Tyler Kuder to the Green Bay Packers is very interesting. It’s the same team that gave Evan Smith a chance to make it in the NFL, and the Pack have had the same general manager (Ted Thompson) for a decade. At least we know he’s not afraid of small-school guys from Pocatello, Idaho.
But what got me excited for Kuder about and his opportunity specifically with the Packers was a podcast, “The Ringer’s NFL Show” with Robert Mays and Kevin Clark. Kuder wasn’t drafted, of course, but check out what Clark had to say about Green Bay and its draft …
Clark: “The Green Bay Packers won the draft.”
“You draft freak athletes and figure out the rest later. … (Kenny) Clark (UCLA), Jason Spriggs (Indiana), Kyler Fackrell out of Utah State, 245 pounds, who can move. Dean Lowry, 296 pounds, out of Northwestern. He can move. Trevor Davis is a freak. All of these guys, Blake Martinez (Stanford), all of these guys have incredible measurables. A lot of them were productive. Spriggs, I know there’s questions about whether he’s just a workout guy. But I’m OK taking the workout guy, getting coached up.
“I’ve spent a lot of time around the Packers, Robert. And they’re so good at being teachers and figuring out and manufacturing these athletes into actual players. And the way they are technicians and the way they can get guys to, ‘OK, don’t put your eyes here. Put your eyes in the backfield.’ Very minute things that I’ve heard coaches talk about there, they’re really good. And they’re unlike any staff in the NFL in that regard. They’re going to develop these guys, and I think Ted Thompson knows that. So I think they had the perfect draft for the team they have.”
Kuder fits the mold for what Clark is describing. In the Journal Sentinel, Kuder is listed at 6-3, 307 pounds, with a 5.23 40 and 31 reps on the bench press. Via ISU Bengals dot com, Green Bay signed Kuder with the intention that he’ll play nose tackle. But couldn’t we see Kuder shifting over to the offensive line if Green Bay asks? Along that line of thinking, Robert Mays (who did not bring up this point in regard to Kuder, who they did not discuss) mentioned that he believes four out of the five starting offense linemen for Green Bay have their contracts coming up in a year.
So whether we’re talking NT, offensive line or Thompson’s (extremely brief) history with Idaho State, Green Bay seems like the ideal landing spot for ISU’s best defensive player the past couple seasons. Here’s hoping he catches the moment and has a long, successful pro career.
But what got me excited for Kuder about and his opportunity specifically with the Packers was a podcast, “The Ringer’s NFL Show” with Robert Mays and Kevin Clark. Kuder wasn’t drafted, of course, but check out what Clark had to say about Green Bay and its draft …
Clark: “The Green Bay Packers won the draft.”
“You draft freak athletes and figure out the rest later. … (Kenny) Clark (UCLA), Jason Spriggs (Indiana), Kyler Fackrell out of Utah State, 245 pounds, who can move. Dean Lowry, 296 pounds, out of Northwestern. He can move. Trevor Davis is a freak. All of these guys, Blake Martinez (Stanford), all of these guys have incredible measurables. A lot of them were productive. Spriggs, I know there’s questions about whether he’s just a workout guy. But I’m OK taking the workout guy, getting coached up.
“I’ve spent a lot of time around the Packers, Robert. And they’re so good at being teachers and figuring out and manufacturing these athletes into actual players. And the way they are technicians and the way they can get guys to, ‘OK, don’t put your eyes here. Put your eyes in the backfield.’ Very minute things that I’ve heard coaches talk about there, they’re really good. And they’re unlike any staff in the NFL in that regard. They’re going to develop these guys, and I think Ted Thompson knows that. So I think they had the perfect draft for the team they have.”
Kuder fits the mold for what Clark is describing. In the Journal Sentinel, Kuder is listed at 6-3, 307 pounds, with a 5.23 40 and 31 reps on the bench press. Via ISU Bengals dot com, Green Bay signed Kuder with the intention that he’ll play nose tackle. But couldn’t we see Kuder shifting over to the offensive line if Green Bay asks? Along that line of thinking, Robert Mays (who did not bring up this point in regard to Kuder, who they did not discuss) mentioned that he believes four out of the five starting offense linemen for Green Bay have their contracts coming up in a year.
So whether we’re talking NT, offensive line or Thompson’s (extremely brief) history with Idaho State, Green Bay seems like the ideal landing spot for ISU’s best defensive player the past couple seasons. Here’s hoping he catches the moment and has a long, successful pro career.
