Inbox: Enjoy him while he lasts

Brad from Solon Springs, WI How about an office pool to send Wes to “The Price is Right”? Biff in khaki shorts, 12 jersey, Packer helmet (old-style face guard) and the gold shades he can borrow from Aaron Jones! This needs to happen. It really does. Conor from Kouts, IN Love that you guys have incorporated Kuhn into the thread recently. One of my best friends is a diehard Steelers fan and our relationship got a little contentious around SB XLV. We found common ground through Kuhn and vowed to get his jersey with our respective teams. Hopefully one day we get to meet him and have him sign them. I have no doubt he’d happily do that, and probably buy you a beer, too. Jim from Edgerton, WI Can "cap impact" be negotiated as part of a trade? Example: A player’s contract included 50 million of guaranteed money. He is entering the third year of that contract, so the next three years include a "cap hit" of 10 million per year. If the player is traded, can the team he is traded to agree to absorb all or some of that “cap hit,” or is it as simple as "you paid it, you live with it"? Mostly the latter. Any guaranteed money already paid to the player by his old club would accelerate onto the cap at the time of the trade. If there are any guarantees in his contract not yet paid, those are passed on to the new club. Ryan from Baldwin, WI For draft classes that are realistically eligible, has there been a Pro Football Hall of Famer in each class? I have to imagine there are some classes that do not have any, but thought you would be the people to ask! According to the Pro Football HOF’s website, every draft except three from 1936-99 has produced at least one Hall of Famer. The only years in that span that haven’t are 1992, 1986 and 1943. TK from Grafton, WI A friend of mine played high school and then college football. I asked him the main difference, and he said, “Everybody out there is FAST.” How much more drastic, then, is the speed adjustment from college to the NFL? Blinding? To put it mildly. Richard from Racine, WI Good morning! How optimistic are you both about the two coaching changes made in the offseason producing the positive changes desired on defense and special teams? No head coach bats 1.000 on his coaching hires, but there’s reason to trust Matt LaFleur here even if choosing Joe Barry and Mo Drayton didn’t wow anybody. No one was doing cartwheels when it was announced his initial staff would have Nathaniel Hackett as offensive coordinator, Adam Stenavich with the offensive line and Justin Outten for tight ends, yet those coaches have been major factors in the offense’s success. We’ll find out with these latest moves just how keen LaFleur’s eye is for coaching talent.Tom from Plymouth, MN Just something interesting to point out. If Mason Crosby has two more injury-free seasons, he will pass Morten Andersen for the most games played by a kicker, and (considering his points-per-season average) will also move into the top 10 in most points overall scored in a career. We have a kicker that we may never see again. Enjoy him while he lasts, and he may last quite a while yet the way he’s going. Bret from Hertel, WI Dear Mike, I have been reading Bo Ryan's "Another Hill To Climb." Do you have a Bo Ryan story to share? And did you ever work out on The Hill behind the residence halls that engineers said had an 11% grade? He mentioned that Walter Payton worked out on it as well. I met Bo when he first got to Platteville because my parents and the Ryans had a mutual friend who invited Bo – the new basketball coach in town – to my dad’s 40th birthday party. I attended his basketball camps for several years. I’ve walked The Hill and also gone sledding on it (with my kids even). The stories about Payton’s workouts on that hill are legendary. To bring it all full circle, when I was in eighth grade, Bo organized a local charity basketball game against an offseason traveling Bears squad, and he asked me to be the Bears’ waterboy. I even got my picture taken with Richard Dent. Ron from Waukesha, WI Spoff: When we picked late in the first round last year, all the first-round graded WRs were gone and when it was our turn in the second round all the second-tier WRs were gone. Is that going to happen to us again in this draft but with the OTs and CBs? And if it happens does the Gute-meister finally pick that first-round WR? There’s no telling how it’s going to fall, and keep in mind someone’s first-round grade can be someone else’s second-rounder. From what I’m hearing, the depth at offensive tackle in this draft would suggest that position has the best chance of a top-rated player falling to the bottom of the round, but you never know. Ty from Elkhart, IN Let's assume a WR's name is called Day 1 or 2 this year … what receiver type do you see it being? A usually termed "gadgety" and "explosive" type most likely relegated to slot and motion work, or will it be a potential traditional X-type receiver given the nature of not a single WR with experience is signed past this season on our roster? As much as I’ve mentioned the “gadget” slot guy as a piece I’m sure LaFleur would like to add to his offense, I don’t see using a first-round pick on that type of player. If it’s in the cards, I would anticipate a first-round receiver being the more full-bodied, all-around performer. Statham from Pineview, GA Would it surprise you if we drafted an EDGE guy early, say rounds 1-3, so that the Smith Bros. and Rashan Gary could be on the field together more often? This would give us a potential starting-caliber player that could rotate in with our three established guys. Two years ago the Packers had signed the Smiths, had a 10-sack guy in Kyler Fackrell also on the roster, and drafted Gary with the No. 12 overall pick. So no, if a premier edge rusher is the best player on the board at any given time, it would be no surprise to see the Packers take that player. Tom from Eagan, MN It seems like ILB should be high on the Packers’ list of priorities by position during the upcoming draft. Krys Barnes looks like a legit starter and Kamal Martin has upside potential, but he has a history of knee injuries, and the lack of depth on the current roster is concerning. What are your thoughts on the Packers taking an ILB in the first two rounds ahead of other positions of need DL, OL, and CB? That wouldn’t shock me, either, but the team’s view could depend on how much Barry is planning to have two inside linebackers on the field together. The Rams didn’t do that much a year ago. We’ll see.Avida from Vienna, VA Hi Mike, will Brian Gutekunst be speaking to the media between now and the draft or will he make himself next available on draft night? Also, has there been any decision on whether minicamps will be held this year? Gutekunst will make himself available once before the draft, probably when the first round is a week or less away, and then at the end of each draft night. I have not heard any specific plans regarding the offseason program. Eric from Mequon, WI When can the players get their new defensive playbooks? As soon as contact with position coaches and coordinators is permitted, which is usually sometime in May. Mike from Pewaukee, WI Who did the Packers draft with that fourth-rounder for Clinton-Dix? A submission by Sid from Burlington, WI, almost had it, but I’ll clarify. When the Packers traded up in the first round in 2019 to get Darnell Savage, they traded the extra first-rounder Gutekunst had secured the year before plus two fourth-rounders, one from the Clinton-Dix trade. Adam from Phoenix, AZ In response to Justin from CA, Wes said he would not be shocked if the Packers drafted any position other than QB and RB in the first round. Not TE as well? With Kyle Pitts long gone by the end of the first round, it would be quite the reach to draft a first-round TE, right? Or am I missing someone? I think you’re right. A tight end at 29 would qualify as a surprise, at least to me. Brian from Twain Harte, CA The Packers have not had a consistent short-yardage RB since Kuhn (no offense to Lacy). Do you see AJ Dillon in that role this season when the Packers have third-and-1 or fourth-and-1? Sure, but how quickly we forget Jamaal Williams’ reliability in short-yardage situations. Jeremiah from Madison, WI In response to Jordan from Virginia Beach, I believe Chris Long and LaGarrette Blount won back to back, playing on the Patriots and then against the Patriots (on the Eagles). And technically, LeSean McCoy just did it this year from the Chiefs and then against the Chiefs (on the Bucs), though I think he was inactive in both games. Several readers mentioned these examples, while Johan from Pembroke, Ontario, also brought up Brandon Browner for the Seahawks and Patriots in 2013-14, though Browner did not play in Seattle’s Super Bowl victory. H.R. from Las Vegas, NV No combine in 2020 due to COVID, and a bunch of the pro days were cancelled. No combine in 2021 due to COVID, but the pro days are being held. I guess the question I have is if there is a need to hold the combine any longer? I understand why it was originally instituted, as a way to get all the scouts and players and teams together on a common field for testing. But with the rise of pro days, and players not running drills at the combine (when it was held), why is the combine still needed? For the record, the combine was held in 2020 (pre-COVID). It's still the most efficient way for the teams and the players to handle the medical checks and interviews. Those have always been more important than the on-field testing anyway. Plus the NFL has made it a huge media event, so it’s not just going away. Rodney from Colleyville, TX Can Aaron Rodgers repeat the same performance as last year? That’s his challenge, and it’s a big one. Though I’m sure his mindset isn’t about repeating, but bettering.Gene from Oconto Falls, WI How many Monday night games have been played at Lambeau Field and what was the first game? I looked this up and learned something. The Packers actually played three Monday night games in Milwaukee (in ’70, ’71 and ’73) before Lambeau hosted its first Monday nighter in ’79. Last year marked the 25th Monday night game at Lambeau. Bryce from Kenosha, WI Responding to Rick from Beloit regarding draft-and-develop: What goes around comes around. Ask Baltimore, Washington, and Chicago how they feel about developing three of our defensive playmakers. Which the Packers are thankful for because, as has been pointed out previously, the approach at that time proved necessary when the 2015 draft did not produce a single player who got a second contract. Tom from Green Lake, WI Good morning. We have 10 draft picks this year. If I did the math correctly, five of those picks are in rounds five through seven. How valuable are those picks to other teams if Brian Gutekunst decides to make some moves earlier in the draft? The fifth-rounders could be worth a few spots each in the second or third round, but that’s about it. Picks in the sixth and seventh usually have to be part of a package with more significant picks to make a meaningful trade. Jon from Andover, MN I am starting to appreciate Gutekunst more. There's not one position we fans can latch on to as a position of need the Packers will draft in the first. It could be a cornerback, but Kevin King was re-signed. It could be a center, but Jenkins is a solid replacement. A wide receiver? Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard, Davante Adams and 48 TDs. Running back? AJ and Jones. Big man in the middle? Maybe. Linebacker? Maybe. A testament to Mr. Gutekunst. Any one chosen is a contributor. It’s not that the Packers don’t have roster needs. Every team does. But Gutekunst intentionally avoids painting himself into a corner as far as immediate or emergency needs, which keeps his board wide open throughout the draft. Brandon from Orlando, FL He falls to pick 24, he has a Hall of Fame career. They draft his "successor," he has an MVP season. What happens if they pass on him being the next host of “Jeopardy!”? Oh boy. Mike from Ames, IA Is Wes not being able to remember his own Wonderlic score a red flag? Will it affect his draft stock with other websites? Happy Friday. HAVE A QUESTION?

Inbox: Enjoy him while he lasts

And he may last quite a while yet the way he’s going