Inbox: It would be incredibly informative and enlightening

Joel from Show Low, AZ

We went from three Pauls in a row on Monday to four Jeffs in a row on Tuesday. What name will be five in a row today? Ugh! The draft is still too far away.

For all of us, and spoiler alert, no such Easter eggs to stumble across in this column (honest). I have to save my energy.

Jeff from Monticello, WI

With the new stage being built, where is the press box going to be?

Except I couldn't let Jeff No. 6 feel left out, though I sincerely hope that's not a serious question.

Craig from Appleton, WI

Please tell Neill from Hot Springs Village the Packers already drafted a RB in the 88th spot last year. Guess it will have to be a WR this year to complete the circle.

Please no.

Matt from St. Paul, MN

Mike, maybe the reason Green Bay hasn't hosted a Super Bowl is because the organization is full of people with your defeatist attitude about it. You're telling me the most historic franchise in the league, with the most iconic stadium, can't convince the NFL to host just one Super Bowl? Let's be honest, Packers leadership just hasn't tried hard enough.

Save your righteous indignation for where it might actually be justified. It's not about Packers leadership. It's about the NFL's requirements. Try convincing economic developers to build 20,000 more hotel rooms within an hour's drive of a city of 100,000 people and let me know how that goes.

Mike from Winchester, TN

Hi Mike, the big news here in Tennessee is the situation with Vols QB Nico Iamaleava. Iamaleava was making $2.4 million on his contract. Iamaleava's representatives asked for his deal to increase to the $4 million range, but Tennessee didn't redo his deal. "It's the state of college football," Coach Heupel said. "At the end of the day, no one is ever bigger than the program. That includes me too." He's entering the transfer portal. As my mom used to say: What is this world coming to?

Exhibit A as to why the new landscape in college athletics needs regulation. Is an NIL/payment deal a binding contract over multiple years? Is it just one year at a time? There's no system, so there's no order.

Jeffery from Monticello, WI

Hello II, just curious why they let Eric Wilson walk and signed Kristian Welch instead. Wilson was a far more advanced LB than Welch as statistics goes. Was Wilson asking for too much money?

The Vikings gave Wilson a $1M signing bonus, which is guaranteed money. I don't believe Welch got any guarantees from the Packers.

Hank from Centennial, CO

On D-linemen who succeeded despite being undersized, I'd trot out Alan Page and Elvis Dumervil as good historical examples, too. But those norms are in place for a reason. With O-linemen getting bigger all the time and the NFL pendulum seeming to swing in the power running direction the undersized lineman will have an increasingly difficult task to stick on an NFL roster.

Page played 50 years ago and Dumervil was more of a stand-up edge rusher, not a down lineman. That aside, a player's combination of size and athleticism on the defensive interior factors into whether he can be an every-down player or more of a sub-package specialist. Whether a player can add weight to his frame without losing mobility also matters.

Matt from Middleton, WI

Hi Mike, will the NFL Draft be the most attended event in the history of Wisconsin? I can't think of another.

I believe over the course of the week more than 300,000 people attended the PGA Championship the first time it was at Whistling Straits in 2004 (I was there for the second round). So we'll see what the final estimate is after the draft concludes.

Larry from Chubbuck, ID

I am really not concerned about which player the Packers pick in the first round. My hope is the player is at the draft. It will be so exciting for him and the crowd having that young man walk across the stage. That being said how many players will be there waiting to hear their name called?

The NFL announced that 17 players are expected to attend the draft. For what it's worth, six of them are players on whom we've posted or will post a Prospect Primer.

Al from Green Bay, WI

Simple question about a complicated process: It's been said that what Gutey does at 23 depends upon remaining players on which he has a first-round grade. Since 32 players will be selected in the first round, is it wrong to assume that Gutey has a first-round grade on the top 32 players on the board?

Yes, that would be a faulty assumption. The number of players with a first-round grade is independent of the number of picks in the first round.

Alan from Mount Auburn, IL

Good morning, when teams are on the clock to make their draft selection, it seems it takes almost all of the allotted time. Why is that? Are there that many offers coming in to be evaluated or is that team reaching out to other teams to see what they can get in return?

Sometimes trade discussions can go to the wire. Other times they're trying to get the player on the phone and have him talk to a few key people before the pick is announced and his house turns into a boisterous party.

Drew from Mosinee, WI

Greetings, gentlemen! I'm a former SDSU Jackrabbit receiver and the subject of a piece Mike wrote during his Wausau Daily Herald days. I also had the privilege of working, though briefly, as a copy editor at the GB Press-Gazette while Wes was covering area sports. In light of this, you two are a must-read for me! Thanks for all that you do! My question is, who might this year's FCS darling be for the Pack? Loved your Primer on Grey Zabel and wonder if his versatility screams green and gold?

Hey Drew, hope all is well. Zabel seems to be the FCS darling of the entire draft, and his profile certainly fits what the Packers look for in their O-linemen. As I've said before, I'd be at least a little surprised if the Packers used their first-round pick on the O-line after drafting Morgan last year and spending big on Banks in free agency. But I'm not ruling it out by any means.

Cliff from Alexandria, VA

Mike, you've said a couple times if the next Kenny Clark is there at 23 you won't hesitate to pick him. What if the next Kenny Clark AND the next Jordy Nelson are there at 23? Do you hesitate? Which do you pick?

The guy in the trenches.

Chris from Richfield, WI

Heard Wes on 97.3 The Game with Steve Zaban and Brian Butch for a few minutes on my way to work. It was fun hearing him talk about first-round receivers we know won't be drafted by Green Bay! All jokes aside, if Jaire isn't traded by/during the draft, is corner still a round one priority? Or does that get pushed off to a later round knowing we have a year to develop someone?

I've said it before, I think the Packers need to fortify their depth and plan for the future at corner no matter what happens with Alexander. Whether first round or not, build the board and let it speak.

Derek from Eau Claire, WI

Can teams trade picks now? If teams know they want to trade out of their draft spot would there be an advantage to doing it today instead of waiting until they are under the 10-minute gun? Both teams would have time to make sure it's the deal they want.

Teams can trade picks anytime, but unless you're talking about the top five picks or so, the value of trading out of or into a given spot is mostly based on how a team's board looks at that particular moment. The risk of the unknown outweighs any advantage to making the trade in advance, unless it's for some crazy reason an offer that blows up the value chart.

Chris from Mundelein, IL

I've been kicking around a hypothetical (it is baloney season, after all): What do you guys think of the idea of NFL teams being allowed to trade draft picks for salary cap space? I know it's not currently allowed, but with all the creative cap maneuvering teams already do, I'm curious how you'd feel about that kind of flexibility being introduced down the road. Fun idea or dangerous precedent?

It sounds fun but the players' union would never go for it. That capability would allow certain teams to load up on cheap labor (draft picks) and spend a lot less money. It would disrupt competitive balance and provide a way to circumvent the salary floor.

Jeff from Mequon, WI

My wife and I decided last minute to go up just for Day 3 of the draft. It is her birthday weekend after all. Anyway, I'm sure Day 3 of the draft is busiest for you guys given the number of rounds, but I was curious, do you look forward to the later rounds or do you enjoy the first few rounds more? Day 3 is fun because it moves faster. Days 1 and 2 obviously get all the hype. Always fun to speculate who might be a steal on Day 3 though.

Day 3 is always the toughest simply due to the number of picks and sheer volume of work. My head is usually spinning by the end of it, and it takes me a couple days to sort everything out.

Bryan from Madison, WI

I used to love reading all the mock drafts. I would get caught up in the excitement, the possibilities, and making a game out of predicting which player each "expert" had us selecting by looking at all their picks leading up to GBs and then guessing our pick. II helped me see through the haze of click bait and stare baloney square in the face. Admittedly I miss getting swept up in it, but mostly I am grateful to have more time added back into my daily equation. So thanks...I guess.

We serve many masters.

Jennifer from Middleton, WI

Yet again today as I read II, I found myself feeling superior because I know the answer to a previously covered question. Today it was why you know what the draft room looks like. This kind of self-congratulatory, meaningless validation is the prize of all year-round, daily participants. We don't have physical proof of what that means. But we know. Oh, we know.

Those folks also know Wes has one-upped me on seeing the draft room, and I need to do something about that.

Mike from New Orleans, LA

I had never thought of the flip side of a deep draft in a position of strength. Obviously if you need a position, a deep draft gives you more bites at the apple, but on the flip side, if other teams continue drafting a "deep" position, your players may slide down as well. Or I'm at the end of a long day and this is nonsense.

The never-ending angles via which to analyze helped build the draft industrial complex.

Arthur from Eau Claire, WI

Just a silly question. You (Mike or Wes or both) are invited into the Packer draft room for the duration of the draft, the caveat being you could never tell or write (even hint) at what you witnessed that day forever. Would you do it or would the restriction be way too much pressure for someone like you that has spent a lifetime giving informational truths?

It would be incredibly informative and enlightening regarding the process, but if I literally had to pretend for the rest of my career I'd never been in there, I'd almost certainly slip up at some point.

Zak from Huntington Beach, CA

Hey Spoff, I'm heading out to pick up a strawberry rhubarb pie today. How's your rhubarb crop looking this year?

Just starting to sprout up through the ground. A nice sign of spring.

Justin from Thousand Oaks, CA

I always enjoy how references reveal a question-asker's general age (no offense to Mike from NJ, but "good stuff, Maynard" is a dead giveaway) and I'm wondering if II has ever done a survey of your readership and its relative, uh, maturity. Might be a fun question for Outsider Inbox!

Relative being the operative word.

Theresa from Sylvania, OH

Can I submit an Outbox question? How about "I'm so old, I remember (fill in the blank)." I would lead with, "I'm so old I remember faithfully reading the column of a certain Inbox writer in the Wausau Daily Herald and I never used the paper for parakeet poo!"

Very kind of you. Happy Wednesday.