MiniCamp News 2025

[Heyjoe4]

I think the CB's will be just fine. Valentine will pick up where he left off after taking over for Stokes at the end of 2024, and be our new #1 CB. Nixon played better outside than in the slot, after taking that spot when Jaire went down. Hobbs and Bullard can fight it out for the slot reps. My sleeper is I think Hadden will take a big leap, and push Nixon. KC drafted him and threw him in the slot, which makes no sense to me, since he thrived as an outside man CB in college at Tennessee.

I think the CB room will surprise us, in a good way, when all is said and done, as we look back at it after the season is over. I also feel that Gute will try to add a vet to that room before the season is done. There are a few FA guys still out there, and we definitely have some cap $$ available to do that.

Thanks DoURant, that's a very optimistic outlook on the CB group. And there is a better than even chance that the group will step up with Nixon and Valentine outside and Hobbs in the slot. Bullard can then be free to backup in the slot or at safety. I think Bullard was a round two selection, so a backup role isn't what Gluten had in mind. But hey, best utilize the talent available. I hope Bullard takes a big step this year.

Unfortunately, JA became a distraction - not because of anything he did - but because of what he didn't do, which was play. So I wish him well, but it made sense for Gluten to move on.

Off topic a bit - I will be interested to see where JA lands and what his contract looks like. Very possible the Eagles would pay him $16 or $17 mil on a one-year deal. We'll see.

 

[Guacamole]

What else can we talk about?

where do you put your gas cap when filling up your motorcycle or car?

 

[OldSchool101]

Or are CBs are as bad as some fear.

Nah. Mostly fear imo.
Me thinks that the proper accounting doesn’t support that. Jah only played 6 games in 2024. so it’s hard to quantify his effect perfectly, but it’s even harder to argue the Secondary will fall apart without him also. We ranked in the top 9-15 in nearly every statistical category for Pass Defense. JA wasn’t even here for 12 contests last year.

Then there’s Eric Stokes who was a below average the end of his time here. He was just a placeholder. He didn’t crash and burn, but from my eye test and his production rate hes firmly in the bottom 1/3 of all CB’s across last season. Across his last 3 seasons or 29 contests. He had
0 INT
0 Pass Defensed
0 Sacks
0 FF
1 TFL
Stokes had either 1 or 0 Tackles in 8 games last season.
-7 TD Allowed
116% Passer Rating
*58 targets since 2021 or 2.0 times per contest
His was NOT a production area we prefer to promote.

As a comparison Valentine across his last 32 games has
2 INT
14 Pass Defensed
0 Sacks
2 FF
0 TFL
1 FR
1 TD Allowed which is remarkable
83% Passer Rating
*89 targets Or 2.78 times per contest since 2023.

Valentine dealt with 31 more targets above Stokes load, but Valentine had 6 less TD’s allowed? How does that even happen?

 

[Heyjoe4]

Nah. Mostly fear imo.
Me thinks that the proper accounting doesn’t support that. Jah only played 6 games in 2024. so it’s hard to quantify his effect perfectly, but it’s even harder to argue the Secondary will fall apart without him also. We ranked in the top 9-15 in nearly every statistical category for Pass Defense. JA wasn’t even here for 12 contests last year.

Then there’s Eric Stokes who was a below average the end of his time here. He was just a placeholder. He didn’t crash and burn, but from my eye test and his production rate hes firmly in the bottom 1/3 of all CB’s across last season. Across his last 3 seasons or 29 contests. He had
0 INT
0 Pass Defensed
0 Sacks
0 FF
1 TFL
Stokes had either 1 or 0 Tackles in 8 games last season.
-7 TD Allowed
116% Passer Rating
*58 targets since 2021 or 2.0 times per contest
His was NOT a production area we prefer to promote.

As a comparison Valentine across his last 32 games has
2 INT
14 Pass Defensed
0 Sacks
2 FF
0 TFL
1 FR
1 TD Allowed which is remarkable
83% Passer Rating
*89 targets Or 2.78 times per contest since 2023.

Valentine dealt with 31 more targets above Stokes load, but Valentine had 6 less TD’s allowed? How does that even happen?

Valentine has showed some promise. I'm optimistic about Hobbs in the slot. Nixon hasn't shown to be much more than JAG at CB. Bullard is a bit of a wildcard who needs to find a spot. The safety group is solid. But this secondary doesn't look like that of a SB team, so I'll believe they are good when I see results.

Same with the DL/Edge guys. Gluten has faith in them but he's running back the same guys who were here last year - when pressures and sacks were scarce. In turn, that makes the job of the secondary much harder.

I feel a lot better about the offense. But it takes an elite defense to win SBs. So we'll see. Gluten did a good job in the offseason, given what he had to work with. Right now, this looks like a 10, maybe 11-win team. I'm hoping for a lot better than that.

 

[OldSchool101]

Same with the DL/Edge guys. Gluten has faith in them but he's running back the same guys who were here last year - when pressures and sacks were scarce. In turn, that makes the job of the secondary much harder.

Not disagreeing that QB pressure isn’t important. However this particular Draft had a thick crop at DE/Edge/OLB
We did draft Barryn Sorrell and Colin Oliver in RD4-5. Both have traits consistent with being disruptive.

In addition teams should expect growth from their lesser experienced players once past their Rookie season.
One guy to watch is Brenton Cox Jr. he was inactive until week 11 so in 7 contests. He finished with
4 Sacks
7 QB hits
5 TFL

Cox Jr was doing that on under a 35% snap count. He’s a guy I could see earning more in that 50% snap count based on pure performance. I’m not sure what to make of Lucas it’s almost like he went stagnant last year.

 

[Heyjoe4]

Not disagreeing that QB pressure isn’t important. However this particular Draft had a thick crop at DE/Edge/OLB
We did draft Barryn Sorrell and Colin Oliver in RD4-5. Both have traits consistent with being disruptive.

In addition teams should expect growth from their lesser experienced players once past their Rookie season.
One guy to watch is Brenton Cox Jr. he was inactive until week 11 so in 7 contests. He finished with
4 Sacks
7 QB hits
5 TFL

Cox Jr was doing that on under a 35% snap count. He’s a guy I could see earning more in that 50% snap count based on pure performance. I’m not sure what to make of Lucas it’s almost like he went stagnant last year.

It didn't surprise me that Gluten went offense on the first and even second pick. Given the wealth of talent at DE/Edge/LB, I really thought he'd take one of those guys in rd 3. The WR pick was a surprise.

He must know/see something I don't. That line and the Edge guys underperformed last year as far as pressures/sacks. There may be a reason for it. QBs like Hurts, Daniels, Jackson, Richardson, Allen have to be respected for their ability to run. That forces the DL to play contain and pressures/sacks come against less-athletic QBs.

Even so, Goff is not very mobile, Williams took 68 sacks last year, and I don't think McCarthy is known for running. So pressures/sacks within the North will be important to win games.

 

[OldSchool101]

It didn't surprise me that Gluten went offense on the first and even second pick. Given the wealth of talent at DE/Edge/LB, I really thought he'd take one of those guys in rd 3. The WR pick was a surprise.

He must know/see something I don't. That line and the Edge guys underperformed last year as far as pressures/sacks. There may be a reason for it. QBs like Hurts, Daniels, Jackson, Richardson, Allen have to be respected for their ability to run. That forces the DL to play contain and pressures/sacks come against less-athletic QBs.

Even so, Goff is not very mobile, Williams took 68 sacks last year, and I don't think McCarthy is known for running. So pressures/sacks within the North will be important to win games.

We definitely need to find better ways to apply pressure. I think this was one primary reason Demarcus was brought in at DL coach. He’d ultimately responsible for the mix at DL. He’s also got exceptional level tutelage under Flores and Patricia and obviously Bill B there at New England.

Imo GB now has the personnel at both LB and DL to find ways to improve in disruption. Ww did lose Eric Wilson who was actually a good Pass Rusher. But we replaced him with 2 players in Oliver and Sorrell and both those guys were very good on their respective teams. Actually Oliver has one of the better disruptive resumes for a LB/DE in this draft class. He’s smaller for a DE, but he’s very fast and very assertive and exceptionally athletic.

TJ will he missed. Yet TJ was not a Pass Rusher specialist. We lost very little to anything in that Pass rush regard inside. Also TJ wasn’t out there for 60% of the D snaps, many of us forget that. Eric Wilson blitz can be replaced by sending Cooper, Simmons, Quay, Oliver etc. imo. Little to nothing lost.
My bigger concern would be holding against the interior Run. Yet looking at Wyatt and Clark (who claimed he played through a significant Toe injury) and what I believe is an upgrade at DL coach, I think we’re going to be good once again. Easily Top 10 and outside chance we can get into a Top5 Defense if our CB room holds up.

 

[tynimiller]

The one fact about our defense is we held serve at CB for the most part last year…they don’t need to be phenoms…so long as we can get better pressure ratings from our front. Do that and this CB again just needs to hold serve essentially…this safety group is incredible, the off ball backers are highly athletic (Quay, Cooper and Simmons) or dependable (McDuffie) and out edges got more diverse (Sorrell and Oliver) and not to mention one playing for a contract in Enagbare.

 

[OldSchool101]

The one fact about our defense is we held serve at CB for the most part last year…they don’t need to be phenoms…so long as we can get better pressure ratings from our front. Do that and this CB again just needs to hold serve essentially…this safety group is incredible, the off ball backers are highly athletic (Quay, Cooper and Simmons) or dependable (McDuffie) and out edges got more diverse (Sorrell and Oliver) and not to mention one playing for a contract in Enagbare.

Yes. Imo from an overall, pure D personnel grouping, I would rather have the 2025 group than the 2024 group. It’s close in rating for me but leaning improved.
As you spoke to it, the 2025 group is every bit as talented as last year. We really only lost 3 quantifiable changes.
1. J’aire across 6 full games. So let’s call it less than 25% of the D snaps across 2024

2. TJ Slaton in the middle. No disrespect to Slaton he was an above average block eating, run stuffer.
A. He’s not an All Pro,
B. He’s not a Probowl player
C. He played a moderate to leaning lower 39% of total D snaps across the season due to he’s a specialty player.

3. Player growth. Anytime a team has a younger grouping of players an extra season favors growth. Kenny isn’t even 30 yet and he’s considered an old man on this Defense.

While we never want to lose an above average player at any position, when we consider iDT, it’s NOT a position like Safety, CB, DE, LB where we’re replacing someone with a 65%-100% snap count. Slaton was out there for just under <4 of every 10 snaps.

I’d really argue that it was often Eric Wilson who left the biggest impression (I’m not being sarcastic because of girth!) Compared to TJ He recorded more snaps on Defense, more Sacks, more TFL, more QB pressures, more FF, more PD, more Tackles. Now we can certainly argue he supported Wilson’s success and I’d agree. Yet GB has Oliver and Simmons battling for some of Eric’s void. Then Stackhouse, Wooden and Brinson fighting for TJ’s snaps. I think the best of those 3 players will comparatively be a minimal dropoff in the Run game when compared to TJ.

 

[milani]

It didn't surprise me that Gluten went offense on the first and even second pick. Given the wealth of talent at DE/Edge/LB, I really thought he'd take one of those guys in rd 3. The WR pick was a surprise.

He must know/see something I don't. That line and the Edge guys underperformed last year as far as pressures/sacks. There may be a reason for it. QBs like Hurts, Daniels, Jackson, Richardson, Allen have to be respected for their ability to run. That forces the DL to play contain and pressures/sacks come against less-athletic QBs.

Even so, Goff is not very mobile, Williams took 68 sacks last year, and I don't think McCarthy is known for running. So pressures/ sacks within the North will be important to win games.

I think the key to the Packers success is winning at the line of scrimmage. And that is for the most part for us on the defensive side of the ball. The 3-4 defense vs. the 4-3 is why I believe our approach to D has been different in the last 20 seasons. At one time you only worried about a Michael Vick running you ragged. Now there are more like him and even better and more versatile.

 

[OldSchool101]

I think the key to the Packers success is winning at the line of scrimmage. And that is for the most part for us on the defensive side of the ball. The 3-4 defense vs. the 4-3 is why I believe our approach to D has been different in the last 20 seasons. At one time you only worried about a Michael Vick running you ragged. Now there are more like him and even better and more versatile.

Yes. I recall at one section of the season last year we faced a gauntlet as far as mobile QB’s. Haf smartly chose to use a containment approach. In 2024 we held Hurts and Richardson to a total of 70 yards. The previous season Hurts ran Wild on GB to the tune of 157 Yards by himself in 1 game.

Hafley played his cards right. While we may have limited our potential to Sack QB’s or apply extreme pocket pressure, we quietly made those QB’s
1-Dimensional. At one point last season Hurts and Richardson had a combined 19 yards across the first 3 Quarters in back to back games.

 

[Heyjoe4]

We definitely need to find better ways to apply pressure. I think this was one primary reason Demarcus was brought in at DL coach. He’d ultimately responsible for the mix at DL. He’s also got exceptional level tutelage under Flores and Patricia and obviously Bill B there at New England.

Imo GB now has the personnel at both LB and DL to find ways to improve in disruption. Ww did lose Eric Wilson who was actually a good Pass Rusher. But we replaced him with 2 players in Oliver and Sorrell and both those guys were very good on their respective teams. Actually Oliver has one of the better disruptive resumes for a LB/DE in this draft class. He’s smaller for a DE, but he’s very fast and very assertive and exceptionally athletic.

TJ will he missed. Yet TJ was not a Pass Rusher specialist. We lost very little to anything in that Pass rush regard inside. Also TJ wasn’t out there for 60% of the D snaps, many of us forget that. Eric Wilson blitz can be replaced by sending Cooper, Simmons, Quay, Oliver etc. imo. Little to nothing lost.
My bigger concern would be holding against the interior Run. Yet looking at Wyatt and Clark (who claimed he played through a significant Toe injury) and what I believe is an upgrade at DL coach, I think we’re going to be good once again. Easily Top 10 and outside chance we can get into a Top5 Defense if our CB room holds up.

I think you're referring to new DL coach Covington, and he does have a solid pedigree. Great addition by MLF.

Who is TJ?

 

[tynimiller]

I think you're referring to new DL coach Covington, and he does have a solid pedigree. Great addition by MLF.

Who is TJ?

TJ Slaton - played on about 40% of all of our defensive snaps.

Which for reference of comparison Kenny Clark played 63%, Wyatt 41%, Brooks 41%, Wooden 28%

 

[Heyjoe4]

TJ Slaton - played on about 40% of all of our defensive snaps.

Which for reference of comparison Kenny Clark played 63%, Wyatt 41%, Brooks 41%, Wooden 28%

Slaton, of course (not a fan of first-name, or initials, use). Thanks for the info. Play-time stats are interesting. I would have guessed Slaton was used more, and Clark less.

 

[milani]

Yes. I recall at one section of the season last year we faced a gauntlet as far as mobile QB’s. Haf smartly chose to use a containment approach. In 2024 we held Hurts and Richardson to a total of 70 yards. The previous season Hurts ran Wild on GB to the tune of 157 Yards by himself in 1 game.

Hafley played his cards right. While we may have limited our potential to Sack QB’s or apply extreme pocket pressure, we quietly made those QB’s
1-Dimensional. At one point last season Hurts and Richardson had a combined 19 yards across the first 3 Quarters in back to back games.

As good as Saquon and Hurts are our biggest challenge is that Eagle defense. At least it was the last game. We cannot afford turnovers against a team like that. And if we get in FG range we have to make them.

 

[OldSchool101]

Thanks DoURant, that's a very optimistic outlook on the CB group. And there is a better than even chance that the group will step up with Nixon and Valentine outside and Hobbs in the slot. Bullard can then be free to backup in the slot or at safety. I think Bullard was a round two selection, so a backup role isn't what Gluten had in mind. But hey, best utilize the talent available. I hope Bullard takes a big step this year.

Unfortunately, JA became a distraction - not because of anything he did - but because of what he didn't do, which was play. So I wish him well, but it made sense for Gluten to move on.

Off topic a bit - I will be interested to see where JA lands and what his contract looks like. Very possible the Eagles would pay him $16 or $17 mil on a one-year deal. We'll see.

While I’m seeing that also. The Eagles have just shy of $5mil less than The Packers have across the ‘25-‘26 seasons. I’m not sure that’s a great move for them any more than it was for us. Unless he takes a lower guaranteed or has some tied to playing time etc.

 

[El Guapo]

I'm not scared by whomever Jaire signs with...

 

[OldSchool101]

I'm not scared by whomever Jaire signs with...

I agree. It’s almost a coin flip he’s either a great signing or terrible one depending on availability.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I'm not scared by whomever Jaire signs with...

I think Philly is a likely landing spot for JA. But it's been a few weeks and nothing is happening. Maybe his market ws not as big as he and his agent seemed to think.

Sounds like he rejected a deal from GB for $10 mil and incentives to get to $17 mil. That probably means he had to stay healthy and perform. Makes me wonder just how heathy he is.

 

[OldSchool101]

I think Philly is a likely landing spot for JA. But it's been a few weeks and nothing is happening. Maybe his market ws not as big as he and his agent seemed to think.

Sounds like he rejected a deal from GB for $10 mil and incentives to get to $17 mil. That probably means he had to stay healthy and perform. Makes me wonder just how heathy he is.

Well his Dad said he was young Forest Gump in between Games last year. I mean an egregious level misdiagnosis generally doesn’t infer a sore big toe.
I’m not quoting him word for word but that what my ears heard! All I could hear was Jennae hollering “RUN Forrest RUN!”

 

[Sanguine camper]

I think Philly is a likely landing spot for JA. But it's been a few weeks and nothing is happening. Maybe his market ws not as big as he and his agent seemed to think.

Sounds like he rejected a deal from GB for $10 mil and incentives to get to $17 mil. That probably means he had to stay healthy and perform. Makes me wonder just how heathy he is.

If Jaire only had one offer, it's more likely he would've signed by now. Whereas, if he has multiple teams vying for his services, then he could drag it out by seeing who the highest bidder may be.

 

[gopkrs]

I wonder if he would return if it actually turned out it was a good offer. I'd let him come back.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I wonder if he would return if it actually turned out it was a good offer. I'd let him come back.

You and Sanguine make good points. He may be negotiating with several teams, but I don't think so. I'd certainly welcome him back on a new, team-friendly contract with plenty of incentives.

 

[Heyjoe4]

If Jaire only had one offer, it's more likely he would've signed by now. Whereas, if he has multiple teams vying for his services, then he could drag it out by seeing who the highest bidder may be.

Good point, thanks. I don't think there is interest from multiple teams, but that could easily be wrong.

 

[Sanguine camper]

Good point, thanks. I don't think there is interest from multiple teams, but that could easily be wrong.

Who in the NFL doesn't need a CB? It's about the terms of the contract at this point. Jaire is probably negotiating with several teams to get the highest possible guaranteed payout. He knows he's injury prone, so I would think he'd take less in annual salary to achieve a higher guaranteed portion.

Would Jaire grovel back to Green Bay? Seriously doubt it. Those bridges have now been burnt.