UDFA Signings 2025

[Pokerbrat2000]

Rob Demovsky wrote:

"The Packers gave Baldwin $115,000 guaranteed ($15K signing bonus plus $100K of his base salary).The Packers don't typically do the base salary guarantees with UDFAs so either they were in a bidding battle for him or they really, really like him."

Nice signing, Baldwin really sounds like a "Packer type", with his versatility to play multiple DB positions/roles.

Packers guarantee $115K to versatile UDFA Johnathan Baldwin

The Packers guaranteed $115K to versatile UDFA Johnathan Baldwin, a defensive back out of UNLV.

packerswire-eu.usatoday.com

 

[tynimiller]

Rob Demovsky wrote:

"The Packers gave Baldwin $115,000 guaranteed ($15K signing bonus plus $100K of his base salary).The Packers don't typically do the base salary guarantees with UDFAs so either they were in a bidding battle for him or they really, really like him."

Why Demovsky put an or in there is beyond me. They won the bid and they really like him. Watch his film and you'll understand!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Why Demovsky put an or in there is beyond me. They won the bid and they really like him. Watch his film and you'll understand!

Good catch, I missed that.

Just the small deep dive into Baldwin that I did (after the signing), I like this guy. While the Mountain West is no SEC, he faced some decent opponents. Hard to not notice his hustle and quick closing speed on the ball.

You must be logged in to see this image or video!

 

[tynimiller]

Good catch, I missed that.

Just the small deep dive into Baldwin that I did (after the signing), I like this guy. While the Mountain West is no SEC, he faced some decent opponents. Hard to not notice his hustle and quick closing speed on the ball.

You must be logged in to see this image or video!

Regardless of competition the one scout guy that's been working with me a few years says when watching DBs you can still see:

-Ball reading skills
-Tracking
-Hip swivel specifically (he said feet can lie some depending matchups)
-Aggressive tackling
-closing in on the play away from them
-Screen blow up reads

Baldwin shines in every single one.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Regardless of competition the one scout guy that's been working with me a few years says when watching DBs you can still see:

-Ball reading skills
-Tracking
-Hip swivel specifically (he said feet can lie some depending matchups)
-Aggressive tackling
-closing in on the play away from them
-Screen blow up reads

Baldwin shines in every single one.

Love the way he wraps up low on his tackles. More than just that, his field awareness and tracking of who has the ball, and getting to that player, was impressive. I'd like to see better and more tackling by our DB's, near the line of scrimmage.

Obviously, I've only seen his "highlights". As with any player, one needs to watch him during all plays, good and bad. I can't think of who it was, maybe Amari Rodgers, but I watched a game film of ALL of his offensive plays for a game and he had more lowlights than highlights. Again, not sure if it was Amari.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Packer Punter Daniel Whelan's job is probably safe, but good to see Gute is at least looking at another punter. At 6' 9" that other punter is hard to miss at the Rookie minicamp. Brendan Hall is that rookie and it sounds like he has a strong leg to go with that tall body.

I like the job that Whelan did last season, his first season in the NFL, but the Packers have him on a 1 year deal of $1.03M and no guarantees. So if I am Gute and Hall impresses, I sign him and let him and Whelan punt it out until one is head and shoulders above the other. Whelan himself is 6'5", and I think has a bright future in the NFL, so that won't be an easy job for Hall.

In the article below, you will find the list of all 38 guys at the rookie minicamp.

Packers rookie minicamp roster in 2025 features 11 tryout players

The Packers' 38-player rookie minicamp roster for 2025 features 11 tryout players, 9 returning players, 10 UDFAs and 8 draft picks.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Finally, news on UDFA WR Julian Flemming. The Packers were ready to sign him, but he failed his physical. Hip and back injuries, those aren't easy to come back from.

Pro Football: Fleming fails physical with Packers

ELYSBURG — Julian Fleming is no stranger to obstacles over the last five years of his football career.

www.newsitem.com

 

[Thirteen Below]

Packer Punter Daniel Whelan's job is probably safe, but good to see Gute is at least looking at another punter. At 6' 9" that other punter is hard to miss at the Rookie minicamp. Brendan Hall is that rookie and it sounds like he has a strong leg to go with that tall body.

I heard on Youtube that he kicks 75-yard field goals in practice, but lost the placekicking job because of inconsistency.

With a leg like that, if he ever does catch on with an NFL team, he'll probably take over the kickoff duties. His touchback percentage last year was almost 85%, and that could probably be improved on with NFL-level training and conditioning. That would lead the NFL.

 

[Thirteen Below]

Finally, news on UDFA WR Julian Flemming. The Packers were ready to sign him, but he failed his physical. Hip and back injuries, those aren't easy to come back from.

Pro Football: Fleming fails physical with Packers

ELYSBURG — Julian Fleming is no stranger to obstacles over the last five years of his football career.

www.newsitem.com

Well, hell, that's sad. Poor guy. I feel for him.

But this probably goes a long way toward explaining the profound dropoff in production in his college career.

 

[Thirteen Below]

Regardless of competition the one scout guy that's been working with me a few years says when watching DBs you can still see:

-Ball reading skills
-Tracking
-Hip swivel specifically (he said feet can lie some depending matchups)
-Aggressive tackling
-closing in on the play away from them
-Screen blow up reads

Baldwin shines in every single one.

I found a couple of Youtube guys doing a deep breakdown of Baldwin from a purely statistical perspective, and I thought it was quite interesting. They compared him to several Day One and Day Three CBs, and by their calculus, if you're going purely by stats, we basically got a free early Day Three pick - and possibly a Day Two.

They compared Baldwin's numbers to 2 1st round CBs (Maxwell Hairston and Malaki Starks), and Day Three DBs Justin Walley and Lathan Ransom. Baldwin compared very favorably to Hairston and Starks (maybe just a notch below them), and equal to or better than the 3rd and 4th Round players.

Obviously, there were reasons he slipped (reasons beyond his stats), because his 4.83 RAS is utterly hideous (and we all know how highly Gute values that), and he frankly sucked at a lot of measurables at the combine.

But when he puts on his uniform and steps out onto the field, he just plain, flat-out, makes plays.

Granted - there's a huge difference between doing that at the D-I level, and in the NFL. But if the guy can put together an impressive camp, he may just be worth watching. Green Bay certainly thinks so; they were in a bidding war with at least a couple of other teams, and paid him more guaranteed money than they have ever offered to an UFDA before,.
So clearly, they see him as worthy of a gamble. I'm impressed with this kid, and I'm rooting for him.


It's worth 11 minutes, in my opinion. Some pretty thought-provoking analysis here.

You must be logged in to see this image or video!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I heard on Youtube that he kicks 75-yard field goals in practice, but lost the placekicking job because of inconsistency.

With a leg like that, if he ever does catch on with an NFL team, he'll probably take over the kickoff duties. His touchback percentage last year was almost 85%, and that could probably be improved on with NFL-level training and conditioning. That would lead the NFL.

I saw that too, forgot to include it. I don't know anything about Whelen's ability to kick, but it is always nice to have a decent backup leg on that bench, during a game, just in case. I don't know if there are any K and P in the NFL right now, but if you had a guy that could do both really well, that would save you a roster spot.

 

[tynimiller]

I found a couple of Youtube guys doing a deep breakdown of Baldwin from a purely statistical perspective, and I thought it was quite interesting. They compared him to several Day One and Day Three CBs, and by their calculus, if you're going purely by stats, we basically got a free early Day Three pick - and possibly a Day Two.

They compared Baldwin's numbers to 2 1st round CBs (Maxwell Hairston and Malaki Starks), and Day Three DBs Justin Walley and Lathan Ransom. Baldwin compared very favorably to Hairston and Starks (maybe just a notch below them), and equal to or better than the 3rd and 4th Round players.

Obviously, there were reasons he slipped (reasons beyond his stats), because his 4.83 RAS is utterly hideous (and we all know how highly Gute values that), and he frankly sucked at a lot of measurables at the combine.

But when he puts on his uniform and steps out onto the field, he just plain, flat-out, makes plays.

Granted - there's a huge difference between doing that at the D-I level, and in the NFL. But if the guy can put together an impressive camp, he may just be worth watching. Green Bay certainly thinks so; they were in a bidding war with at least a couple of other teams, and paid him more guaranteed money than they have ever offered to an UFDA before,.
So clearly, they see him as worthy of a gamble. I'm impressed with this kid, and I'm rooting for him.


It's worth 11 minutes, in my opinion. Some pretty thought-provoking analysis here.

You must be logged in to see this image or video!

It is RARE a guy is a 180 from his testing...it does happen....anyone remember the safety prospect I hit the drum HARD for Kamren Kinchens...his RAS was 2.11 BUT while he found seeing the filed tough at first, he QUICKLY fought for more and more playing time with the Rams last year and truly by the end of the season was one of their best on the defensive side of the ball. He got an insanely good for a rookie grading by PFF - overall at 71.5 / coverage 73.7 / run def 65.1 / tackling 62.1....he put up 4 INTs / 36 solo tackles / 1 TFL / 1 FF / and took one of the INTs to the house for a TD.

Now Baldwin I know on some sights is listed as a CB, but guys he like Kinchens is that box/slot safety with deep reps in his time as well.

Baldwin last year snaps:
Box - 221
Slot - 82
FS - 366

Kinchens last college year:
Box 110
Slot 112
FS - 379


I say all this because I truly when I watched film kept drawing a comparison to Kinchens....but I wasn't nearly as ballsy on Baldwin early as I was with Kinchens....had I watched his film in October and seen him in games I likely would have fought the urge to allow testing to push him down my charts.

The kicker with Baldwin is simple...he only has to really beat out Oladapo or Zayne for a role and position. I see him as a better player than both, except perhaps on teams out the gate...but that's easily achieved as well IMO. This is why I put him and Nazir as the top two likely UDFAs to fight their way onto the roster...plain and simple the top end of the safety room is awesome...but the pieces at the bottom are easily beatable IMO (and I like Kitan and Zayne).

You must be logged in to see this image or video!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

In the "its WAY TO EARLY TO KNOW" category, I do really like everything that has been done, up to this point, with the team since the end of the season. I think Gute's FA signings have been Average to good, but the draft class and subsequent UDFA signings is something to get excited about.

Seems like Gute was really focused on improving this teams speed and size. I also think that with the drafting of Golden and Savion Williams, the offensive playbook is going to be expanded and really wide open for what Love can do.

I'm excited for 2025!

 

[tynimiller]

In the "its WAY TO EARLY TO KNOW" category, I do really like everything that has been done, up to this point, with the team since the end of the season. I think Gute's FA signings have been Average to good, but the draft class and subsequent UDFA signings is something to get excited about.

Seems like Gute was really focused on improving this teams speed and size. I also think that with the drafting of Golden and Savion Williams, the offensive playbook is going to be expanded and really wide open for what Love can do.

I'm excited for 2025!

Absolutely - He's done a wonderful job across the board of hedging his bets for all purposes. I really love what he has done LB wise because in truth the McDuffie "extra insurance" extension and Jamon in udfa, Simmons and Oliver (each offer off ball options) and Hopper in reserve....Gute has a Quay exit strategy even though he really didn't do anything big at the position.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I don't know if they have officially signed him yet, but sounds like the Packers were impressed with Rookie Tryout QB Taylor Elgersma and he will be their QB #4. Elgersma evidently has a very strong arm, which should give Clifford a run for his money as the #3 QB. I doubt he unseats Malik Willis as their #2, but I guess you just never know.

MSN

www.msn.com

 

[gopkrs]

I don't know if they have officially signed him yet, but sounds like the Packers were impressed with Rookie Tryout QB Taylor Elgersma and he will be their QB #4. Elgersma evidently has a very strong arm, which should give Clifford a run for his money as the #3 QB. I doubt he unseats Malik Willis as their #2, but I guess you just never know.

MSN

www.msn.com

I wouldn't be satisfied with Clifford either

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I also like what I am hearing about one of the Packers 7th round picks, CB Micah Robinson.

"His position coach at Tulane, former NFL defensive back J.J. McCleskey, believes Robinson will be up for the challenge."

Packers Draft Pick Micah Robinson’s Coach: ‘Get Out of Cement’

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Cornerback Micah Robinson made a big jump in transferring from Furman to Tulane last season. He’ll have to do it again as a seventh-round pick

www.si.com

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I wouldn't be satisfied with Clifford either

I don't think that the Packers are and this is probably Clifford's final year to prove himself or he will be gone in late August, early Sept.

I haven't been impressed with Clifford at all during his preseason games. Sadly, I kind of had high hopes for him when the Packers drafted him in 2023. I think at the time, I felt that spending a 5th rounder on him was a reach, but figured the Packers really liked him to do it.

I also really like having Willis as the #2 QB. Probably the best backup QB that the Packers have had in a long time.

 

[gopkrs]

Yes. It's just that we won't be able to keep him. And hopefully we won't need him.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Yes. It's just that we won't be able to keep him. And hopefully we won't need him.

We've got Willis for another season, on a cheap deal, so Im happy. I'm not sure if he will factor into a 2027 comp pick, but if he does, that is an added bonus.