Packers Morning Buzz: Trade for Kenyan Drake would make sense

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers from around the web and here at PackersNews.com.

We'll start with ESPN's Bill Barnwell identifying 10 NFL trade candidates and proposing a deal for each. One of his suggested trades would enhance the Packers' running game.

Barnwell writes:

The trade: Green Bay Packers send a 2020 sixth-round pick to the Dolphins for Kenyan Drake and a 2020 seventh-round pick

If you saw Aaron Jones destroy the Cowboys on Sunday, you might argue that the last thing the Packers need right now is a running back. Jones was impressive in an every-down role, but the Packers have repeatedly said that they prefer to use a rotation at running back to keep Jones fresh. The only reason Jones played nearly 70% of the snaps Sunday was because backup running back Jamaal Williams was out with a concussion, and the Packers don't yet trust sixth-round pick Dexter Williams for game day.

With Jamaal Williams' status unclear, swapping late-round picks for Drake would give the Packers a versatile veteran behind Jones. The Packers also could come away with a compensatory pick for Drake after the season. While they have been active in free agency under Brian Gutekunst, the lofty raises coming to edge rushers Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith next year suggest that the team will be less active on the market in 2020. Drake could turn out to be a profitable rental for Green Bay.

You can read the entire article here:

Speaking of trades, Zach Kruse of the Packers Wire makes the case for Green Bay pursuing a wide receiver:

Matt LaFleur showed again Sunday that he is willing to make changes to adapt to situations:

Guards Elgton Jenkins and Billy Turner were dominant in the Packers' run game, write Eric Baranczyk and Pete Dougherty:

Aaron Jones deflected praise and credited his offensive linemen on "Clubhouse Live":

Aaron Rodgers likes "the vibe" on this Packers team:

Nice tribute to Nick Collins by Chandon Sullivan:

Sullivan talks about his motivation:

ICYMI, Tom Silverstein and Jim Owczarski analyze the Packers' victory in their postgame podcast:

Za'Darius Smith just keeps taking on all the naysayers:

Count The MMQB's Albert Breer among those national media members who, after expressing some skepticism early on about the Aaron Rodgers-Matt LaFleur relationship, came away impressed Sunday.

Breer writes:

All spring and summer, we wondered about LaFleur and Rodgers—would the new coach have an issue with Rodgers changing plays on him? Would there be a struggle over control of the Packers offense, like there had been, to some degree, over the half-decade prior? Would Rodgers, a signal-caller used to operating with autonomy, be the same guy in an offense that’s built to take the mental burden off the quarterback?

All of those questions were fair before the season started. Five weeks in, with the Packers racing out of the gate at 4-1, getting a big win over the Cowboys under their belt and the offense improving by the week, the questions are melting away quickly.

“It is what it is,” LaFleur says, matter-of-factly. “We trust him to get us in and out of good plays and if he sees something then you know he's got the green light to do whatever he thinks is right to get us to the right play.”

You can read the entire column here:

The Packers will face Jon Gruden and the surging Raiders on Oct. 20 ....

....but they won't be seeing brother Jay Gruden when they host Washington on Dec. 8:

Suddenly, the Packers' Oct. 27 game at Kansas City looks a lot more winnable:

Ted Hendricks, No. 71 on this list, had a monster season for the Packers in 1979, his only year in Green Bay:

And finally:

Contact Stu Courtney at (920) 431-8377 or scourtney@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stucourt