Scott Fitterer Q&A from the 2022 Senior Bowl

Q: How do you weigh the importance of finding a left tackle vs. a quarterback when you’re evaluating players?

FITTERER: “You just take the best available. If you have a quarterback you think you can win with long-term; obviously, you’d probably lean that direction. You’re always looking for that. It’s not the safest way to go, but you have to take your shots. Any time you’re in the top 10, you’ve got to think about taking a shot on a quarterback if you’re able to. Left tackles are probably easier to identify; if you think they can step in and play left tackle for you for 10 years, that’s always a solid pick as well. It’s however you want to address it, but if you have a quarterback you like, you take a shot there.”

Q: The team just hired James Campen to coach offensive line. He had a reputation in Green Bay for turning later-round picks into productive players. Does that open the door to new ways to address the line, particularly thinking about the top tackle prospects (including Evan Neal, Charles Cross, and Ikem Ekwonu) not being here this week?

FITTERER: “Yeah, it’s all about developing offensive linemen. Coach Campen’s got a long history of doing that; he’s very well respected. From the research we’ve done with people who have worked with him, he’s good at evaluating talent as well as developing it. That’s going to be huge for us, because you can’t always just pick offensive linemen in the first round, with the first six or seven picks in the draft. You have to be able to identify guys in the third round who can start for you and play for you, and he has a history of that.”

Q: When you think about the value of this week from a scouting perspective, what’s the most important part for you as a general manager?

FITTERER: “We get the information, heights/weights/speeds, we see them on the field, but the most important part of this week is sitting down and interviewing them. We’re trying to figure out who these guys are. This is our chance to look them in the eye. You always hear about them, hear about their character from coaches, and everything else. But to sit down, know what some of the issues may be, and then talk to them directly and say, ‘This is what I’m hearing, why is this?’ Or you’re trying to find out how resilient they are, so you ask about something they’ve overcome, how the guy ticks. What’s driving this guy? Is he a passionate football player, or is he a guy that’s always been talented, and this is just the next step in the process? Does he have the recruiting mindset where he’s never had to battle through anything, and everyone always says he’s the best? Or is he a Joe Burrow, who was at Ohio State, wasn’t getting any time, and goes to LSU and takes off? You’re looking for those guys with resilience, and sitting down with them and getting to know them is the most important part.”

Q: This is a lot different for you in terms of what it was like here last year, when you were new to the job. Does that change the way you evaluate this week?

FITTERER: “This will be a lot different. I think I was in the office for three days prior to coming here (last year). We coached the game; the good part was we had a lot of access to players. We sat with them in meetings, our coaches and our scouts, and we could evaluate them.

“I was able to evaluate our coaching staff too, get to know them, how they coach, and it’s great for us. Having the ability to coach last year really helped us identify the players we wanted. This year will be different; we’re a little more limited in what we can do, but we still have to get the same quality of work out of this.”