Packers find shades of Matt Flynn and keep development plan for backup QB

The Green Bay Packers took Michael Pratt to develop as a quarterback in the seventh round of this year's draft, but that doesn't mean they are not happy with incumbent backup Sean Clifford.

The fifth-rounder last year didn't have much playing time as a rookie, but he did have an impressive preseason showing and one regular season throw — a 37-yard completion to Bo Melton during the Packers' 33-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings in week 17.

"He's absolutely proven he can be a No. 2, and maybe more than that," Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said last month. "Sean did a great job in his first year. The exciting thing about Sean is he played a lot of football in college, had a lot of experience. His play style, his aggressiveness, you guys saw in preseason his ability to play in the fire and overcome anything that's going on in the game was pretty unique for a young guy. So, we're very excited about Sean and where he's headed."

Comparison

The Packers drafted Clifford right before Jordan Love had his first season as a full-time starter. That brings an obvious connection with what the team did in 2008, when Aaron Rodgers took over, and Ted Thompson drafted Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn. Even though Brohm was a highly-touted second-rounder, Flynn became the primary backup for years to come.

Tom Clements, who worked with Flynn and is now Clifford's position coach, compared both players.

"Sean, he definitely did grow. He's like a game-type gamer. A little bit of Matt Flynn in him," Clements said on Wednesday. "Once the season started, and he was running the scout team, he started to become more familiar with our offense and then running opposing team's offenses. You usually have a lot of similar plays and he ran the scout team very well, ran the huddle well. He's a good leader, and he started to make plays. He developed throughout the year, which is what you'd like to see. He's doing a great job this offseason. So I think he'll make a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2."

The comparison between Flynn and Clifford is not only an individual perception for Clements. Going through their draft profiles on NFL.com, you can see the parallels — with a significant college experience difference, since Flynn was mostly a backup at LSU, while Clifford started 46 games at Penn State. On the other hand, Clifford is even more athletic.