2024 5th Round Pick #163 Jacob Monk - C - Duke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et8NaoFuN10

Overview
Rare five-year starter and two-year team captain with explosive power and plus athleticism. Right off the bat, Monk will be dinged for his lack of ideal size as a center. He's going to have trouble with bulky two-gappers who can snap a punch into him and quickly separate. However, one-gapping defenders will have their hands full, as he's more than capable of washing them down or outright pancaking them. Monk can slide and redirect A-gap rushers, but an offensive line coach must get him to protect with inside hands. Monk's blend of football IQ, nimble feet and power give him a realistic chance to compete for a job, no matter how he gets into a camp.

Strengths
Five-year starter and two-time team captain.
Weight-room warrior possessing explosive hips and upper-body power.
Athleticism pops in pass slides and as a pulling/screen blocker.
Uses hand strength and leg drive to connect and sustain.
Wipe-out power to bounce A-gap blitzers out of the club.

Weaknesses
Addresses pass rusher with wide hands and an open frame.
Absorbs first contact more often than dealing it in protection.
Needs to eliminate the leaning and reaching.
Could struggle to impose power on defenders with length.
Moves well but might have trouble collecting second-level movement.

This guy has potential, but there were better options on the board when Gute decided to utterly waste a pick on Williams.

King, you seem pretty bitter about this year’s group. I hope to hell you’re wrong!

This guy’s nickname? Thelonius.

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Originally Posted by Fritz

King, you seem pretty bitter about this year’s group. I hope to hell you’re wrong!

This guy’s nickname? Thelonius.

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You're dating yourself with that reference, Fritz.

Worse, I get it.

Fuck.

It just means we know good music, George.

This is Tony Shalhoub’s new favorite Packer.

Ha! Good one. He will be getting the jersey for sure.

I guess he has great attention to detail.

God knows Meyers needs a push from somebody.

Interesting prospect and high RAS score. Lots of experience and shifted around positions.

Art Monk was a helluva wide receiver.

Monk is a classic Packers Day 3 OL pick. Probably the reason he lasted until the 5th round is that he is "only" 6-3, 308. Josh Myers better get his act together on a consistent basis.

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Originally Posted by Fritz

It just means we know good music, George.

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Fuckin’ eh!!!

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Originally Posted by Joemailman

Monk is a classic Packers Day 3 OL pick. Probably the reason he lasted until the 5th round is that he is "only" 6-3, 308. Josh Myers better get his act together on a consistent basis.

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Think of all the shifting around of layers and positions in training camp. Walker-Jenkins-Monk-Tom. Morgan-Jenkins-Tom-Monk-Walker. And on and on.

My guess is Myer begins the year as starting center.

Myers will be the starting center, but I think Monk will be pushing him. Rhyan at RG too.
Of course, Jordan Morgan could surprise everyone and show out at LT, MLF flips Walker to RT and Tom goes to C.

I just think Myers gets this year and then he's done in GB.

I like the pick even though I know little about it. Going to see if I can find anything to watch (naybe via Barton tape). The OL draft depth got picked over pretty well and quickly, but I'm rooting for this guy.

Wahle really likes his upside. Says he has excellent feet and play strength. Needs polish. Kind of the same for Morgan. Both guys need a year. But he thinks they have two long time starters.

Tauscher - whom I listened to on a podcast today (first time hearing Tausch) - didn't seem to know much about any of the guys the Packers drafted. I was disappointed, as Bretsky always talks him up. But he didn't even know what rounds guys were drafted in. He clearly hadn't done his homework for this show. When I know more than the "experts" do, that's fucked up. Cuz I know nussink!

I don't think he cares much about the college game. I'm much the same, except I watch film on a prospect here or there that interests me.

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Originally Posted by Fritz

Tauscher - whom I listened to on a podcast today (first time hearing Tausch) - didn't seem to know much about any of the guys the Packers drafted. I was disappointed, as Bretsky always talks him up. But he didn't even know what rounds guys were drafted in. He clearly hadn't done his homework for this show. When I know more than the "experts" do, that's fucked up. Cuz I know nussink!

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Tauscher is undoubtedly not a college football expert although he knows some of the Big Ten guys. But he's only announced that league for one year.

You gotta downloan Wisconsin On Demmand and listen to Wilde and Tausch. Wilde gets so much inside stuff and asks so many tough questions they are are a good listen.

And Bulaga knows quite a bit more than Tausch knowledge wise but he only joins them at times

That's what I did listen to - Wilde and Tauscher.

Then I listened to Mike Wahle's podcast - "Block Party" - and was quite impressed with him.

I also enjoyed some of his stories. He was talking about offensive linemen needing quick feet, and mentioned that he and Tausch, I think, could do two steps in setting up, which is really fast and athletic, but then in those drills they'd see Chad Clifton do three steps in the same amount of time. Off the charts. He also said that Tauscher was one of the weirdest players ever to evaluate - he said his technique was his own, was like no one else's, and it sure looked weird and wrong, but that he never lost a one-on-one in drills except once, to Aaron Kampman. And he was going against Vonnie Holliday all the time.

He had been asked about whether draft position affected one's chances to make the team, and he said of course. He mentioned Torrance Marshall as an example - that in camp everybody thought they were watching a guy who was maybe a seventh round pick, because he looked lost, but because he was a third-round pick, he made the team. Now, he did say Marshall earned his way on and developed into a decent player, but you could tell that after he gave the example he realized it sounded like he was dogging the guy, so he tried to walk it back. Said Marshall was a decent player and a good dude in the locker room. Then he tried to use himself for an example to make up for it - that he had athletic traits but no training at all, and if he hadn't been a second-round pick he'd never have made the team that first year, so messed up were his mechanics and so lacking was he in "game acumen."

It was fun to listen and to learn.

Wahle is a pretty interesting listen. Some of his takes seem way way off, but he's right more than he's wrong, and I like his 'inside the locker room' perspective.

I watched 3 games of Duke OL and Monk is a good player. A R5 pick is pretty much going to stick for a year on the roster unless they are garbage, and this guy shouldn't be. He leans and reaches a bit too much, but he seems to have good feet and movement skills. Hand usage is ok...held up well vs. the likes of FSU's Breaden Fiske and Fabian Lovett. I like his versatility; I think in the NC game he played LG and C. Wasn't bad compared to Barton, and you could tell Duke thought they were their 2 best OL. He has things to cleanup and he's not the biggest dude, but he has the makings of a solid starter.

By that point in the draft there weren't a ton of good OL left, I think they found one here though.
I hope they get Stenovich working with Butkus early in OTAs and camps to get these OL going fast. Morgan, Monk, Glover, Jennings etc. all need some work and at least two of them will be counted on for snaps this year.