likely going to be contributing almost exclusively on special teams. Now he could be a phenomenal special things player because of the physical skill set that he offers. And you know, that was something that everyone thought was going to project in a defensive way. And it still could. But for now, you're talking about him being an impact player on special teams if he's able to make the roster. That's absolutely possible. But you know, it's going to, Matt LaFlor is going to have Bo Melton clawed from his dead hands if anything. So it's going to be very, very hard to open up a roster spot there. They also really like come all had and we learned that last year, come on, hadn't actually played some pretty decent snaps were given the opportunity. And those things I think would put him at an advantage, at least at this point, over someone like Demani Jackson, even though he is a traffic. So there is a path, I suppose, but you really have to squint to see it. And because of that, I think he's probably that probably almost certainly the least

25:07likely of this group to make a year one impact. We'll find out what ultimately happens, obviously. But as things look today, that's my projection for it. Also, maybe, maybe bad memory for Packer fans, Jacob, he will wear number 20. You know, that was Javan Bullard were 20, but so did another quarterback for the Green Bay Packers famously taken in front or after or passed up by by the Packers to draft instead of taking TJ Watt. Your thoughts on Demani Jackson, Mr. Westendorf on his role for the Packers potentially in 2026. Yeah, I always hate to word it this way, but he's more likely to be released out of training camp than he is to make a significant impact on the roster. Now, the answer could obviously lie somewhere in the middle of that, right? Like, I don't think he ultimately gets released. The Packers have cut like seven guys out of training camp or something like that since Gudakans took over as a general manager that were draft choices that previous April. So it's pretty rare that something like that happens. But with Jackson, I mean, from a defensive standpoint, you talked about him being having some buzz as a first round pick coming in the last year. And then he was not good. Like,

26:10he got benched for brother, but you know, just when you read the bios on him and everything, it's just like he never reached what they thought he was going to be. He got injured early early in his career and it kind of rehabbed that injury for a while. And it took a while for him to get back at USC. Then he went to Alabama, did not play for Nick Sabin at Alabama. So like, even that bump which usually gets some guys maybe a little more credit than what they deserve. But Jackson doesn't even have that. That is benefit. He had to make an impact on defense at anything. And it's not even like a guy who I don't want to use the example of like Trevon digs because I still can't believe that people are clamoring to bring him in. But those people do exist. But it's not like digs where in his prime, digs is going to give up a player too, but he's going to make a player too. The money Jackson didn't even really make a player too in that regard. So I think if he can with that body, height weights, eat all that stuff, he looks like a body beautiful special teamer to quote the recently departed Rich Pasachia. But I don't I don't see an impact on defense

27:16unless something really, really, really bad happened. Some would say Rich Pasachia is in a better place right now in South Carolina. Jacob Romeo Dom's also in a better place as well in New England. Okay, the final one, the final pick for the Green Bay Packers in the 2026 NFL draft, they had a boatload of undrafted free agents. But let's get to the last selection, Jason, that they didn't make in round six. They traded up to seventh round picks to move in back into the sixth round and the two hundred and sixteenth overall selection out of Florida, Jason, a kicker. Tre smack the number one rated kicker for whatever that's worth throughout the the consensus that for folks that covering the draft this year was trace smack your thoughts on if there's real competition there for trace smack and Brandon McManus at the kicker spot in 2026. So certain things can be true at the same time, even if they appear to be in conflict. I do not believe that Brian Guder constraded his final two draft fix to draft a kicker and then not have him on his opening 53

28:22man roster. I think it is also true that rookie kickers are very, very not like unreliable ultimately in all cases, but you don't know what you're getting. Let me remind the audience in 1997, they spent a third round pick on a kicker. That kicker's name was Brett Conway. That was not the kicker who they took into the season. They instead went with Ryan Longwell. That ended up being the right decision, but eventually the franchise leader points like we're out of bad one there. Yeah, it was the right call, but I bring this up to say just because a team has made a sizable investment by the standards of big investments in the kicker does not mean that that is ultimately the player they're going to go with and they also do a certain degree made a pretty sizable investment this off season in Brandon McManus. Like they could have cut him before his roster bonus was due. They didn't do that. Now that's sunk cost at this point. They obviously didn't know what they would or wouldn't be able to do in the draft as it pertains to the kicker. But all of this is to say, if Brandon McManus kicks well in train camp in the preseason and trace Mack is all over the place, I mean, maybe they decided to give like

29:25trace Mack a de facto red shirt season, but it's going to be a big man as attempting those kicks. So I think regardless of what they say publicly or what they even think internally, if there are multiple kickers on that 90 man roster, it is going to be a competition because that's just the nature of that position when nobody is fully established for that team. So it could be the case that smack play or kicks well enough. It doesn't have to be necessarily as good as McManus though it could be. And they go into the season with him and that's all she wrote for McManus in Green Bay. But if he has the kind of training camp in preseason, like a Brett Conway or someone else might have had despite being a highly drafted rookie, they're not necessarily going to commit to that guy because they traded up for it. I mean, 27-round picks essentially is a lot of investment for a kicker, but it's not a lot of investment full stop and they do not want to have to worry about the kicking or kicking game going into the regular season. So it's a competition. If he gets the job going into week one, I mean, it's pretty clear, right? Like you have the job, unless you severely mess it up, you could be the kicker in Green Bay for years. We've seen that happen.

30:27Like Mason Crosby was, you know, he's only been out in the NFL for a few years now. He was drafted in whatever was like 2007. So there's a path for him to have a great career in Green Bay. There's also a scenario where he is effectively out of our discussions as soon as September of this year. He will learn number 28 for the Green Bay Packers. You are 29 at Florida. Jason or Jacob, your thoughts had happened. There we go. There we go. Oh, man. He's getting up and walking away. We'll go back to Jay. No, there he comes. He's back. Thank you. Jacob, you got to get, I mean, there's a little grace, right? It's J.A. It's J.A. You're right next to each other. You know me significantly longer than Jason. And you have never called him Jacob. So Jacob, your thoughts on the kicker position for the Packers in 2026 with the selection of Trace Mac in round six. I do think Jason summed it up pretty well by talking about the investment, a big investment relative to kicker. But not like if they had taken a cornerback where they took Trace Mac,

31:28are we even talking about like, oh, this guy's got to be a lock to make the roster. Probably not, right? Maybe still. But we're talking about two seventh round picks in a class that everybody agreed on before the draft kind of stinks. So you're talking about seventh round picks that were preferred on draft with pre-agents and by like the discussion surrounding Green Bay's UDFA class, they did pretty well in that regard as well. So I guess you could argue they could have drafted two of those guys and hoped. But I mean, realistically, that's not that big of you. In terms of the kicking situation, I'm just simply from my perspective, I'm tired of talking about kickers. Like I kind of like last year in camp when LaFlora said like, I don't even think about it when McNannis walks out there. Like the extra point is automatic, you know, that kind of thing. I do long for those days when it was like, okay, touchdown. Something as simple as when I am at a game covering it because media starts with me. If I am typing a tweet that says touchdown past Jordan Love Packers leads seven nothing. I can hit send before the game extra point is kicked because I know

32:32it's going in. Do you know how many tweets I had to delete because of McNannis? With Trace Mack, I think this is a situation where Ty goes to the runner, so to speak, as long as smack McNannis and so degree, I guess Lucas Habersick is still here. I don't think that I will be very surprised if they carry three kickers into training camp, though they have done that before. I would be surprised if that's something that they do, but I think in this case, as long as smack does not just absolutely stink up the place in camp, but there is still a path where smack is like wobbly and McNannis is automatic. Like last year when we were having the debates about just cut McNannis and Habersick made that one kick in Arizona from 61 yards out and level up. Like I understood kind of, but I also understood why the Packers would go with the guy who has a track record and Brandon McNannis for all of his faults does have a track record of kicking and kicking well, even in the postseason, just nodding Green Bay. And that's been the biggest problem. Some of his

33:32biggest struggles have come in the biggest games, and that especially includes last year, where you blow seven points, like Gouda Khan has talked about it one year. If Gouda Khan says not patient kickers, I am even less patient with kickers. I think I cut Anders Carlson 14 times between the start of the season and ultimately when it ended because he missed a kick against San Francisco partially because he missed a kick against San Francisco in the postseason. So they drafted a guy that they think is really talented. I go back to like, I remember being at a training camp practice, and they had competition in for Mason Crosby, and I used the term competition with Eric quotes because it was Giorgio Teveco, and the head coach continued to call him Sergio, and if the head coach doesn't bother to learn your name, you're not making the roster. But we were at a practice, and I remember we were doing like Crosby, like, make the kick that ends the period or whatever, and Crosby missed one, right? And then he missed one left, and Sean Slocum used to have this big, like, air phone, and he just went, make the kick, Mason, like he was disgusted with the

34:38whole thing. Crosby makes the next kick and they moved on. But like, that was kind of like the first time where you're kind of like, yeah, like, is Mason going to get cut? Like, that's bad. That was a public really bad thing that happened to him. That was Matt. Make your kicks, man. Simple as that. The Green Bay Packers draft has come and gone. Where does this class stack up against other Brian Gudenkin's draft classes in year one? Can this class be more impactful than others? We'll stack that up. Plus, they didn't take a lot of offensive players, just one offensive lineman. Is that a good thing? Is that a bad thing? What message did that send the fans and the Packers themselves will dive into all of that coming up next on the Lockdown Packer Squad Show? Hey, everyone. This is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of The Lockdown Podcast Network. If your group chat's been a little quiet lately, I want to invite you to come and join ours. If you sign up for the Everydayer Club, you get access to the members' only group chats for your favorite teams. Plus, national chats for every sport. Personally, I love watching folks talk

35:39a little smack in the NFC South trash talk chat. You also get an ad-free version of your favorite locked on show and a whole lot more. You can check it out by tapping the Everydayer Club link in the show notes. Today's show is sponsored by Indeed Sponsored Jobs Workplace chaos, Deadline stacking up inboxes overflowing. In the one position, you have to fail is still sitting open. When the pressure's on and you need the right hire, this is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Indeed Sponsored Jobs helps you reach people who actually fit what you're looking for, skills, experience, and location. So, you're not just hoping the right candidate stumbles across your post. And here's a stat that says it all. In the minute I've been talking to you, companies like yours have made 27 hires on Indeed, according to Indeed Data worldwide. So, if you're hiring, spend less time searching, and more time interviewing candidates who check all of your boxes with Indeed Sponsored Jobs and listeners of The Lockdown Packer Squad Show, we'll get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job at the premium status. It deserves

36:41at Indeed.com slash podcast. Just head to Indeed.com slash podcast. Do it right now. Support our show by saying you heard about it on the Lockdown Packer Squad Show Indeed.com slash podcast terms and conditions do apply. If you need to hire, this is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Thank you for making Lockdown Packers your first listen of the day. Thank you for making Lockdown. The number one sports podcast network. Don't forget, check out our every day or club for ad-free episodes. And you get an access to a group chat with Peter Bukowski and other listeners of this very show. Tap the link in the show notes. Or you can simply head to lockdownpackers.supercast.com. Gentlemen, we broke down pick for pick for the Green Bay Packers. Jason, I want to start with you. Goody has you got to go all the way back to 2018 his first class. He's had some good classes, right? You look at 20, 24 was good. Then you look at 2021. It's not been so good. When you look at the entirety of this class, the 2026 class, and you guys did a fantastic job,

37:43both you and Jason and Jason, both in a really good job in the first segment of the show, breaking down, pick by pick. I kid his name's Jacob, pick by pick throughout the entirety of this 2026 draft. How do you think this class Jason and its entirety stacks up against other classes from Goody in year one as rookies? Well, it's important to note, it is the smallest of those classes. And you have to start there with this discussion. Fewer players necessarily means fewer opportunities to make an impact for the draft class, right? And we just mentioned how those guys at the end, and this I suppose will be true of any like late round selections. But you know, a sizeable portion of that draft class was taken outside of the top 100. And the last two picks were taken well outside. So, you know, do you expect to mind Jackson to have a huge impact? I'm not sure he's making the team right now. Same thing with Trace Mac, even though I think he probably has a better chance of that. And you look at the guys above, I'm like, yeah, I think

38:44barring injury or something we can't foresee. You know, Jagger burden and above are going to make the roster. But really, I'm not expecting huge contributions in year one, barring injuries ahead of them for really any of those guys. Like, did I get a son again? I think you could have an impact early. And then after that, we'll see, you know, rookie wall could hit just as like, you know, Michael Parsons and maybe like a rejuvenated Lucas Van S are really coming into their own. Chris McLellan, like, the path is certainly clear as we discuss. But it is also the case that like, it's extremely unlikely, not impossible, but extremely unlikely that he's going to be a guy who plays, you know, 50 plus percent of snaps as a rookie, because that's just a big ask of any rookie at that position. And I don't think they're going to try to force the issue with Brandon C. Say if they don't have to. Like, maybe at the end of the season, he's playing as a starter. And if, you know, if he plays well down the stretch and it makes meaningful impacts in the playoffs, then it's going to feel like he had a huge impact all season on a certain level. That would be true. But in terms of the entirety of the 2026 season, I think he's probably going to play like a rotational role early

39:47on. And that might be his role the entire season. So I think year one, this might be one of the smaller impacts we see from a good against draft class, which is not to say it won't be impactful. But it's six guys, all of which are not maybe not buried on the depth jar, but they have hurdles they need to overcome. And it's a lot to ask for even like three of those guys to become big contributors as rookies. Yeah, and you look at 2022, you got so many good players in 2022. Kwei Walker, Devon Tey Wyatt, your first rounders, Christian Watts and Romeo Dobbs was in that drafts act. Tom Sean Ryan, not all of them played right away, right? The Rashid Walker was in that class in the seventh round as well. But over time, they certainly did. They're a rookie year. The first few picks certainly did. I remember that year because Aaron Rodgers went deep to Christian Wattson on the first play of scrimmage for the offense and the and Christian Wattson. I think the light hurts. The light was the light was probably in his eye. And then 2024, too, I think is a really hard class. You're going to top an Edger and Cooper and round two, Javon Bollard, Evan Williams, all those guys coming in day one and playing meaningful snaps. Jacob, your thoughts on the impact,

40:51this class can have compared to other classes. Overall, that Brian Gunikens has drafted in year one. Yeah, it's interesting because like conversation we had earlier with you, me and our pet rhinoceros, where we were talking about like some of it depends on who's doing the ratings for some of this stuff. So some of this is based on just my perspective of what I've been able to see. But it feels like coming out of this class. This is a pretty well liked draft class by the fan base. Maybe not so much by the pundits and stuff like that. But just by the people who are the loudest, like even the loudest people on social media that can never be happy about anything ever seemed to be all right with the way that things went this weekend in the draft. And maybe it is just a simple for good accounts. If you want people to stop yelling at you on the internet to just check the boxes, which is kind of like what they did in industry draft class, which good if you care about what people are saying about you on Twitter, then we got some problems anyways. But to answer your question, the guys you talked about, it's interesting because I remember like you mentioned

41:51Javon Bullard. That was a guy who coming in the last year or people are like Javon Bullard Stinks. He's not any good. You can't put him on the field. He was awful by the end of last season, blah, blah. Now we're talking about him like he's this indispensable piece on defense. I say that to remind everybody these players can get better. And with a team, the way the packers build their franchise, they have to get better. That's something they rely on in their brains internally, everything like that. So someone like Anthony Belton, just for example, they have a minus starter at right guard. While they're hoping he can be in that neutral or a positive starter at right guard, because in theory, he should get better from season one to season two. With a rookie class, you mentioned Bullard, Evan Williams, obviously had a good start by the end of the season, though, not playing very well. And Adrian Cooper kind of had the benefit of being able to hide and plane sight early in the season, because he wasn't playing as much. And then by the end of the year, he was, I mean, damn near defensive rookie of the year, caliber of player by that. Maybe they're best defensive player at that point in the year full stop. 100%. I remember

42:54being after they traded for Micah Parsons, I had a guy who he does. It's an Eagles show more than anything, I guess, but he kind of goes around the NFL and he was asking me about like breakout players. And I told him 56, like number 56 is going to be, and I still feel that way about Adrian Cooper. I just think that I don't know what it was last year. It just maybe the splash plays weren't there. They weren't using him and that way to put him in position to do some of that stuff. I don't know, but I do think that that's something that could still be on the table for him. For this draft class, it's going to be tough to make an impact like that just because those players that I mentioned Bullard, Williams, etc. They had a path to playing time. And it was like immediate and not hard to find either, right? Like the Packers, they signed Xavier McKinney. There was no veteran holdover in the way of Jonathan Bullard or Evan Williams or whoever ended up available. Both of them ended up playing by the end of the season in significant roles. So there wasn't anything like that. Kui Walker, Devante Wyatt, like you mentioned with 2022, Wyatt was kind of a part-time player, but Kui Walker was a day one starter. Like there was no

43:58hindrance in front of him to be a starter like that. So with these guys, there are, right? Like the guys we just mentioned, even, you know, say what you will about Nixon and Valentine, they do exist and the Packers do think more of them than you guys do. So if that's true, they have a chance to start Benjamin St. Juice as a guy they gave not real money, but not insignificant money too. Either like that's somebody who I think they're okay with him being their top reserve corner. And if he ends up being a core special team or along the way, they're all right with that too. Some of the other guys in the defensive line we talked about earlier, we talked about the edge rushers in that situation too. So from an impact standpoint, they haven't put pads or a helmet on yet or anything like that in Green Bay, but it's going to be hard, I think, to top those two classes. And that doesn't even account for like Jair Alexander was their best quarterback as a rookie in front of him. First Kui Walker draft, yep. Yeah. So that was, again, he was their best cornerback in that class. The 2019 class at Elton Jenkins, start the entire season for them. That left guard was a plus, plus starter by the end of the season at that position as well. So I think, you know,

45:00you're going back a lot of the whole not a lot, but I think a decent amount of the discourse of the Packers drafts never making impact early have a lot to do with one Matthew Golden. And to the Jordan Love draft where they famously drafted a quarterback and then sat him for three seasons. I think some of that stuff kind of clouds what is otherwise. The Packers do ask their rookies to play. They just kind of go at their own pace. You brought up a good point Jacob. You mentioned the fans kind of like this draft. I mentioned it on Sunday during our Sunday OT show around table with Peter that it just felt like the most normal draft for the Packers. Like it just felt like it's the best guy like just take them. Take your, I know you cover the Packers. You're on the beat for the Green Bay Packers. Take that out of the equation. Take that out of the equation for for this question. I'm about to ask you just from a vibes standpoint, a feeling standpoint after this draft concluded after the next draft ended on Saturday afternoon. The next 24, 48, 72 hours. Was this one of your favorite classes that Goody had over his course of the last

46:00handful of years? Yeah, I will note on the beat is probably a bit of an exaggeration, but I don't want to give you a little bit of credit here. You're in there every home game. I appreciate that, but yeah, there are guys that do a lot more than I do. But anyways to answer your question. As far as vibes, I'm take that way. You almost have to remove last year's draft class from the equation as well, because it was in Green Bay and it was historic from the perspective of they did something they hadn't done in 20 years. And you could hear the crowd like if we had hit mute on the television that was inside the auditorium, we could have heard the crowd outside of Lambo field cheering the selection of Matthew Bolton. Coming out of the draft, I think the best I have ever felt from a vibes perspective was Goody's first draft. Jair Alexander, who they moved up to grab, and then they grabbed Josh Jackson after that, who a lot of people in that draft wanted them to take early. And I was one of those people, ultimately I was wrong, but like they had those guys early. And it was hard not to day dream of Jair Alexander, Josh Jackson, the teams two shutdown

47:06corners for the next 10 years or five day years, whatever it was. But coming out of that class, that felt like a really, really solid one. The class where they drafted Van Ness and then Jaden Reed, those were two guys I really liked in that class as well. Musgrave was a fun one. Yeah, I didn't like Musgrave, but I did like Kraft. So those three guys together, you put all that together. I think you felt really, really good about that class coming out of it. So I think we're moving, like I said, we're moving last year's draft class because I feel like that's only fair because it was different. It was in Green Bay. And if you guys were in the area at all, it was hard not to get sucked up into all of that kind of stuff and the hoop lawn, everything of the Lambo field and the NFL being the center of the NFL universe for an entire weekend. So that's tough to do at that where to remove that completely. But I think that those classes I mentioned, that's probably the best coming out of those off the top of my head, which is different from say, you know, the 2020 draft where I had a torch and pitchforks. I will readily admit that. So I don't just mix up

48:10your guys' names because the first two letters in it. That was also Jason's answer when Peter asked us on Tuesday was Goody's first class as well as 2018. I do. I was with you. Some people say smart things. I don't know what that means for Jason that I'm repeating him, but we're going to frame this as a positive. Speaking of smart people, let's go on to Jason. You brought up an interesting topic in the group chat, Jason. And it was a graphed on the total capital used to draft offense in 2026. There's 32 teams within the NFL, Jason. And the Green Bay Packers came in at number 32. What message did Goody send to his offense by using the least amount of draft capital in 2026? The answer is it's no message at all. And there was a graphic, and I'm guessing a lot of the people watching this and listening to this saw at some point over the past few days that showed not just that the Packers finished 32 in this, but that like there's

49:12even a noticeable margin between 32 and 31, that being the Dallas Cowboys. And yeah, it's not a lot of additional capital spent on offense. I would also point out, going into the draft, like the beginning of draft week, bringing up the draft like Thursday night, they had the six least draft capital full stop by the same calculation. So how did they spend literally every one of those draft picks on offense? They would have finished barely middle of the pack. So it's just a nature of they didn't have their first round pick when we know why. And that was a decision that I don't think that they're regretting at any point in the process. So what are you going to do spend all those picks on offense and not address the defense? You knew where the problems on the roster were most likely to lie. The offense for all the issues that we've mentioned was still a unit that finished six in DBOA last season finished fourth in DBOA the year before that and six the year before that it has not been an issue. Even if it feels that way at times, it is still a very

50:14efficient effective unit. So yeah, you want to address it where you can, but you can't just neglect other parts of the roster, especially when the offense is in the weak point there. So they spent the vast majority of the draft capital on the defense and like some of those picks will have special teams implications beyond just the kicker, but that's the sensible way to use those draft picks when you get to that point, we are actually making the fix. Like they didn't have the first round pick. They weren't going to re-acquire an all likelihood of first round pick and it just wouldn't have made sense to just bombard the offense with resources, wind your defense at very key positions, needed investment, not just in 2026, but for 2027 and beyond. So yeah, I get it's a point of conversation, but I just don't think that the actual realities of that draft capital merit the discussion that's being had on the internet. Jacob, when you look at the Packers and the roster construction, I know the investment to Micah Parsons is obviously huge from a draft capital standpoint, as well as a cap standpoint as well and what the Packers gave him rightfully so. But do you 100% do you think now that more pressure for this team to have early season success and

51:19even throughout the course of the season has now shifted to the offense because you're not inserting a couple of rookies here and there. You do have Jordan Love, who's established. You did prior to the draft and I think we kind of knew the direction after this was announced that Jaden Reed was extended by Goody and the Green Bay Packers for a handful of more years. Well, in he doubled down earlier on the weekend too, that Christian Watson was a priority of there. So is this shift pressure more so to the Packers offense to be the one unit that, you know, because the defense obviously will have a new defensive coordinator. They'll be without Micah Parsons for a few weeks to begin the year. Does this shift more pressure to Matt Laflore, Jordan Love and that Packers offense? Yes, I do think there is some potential for growing pains on defense, if you will, to start the season, which could mean the Packers, you know, like the defense they have at the start of the year won't be the defense they have at the end of the year. That's true regardless of if Parsons was playing in week one or not, right? Like there is an evolution of how the team plays throughout, of course, the year. I go back to 2010, for example,

52:20of Sam Shields kind of developing along the way and kind of frankly became the skeleton key that unlocked that entire defense because it allowed them to move Charles Woodson inside, which changed the entire defense because Woodson was a lot of things. Again, I said this on here and got yelled at, but whatever, I don't care. For my money's worth, the greatest defensive back to ever lace him up is Charles Woodson. And for all the good things that he was at, good at playing closer to line of scrimmage and attacking the football is one of them. And that playing in the slot allowed him to do that a lot more, especially by the time that season ended. That just talks about the evolution of defense, like how we're green, not on the roster to start that season. Just for example, became a Super Bowl hero, Charlie Pepra, not a starter. Guys who played solid enough in the rest of that segment, those types of things, right? This team's defense is going to, I don't want to say struggle, but they'll have some things they have to figure out at the beginning of the season. And based on what we know about the guys that are already here and going to play, there is no superstar outside of maybe Xavier McKinney, but we've seen how you can kind of take

53:24away the McKinney's impact by just not testing the ball down that direction. There's nobody here that's a superstar at this point that can emerge that way. So I think early in the season, you have to, on offense, battle floor, pedal to the floor, man, like go into each game is thinking, we've got to score a 30 plus. I remember like the game ends Baltimore. Their first two plays of the game were like shots. One was the deep ball, the Romeo dobs, and then they hit Watson down the middle of the field. And before their app of the game, he was asked like, you know, why why be so aggressive earlier? Whatever he goes, it seemed clear we needed to score a lot of points. Yeah, Matt, like I know it seems like obvious, but like duh, like yeah, the offense's job is to score a lot of points. So I hope that when Jason was talking about like the efficiency and everything in this offense, and why it doesn't feel like it is the way that it is because sometimes I feel like the floor gets in the way of playing the clock instead of playing the scoreboard. And yeah,

54:24you know what, get to 34, make it 34 or 14. Don't worry about taking seven minutes off the clock to get it to 34 to 14. Go score and keep scoring. And I'm not saying they got to throw it 55, 60 times a game. I understand the desire for balance and things of that nature, but this killer's mentality, if you will, I do think that starts, especially this day and age on the offensive side of the ball. You do need your closures on defense. You need guys, Sam Shield was a guy I just mentioned had those two picks in the title game against Chicago. You need guys like that, obviously, and they have one in Parsons. But a lot of those games like the Packers, they won the Super Bowl on the back of their offense. You know, those that big throw down the middle of the field to Greg Jennings, I know that the defense had to make one last stop with the Green Bay Rana clock all the way down because their offense was able to maintain everything like that. So the early portion of the season, and I really do think as the season goes along, this team needs to run through its offense and they have more than enough players on that side of the ball, which is why I think a lot of people share

55:25graphs, but either don't know how to read them or don't know why they do or don't matter. And the Packers investing quote unquote the least amount of off on their offense, this off season, I say BFD because they already have those guys. Christian Watson's already here. Jaden Reed is already here. They're going to get Tucker Kraft back. They're hoping, knock on wood, Marcia Lloyd, if he's healthy is going to be healthy, but getting their offensive line in together. They have their starting quarterback. And like Jason said, they didn't have a first round pick. So it's not like they could draft a receiver or an offensive tackle or something like that in the first round to try and supplement what they already have on their roster. And they gave contracts to Jaden Reed soon, they'll give one to Watson and eventually I think they're going to give one to Tucker Kraft too. So they're going to spend a lot of money on that side of the ball this off season. The NFL draft has come and gone, but roster construction under Brian Gunekins and the Green Bay Packers has no expiration date. Who out there right now? Current NFL free agents could come into Green Bay and help solidify some holes within this roster. We examine those names coming

56:28up next on the Lockdown Packer Squad Show. Thank you for making Lockdown Packers your first lesson of the day. Thank you for making Lockdown the number one sports podcast network. Well, let's get to the free agents here in a minute. We got a few minutes left in the Lockdown Packer Squad Show. Jason, I want to start with you. Were you surprised today that the Green Bay Packers exercised that fifth year option for Lucas Vanness, that price tag coming in at $13.8 million. Were you surprised by that or was that about what you expected for Goody and the Packers? I wasn't surprised. I didn't think it was a fate of complete because as we've been talking about on this show and others, he's still pretty hypothetical as a player. The athleticism always apparent. The upside apparent, but he has not put it together consistently. That's a good argument by itself to say, don't give this guy the fifth year option. The side of this is if he were to just be a free agent next off season, being essential, the same player is now. His contract is

57:31probably going to be right around that fifth year option anyway. You buy yourself some contractual upside if you pick up the option and he's even a replacement level starter. That's still pretty good for that price. I think that's ultimately what made this move. It's sort of the other side of the coin with the Quay Walker fifth year option situation from the other off season where it's like, they liked Quay Walker more at that time than they probably like Lucas Vanness now, but the cost to give that option to Walker was going to be so much more than his market really justified than it is with Lucas Vanness. It's just a positional thing. The option itself, I don't think it's terribly surprising, even if we couldn't have said with incredible confidence that it was going to happen like a week ago. Jacob, did you expect that from Lucas Vanness and the Green Bay Packers to exercise that fifth year? Obviously, no Michael Parsons, as we talked about, they did invest in Dennis Sutton in that fourth round. Obviously, last year with Colin Oliver and Baron Sorrell, did you expect that out of Goody and the Packers to exercise number five for Lucas Vanness?

58:36Yeah, and for the reasons Jason mentioned of the salary, good pass rushers cost money, not good pass rushers, so it cost money. I brought this name up a bunch, and he was fine last year, obviously, but Joey Bolsa is somebody who is trending more towards washed up than he is prime game record that he used to be, and he cost $10 million last season. With Lucas Vanness, if I told you the opportunity cost, what number did you say was, 14 mil? 13 point, yeah, well, 13.8. Okay, so for $3.3 million, $3.8 million, I told you, you can roll the dice on the upside, that could be Lucas Vanness, and again, reminds you, the upside of him is still very high because of the level of athlete that he is and the motor that he has, and this could mean something, it could mean nothing, but like Michael Parsons has glowed about this guy since the minute he stepped in a green bay, and I will remind you, he did not do that for everybody, famously, somebody whom maybe was in Dallas at this point, like that, that may very well be the case, yes,

59:37that he could be in Dallas at this point that was not discussed by Parsons a season ago. Jason, the opposite, right, go ahead. Jason, I'm going to give you guys each the opportunity to present two names to the show that are current NFL free agents out there. There's no question, obviously, the Packers, I think overall, as the Packers plant on the show, did a fairly decent job at solidifying some of their holes on the roster, but as you guys have alluded to, those are guys are unproven that are coming in, and it's possibly unreasonable to put that pressure on the shoulders of rookies coming in to be day one impacts. Jason, you give me one name, then we'll go over to Jacob for his name, and we'll go back and forth. Who's a name out there, Jason, right now that you think Goody and the Packers should take a look at to bring in and help this Green Bay Packers team in 2026. So I tried to find a name that we have not discussed on this show because it's just not interesting to say the same name is open over again. So I think I might have found a veteran defensive tackle that would make sense would not cost a lot and has familiarity with some of the key stakeholders in Green Bay. It's Declan Jump.

1:00:41Is it defensive? Yeah, defensive tackle who has played on the nose and has played, you know, the three takes some other spots like his versatility in that regard, but he is someone who played over 100s or almost over almost 100 stamps last season as a no sex. This isn't something he's done in the distant past like he's done it recently. He has been a starter pretty much his entire career despite not being like, you know, particularly early draft pick. And, you know, he played for Bobby Babich who's going to be a big part of that defensive staff in 2026 and perhaps beyond. So put all those things together. It's like that's someone who wouldn't cost a ton. I would think at this point, but could he be the guy who, especially early in the season, takes a lot of those nose tackle stamps while the Packers are grooming Chris McClellan? I think that's possible. And again, like, it's not going to be a huge investment. So if he comes in, he's just not able to hack it anymore. You didn't really give anything up. You can just move on. But if he's just the guy he's been for the last few years, especially like fine, throw him in there. He's a steady enough run defender. He's a guy who can give you a little bit of pass rush.

1:01:43Like, in the aggregate, that's enough to feel good about the cost he would have at this point in the offices. All right, Jacob, your first name for a current free agent. That would make sense for the Packers. Yeah. So again, in the interest of not talking about DJ Reader and all these guys that we've just said, you're going to hurt Peter's feelings now. A million times over. But one guy on the, I talked about Kevin Zitler a few weeks ago on the offensive line and somebody else that kind of fits the bill of like bigger guy has had success, has some Super Bowl pedigree played on the Eagles offensive line a couple of seasons ago. Just some questions at this point. I think about injury and maybe whether or not he's in playing shape, but my guy Beckton is somebody who he has had kind of that similar struggle that maybe Anthony Belton could, you know, he's drafted to play tackle failed tremendously while doing so, moved inside to guard. And he had that positive experience in Philadelphia was a big part of, I don't want to say a big part. But obviously he was one of the guys on that offensive line that was I mean, he was literally a big part of it. Yeah. Yeah. Correct. But a critical part of that Eagles Super Bowl team that won the title

1:02:47here two seasons ago and went to LA last year got a nice contract to do so didn't work out there for, you know, a multitude of reasons. So I'm wondering if that's somebody who again, if you don't want to rely on Jagger Burton and you don't like Jacob Monk and to some degree too, it's a guy who can swing out to tackle and maybe get you out of a game at that spot. Because right now, if Jordan Morgan goes down, the big flashing lights and sirens thing for me over the weekend was that Brian Gutercon said, Zack Tom could move over. Okay. Who plays right tackle them? Is it Daryl? And can our what if there's already injuries, you know, some things like that. Beckton has at least had some experience playing tackle to the point where he could be a swing interior guy with some chance to play right tackle to that point where again, you don't want him to start the whole season there. I'm not telling you he's going to come in and give you no drop off from Zack Tom. But can you get out of the game so you don't have to play the Troy guy on at right

1:03:50guard? That is the real thing that has happened before. Something to that effect. And I do kind of want to get something that's a little bit of a push to Anthony Belton to say like, hey, I know you were a second-round pick, but you're not guaranteed, quote-unquote, a starting job, getting a veteran with at least some category could be something that that does that. Jason, your second player for the Packers who they should or could potentially target in free agency is as wave two here kind of gets underway after May 1st. Similar idea as what Jacob just said, although I would say a little more like the the Dennis Kelly Rick Wagner mold of like low cost super veteran free agents that you may not see or think about or even hear about anyway for, you know, the first three months of the season. And then there's an injury and suddenly, you know, that guy's playing meaningful steps at tackle for you. So I came up with Kelvin Beachham. This is a guy who, you know, he has familiarity with Jonathan Ganon from his time with the Cardinals. He's a guy who would almost hardly cost like the veteran minimum or barely above it. You know, start 24 games over the last three

1:04:53seasons. I'm not saying he's a high level player, but we're talking about a guy who could be a backup wouldn't have to take a lot of like preparation to be ready. Like he's 3637. Like he's if he's in playing shape, he's going to be good to go in that regard. So if you just want to have someone who you're like, I don't know how many games we could get out of him if he had to start consecutively, but if we just need to get like one, maybe two games here with a backup, he can hack it. We can still run most of our stuff. That's the kind of name I'm looking at. And I mean, what would that even cost at this point in most like three million with including possible incentives? Like it's just not a big expense. And if you don't feel great about your backup's attack, that's a direction you can go. All right, Mr. Westendorf, your final player that the Packers could or should potentially target in free agency. Taste him. No, I'm just kidding. The biggest blunder in Ted Thompson's career, one person said at one point. Will Dysley is the name it tight end. It's become a little more popular, but Gouda Khan's did say he was looking for a

1:05:53wide tight end type as much as from the media starts with me stand point again. I would love if they would bring back Marseilles Lewis, but I don't know if Marseilles Lewis wants to play anymore. And he's, you know, he's an old man from football standpoint. So I don't see that being something that they're willing to do at this point. Dysley's a little bit younger. Somebody who can give you, again, passable snaps as a blocking titan, which frankly, like Tucker Kraft is passable. I think some of his blocking is a smidge overrated at this point in his career, but behind him, I mean, Josh Wiley is more of a H back. You can put him on the line of scrimmage, but you don't really want to do that in too many scenarios and Luke Musgrave, we've talked about. He's a wide receiver playing tight end who's, you know, larger. So I don't think there's anything there from a blocking perspective, but he's somebody who, it's not sexy. It's not going to be a guy who comes in and, you know, is this red zone threat that scores seven touchdowns or anything like that? I got

1:06:54somebody over here saying David and Joku, like, I don't know. That was Peter's guy too, by the way, I think we talked about that potentially on Tuesday. I just don't like, you got another big slot titan who doesn't block anybody. Like how many two titan sets, like you can't play, you just pay Jayden Reed, like you can't play 11 personnel and get golden Reed and Watson on the field and also play about two tights with craft and Joku. I just don't understand the, I think the packers are looking for role player, not star player. If you told me that Tucker craft was going to miss the entire season again, knock on wood, then yeah, someone like in Joku, I think, makes more sense because he's a better version, even at this point of his career than what Luke Musgrave could be, but you are looking for a, in essence, a sixth offensive lineman who is not Darian Connard and going to have the most hilarious fumble in NFL history when you do run that two tight and set or in their case, you know, that was a sixth offensive lineman. So it worked. That's all I'll say about that. Terrific stuff from both of you. Make sure you follow all of Jason's work over at the leap. A newsletter,

1:07:57all of you should be subscribed to and follow all of Jacob's work over there at Packers on Si. That will conclude today's locked on Packer Squad Show friendly reminder locked on Packer Squad Show and the daily show with our guy Peter free and available wherever you guys get audio podcasts. And of course, we are also free and available over on YouTube. Please make sure you are subscribed to the lock on Packers YouTube channel for Jacob for Jason for myself will sign off for now. We back on Tuesday, the Packers kicking off rookie mini campus weekend. We'll hear from Matt LaFour. We will break it all down on Tuesday night. Thanks to each and every one of you for tuning in and thank you for making locked on Packers part of your day each and every single day. And as always, make sure you stay locked on Packers