What I liked about that run after the catch was his putting his shoulder down and initiating contact. He's letting tacklers know who the real big dog is out there.
And in this context, "big" means
truly big. The guy is roughly 260 pounds, which is
50-65 pounds bigger than the average NFL defensive back and about even with an LB (and on an individual basis, often 10-15 lbs heavier; which gives you some substantial opportunities in terms of matchups).
A lot of DBs are gonna say "ah,
****, here he comes" when they see Kraft get past the linebacker.
Even though he's early in his career, I think Kraft has developed into one of the best blocking TEs in the game. His ability to read where he's supposed to be in routes is improving every week. He's going to be an All Pro real soon.
I honestly don't recall any draft, by any team, any year, that compares to Gute's 2023 draft. 8 solid starters/rotational players - Van Ness, Musgrave, Kraft, Reed, Valentine, Brooks, Wooden, and Wicks. For most teams, they'd be doing somersaults to get that many starters in
three drafts, and slappin' one another's ***** to get that many in
two. The average percentage of NFL draft picks who become starter or rotational players is roughly 25-30%; Gute's 2023 hit rate is 114.3%.
114.3.%.... 8 players in a 7-round draft.
But wait - there's more!
Also in that third day, Green Bay scooped up Brenton Cox and Malik Heath as free agents, both of whom are playing significant or contributing roles right now wiith this team.
Factor that in, and by the end of Day Three, Gutekunst came away with 10 starting or contributing players in a 7-round draft, for a hit rate of 140%!!!
And this was just one year after drafting
another eight starters (Walker, Wyatt, Watson, Tom, Rhyan, Doubs, Enagbare, and the other Walker), for a hit rate of 114%.
This is a master class in how you build a Super Bowl-caliber team in 3 years, when you consider that this was all a year before drafting what may turn out to be as many as 6 or 7 starters/rotational players in 24. This just doesn't
happen.
But here we are.
Belton will be a starter for sure. This man can block in many ways unlike many others. His strength in those hands is impressive, I’m sure many have seen some of the reps that exist where he pancake snap blocks a guy engaged with a neighbor OL without even thinking and reengages in his assignment all in one motion.
I remember a couple of plays where I sat up straight and said, "Holy cow, who was that??" Couldn't immediately see the name or number, and then on the replay sat back and said, "whoa, that was Belton? The rookie?" Smooth, reactive, and in control... seemed to know exactly what to do at every stage of his engagement... no confusion, no hesitation, just "ok i'm gonna do this, now I'm gonna do that, and so on... ". Did not immediately look like a guy who was playing NCAA football just a few months ago.
I was a little curious about the pick at that time, but I get it now.
Both these guys will be 10-year starters in the NFL. With the shorter contracts today, sadly we will probably lose one of them through free agency. That's why it's essential that Gute and his staff constantly scour the college ranks for players they can draft lower in the draft and know they've got potentially strong candidates to be part of the offensive line moving forward.
Our hit rate at this position group is phenomenal the last several years. It used to be that the rest of the league looked to us as the quarterback factory; now it's more like the O-line pipeline.
Morgan is another, this dude is a pass blocking savant, he has growth to occur in run blocking for certain (just as Belton at times in pass blocking) but Morgan also was a mirror of protection, allowing two pressures but really I saw one.
I am really looking forward to seeing where Morgan is at by December as compared to September, because almost evey series of downs, I am more and more understanding why we took him where we did. Again, Green Bay just hits the jackpot on identifying and developing an offensive lineman. Is there another team in the NFL who does that better?
If those two are what they seem, there is a real foundation for next years OL that should yet again keep Love clean for years to come.
Until we draft and develop their replacements, and move them along for draft picks when their contracts come up. This top-heavy OL room is an awfully nice problem to have. That's a really, really good position group to be overstocked.
Of course, it can change fast with injuries. In a single week. But right now, we're looking very strong at O-line for the immediate future.
Heath might very well be the most well rounded and capable WR5/6 in the league - just insanely good in nearly every rep.
I've been crazy about Heath from the beginning, had very high hopes, and it's validating to me that you like the guy so much too. He's going to get some snaps in the next couple of weekends, and I'll be watching closely to see what he does with those opportunities. I'm rooting for him; I hope all this hard work the last several years finally comes to fruition. He's earned it.
