Cheesehead
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- Mar 19, 2019
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It's sometimes easy to forget Rodgers, now in the 16th season of an NFL career destined for Canton, Ohio, ran the Packers' scout team for three full years as the understudy to Brett Favre.
Over the years, Rodgers has watched undrafted hopefuls such as Tramon Williams, John Kuhn, Ryan Grant, Sam Shields and Jarrett Bush become Pro Bowlers…and Super Bowl champions.
Following in the footsteps of his predecessor Ted Thompson, Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst has continued to build on that legacy of unearthing hidden gems.
The current Packers roster offers a blend of undrafted players who entered the season as presumptive starters (Lazard, Sullivan and Tonyan) and those who have been thrust into prominent roles due to early-season injuries (Patrick, Lancaster and Barnes).
Patrick has perhaps taken the unlikeliest path of all to prominence. Since coming to Green Bay on a tryout, Patrick spent a season on the practice squad and three years as a reserve interior lineman before graduating to a starting role this year.
After opening the season at left guard, Patrick has started the last three games at right guard following the season-ending knee injury Taylor suffered in Minnesota. His four starts have already tied his previous career high.
"Effort, that's the first thing that came off," said left tackle David Bakhtiari of Patrick. "He consistently would show effort, and I think that's huge. That's something that sounds so easy to teach, but it's so hard to get out of each and every player, and he showed that every day.
"Just his progression, how much he has grown since he's been here, in '16, fundamentally, his confidence in himself."