Clifford, however, can match that mobility and may gain the edge for his upside.Ĭlifford averaged just 2.6 yards per carry during his final season at Penn State, but he did show a willingness to take off and run with 69 total carries, five of which ended with him running into the end zone. He also broke off seven runs for 73 yards, including one that went for a long touchdown. Etling looked solid in the 2022 preseason, completing 22 of his 27 passes for 220 yards and one touchdown over his three games of action. They are also adding a new frontrunner to serve as Love’s primary backup for his maiden voyage as their starting quarterback.Īs things stand now, the Packers are set to have Clifford and Etling duking it out during training camp in the summer. In Clifford, the Packers are gaining an unpolished young passer with questionable arm strength and some good mobility in his game. Sean Clifford Has Tools to Win Packers’ Backup Job It is also similar to what his predecessor, Ted Thompson, did when passing the torch from Brett Favre to Rodgers in 2008, drafting a pair of quarterbacks - Brian Brohm and Flynn - to compete with his new starter. 68 overall in the third round to compete with veteran starter Jared Goff.Ĭlifford is only the second quarterback that current general manager Brian Gutekunst has drafted during his six-draft tenure. The other was Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, whom the Lions selected at No. He was one of two quarterbacks to take an official top 30 visit with the Packers during the pre-draft process. 147 overall) in the 2015 draft after losing their previous backup, Matt Flynn, in free agency that year.Ĭlifford started all 13 games for Penn State in 2022, completing 64.4% of his passes (226 of 351) while throwing 24 touchdowns to eight interceptions and helping lead the Nittany Lions to a Rose Bowl victory over Utah to close out his collegiate career. The move is reminiscent of the Packers’ decision to draft Brett Hundley (No. 149) to draft Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford, adding a four-year starter to the room to compete with Danny Etling for the backup job next season. On Saturday’s final day of the 2023 NFL draft, the Packers used their first of two fifth-round picks (No. The Green Bay Packers won’t be passing the baton from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love without adding one rookie quarterback to the mix for 2023. If he can, there’s likely a lucrative deal somewhere else for him, as so many Packers backups have found.The Packers have drafted a new quarterback to compete with Jordan Love in 2023. That’s how closely he should be following him.” “If Aaron stops, he better get hit in the back by Brett. “He better be mirroring ,” Van Pelt said. While preseason reps are nice (and the Packers have a fifth preseason game so he’ll get plenty), Hundley’s primary job will be watching and learning from the guy ahead of him on the depth chart. “Obviously, Aaron is one of the best, if not the best, to ever do it. To have this opportunity to learn - and learn from the best - it really will allow you to, when you do step into the game, to be that much better and ready for that moment. “A lot of these guys get thrown into the fire,” Hundley said, “and go downhill from there. So while he’d like to be playing like Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, he also knows having time to develop has worked for others - including Rodgers. He led the league in preseason touchdown passes with seven, and though that was against a bunch of guys who are now car salesmen, his 129.6 passer rating at least indicated he was successful against peers. They let former backup Scott Tolzien walk in free agency (he went to the Colts), leaving Hundley and a couple of rookie free agents (Joe Callahan and Marquise Williams) as the only reserves behind Rodgers.īut Hundley showed them something during his limited work last year to give them that confidence. Beyond any words, the Packers have demonstrated their belief in Hundley through their actions.
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