Draft Talk 2.0: The latest Aaron Rodgers “news” and the 2023 safety class

In the first episode of Acme Packing Company’s Draft Talk, Tyler Brooke and Justis Mosqueda set the table for the upcoming draft class with their discussion on the top prospects in the class at the Green Bay Packers’ biggest positions of need, as voted by you — the fans. In the second edition of the series, Brooke and Mosqueda did a deep dive on the safety position, which was voted as the team’s number one need going into 2023.

It’s hard to ignore the elephant in the room — Aaron Rodgers’ upcoming retirement decision — so the show starts off with the talk of the recent “news” (leaks?) around the topic before a vibe check on if we think he’s coming back to the team next season.

Here’s how Brooke ranked his top 11 safeties in the 2023 draft:

1. Brian Branch, Alabama
2. Christopher Smith, Georgia
3. Jordan Battle, Alabama
4. Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M
5. Jay Ward, LSU
6. Sydney Brown, Illinois
7. Ji’Ayir Brown, Penn State
8. JL Skinner, Boise State
9. Jammie Robinson, Florida State
10. Rashad Torrence II, Florida
11. Brandon Joseph, Notre Dame

Mosqueda split his rankings up into the safety position and the slot position, as most of the safeties in this class have a strong slot background.

Safeties

1. Christopher Smith, Georgia
2. Jordan Battle, Alabama
3. Brandon Joseph, Notre Dame
4. Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M
5. JL Skinner, Boise State
6. Sydney Brown, Illinois

Slots

1. Brian Branch, Alabama
2. Jammie Robinson, Florida State

In the end, both Brooke and Mosqueda agreed that Smith and Battle are “their guys” at the position this season. Take a listen to this week’s podcast if you want to hear the reasoning behind these rankings.

Next week, Brooke, Mosqueda and Tex Western will be representing APC live in Indianapolis at the scouting combine, where we’ll bring you daily coverage of the Packers’ press conferences and the workout results of the event. When that’s all over, we’ll be back to give you a look at the tight end class, the second-highest position of need for Green Bay as voted by the fans.

Timestamps

• 0:30: The latest happenings with Aaron Rodgers
• 12:45: The 2023 safety class

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