2023 NFL Draft: Iowa State pass-rusher Will McDonald visits the Packers
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports McDonald is ranked 43rd on the consensus draft board It appears as though the Green Bay Packers are going to continue to use their pre-draft visits to get a better look at potential top-100 selections. Last season, general manager Brian Gutekunst drafted six players who took visits to Green Bay during the spring. This is in contrast to the team’s previous visit strategy, which was developed under former general manager Ted Thompson, that used visits as a recruiting extension of undrafted free agency. The first reported visit the Packers had...
17 hours ago
Draft Talk 4.0: Ranking the top defensive linemen in the 2023 class
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via No one can agree on who the second-best lineman is After a week off, Acme Packing Company’s Tyler Brooke and Justis Mosqueda sat down to speak about the 2023 defensive line prospects at the top of this draft class. It is truly a “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” type of class for the defensive linemen, as each individual player has some sort of major question mark. Those question marks can range from off-field issues to effort issues to questions about health to scheme limitations. Beyond just the top-100 defensive...
Packers re-sign OLB Justin Hollins to 1-year deal, per report
Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via The edge rusher returns for another year in Green Bay after joining the team midseason in 2022. A quietly impactful transaction that the Green Bay Packers made during the 2022 season was the acquisition of outside linebacker Justin Hollins. A former fifth-round draft pick, Hollins had spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, then started five of the Rams’ first ten games of 2022. However, the team waived him after that point, and the Packers claimed him on waivers to help bolster a pass rush group hit hard...
Cheese Curds, 3/23: Packers still need to find talent, bodies at tight end
Photo by Megan Briggs/ With Big Bob off to Chicago and Big Dog still a free agent, the Packers probably need both a veteran and a rookie at the position. Out of the four tight ends who saw time on the field for the Green Bay Packers in 2022, just two have returned, and those two are the ones on the second line of the depth chart. Josiah Deguara is back for the final year of his rookie contract and Tyler Davis re-signed with the team. With no Robert Tonyan (who signed with the Chicago Bears as a free agent) and no Marcedes Lewis (who remains a free agent), the team needs...
Packers Reacts Survey: What is Green Bay’s biggest draft need?
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK Tight end and safety are neck and neck for the Packers’ biggest hole Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Green Bay Packers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. It’s been a few weeks, so let’s take a temperature check on where Packers fans’ heads are at now that the first wave of free agency is over. There are still plenty of questions that general manager Brian...
Jets trade WR Elijah Moore to Browns, taking one potential Packers target off the board
Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire via The Packers won’t be getting Moore in the widely-expected Aaron Rodgers trade. As the world waits on the Green Bay Packers to make a deal with the New York Jets centered around Aaron Rodgers, the Jets have dealt away one of the more intriguing players who might have been a part of that trade from their side. Wide receiver Elijah Moore was a first-round draft pick in 2021, but after a solid rookie season he saw his target share and playing time drop a bit in year two. Now he’s on the move, but not to Green Bay as many NFL...
Wednesday Cheese Curds: Packers trying to get the quarterback question right
Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports Here’s how the Packers got to where they are At the most basic level, the Packers find themselves in their current conundrum with Aaron Rodgers because they’re trying to solve the most important question in football: how do we make sure we have a good quarterback? The Packers took Jordan Love — correctly or incorrectly — as insurance against the ravages of time. Whether it was 2020 or 2023 or some point in between or beyond, Aaron Rodgers would eventually no longer be the Packers’ quarterback, and Brian Gutekunst’s gamble was a...
Packers host a pre-draft visit with Georgia TE Darnell Washington
Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports Washington is considered one of the top tight end prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft class NFL teams are allocated 30 pre-draft visits each draft cycle, which Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has used significantly differently than Ted Thompson before him. Under Thompson, the Packers often used their limited visits as an extension of undrafted free agency, essentially turning these visits into recruiting trips for the lower end of the talent pool. Conversely, six of Green Bay’s draft picks in the 2022 draft took visits...
Mar 21, 2023
Brooke’s Bullies: The Toughest Prospects in 2023 NFL Draft
Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Let’s highlight the toughest prospects in this year’s draft class. The 2023 NFL Draft may not have the upper-echelon talent that other classes have had in years past, but it features some of the most physically dominant prospects in recent years. Brooke’s Bullies looks to highlight and recognize the players, regardless of size, who exemplify competitive toughness at their respective positions. This can be players who lay the lumber on defense, block opponents into the dirt, or generally showcase a mentality that makes...
Mar 21, 2023
Tuesday Cheese Curds: Money tells the story
Wm. Glasheen-USA TODAY Sports Following the money in the NFL is a full-time pursuit. Money makes the NFL world go ‘round, and getting fans to judge every move by how it impacts the salary cap was one of the sneakiest things the league has ever done. Think about it: whether teams are spending a lot or a little, they can spin it as a win. Drop big money in free agency, shelling out huge money for guys that at least one team already decided they didn’t want? We’re winning! We’re aggressive! Pinch pennies and play hardball with players? We’re trying to be...
Packers re-sign Corey Ballentine as special teams focus continues
Photo by Scott Taetsch/ Another one of Rich Bisaccia’s guys is back after spending half a season in Green Bay. Every single player that the Green Bay Packers have signed or re-signed since the start of the 2023 NFL league year is a key special teams player. First, the team made its biggest splash so far by re-signing cornerback and All-Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon. The team then brought in two outside free agents, long snapper Matt Orzech and safety Tarvarius Moore, the latter of whom was also primarily a special teams contributor. Then over the weekend, reports...
When is a future draft pick worth more than a current draft pick?
Dan Powers / USA TODAY NETWORK April 27th may not actually force a move in the Aaron Rodgers stalemate. It’s become something like conventional wisdom that if the Green Bay Packers are trading Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, April 27th is an important date, as the trade will likely include draft picks and that is the day that the 2023 NFL Draft begins. However, for a few reasons, I’m really not sure that’s the case. It’s true, at a macro level, that future draft picks are not as valuable as draft picks in the current year, for the simple reason that current...
An Aaron Rodgers trade may have to wait until the draft
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport made the case on Monday Nearly a week after Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers stated on The Pat McAfee Show that his “intention is to play for the New York Jets,” it feels as though steam has been lost on a potential trade. While Rodgers will still likely be traded to the Jets eventually, all the talk about how a deal is right on the horizon has seemingly vanished. During his interview with McAfee, Rodgers begged the organization not to dig their heels in the ground for trade compensation....
Mar 20, 2023
Monday Cheese Curds: NFC North had a big first week of free agency
Photo by Nic Antaya/ In particular, the Bears and Lions each made a flurry of signings to try to bolster struggling units. The four teams in the NFC North have each been the subject of very different narratives during the first week of the 2023 free agency period. While one of the franchises has primarily seen subtractions from the roster, the others have been adding significant pieces as one tries to become relevant again while the others look to maintain its ascending standing in the division. Looking at one the latter teams described above, the Detroit Lions have...
Edge players to watch for the Packers in the 2023 draft
Edge class offers range of athleticism and polish on day one and two Myles Murphy, Clemson With Will Anderson likely gone by the time the Packers pick, Myles Murphy could end up being their top target. It will take some luck for Murphy to slide out of the top 10, but with some draft capital from a potential trade of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Murphy is within shooting distance for the Packers. Murphy is a supreme athlete and would add a long-term counterpunch to put opposite of Rashan Gary. He is raw with a limited number of pass-rush moves but has the tools to be a...