Under-the-radar Packers developments and revisiting the attempted Chase Claypool trade
Under-the-radar Packers developments and revisiting the attempted Chase Claypool trade
Sometimes, the best trades are the ones a team doesn't make. With the advantage of hindsight, the Packers probably feel relieved the Steelers didn't take their offer for Chase Claypool.
Good morning!
Organized-team activities and mandatory minicamp have concluded. Training camp remains more than a month away. With limited exceptions, the upcoming weeks represent the rare respite from football activity in the calendar.
Even so, the discourse surrounding the Green Bay Packers remains quite active. Not only has Jordan Love become a seemingly indefatigable source of #takez -- seriously, this just happened yesterday -- but the team's other young, unproven players have garnered plenty of attention in recent weeks.
Today's edition of The Leap puts some of these players as well as some injury developments under the microscope before revisiting a trade the Packers almost made last November.
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Which player not in competition for a starting job did the most to help his cause during OTAs and minicamp?
Jason B. Hirschhorn: Tyler Goodson has shown some impressive growth so far this offseason. The former undrafted free agent spent all of 2022 on the Packers' practice squad but now appears to have made some meaningful strides in terms of explosiveness and as a pass catcher. He has also caught the attention of his teammates, namely starting running back Aaron Jones.
"I think Tyler Goodson will be a weapon for us. He's been out here balling and he's been working hard," Jones said this past week.
The depth chart at tailback looks extremely clear at the top and then wholly opaque elsewhere. Jones and AJ Dillon will split the vast majority of the snaps with three or more players competing for an RB3 job that might not ultimately exist. Goodson, who offers a skill set that varies from that of Jones or Dillon, might have the most compelling case for that tertiary role.
Peter Bukowski: I’m stretching the rules a bit because Samori Toure is my answer and he may well be WR3 on the Packers right now which would technically make him a starter. But he’s clearly behind Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson as outside receivers and not a true slot like Jayden Reed, which is why I think he answers the spirit of this question.
Back in May, receivers coach Jason Vrable raved about the work Toure put in during the offseason.
"He’s probably, of everybody, the one that everyone around the building is like, ‘83 looks unbelievable right now,’” Vrable said of Toure.
“He’s put on like 8-10 pounds, he has worked his butt off, and he’s just grown into his own. So, you feel comfortable in your own skin and you play fast and you play with confidence, and that’s all you really want.”
Then, in camp, Toure made seemingly a play a day, including a handful that popped on social media. With a receiver room wide open after Watson, Toure has as much of a chance as anyone in that room to prove he can be reliable enough to be a meaningful part of this offense. Had Doubs not been so stellar last August, Toure would have been the breakout rookie receiver with Watson coming back from injury.
Maybe he will be again.
Other than Rashan Gary and Eric Stokes, which absence from the Packers' mandatory minicamp warrants the most attention?
JBH: Grant DuBose might not project as a major figure in the Packers offense this season. Still, as a draft pick, he stands a strong chance of making the team's initial 53-man roster come September. During final cuts, Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst has demonstrated a preference for the players he selected, a trend that bodes well for DuBose.
However, DuBose will probably need a few things to change for that to happen. First and foremost, he'll need to see the field after an undisclosed injury kept him sidelined during OTAs and mandatory minicamp. Granted, the Packers could simply place the rookie wideout on season-ending injured reserve if the ailment proves serious enough, but that would put stymie DuBose's development. Accordingly, the team won't consider IR until exhausting all other options.
But DuBose might need more than just health. Undrafted rookie Malik Heath has generated plenty of buzz in recent weeks, seemingly making a notable play or two during each open practice session. Heath didn't appear in the 2023 Packers UDFA Prospectus, though the reasons had nothing to do with talent. Rather, because Green Bay had selected six wideouts at his position between the last two drafts, Heath simply faced a harder path to spot on the 53-man roster or practice squad. But with DuBose compromised for the time being, Heath has heretofore taken advantage of the opportunity.
DuBose, who possesses ample athleticism for the position, can change the narrative here should he return to action and showcase his physical gifts. The Packers probably only need him to demonstrate health and potential to keep him around. But until that happens, his status remains in limbo.
PB: It hurts me but DuBose is the right pick here (it hurts me both because Jason is right and because I was extremely high on DuBose in the pre-draft process). There are simply too many young, hungry, talented players fighting for scraps to fall behind.
DuBose will have to adjust to an enormous uptick in the competition coming from Charlotte, get up to speed with the playbook in live reps (not just mental reps), and deal with contact.
One of the reasons spring camps don’t have pads is so guys can ramp up, get the playbook down in a lighter scenario, and then be ready when the hitting starts. Losing any time to injury compounds for rookies, especially because he’s not the only rookie with Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks getting looks in his absence. He’s going to be compared to those guys who had a fuller spring to get prepared.
Expecting any seventh-round rookie to come in and contribute was always a fool’s errand, but he had an exciting combination of size, smooth movement skills, and terrific hands. There was and is plenty to be excited about, but expectations will have to be further tempered around DuBose come late July.
Leading up to the 2022 trade deadline, the Bears outbid the Packers for Steelers wideout Chase Claypool, sending the pick that ultimately became the No. 32 overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. This past week, ESPN Chicago reported that the Bears' coaching staff has concerns about the fourth-year receiver. How do you look at Green Bay's near acquisition of Claypool now?
JBH: The Packers should feel relieved about their pursuit of Chase Claypool falling short, and not just for the obvious reasons. The second-round pick they would have given up for the wideout ultimately became a different wideout, Michigan State speedster Jayden Reed. It remains entirely unclear how he will perform relative to Claypool, but the latter enters the final year of his rookie contract. Conversely, Reed will cost the team little against the cap for the foreseeable future and can contribute both on offense and the return game.
However, the true benefit of the trade falling through has nothing to do with that draft pick. Rather, by Claypool never arriving in Green Bay, the offense had to prioritize another lengthy speed merchant, one that had yet to break onto the scene to that point in 2022: Christian Watson.
Consider the timeline. The trade deadline arrived on Nov. 1. Less than two weeks later, Watson went supernova against the Dallas Cowboys, catching four passes for 107 yards and three touchdowns. That breakout came in part because the Packers needed to prioritize the rookie wideout -- Romeo Doubs suffered a high-ankle sprain the week before while Allen Lazard and Sammy Watkins had to battle through injuries of their own -- and his role would have likely gone to Claypool had the Steelers taken their offer.
Watson still has plenty to prove, and he'll have to do so with a new starting quarterback. Still, in the alternate reality where the Packers land Claypool, Watson probably has a lot more questions to answer heading into the 2023 season.
PB: I like “relieved” but also how about just a little bit of “worried” too?
The attitude questions with Claypool were well-documented. And if Mike Tomlin, the best culture coach we have in the NFL, was going, “I’m not sure we can do anything with this extremely talented 6-foot-5 guy who runs like the wind,” maybe that’s a good starting point to not offer a premium pick.
But the Packers were desperate. They knew it was one last ride with Aaron Rodgers and they were willing to spend big to try and make that work. In a way, it’s also heartening. It’s the kind of move fans have clamored for over the years but Green Bay ends up the bridesmaid rather than wearing the white dress and throwing the bouquet to the crowd.
They were willing to spend significant draft capital to make a run even with the downside risk. Brian Gutekunst doesn’t get the credit he deserves for aggressively targeting his guys both in free agency and the draft because so much of the discourse centers around the moves not made. But in this case, not only was failing to make the trade a stroke of luck, but the Packers had made an offer the Steelers would have been willing to accept had the hapless Chicago Bears not come in and splashed the pot with a raise and what became the 32nd overall pick.
Once again, the Bears’ ineptitude plays into Green Bay’s favor.