Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson is churning the bottom of The 53 due to injuries that backups suffered at offensive line, tight end, and wide receiver. Sadly the most notable of the churn is offensive lineman Derek Sherrod who joins wide receiver Terrance Murphy as a bust*. I put the * after bust because neither of them had a long injury history in college before a freak injury early in their NFL careers ended them essentially before they started. All busts are NOT created equally though. Juxtapose Murphy and Sherrod with defensive lineman Justin Harrell who had a long injury history before Thompson drafted him with the 16th pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. As a result, I will give Thompson a pass on Murphy and Sherrod but not on Harrell.
After spending just a couple weeks on The 53, Thompson placed wide receiver Kevin Dorsey on injured reserve. Rookie Jared Abbrederis's season was over before it started after he tore his ACL in the preseason. That means that the Packers have now put two wide receivers on injured reserve this season. Hopefully both guys will push each other in the off-season to get healthy for 2015. Thompson drafted Abbrederis in the 5th round of the 2014 NFL Draft while Thompson drafted Dorsey in the 7th round of the 2013 NFL Draft so given that Thompson drafted Abbrederis higher and more recently than Dorsey, it looks like Abbrederis will be given a better chance to make The 53 in 2015. In terms of their specific skill sets, they are similar players although Dorsey is slightly bigger than Abbrederis. Despite the Wisconsin connection, I like Dorsey slightly more than Abbrederis given how many injuries Abbrederis suffered throughout his decorated collegiate career at Wisconsin and his brief professional career so I hate to put too much stock in such an injury prone guy.
Thompson does not often sign guys that played for other NFL teams but let's not forget that offensive lineman Jamon Meredith started his career in Green Bay before he spent time with the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Indianapolis Colts before he returned to the Packers. I viewed adding Meredith to The 53 as a positive move mostly because he is more NFL ready than the backup offensive lineman on The 53 (Garth Gerhart, Lane Taylor, and J.C. Tretter) or anyone on the practice squad. As it turns out, Meredith's stay on The 53 was one of the shortest in team history so Thompson did not share my view.
Thompson added tight end Justin Perillo from the practice since the Packers only had two healthy tight ends on The 53 in Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers given that Brandon Bostick is currently injured. Some thought Perrillo deserved a spot on The 53 to start the season after how well he performed in the preseason. I am not sure I would go that far but now Perrillo has a chance to prove me wrong.
Thompson activated offensive lineman JC Tretter from injured reserve designated for return. Apparently the Packers view Tretter as a Don Barclay-esque backup given that he is reportedly getting reps at all five offensive line positions. Given that Tretter has been hurt since Thompson drafted him in the 4th round of the 2013 NFL Draft, I would have him focus on one or two spots where the Packers currently have the least depth (either tackle position) instead of overwhelming him with limited reps at all five offensive line spots.
You can rationalize each move to The 53 in a vacuum but not when you look at The 53 as a whole since none of the moves to The 53 address the lack of bulk along the defensive line, which is problematic given that the defensive line is the biggest reason why the Packers allowed the most rushing yards in the NFL so far this season. Along the defensive line the Packers have leaned heavily, no pun intended, on Mike Daniels and Letroy Guion. After that Josh Boyd and Datone Jones (when healthy) have been the 3rd and 4th options. That leaves Mike Pennel and Luther Robinson bringing up the rear. Both Pennel and Robinson are nice stories but they've yet to produce any real tangible results outside of Robinson's pressure that lead to a pick-six by Peppers. This season the Packers have used more athletic, lean guys along the defensive line and it has lead to a porous rush defense. That is a long way of saying that the Packers could use another run stuffing body in the middle so if
Thompson is open to adding former Packers, how about bringing Johnny
Jolly back?
Hopefully injuries do not force Thompson to make any more changes to The 53. If Thompson is forced to make changes, check back for full coverage in this space.
Showing posts with label Derek Sherrod. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Derek Sherrod. Show all posts
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
The 53 - Five Worst Contracts for 2014 GBP
Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson finalized the first incarnation of The 53 on Saturday. I say first incarnation because much like last year, just a few days after finalizing The 53, Thompson shook up The 53. Last year Thompson made a change at backup quarterback, this year injuries forced Thompson to make changes at center.
Thompson normally is very deliberate in how he Builds The 53 but injuries have forced Thompson to change his approach over the last few years. In what feels like a flurry of off-season signings, Thompson signed not one but two free agents that played for other NFC North teams last season. Thompson favors the draft and develop method over splashing cash in free agency but with such meager returns from the draft the last few years (2011, 2012, and 2013), Thompson was basically forced to upgrade The 53 via free agency so let's not give him too much credit.
Thompson rolled over roughly $10 million in cap space from last season, which is very important given that he has just under $9 million in cap space right now. Although it looks like the Packers have a fair amount of salary cap room, they will need to use it wisely because they have a number of quality starters* and backups** that are set to become free agents this off-season.
Two years ago I dealt with the five worst and five best contract together. Since these posts get long, I decided to split them up last year into the five worst and the five best contracts on The 53. I am going to follow that same approach again this year. Today let's look at the five worst contracts on The 53:
5. Jordy Nelson (WR, $5.9 million, 5th highest cap charge on The 53): Going into this season the top three wide receivers on The 53: Nelson, Randall Cobb, and Jarrett Boykin were set to become free agents. There is no question that Nelson is the most accomplished of the three but he is also the oldest. Thompson signed Nelson to a four-year, $39 million extension with $11.5 million guarnateed on the eve of training camp, which is much richer than the four-year, $14 million contract with $5 million guaranteed that was set to expire at the end of the 2014 season. Nelson's cap number actually goes down next season to $4.6 but then jumps up for the following three years: $8.8 million in 2016, $11.5 million in 2017, and $12.5 million in 2018. Sure the cap is set to go up in 2015 or 2016 but that does not justify back-loading this deal as much as Thompson did. Given Cobb's injury issues, if he signs an extension with the Packers I would expect that it will be slightly less expensive than Nelson's recent extension but probably only a few million less. Boykin is the tougher call given that Thompson drafted three wide receivers in the 2014 NFL Draft that are borderline locks for The 53 in 2015. Unless Boykin takes a below market deal for a player of his caliber (e.g. only averages $2 million a year with very little guaranteed), I see him play playing elsewhere in 2015. Nelson has just the 16th highest wide receiver salary in the NFL this season, which makes his contract look reasonable this season so I hope you realize that this is more of a commentary on the structure of the deal as well as the depth that the Packers have at wide receiver as opposed to a shot at Nelson.
4. Derek Sherrod (OT, $2.1 million salary, 16th highest cap charge on The 53): When the Packers lost backup offensive lineman Don Barclay for the season it meant that Sherrod became the backup at left and right tackle. When right tackle Bryan Bulaga went down with a knee injury in the regular season opener on the road against the Seattle Seahawks, the Packers were forced to play Sherrod and he struggled mightily. I know that Seattle is arguably the toughest stadium to play in and the Seahawks are the defending Super Bowl champs but Thompson certainly expected more out of Sherrod when he drafted him with the 32nd pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Unfortunately it looks like Sherrod is the second coming of Marshall Newhouse instead of Chad Clifton, which makes the long-term diagnosis on Bulaga's knee injury very important. Thankfully Thompson can let Sherrod leave via free agency after this season while the rest of the guys on this list are signed past this season.
3. Morgan Burnett (S, $4.8 million salary, 9th highest cap charge on The 53): Oh how the mighty have fallen. I was a total Burnett supporter going into 2013. In fact I liked Burnett so much that I actually had his four-year, $24.75 million contract extension with $8.25 million guaranteed that he signed before the 2014 season ranked as the 4th best contract on The 53 last season. This might be a bit of an over reaction to one bad season since Burnett and the rest of the safeties on The 53 last year struggled but now the Packers have two much more cost-effective options at safety in Micah Hyde (moved from cornerback to safety this off-season) and rookie Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (my reasonable draft crush from the 2014 NFL Draft). Given that Burnett is just 25 years old, I don't see Thompson cutting Burnett after this season unless Ha Ha and Hyde are absolute studs while Burnett completely struggles again this year but I wonder whether it will trigger a A.J. Hawk-esque pay cut down the road for Burnett if he wants to stay in Green Bay through the end of his contract that currently expires after the 2017 season.
2. Mason Crosby (K, $3.4 million salary, 15th highest cap charge on The 53): Before the 2011 season Thompson signed Crosby to a five-years, $14.75 million contract with $3 million guaranteed. Last season Crosby agreed to forgo guaranteed money with the option to earn the money back via performance bonuses because of how close he was to getting cut. Crosby put together arguably his best season in Green Bay but let's not forget that there have been a number of studies that show there is no year-over-year correlation between kicker performance. Thus a Top 5 kicker aka 2013 Crosby is just as likely to be a bottom five kicker aka 2012 Crosby. Right now Crosby is the 4th highest paid kicker in the NFL and sadly has regression written all over him for this season. If I were Thompson, next off-season I would draft a kicker late or sign an undrafted rookie free agent to create a kicking competition in training camp. If Crosby is out-kicked by the other kicker, the Packers would only have $600,000 in dead money if they cut him but would be able to save over $2 million in salary at the kicker position given that Crosby is owed $3.5 million in 2015 because a rookie kicker would make around $500,000. As you can tell, I hope 2014 is Crosby's last season kicking for the Packers.
1. Brad Jones (MLB, $3.9 million salary, 10th highest cap charge on The 53): I had Jones pegged for the worst contract on The 53 even before he was the single worst defender on the field against the Seattle Seahawks in the regular season opener. Last year I thought Jones only had the 4th worst contract on The 53 but Jones is now clearly in a race to the bottom with each passing day the three-year, $11.75 million contract that Thompson gave Jones continues to look worse and worse. Just to add insult to the salary cap, the Packers are paying middle linebacker Jamari Lattimore $1.4 million in 2014 to backup Jones. This off-season Lattimore is an unrestricted free agent. I don't see Lattimore breaking the bank this off-season but will mostly likely command enough that Thompson will have to choose whether Jones deserves a spot on The 53 or should make way for a Lattimore extension. I clearly favor Lattimore or even rookie Carl Bradford in 2015 over Jones. If Thompson doubles down on stupid by keeping Jones around for 2015, it will most likely be at the expense of Lattimore.
A special thanks to Sportrac for their detailed NFL salary numbers, which made this post possible. With the bad contracts out of the way, make sure to check tomorrow for my look at the five best contracts on The 53.
Footnotes:
* = Bryan Bulaga (OT), Randall Cobb (WR), John Kuhn (FB), B.J. Raji (DT), and Tramon Williams (CB).
** = Don Barclay (OT), Jarrett Boykin (WR), Jarett Bush (CB), Matt Flynn (QB), Letroy Guion (DT), DuJuan Harris (RB), Davon House (CB), Jamari Lattimore (MLB), Sean Richardson (S), Derek Sherrod (OT), Ryan Taylor (TE), and Scott Tolzien (QB).
| Review of The 53 |
| Initial Review of the Roster Initial Review of the Practice Squad Five Most Overpaid Five Most Underpaid Initial Rankings of the Roster |
Thompson rolled over roughly $10 million in cap space from last season, which is very important given that he has just under $9 million in cap space right now. Although it looks like the Packers have a fair amount of salary cap room, they will need to use it wisely because they have a number of quality starters* and backups** that are set to become free agents this off-season.
Two years ago I dealt with the five worst and five best contract together. Since these posts get long, I decided to split them up last year into the five worst and the five best contracts on The 53. I am going to follow that same approach again this year. Today let's look at the five worst contracts on The 53:
5. Jordy Nelson (WR, $5.9 million, 5th highest cap charge on The 53): Going into this season the top three wide receivers on The 53: Nelson, Randall Cobb, and Jarrett Boykin were set to become free agents. There is no question that Nelson is the most accomplished of the three but he is also the oldest. Thompson signed Nelson to a four-year, $39 million extension with $11.5 million guarnateed on the eve of training camp, which is much richer than the four-year, $14 million contract with $5 million guaranteed that was set to expire at the end of the 2014 season. Nelson's cap number actually goes down next season to $4.6 but then jumps up for the following three years: $8.8 million in 2016, $11.5 million in 2017, and $12.5 million in 2018. Sure the cap is set to go up in 2015 or 2016 but that does not justify back-loading this deal as much as Thompson did. Given Cobb's injury issues, if he signs an extension with the Packers I would expect that it will be slightly less expensive than Nelson's recent extension but probably only a few million less. Boykin is the tougher call given that Thompson drafted three wide receivers in the 2014 NFL Draft that are borderline locks for The 53 in 2015. Unless Boykin takes a below market deal for a player of his caliber (e.g. only averages $2 million a year with very little guaranteed), I see him play playing elsewhere in 2015. Nelson has just the 16th highest wide receiver salary in the NFL this season, which makes his contract look reasonable this season so I hope you realize that this is more of a commentary on the structure of the deal as well as the depth that the Packers have at wide receiver as opposed to a shot at Nelson.
4. Derek Sherrod (OT, $2.1 million salary, 16th highest cap charge on The 53): When the Packers lost backup offensive lineman Don Barclay for the season it meant that Sherrod became the backup at left and right tackle. When right tackle Bryan Bulaga went down with a knee injury in the regular season opener on the road against the Seattle Seahawks, the Packers were forced to play Sherrod and he struggled mightily. I know that Seattle is arguably the toughest stadium to play in and the Seahawks are the defending Super Bowl champs but Thompson certainly expected more out of Sherrod when he drafted him with the 32nd pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Unfortunately it looks like Sherrod is the second coming of Marshall Newhouse instead of Chad Clifton, which makes the long-term diagnosis on Bulaga's knee injury very important. Thankfully Thompson can let Sherrod leave via free agency after this season while the rest of the guys on this list are signed past this season.
3. Morgan Burnett (S, $4.8 million salary, 9th highest cap charge on The 53): Oh how the mighty have fallen. I was a total Burnett supporter going into 2013. In fact I liked Burnett so much that I actually had his four-year, $24.75 million contract extension with $8.25 million guaranteed that he signed before the 2014 season ranked as the 4th best contract on The 53 last season. This might be a bit of an over reaction to one bad season since Burnett and the rest of the safeties on The 53 last year struggled but now the Packers have two much more cost-effective options at safety in Micah Hyde (moved from cornerback to safety this off-season) and rookie Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (my reasonable draft crush from the 2014 NFL Draft). Given that Burnett is just 25 years old, I don't see Thompson cutting Burnett after this season unless Ha Ha and Hyde are absolute studs while Burnett completely struggles again this year but I wonder whether it will trigger a A.J. Hawk-esque pay cut down the road for Burnett if he wants to stay in Green Bay through the end of his contract that currently expires after the 2017 season.
2. Mason Crosby (K, $3.4 million salary, 15th highest cap charge on The 53): Before the 2011 season Thompson signed Crosby to a five-years, $14.75 million contract with $3 million guaranteed. Last season Crosby agreed to forgo guaranteed money with the option to earn the money back via performance bonuses because of how close he was to getting cut. Crosby put together arguably his best season in Green Bay but let's not forget that there have been a number of studies that show there is no year-over-year correlation between kicker performance. Thus a Top 5 kicker aka 2013 Crosby is just as likely to be a bottom five kicker aka 2012 Crosby. Right now Crosby is the 4th highest paid kicker in the NFL and sadly has regression written all over him for this season. If I were Thompson, next off-season I would draft a kicker late or sign an undrafted rookie free agent to create a kicking competition in training camp. If Crosby is out-kicked by the other kicker, the Packers would only have $600,000 in dead money if they cut him but would be able to save over $2 million in salary at the kicker position given that Crosby is owed $3.5 million in 2015 because a rookie kicker would make around $500,000. As you can tell, I hope 2014 is Crosby's last season kicking for the Packers.
1. Brad Jones (MLB, $3.9 million salary, 10th highest cap charge on The 53): I had Jones pegged for the worst contract on The 53 even before he was the single worst defender on the field against the Seattle Seahawks in the regular season opener. Last year I thought Jones only had the 4th worst contract on The 53 but Jones is now clearly in a race to the bottom with each passing day the three-year, $11.75 million contract that Thompson gave Jones continues to look worse and worse. Just to add insult to the salary cap, the Packers are paying middle linebacker Jamari Lattimore $1.4 million in 2014 to backup Jones. This off-season Lattimore is an unrestricted free agent. I don't see Lattimore breaking the bank this off-season but will mostly likely command enough that Thompson will have to choose whether Jones deserves a spot on The 53 or should make way for a Lattimore extension. I clearly favor Lattimore or even rookie Carl Bradford in 2015 over Jones. If Thompson doubles down on stupid by keeping Jones around for 2015, it will most likely be at the expense of Lattimore.
A special thanks to Sportrac for their detailed NFL salary numbers, which made this post possible. With the bad contracts out of the way, make sure to check tomorrow for my look at the five best contracts on The 53.
Footnotes:
* = Bryan Bulaga (OT), Randall Cobb (WR), John Kuhn (FB), B.J. Raji (DT), and Tramon Williams (CB).
** = Don Barclay (OT), Jarrett Boykin (WR), Jarett Bush (CB), Matt Flynn (QB), Letroy Guion (DT), DuJuan Harris (RB), Davon House (CB), Jamari Lattimore (MLB), Sean Richardson (S), Derek Sherrod (OT), Ryan Taylor (TE), and Scott Tolzien (QB).
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Building The 53 - Finley & Barrington Out, Sherrod & Tolzien In
Whenever a roster spot on The 53 opens up, I am never shy about giving my thoughts on how Green Bay Packer general manager Ted Thompson should fill that spot. After starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football on the same day that former Packer backup quarterback Matt Flynn was cut by the Buffalo Bills, speculation started to swirl about whether Thompson would put in a waiver claim on Flynn. As it turns out the Packers did what they usually do and promoted a member of their practice squad to The 53, in this case quarterback Scott Tolzien, instead of putting in a claim on Flynn.
Although promoting Tolzien instead of putting in a claim on Flynn is going to grab the headlines, Thompson made a series of other important moves before that move that I thought were much more interesting. After a few weeks of speculation, Thompson finally placed tight end Jermichael Finley on injured reserve.
Finley signed a two-year, $14 million "prove-it" deal after the 2011 season. That contract was never about Finley's on-field potential/ability, it was all about seeing whether Finley would mature off the field enough that the Packers could justify committing a ton of guaranteed money as a part of a long-term contract.
Coming into this season it seemed like Finley was taking care of business off-the-field and was in sync with Rodgers so he looked poised for a huge year on the field. Oh how things change in two months. After suffering a concussion against the Bengals and spinal cord injury against the Browns, there is a chance that Finley will never play football again.
Apparently Finley took out a $10 million insurance policy on his football health. Wise move by Finley because best case scenario doctors confirm that he is healthy enough to return to the football field so he signs a one-year incentive laden contract with the Packers. Worst case scenario, doctors cannot give Finley a clean bill of health and he goes down as arguably the most athletic tight end in franchise history that was unfortunately forced to retire at the age of 26 due to injury. Sure the $10 million insurance policy will serves as a nice pension of sorts if Finley can never play football again but if Finely stayed healthy in 2013 I bet he would have signed a deal that rivaled Jason Witten's seven year, $50 million contract.
Besides replacing Finley with Tolzien, Thompson made another move to The 53. Turns out Rodgers was not the only player that suffered a serious injury against the Bears. Rookie linebacker Sam Barrington, taken in the 7th round of the 2013 NFL Draft, suffered a serious hamstring injury and was placed on injured reserve. Placing Barrington on injured reserve opened another spot on The 53.
Thompson activated offensive tackle Derek Sherrod off the physically unable to perform in place of Barrington, which completed Sherrod's almost two year journey back to the football field. For some quick background, Sherrod broke his leg on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 18, 2011 in the team's only regular season loss that year. Sherrod was not even the starter that day. The only reason that Sherrod was in the game was because Bryan Bulaga suffered a knee injury at the start of the second half. It will be interesting to see how Sherrod responds after such a long layoff because expectations were high for Sherrod after the Packers selected him in the first round the 2011 NFL Draft.
Just a week ago the Packers looked set at offensive tackle with rookie David Bakhtiari at left tackle, Don Barclay at right tackle, and Marshall Newhouse as each of their primary backups. Unfortunately last week the Packers were forced to move Barclay to right guard after starting right guard T.J. Lang suffered a concussion against the Bears. Head coach Mike McCarthy inserted Newhouse at right tackle when he moved Barclay over to right guard in place of Lang. At this point Lang's status for next week at home against the Philadelphia Eagles is up in the air so despite having three other quality tackles ahead of Sherrod on The 53, Sherrod will most likely be active this weekend and might even play.
It makes sense that the Packers went with Tolzien ahead of Flynn since Tolzien has been on the practice squad since the start of the season so he knows the offense. Juxtapose that with Flynn who has been a member of three other organizations (Seahawks, Raiders, and Bills) since leaving the Packers after the 2011 season. Thompson would rather take a chance on an undrafted free agent (Tolzien) than a veteran retread (Flynn) so unless the Packers suffer another injury at quarterback, I do not expect to see them signing Flynn.
I also understand getting Sherrod back on The 53 as soon as possible because Newhouse is set to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season so the Packers need to see what they have in Sherrod before deciding to let Newhouse leave via free agency. Also don't forget that former starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga is rehabbing a torn ACL in hopes of playing in 2014 so the future looks bright at offensive tackle and that doesn't even factor in the 2014 NFL Draft when the Packers might add another offensive tackle. At this point the quintet of Bakhtiari, Barclay, Bulaga, Newhouse, and Sherrod are all fighting for four spots on The 53 in 2014. My early money is on Bakhtiari, Barclay, Bulaga, and Sherrod with Newhouse leaving via free agency.
I hope to attend the Packers/Eagles game in-person this weekend with Sug, still waiting to hear back whether I have a ticket aka a Phatty Miracle if you are in the parking lot of a Phish concert. Either way, check back on Monday for a recap along with my updated player rankings that takes into account the loss of Finley and Barrington along with the addition of Sherrod and Tolzien.
Although promoting Tolzien instead of putting in a claim on Flynn is going to grab the headlines, Thompson made a series of other important moves before that move that I thought were much more interesting. After a few weeks of speculation, Thompson finally placed tight end Jermichael Finley on injured reserve.
Finley signed a two-year, $14 million "prove-it" deal after the 2011 season. That contract was never about Finley's on-field potential/ability, it was all about seeing whether Finley would mature off the field enough that the Packers could justify committing a ton of guaranteed money as a part of a long-term contract.
Coming into this season it seemed like Finley was taking care of business off-the-field and was in sync with Rodgers so he looked poised for a huge year on the field. Oh how things change in two months. After suffering a concussion against the Bengals and spinal cord injury against the Browns, there is a chance that Finley will never play football again.
Apparently Finley took out a $10 million insurance policy on his football health. Wise move by Finley because best case scenario doctors confirm that he is healthy enough to return to the football field so he signs a one-year incentive laden contract with the Packers. Worst case scenario, doctors cannot give Finley a clean bill of health and he goes down as arguably the most athletic tight end in franchise history that was unfortunately forced to retire at the age of 26 due to injury. Sure the $10 million insurance policy will serves as a nice pension of sorts if Finley can never play football again but if Finely stayed healthy in 2013 I bet he would have signed a deal that rivaled Jason Witten's seven year, $50 million contract.
Besides replacing Finley with Tolzien, Thompson made another move to The 53. Turns out Rodgers was not the only player that suffered a serious injury against the Bears. Rookie linebacker Sam Barrington, taken in the 7th round of the 2013 NFL Draft, suffered a serious hamstring injury and was placed on injured reserve. Placing Barrington on injured reserve opened another spot on The 53.
Thompson activated offensive tackle Derek Sherrod off the physically unable to perform in place of Barrington, which completed Sherrod's almost two year journey back to the football field. For some quick background, Sherrod broke his leg on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 18, 2011 in the team's only regular season loss that year. Sherrod was not even the starter that day. The only reason that Sherrod was in the game was because Bryan Bulaga suffered a knee injury at the start of the second half. It will be interesting to see how Sherrod responds after such a long layoff because expectations were high for Sherrod after the Packers selected him in the first round the 2011 NFL Draft.
Just a week ago the Packers looked set at offensive tackle with rookie David Bakhtiari at left tackle, Don Barclay at right tackle, and Marshall Newhouse as each of their primary backups. Unfortunately last week the Packers were forced to move Barclay to right guard after starting right guard T.J. Lang suffered a concussion against the Bears. Head coach Mike McCarthy inserted Newhouse at right tackle when he moved Barclay over to right guard in place of Lang. At this point Lang's status for next week at home against the Philadelphia Eagles is up in the air so despite having three other quality tackles ahead of Sherrod on The 53, Sherrod will most likely be active this weekend and might even play.
It makes sense that the Packers went with Tolzien ahead of Flynn since Tolzien has been on the practice squad since the start of the season so he knows the offense. Juxtapose that with Flynn who has been a member of three other organizations (Seahawks, Raiders, and Bills) since leaving the Packers after the 2011 season. Thompson would rather take a chance on an undrafted free agent (Tolzien) than a veteran retread (Flynn) so unless the Packers suffer another injury at quarterback, I do not expect to see them signing Flynn.
I also understand getting Sherrod back on The 53 as soon as possible because Newhouse is set to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season so the Packers need to see what they have in Sherrod before deciding to let Newhouse leave via free agency. Also don't forget that former starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga is rehabbing a torn ACL in hopes of playing in 2014 so the future looks bright at offensive tackle and that doesn't even factor in the 2014 NFL Draft when the Packers might add another offensive tackle. At this point the quintet of Bakhtiari, Barclay, Bulaga, Newhouse, and Sherrod are all fighting for four spots on The 53 in 2014. My early money is on Bakhtiari, Barclay, Bulaga, and Sherrod with Newhouse leaving via free agency.
I hope to attend the Packers/Eagles game in-person this weekend with Sug, still waiting to hear back whether I have a ticket aka a Phatty Miracle if you are in the parking lot of a Phish concert. Either way, check back on Monday for a recap along with my updated player rankings that takes into account the loss of Finley and Barrington along with the addition of Sherrod and Tolzien.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Building The 53 - Bulaga Out, Young In
Heading into training camp I posted that 27 guys were locks* and 18 guys will most likely* make The 53, which means there are 45 guys fighting for 8 roster spots.
During the off-season the Packers shifted Bryan Bulaga from right tackle to left tackle because Marshall Newhouse struggled last season at left tackle. Unfortunately Bulaga, one of the 27 locks*, suffered a season ending injury before he could even play a meaningful snap in 2013 for the Packers. Sadly this is the second consecutive season cut short by injury for Bulaga.
Now the Packers have to decide whether to give Newhouse another chance at left tackle or go in another direction. If the Packers go in another direction they will have to either rely on a rookie in David Bakhtiari or a pair of former draft picks that have been perpetually injured for their entire tenure in Green Bay in Derek Sherrod (1st Rounder in 2011) or Andrew Datko (7th Rounder in 2012).
The only other viable tackle on the roster is Don Barclay but his body type makes him better suited to play right tackle. If I were in charge I would have Bakhtiari, Sherrod, and Datko take reps at left tackle while having Barclay and Newhouse take reps at right tackle. My guess is that the Packers keep Bakhtiari, Barclay, and Newhouse along with the healthier of Sherrod and Datko.
Bulaga is currently getting a second opinion on his knee but I would be shocked if Bulaga was able to play in 2013 so although Bulaga has not been placed on injured reserve yet, the delay looks merely procedural. The Packers made a few other roster moves though. The Packers placed wide receiver Sederrik Cunningham on injured reserve and signed wide receiver Justin Wilson. The bigger roster move was the Packers signing dual-threat quarterback Vince Young.
Going into training camp it looked like B.J. Coleman and Graham Harrell were going to battle for the backup quarterback job much like they did last year. Harrell won last year but I thought Coleman would win this year. With Young in the fold, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
The terms of Young's contract are undisclosed right now. If there is any guaranteed money in the deal then Coleman and Harrell better start looking for new employment. If Young's contract does not have any guaranteed money then it will be a true competition. Worst case scenario, having a dual-threat quarterback in camp will help the Packers prepare for their first two regular seasons opponents since both teams employ dual-threat quarterbacks: Colin Kapernick for the San Francisco 49ers and Robert Griffin III for the Washington Redskins.
I am sure all of Packer Nation wishes Bulaga a speedy recover and will watch the backup quarterback competition very closely because as Bulaga's injury shows, we are one injury to starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers away from putting the franchise in the hands of Coleman, Harrell, or Young.
During the off-season the Packers shifted Bryan Bulaga from right tackle to left tackle because Marshall Newhouse struggled last season at left tackle. Unfortunately Bulaga, one of the 27 locks*, suffered a season ending injury before he could even play a meaningful snap in 2013 for the Packers. Sadly this is the second consecutive season cut short by injury for Bulaga.
Now the Packers have to decide whether to give Newhouse another chance at left tackle or go in another direction. If the Packers go in another direction they will have to either rely on a rookie in David Bakhtiari or a pair of former draft picks that have been perpetually injured for their entire tenure in Green Bay in Derek Sherrod (1st Rounder in 2011) or Andrew Datko (7th Rounder in 2012).
The only other viable tackle on the roster is Don Barclay but his body type makes him better suited to play right tackle. If I were in charge I would have Bakhtiari, Sherrod, and Datko take reps at left tackle while having Barclay and Newhouse take reps at right tackle. My guess is that the Packers keep Bakhtiari, Barclay, and Newhouse along with the healthier of Sherrod and Datko.
Bulaga is currently getting a second opinion on his knee but I would be shocked if Bulaga was able to play in 2013 so although Bulaga has not been placed on injured reserve yet, the delay looks merely procedural. The Packers made a few other roster moves though. The Packers placed wide receiver Sederrik Cunningham on injured reserve and signed wide receiver Justin Wilson. The bigger roster move was the Packers signing dual-threat quarterback Vince Young.
Going into training camp it looked like B.J. Coleman and Graham Harrell were going to battle for the backup quarterback job much like they did last year. Harrell won last year but I thought Coleman would win this year. With Young in the fold, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
The terms of Young's contract are undisclosed right now. If there is any guaranteed money in the deal then Coleman and Harrell better start looking for new employment. If Young's contract does not have any guaranteed money then it will be a true competition. Worst case scenario, having a dual-threat quarterback in camp will help the Packers prepare for their first two regular seasons opponents since both teams employ dual-threat quarterbacks: Colin Kapernick for the San Francisco 49ers and Robert Griffin III for the Washington Redskins.
I am sure all of Packer Nation wishes Bulaga a speedy recover and will watch the backup quarterback competition very closely because as Bulaga's injury shows, we are one injury to starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers away from putting the franchise in the hands of Coleman, Harrell, or Young.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
2012 Preseason Week 4 - Packers/Chiefs Review
For the second week in a row the Packers looked very impressive, here
are my quick thoughts on the Week 4 Packers/Chiefs preseason game:
#1) Player that hurt his stock most: Everyone played pretty well so it was hard to pick on anyone specifically thus I am going to say all the backup offensive lineman in general. I could see the Packers claiming at least one and possibly two offensive lineman off waivers once everything shakes out, especially if they put Derek Sherrod on the PUP list.
#2) Player that helped his stock most: There were a ton of backups that played very well: Jarrett Boykin, Alex Green, Tori Gurley, Graham Harrell, Terrell Manning, Dezman Moses, Sean Richardson, and Sam Shields. Although all of them deserve more discussion, Harrell put together the most impressive performance going 13 for 15, throwing for 223 yards and 2 touchdowns for a perfect NFL passer rating of 158.3. The impressive performance by Harrell solidified his spot as the backup quarterback to Aaron Rodgers.
#3) Position to watch: So far I've talked about linebackers, running backs, and secondary so let's go back to the offensive side of the ball and look at the wide receivers. Yesterday I finally kept 6 wide receivers for the first time in my weekly advice for general manager Ted Thompson. I honestly think the Packers have nine receivers on their current roster that look worthy of being on an active 53-man NFL roster in 2012. The "Big Five" wide receivers are Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, Randall Cobb, and James Jones. The more interesting guys to keep an eye on are the next four receivers: Diondre Borel, Jarrett Boykin, Tori Gurley, and Dale Moss. All four could end up on a 53-man NFL roster at some point this season. Boykins (5 catches for 82 yards and 1 touchdown) and Gurley (2 catches for 69 yards) picked a good time to perform well, which makes choosing between those two a tough decision for Thompson. I personally would keep Boykins but would be fine with the Packers keeping either receiver.
Final Note: Things were feisty all night between both teams. Mike Neal took it too far drawing a 15-yard personal foul, which is not what your want to do in your last live action ahead of a four-game suspension for using a banned substance. In all fairness though, after almost every play there was shoving and jostling between both teams. Since backups played almost the entire game, I can't blame them for trying to play with a little chip on their shoulder but players on the bubble can't afford to commit stupid penalties like Neal did.
Check back tomorrow for my quick thoughts on the initial 53-man roster for the 2012 Green Bay Packers.
#1) Player that hurt his stock most: Everyone played pretty well so it was hard to pick on anyone specifically thus I am going to say all the backup offensive lineman in general. I could see the Packers claiming at least one and possibly two offensive lineman off waivers once everything shakes out, especially if they put Derek Sherrod on the PUP list.
#2) Player that helped his stock most: There were a ton of backups that played very well: Jarrett Boykin, Alex Green, Tori Gurley, Graham Harrell, Terrell Manning, Dezman Moses, Sean Richardson, and Sam Shields. Although all of them deserve more discussion, Harrell put together the most impressive performance going 13 for 15, throwing for 223 yards and 2 touchdowns for a perfect NFL passer rating of 158.3. The impressive performance by Harrell solidified his spot as the backup quarterback to Aaron Rodgers.
#3) Position to watch: So far I've talked about linebackers, running backs, and secondary so let's go back to the offensive side of the ball and look at the wide receivers. Yesterday I finally kept 6 wide receivers for the first time in my weekly advice for general manager Ted Thompson. I honestly think the Packers have nine receivers on their current roster that look worthy of being on an active 53-man NFL roster in 2012. The "Big Five" wide receivers are Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, Randall Cobb, and James Jones. The more interesting guys to keep an eye on are the next four receivers: Diondre Borel, Jarrett Boykin, Tori Gurley, and Dale Moss. All four could end up on a 53-man NFL roster at some point this season. Boykins (5 catches for 82 yards and 1 touchdown) and Gurley (2 catches for 69 yards) picked a good time to perform well, which makes choosing between those two a tough decision for Thompson. I personally would keep Boykins but would be fine with the Packers keeping either receiver.
Final Note: Things were feisty all night between both teams. Mike Neal took it too far drawing a 15-yard personal foul, which is not what your want to do in your last live action ahead of a four-game suspension for using a banned substance. In all fairness though, after almost every play there was shoving and jostling between both teams. Since backups played almost the entire game, I can't blame them for trying to play with a little chip on their shoulder but players on the bubble can't afford to commit stupid penalties like Neal did.
Check back tomorrow for my quick thoughts on the initial 53-man roster for the 2012 Green Bay Packers.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
2012 Preseason Week 3 - Packers/Bengals Review
After struggling two weeks ago against the Chargers on the road
and last week at home against the Browns, the Packers
finally put together a positive performance on the road against the
Cincinnati Bengals. Here are a
few of my quick thoughts on the Week 3 Packers/Bengals preseason game:
#1) Player that hurt his stock most: Marshall Newhouse is the starter at left tackle unless the Packers move Bryan Bulaga from right tackle to left tackle since Derek Sherrod is still recovering from a broken leg at the end of last season. In 2011 Newhouse played decent against inferior competition but struggled mightily against good competition. In Newhouse's first action of the preseason he struggled, which is shaping up to be a big problem since the Packers expect to transition seamlessly from Chad Clifton (former starting left tackle for the last decade) to Newhouse. I hope the Packers give Newhouse more reps next week to get him as much live action as possible even though the starters play only a few snaps in the preseason finale because Newhouse does not look ready to protect A-Rodg's blindside.
#2) Player that helped his stock most: Last week I highlighted running back as the position to watch thanks to signing Cedric Benson. In Benson's first appearance for the Packers, he ran very well against his former employer. There is no question the Packers lacked a powerful running back like Benson since Ahman Green's first stint with the Packers. Green's second stint with the Packers was forgettable because physically he was a shell of his former self. Ball security and blocking are the only things that worry me about Benson because as long as Rodgers is healthy the Packers are going to be a pass first team so Benson will see more of his carries when the Packers have a lead that they are looking to protect.
#3) Position to watch: So far I've talked about linebackers and running backs. This week I want to focus on the secondary. Assuming that Charles Woodson and Morgan Burnett start at safety while Tramon Williams starts at one of the two cornerback positions in the base 3-4 defense, that leaves one starting cornerback position to fill. Davon House looked like he was going to be the other starter until he predictably got hurt earlier this preseason. House suffered a shoulder injury and I fear that will limit his effectiveness in bump-and-run coverage in 2012 much like it did for Williams in 2011. That leaves Sam Shields, Jarrett Bush, and Casey Hayward as the other options at cornerback. None of the three separated themselves so far, which means the Packers might as well start the rookie Hayward since Shields regressed in 2011 and Bush is a liability in coverage.
Final Note: My father-in-law has been a lifetime Bengals fan since he grew up in Dayton, OH but lately he's become a Packer fan and is even a co-owner like Papa Cheese, me, and what feels like a million other people. This week we emailed about which team my father-in-law should root for. I settled on rooting for both teams being healthy since they've both suffered some fairly serious injuries to starters already. Besides Ryan Pickett and Tom Crabtree, it looks like our wishes were answered on the Cheesehead side of the ball.
#1) Player that hurt his stock most: Marshall Newhouse is the starter at left tackle unless the Packers move Bryan Bulaga from right tackle to left tackle since Derek Sherrod is still recovering from a broken leg at the end of last season. In 2011 Newhouse played decent against inferior competition but struggled mightily against good competition. In Newhouse's first action of the preseason he struggled, which is shaping up to be a big problem since the Packers expect to transition seamlessly from Chad Clifton (former starting left tackle for the last decade) to Newhouse. I hope the Packers give Newhouse more reps next week to get him as much live action as possible even though the starters play only a few snaps in the preseason finale because Newhouse does not look ready to protect A-Rodg's blindside.
#2) Player that helped his stock most: Last week I highlighted running back as the position to watch thanks to signing Cedric Benson. In Benson's first appearance for the Packers, he ran very well against his former employer. There is no question the Packers lacked a powerful running back like Benson since Ahman Green's first stint with the Packers. Green's second stint with the Packers was forgettable because physically he was a shell of his former self. Ball security and blocking are the only things that worry me about Benson because as long as Rodgers is healthy the Packers are going to be a pass first team so Benson will see more of his carries when the Packers have a lead that they are looking to protect.
#3) Position to watch: So far I've talked about linebackers and running backs. This week I want to focus on the secondary. Assuming that Charles Woodson and Morgan Burnett start at safety while Tramon Williams starts at one of the two cornerback positions in the base 3-4 defense, that leaves one starting cornerback position to fill. Davon House looked like he was going to be the other starter until he predictably got hurt earlier this preseason. House suffered a shoulder injury and I fear that will limit his effectiveness in bump-and-run coverage in 2012 much like it did for Williams in 2011. That leaves Sam Shields, Jarrett Bush, and Casey Hayward as the other options at cornerback. None of the three separated themselves so far, which means the Packers might as well start the rookie Hayward since Shields regressed in 2011 and Bush is a liability in coverage.
Final Note: My father-in-law has been a lifetime Bengals fan since he grew up in Dayton, OH but lately he's become a Packer fan and is even a co-owner like Papa Cheese, me, and what feels like a million other people. This week we emailed about which team my father-in-law should root for. I settled on rooting for both teams being healthy since they've both suffered some fairly serious injuries to starters already. Besides Ryan Pickett and Tom Crabtree, it looks like our wishes were answered on the Cheesehead side of the ball.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
2011 Preseason Week 2 - Packers/Cardinals Review
Sorry about the delayed "Quick Thoughts" post on the Packers/Cardinals preseason game, I was unable to see the replay of the game on the NFL Network until later on Saturday night. With my apology out of the way, here are my quick thoughts on the Packers/Cardinal preseason game:
#1) Player that hurt his stock most: Derek Sherrod struggled at both left guard and left tackle so it looks like Sherrod's chances of opening the season as one of the five starters along the offensive line ended against the Cardinals. As a result, absent injury, the starting offensive line (left to right) for the 2011 Green Bay Packers will be: Chad Clifton (LT), T.J. Lang (LG), Scott Wells (C), Josh Sitton (RG), and Bryan Bulaga (RT).
#2) Player that helped his stock most: The Packers have a ton of undrafted free agents that would make most NFL rosters but since the Packers already had 53 guys worthy of being on their opening 53-man roster before the 2011 NFL Draft, there are going to be a ton of guys worth keeping on the active roster that will most likely get cut. Just look at a few of the undrafted free agents that are having a good training camp but are still long shots to make the opening day 53-man roster: running back (Brandon Saine), wide receiver (Chastin West, Diondre Borel, and Tory Gurley), and cornerback (Brandian Ross and Josh Gordy).
#3) Position to watch: Since left guard was already handled above and a number of guys fighting to start at defensive end (Mike Neal and Lawrence Guy) sat out with injury, let's look at the starting outside linebacker spot opposite Clay Matthews. After Brad Jones struggled at the start of training camp, the starting outside linebacker spot opposite Clay Matthews looked like a two horse race between Erik Walden and Frank Zombo. Neither player did much to grab hold of the starting job although Zombo played slightly better than Walden against the Cardinals. Look for Walden and Zombo to get a ton of snaps next week against the Colts so the Packers can pick one of them to be the opening day starter opposite Clay Matthews.
#4) Injuries: C.J. Wilson (concussion) and Randall Cobb (bruised knee) were the only players that suffered anything more than a minor injury against the Cardinals. No further injury information was available about either player but look for the Packers to be cautious with both players because both are virtually guaranteed roster spots on the opening day 53-man roster as long as their injuries are not too serious.
Final Note: Last week roughly 30,000 fans attended the Packers/Browns preseason game in Cleveland. This week 67,688 fans attended the Packers/Cardinals game in Green Bay, which is still roughly 5,000 below capacity at Lambeau Field but much better than 40,000 below capacity like in Cleveland last weekend. Green Bay is a very unique place and fans are especially excited about the Packers since they won Super Bowl XLV but 35,000 more fans showing up in Green Bay than in Cleveland is embarrassing for the mistake by the lake.
#1) Player that hurt his stock most: Derek Sherrod struggled at both left guard and left tackle so it looks like Sherrod's chances of opening the season as one of the five starters along the offensive line ended against the Cardinals. As a result, absent injury, the starting offensive line (left to right) for the 2011 Green Bay Packers will be: Chad Clifton (LT), T.J. Lang (LG), Scott Wells (C), Josh Sitton (RG), and Bryan Bulaga (RT).
#2) Player that helped his stock most: The Packers have a ton of undrafted free agents that would make most NFL rosters but since the Packers already had 53 guys worthy of being on their opening 53-man roster before the 2011 NFL Draft, there are going to be a ton of guys worth keeping on the active roster that will most likely get cut. Just look at a few of the undrafted free agents that are having a good training camp but are still long shots to make the opening day 53-man roster: running back (Brandon Saine), wide receiver (Chastin West, Diondre Borel, and Tory Gurley), and cornerback (Brandian Ross and Josh Gordy).
#3) Position to watch: Since left guard was already handled above and a number of guys fighting to start at defensive end (Mike Neal and Lawrence Guy) sat out with injury, let's look at the starting outside linebacker spot opposite Clay Matthews. After Brad Jones struggled at the start of training camp, the starting outside linebacker spot opposite Clay Matthews looked like a two horse race between Erik Walden and Frank Zombo. Neither player did much to grab hold of the starting job although Zombo played slightly better than Walden against the Cardinals. Look for Walden and Zombo to get a ton of snaps next week against the Colts so the Packers can pick one of them to be the opening day starter opposite Clay Matthews.
#4) Injuries: C.J. Wilson (concussion) and Randall Cobb (bruised knee) were the only players that suffered anything more than a minor injury against the Cardinals. No further injury information was available about either player but look for the Packers to be cautious with both players because both are virtually guaranteed roster spots on the opening day 53-man roster as long as their injuries are not too serious.
Final Note: Last week roughly 30,000 fans attended the Packers/Browns preseason game in Cleveland. This week 67,688 fans attended the Packers/Cardinals game in Green Bay, which is still roughly 5,000 below capacity at Lambeau Field but much better than 40,000 below capacity like in Cleveland last weekend. Green Bay is a very unique place and fans are especially excited about the Packers since they won Super Bowl XLV but 35,000 more fans showing up in Green Bay than in Cleveland is embarrassing for the mistake by the lake.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
2011 Preseason Week 1 - Packers/Browns Review
The Green Bay Packers flew to D.C. on Friday ahead of their Saturday night preseason game in Cleveland to finally visit the White House to celebrate winning Super Bowl XLV. President Obama is an avid Chicago Bears fan (seems like a non sequitur) so he took a fair amount of heat from Charles Woodson and Aaron Rodgers because the Packers beat the Bears in Chicago to win the NFC Championship Game to go to Super Bowl XLV but President Obama seemed to take the joking in stride. Following their visit to the White House, the Packers traveled to Cleveland to play the Browns in both team's preseason opener. Here are a few quick thoughts on the game:
#1) Player that hurt his stock most: Pat Lee had the chance to shine with some of the top cornerbacks (Woodson and Shields) held out against the Browns. Unfortunately Lee struggled and looks like a long shot to make the roster with Woodson, Williams, Shields, House, and Bush all ahead of Lee at this point.
#2) Player that helped his stock most: Clearly rookie wide receiver Randall Cobb and back-up quarterback Matt Flynn played well against the Browns so let's dig a little deeper. Morgan Burnett's rookie season was cut short when he tore his ACL in Week 4 of the 2010 season against the Lions. With Burnett lost for the season, Charlie Peprah was one of the biggest surprises of last year. Burnett is the safety of the future opposite Collins in Green Bay not Peprah but I was still skeptical how healthy Burnett would be less than a year removed from tearing his ACL. One game does not make a season but the physicality that Burnett showed against the Browns was a welcomed sight.
#3) Position to watch: Going into training camp the Packers decided not to resign former starting left guard Daryn Colledge and starting defensive end Cullen Jenkins among others. The Packers had a couple in-house candidates to fill in for Jenkins (Mike Neal, Howard Green, Jarius Wynn, and C.J. Wilson) but there was no clear-cut candidate to take over at left guard. The Packers drafted Derek Sherrod as the left tackle of the future but they are trying Sherrod at left guard along with holdover T.J. Lang. The Packers shuffled Sherrod and Lang between left tackle and left guard throughout the game. Both players did nothing against the Browns to help or hurt their stock so left guard will continue to be the position to watch when the Packers meet the Arizona Cardinals in their Week 2 preseason game at Lambeau Field on Friday, August 18, 2011.
Final Note: The NFL needs to change the pricing structure of preseason tickets. This has been mentioned in a number of places but the NFL Owners shouldn't charge regular season prices for preseason games. Cleveland Browns Stadium holds a little more than 73,000 people. The reported attendance was 57,077 but only 30,000 people actually attended the game. Here is the quick solution for preseason ticket problems. There are four preseason games. Week 1 and Week 4 games are essentially throwaway games because guys that have very little chance of making the opening 53-man roster play most of those games. Week 2 and Week 3 are the most interesting games because the starters play a good portion of the snaps. The NFL should charge $20 a ticket for the throwaway games (Week 1 and Week 4) and $40 a ticket for the more interesting games (Week 2 and Week 3).
If you enjoyed this "Quick Thoughts" post, check out my first "Quick Thoughts" post on the Cheeseheads Ruling Day 1 of the 2011 PGA Championship.
#1) Player that hurt his stock most: Pat Lee had the chance to shine with some of the top cornerbacks (Woodson and Shields) held out against the Browns. Unfortunately Lee struggled and looks like a long shot to make the roster with Woodson, Williams, Shields, House, and Bush all ahead of Lee at this point.
#2) Player that helped his stock most: Clearly rookie wide receiver Randall Cobb and back-up quarterback Matt Flynn played well against the Browns so let's dig a little deeper. Morgan Burnett's rookie season was cut short when he tore his ACL in Week 4 of the 2010 season against the Lions. With Burnett lost for the season, Charlie Peprah was one of the biggest surprises of last year. Burnett is the safety of the future opposite Collins in Green Bay not Peprah but I was still skeptical how healthy Burnett would be less than a year removed from tearing his ACL. One game does not make a season but the physicality that Burnett showed against the Browns was a welcomed sight.
#3) Position to watch: Going into training camp the Packers decided not to resign former starting left guard Daryn Colledge and starting defensive end Cullen Jenkins among others. The Packers had a couple in-house candidates to fill in for Jenkins (Mike Neal, Howard Green, Jarius Wynn, and C.J. Wilson) but there was no clear-cut candidate to take over at left guard. The Packers drafted Derek Sherrod as the left tackle of the future but they are trying Sherrod at left guard along with holdover T.J. Lang. The Packers shuffled Sherrod and Lang between left tackle and left guard throughout the game. Both players did nothing against the Browns to help or hurt their stock so left guard will continue to be the position to watch when the Packers meet the Arizona Cardinals in their Week 2 preseason game at Lambeau Field on Friday, August 18, 2011.
Final Note: The NFL needs to change the pricing structure of preseason tickets. This has been mentioned in a number of places but the NFL Owners shouldn't charge regular season prices for preseason games. Cleveland Browns Stadium holds a little more than 73,000 people. The reported attendance was 57,077 but only 30,000 people actually attended the game. Here is the quick solution for preseason ticket problems. There are four preseason games. Week 1 and Week 4 games are essentially throwaway games because guys that have very little chance of making the opening 53-man roster play most of those games. Week 2 and Week 3 are the most interesting games because the starters play a good portion of the snaps. The NFL should charge $20 a ticket for the throwaway games (Week 1 and Week 4) and $40 a ticket for the more interesting games (Week 2 and Week 3).
If you enjoyed this "Quick Thoughts" post, check out my first "Quick Thoughts" post on the Cheeseheads Ruling Day 1 of the 2011 PGA Championship.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
2011 Green Bay Packer Draft Picks
Congratulations to the ten players taken by Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson in the 2011 NFL Draft, today is truly a Sunday Funday for all of them.
1st Round (32nd Overall): Derek Sherrod, Offensive Tackle
School: Mississippi State (SEC)
Height: 6'5⅜"
Weight: 321 lbs
Arm Length: 35.29"
Hand Size: 11.0"
40-yard Dash: 5.18 seconds
Vertical Leap: 28"
Broad Jump: 8'1"
225-pound Bench Press: 23 reps
Wonderlic: 25 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Da'Quan Bowers (DE/OLB, Clemson), Marvin Austin (DE/DT, UNC) or Stephen Paea (DT, Oregon State)
Analysis: Another year, another tackle drafted in the first round. Last year Thompson drafted Bryan Bulaga and followed it up this year by taking Sherrod with the last pick of the first round. Sherrod has longer arms and bigger hands than Bulaga. Only time will tell whether that means that Sherrod is the left tackle of the future ahead of Bulaga. Sherrod is a smart guy, he graduated college in three years and even started on his masters. With how impressive Sherrod is in the classroom, he is even more impressive on the field. Sherrod started 37 games at left tackle, 47 starts total, and appeared in 49 games for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Sherrod's senior season was his best, he didn't allow a sack in 2010 despite playing in the SEC and facing some of the best best pass rushers in the country.
2nd Round (64th Overall): Randall Cobb, Wide Receiver
School: Kentucky (SEC)
Height: 5'10¼"
Weight: 191 lbs
Arm Length: 31.0"
Hand Size: 9.3"
40-yard Dash: 4.47 seconds
Vertical Leap: 33.5"
Broad Jump: 9'7"
225-pound Bench Press: 16 reps
Wonderlic: 25 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Dontay Moch (OLB, Nevada), John Moffitt (OG, Wisconsin) or Leonard Hankerson (WR, Miami)
Analysis: Thompson has gone 2 for 3 drafting wide receiver in the second round hitting a homerun with Greg Jennings, a double with Jordy Nelson, and got plunked in the head with Terrence Murphy. Cobb will line up in the slot, at running back, at quarterback in the wildcat, as a return man, and he might even serve as the holder...something that I have long advocated the Packers should do with their backup quarterback. Cobb reminds me of a rich man's Antwaan Randle El or a poor man's Percy Harvin. Cobb set an SEC record with 2,396 all-purpose yards in 2010, check out the breakdown:
- caught 84 balls for 1,017 yards and 7 touchdowns
- rushed 55 times for 424 yards and 5 touchdowns
- went 5 for 10 throwing for 58 yards and 3 touchdowns out of the Wildcat
- averaged 7.82 yards per punt return
- averaged 23.74 yards per kickoff return
With the decline of Driver in 2010 and the potential loss of Jones via free agency before the 2011 season, the Packers added another stud receiver to an already impressive group of wide receiver.
3rd Round (96th Overall): Alexander Green, Running Back
School: Hawaii (WAC)
Height: 6'0¼"
Weight: 225 lbs
Arm Length: 32.0"
Hand Size: 9.1"
40-yard Dash: 4.52 seconds
Vertical Leap: 34"
Broad Jump: 9'6"
225-pound Bench Press: 20 reps
Wonderlic: 15 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Jordan Cameron (TE, USC), Sam Acho (DE/OLB, Texas) or Christian Ballard (DT, Iowa)
Analysis: Talking about the rich getting richer. By picking Alex Green the Packers selected three offensive players with their first three picks for the first time since 1996. Green is only the fourth running back Thompson has drafted while in charge of the Packers. The highest pick that Thompson used on a running back was a second round pick in 2007 on Brandon Jackson. Oddly enough, Green will most likely replace Jackson as the 3rd down back for the Packers in 2011. That means barring a change in events, Green is going to claim Jackson's roster spot. Before we go any further, let's get the Butte Community College reference out there. Yes, both Green and Rodgers played at Butte Community College. In fact, Green played with Aaron's younger brother Jordan. Green played at Butte for two years, leading them to the 2008 Junior College National Championship finishing 12-0 for the season. Green moved on to play at Hawaii where he averaged 9 yards per touch last year amassing 1,562 all-purpose yards (1,199 rushing yards and 363 receiving yards) and 19 touchdowns. Green played in the spread offense at Hawaii so it will be interesting to see how Green performs in a more traditional offense. The system is not the only change that Green is going to have to get used to in 2011. Green played college football in California and Hawaii, now he can look forward to playing in bitter cold winters in Green Bay. The only knock on Green is that he is a bit of a fumbler (8 fumbles in 271 touches) but that is fitting since another Packer running back named Green, Ahman Green, had fumbling issues.
4th Round (131st Overall): Devon House, Cornerback
School: New Mexico State (WAC)
Height: 6'0½"
Weight: 200 lbs
Arm Length: 31.7"
Hand Size: 9.399"
40-yard Dash: 4.41 seconds
Vertical Leap: 33.5"
Broad Jump: 9'1"
225-pound Bench Press: 14 reps
Wonderlic: 15 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Buster Skrine (CB, Chattanooga), Marcus Cannon (OT, TCU) or Brandon Burton (CB, Utah)
Analysis: House is the second highest cornerback Thompson drafted while in charge of the Packers. Perpetually injured former Auburn cornerback Pat Lee was the highest cornerback drafted during the Thompson regime. Much like Green taking Jackson's roster spot, it looks like House will claim Lee's roster spot. House started started 6 of last 7 games in 2007 and was a full-time starter from 2008-10. That means that House started 43 of 49 games at New Mexico State, so at the very least House got a ton of experience in college, which should help him make a smooth transition to the NFL.
5th Round (141st Overall): D.J. Williams, Tight End
School: Arkansas (SEC)
Height: 6'2⅛"
Weight: 245 lbs
Arm Length: 31.4"
Hand Size: 10.3"
40-yard Dash: 4.61 seconds
Vertical Leap: 33.5"
Broad Jump: 9'3"
225-pound Bench Press: 26 reps
Wonderlic: 26 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Karl Klug (DE, Iowa), Dion Lewis (RB, Pittsburgh) or Christopher Carter (OLB, Fresno State)
Analysis: Williams had a tough childhood, his father suffered from mental health issues and beat his mother so Williams was forced to move to Arkansas to get away from his father. On a more positive note, Williams was the 2010 John Mackey Award recipient (best collegiate tight end) thanks in large part to a pretty impressive career at Arkansas. As a two-year starter Williams had 152 receptions for 1,855 yards and 10 touchdowns. One final note, the Denver Broncos traded up 12 spots with the Green Bay Packers to select Julius Thomas (TE, Portland State) instead of Williams. Check back in five years to see if Denver should have taken Williams instead of Thomas.
6th Round (179th Overall): Caleb Schlauderaff, Offensive Guard
School: Utah (MWC)
Height: 6'4¼"
Weight: 305 lbs
Arm Length: 32.2"
Hand Size: 9.6"
40-yard Dash: 5.09 seconds
Vertical Leap: 28"
Broad Jump: 8'6"
225-pound Bench Press: ? reps
Wonderlic: 28 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Tyrod Taylor (QB, Virginia Tech), Jordan Todman (RB, Connecticut) or David Carter (DT, UCLA)
Analysis: Even with Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz as kinda a sorta free agents because of the labor unrest the Packers have a ton of guards on the roster (Sitton, McDonald, and Lang) so Schlauderaff looks like a pure luxury pick. Schlauderaff was a four-year starter at Utah but I would be surprised if he makes a start in the NFL before 2013. The Packers moved back twice (shocker) before taking Schlauderaff. The San Francisco 49ers selected Daniel Kilgore (G, Appalachian State) 16 picks earlier, another set to compare against down the road much like Williams and Thomas.
6th Round (186th Overall): D.J. Smith, Outside Linebacker
School: Appalachian State (Southern)
Height: 5'10¼"
Weight: 239 lbs
Arm Length: 32.0"
Hand Size: 9.6"
40-yard Dash: 4.74 seconds
Vertical Leap: 31"
Broad Jump: 8'8"
225-pound Bench Press: 20 reps
Wonderlic: 20 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Jason Kelce (OG/C, Cincinnati), Brian Rolle (OLB, Ohio State) or Markell Carter (DE/OLB, Central Arkansas)
Analysis: When Thompson drafted Smith I am sure most Packers fans thought it was about time Thompson got another outside linebacker. As I said a few months ago though, the Packers have a ton of talent at outside linebacker already on the roster even before the 2011 NFL Draft. Smith started every game from 2008-10 (32 at WLB and 8 at MLB). At least 15 potential 3-4 outside linebackers went before the undersized Smith so the odds that he becomes an actual NFL starter are slim.
6th Round (197th Overall): Rick Elmore, Defensive End/Outside Linebacker
School: Arizona (Pac-10)
Height: 6'4½"
Weight: 255 lbs
Arm Length: 31.0"
Hand Size: 9.6"
40-yard Dash: 4.84 seconds
Vertical Leap: 34.5"
Broad Jump: 9'7"
225-pound Bench Press: 26 reps
Wonderlic: 20 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Jerrell Powe (DT, Mississippi), Ross Homan (OLB, Ohio State) or Steve Schilling (OG, Michigan)
Analysis: Elmore has shades of Frank Zombo shifting from defensive end to outside linebacker. Elmore actually had more production than his college teammate outside linebacker Brooks Reed (picked 42nd overall by the Houston Texans) that was often linked with the Packers. Elmore started 36 of 51 games at Arizona and was very productive for his career: 128 tackles (33.5 for loss) and 25.5 sacks. Elmore lead the Pac-10 in sacks in 2010 with 11. If you are not already in love with Elmore as much as I am, he worked with the Claymaker's dad to help him transition from a 4-3 defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker in the pros. Mark my words, Elmore is Aaron Kampman 2.0 for the Packers.
7th Round (218th Overall): Ryan Taylor, Tight End
School: North Carolina (ACC)
Height: ?
Weight: ? lbs
Arm Length: ?
Hand Size: ?
40-yard Dash: 4.78 seconds
Vertical Leap: 34"
Broad Jump: 9'10"
225-pound Bench Press: 21 reps
Wonderlic: ?
Other Possible Picks: Anthony Gaitor (CB, Florida International), Greg Romeus (DE, Pittsburgh) or Frank Kearse (DT, Alabama A&M)
Analysis: After drafting a tight end earlier in the draft and already being the only team in the league to carry more tight ends/fullbacks than true wide receivers and running backs, Thompson added another tight end/fullback. Thompson has drafted more tight ends (5) than quarterbacks (4), running backs (4), centers (1), and defensive tackles (4). It might have been better for Taylor to go undrafted because he could have gone to a team with less depth at tight end. Either way, why not draft the feel good story of the draft Mark Herzlich? For those that don't know, Herzlich passed on entering the draft despite looking like a sure fire first round pick to return to Boston College. Soon after making that decision, Herzlich was diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately Herzlich beat cancer but his play suffered as a result of his illness. Herzlich's story has all the makings of a Donald Driveresque ending, why not add a guy like that instead of another backup tight end/fullback?
7th Round (233rd Overall): Lawrence Guy, Defensive Tackle/Defensive End
School: Arizona State (PAC-10)
Height: 6'4⅛"
Weight: 305 lbs
Arm Length: 32.59"
Hand Size: 10.6"
40-yard Dash: 4.99 seconds
Vertical Leap: 29"
Broad Jump: 8'8"
225-pound Bench Press: 28 reps
Wonderlic: 17 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Lee Ziemba (OT, Auburn), Bill Nagy (OG/C, Wisconsin) or Chris Neild (NT, West Virginia)
Analysis: A big body that can move will help add some depth along the defensive line for the Packers. For his career, Guy had 122 tackles (23 for loss) and 8 sacks. Some people are comparing Guy to the Packers' 7th round pick from the 2010 NFL Draft, C.J. Wilson (6'3", 300 pounds). Guy left college early and barely got drafted, will that put a chip on Guy's shoulder?
If you want to take a look back my thoughts on the 2010 Draft for the Green Bay Packer the day after the 2010 NFL Draft, click here.
1st Round (32nd Overall): Derek Sherrod, Offensive Tackle
School: Mississippi State (SEC)
Height: 6'5⅜"
Weight: 321 lbs
Arm Length: 35.29"
Hand Size: 11.0"
40-yard Dash: 5.18 seconds
Vertical Leap: 28"
Broad Jump: 8'1"
225-pound Bench Press: 23 reps
Wonderlic: 25 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Da'Quan Bowers (DE/OLB, Clemson), Marvin Austin (DE/DT, UNC) or Stephen Paea (DT, Oregon State)
Analysis: Another year, another tackle drafted in the first round. Last year Thompson drafted Bryan Bulaga and followed it up this year by taking Sherrod with the last pick of the first round. Sherrod has longer arms and bigger hands than Bulaga. Only time will tell whether that means that Sherrod is the left tackle of the future ahead of Bulaga. Sherrod is a smart guy, he graduated college in three years and even started on his masters. With how impressive Sherrod is in the classroom, he is even more impressive on the field. Sherrod started 37 games at left tackle, 47 starts total, and appeared in 49 games for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Sherrod's senior season was his best, he didn't allow a sack in 2010 despite playing in the SEC and facing some of the best best pass rushers in the country.
2nd Round (64th Overall): Randall Cobb, Wide Receiver
School: Kentucky (SEC)
Height: 5'10¼"
Weight: 191 lbs
Arm Length: 31.0"
Hand Size: 9.3"
40-yard Dash: 4.47 seconds
Vertical Leap: 33.5"
Broad Jump: 9'7"
225-pound Bench Press: 16 reps
Wonderlic: 25 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Dontay Moch (OLB, Nevada), John Moffitt (OG, Wisconsin) or Leonard Hankerson (WR, Miami)
Analysis: Thompson has gone 2 for 3 drafting wide receiver in the second round hitting a homerun with Greg Jennings, a double with Jordy Nelson, and got plunked in the head with Terrence Murphy. Cobb will line up in the slot, at running back, at quarterback in the wildcat, as a return man, and he might even serve as the holder...something that I have long advocated the Packers should do with their backup quarterback. Cobb reminds me of a rich man's Antwaan Randle El or a poor man's Percy Harvin. Cobb set an SEC record with 2,396 all-purpose yards in 2010, check out the breakdown:
- caught 84 balls for 1,017 yards and 7 touchdowns
- rushed 55 times for 424 yards and 5 touchdowns
- went 5 for 10 throwing for 58 yards and 3 touchdowns out of the Wildcat
- averaged 7.82 yards per punt return
- averaged 23.74 yards per kickoff return
With the decline of Driver in 2010 and the potential loss of Jones via free agency before the 2011 season, the Packers added another stud receiver to an already impressive group of wide receiver.
3rd Round (96th Overall): Alexander Green, Running Back
School: Hawaii (WAC)
Height: 6'0¼"
Weight: 225 lbs
Arm Length: 32.0"
Hand Size: 9.1"
40-yard Dash: 4.52 seconds
Vertical Leap: 34"
Broad Jump: 9'6"
225-pound Bench Press: 20 reps
Wonderlic: 15 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Jordan Cameron (TE, USC), Sam Acho (DE/OLB, Texas) or Christian Ballard (DT, Iowa)
Analysis: Talking about the rich getting richer. By picking Alex Green the Packers selected three offensive players with their first three picks for the first time since 1996. Green is only the fourth running back Thompson has drafted while in charge of the Packers. The highest pick that Thompson used on a running back was a second round pick in 2007 on Brandon Jackson. Oddly enough, Green will most likely replace Jackson as the 3rd down back for the Packers in 2011. That means barring a change in events, Green is going to claim Jackson's roster spot. Before we go any further, let's get the Butte Community College reference out there. Yes, both Green and Rodgers played at Butte Community College. In fact, Green played with Aaron's younger brother Jordan. Green played at Butte for two years, leading them to the 2008 Junior College National Championship finishing 12-0 for the season. Green moved on to play at Hawaii where he averaged 9 yards per touch last year amassing 1,562 all-purpose yards (1,199 rushing yards and 363 receiving yards) and 19 touchdowns. Green played in the spread offense at Hawaii so it will be interesting to see how Green performs in a more traditional offense. The system is not the only change that Green is going to have to get used to in 2011. Green played college football in California and Hawaii, now he can look forward to playing in bitter cold winters in Green Bay. The only knock on Green is that he is a bit of a fumbler (8 fumbles in 271 touches) but that is fitting since another Packer running back named Green, Ahman Green, had fumbling issues.
4th Round (131st Overall): Devon House, Cornerback
School: New Mexico State (WAC)
Height: 6'0½"
Weight: 200 lbs
Arm Length: 31.7"
Hand Size: 9.399"
40-yard Dash: 4.41 seconds
Vertical Leap: 33.5"
Broad Jump: 9'1"
225-pound Bench Press: 14 reps
Wonderlic: 15 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Buster Skrine (CB, Chattanooga), Marcus Cannon (OT, TCU) or Brandon Burton (CB, Utah)
Analysis: House is the second highest cornerback Thompson drafted while in charge of the Packers. Perpetually injured former Auburn cornerback Pat Lee was the highest cornerback drafted during the Thompson regime. Much like Green taking Jackson's roster spot, it looks like House will claim Lee's roster spot. House started started 6 of last 7 games in 2007 and was a full-time starter from 2008-10. That means that House started 43 of 49 games at New Mexico State, so at the very least House got a ton of experience in college, which should help him make a smooth transition to the NFL.
5th Round (141st Overall): D.J. Williams, Tight End
School: Arkansas (SEC)
Height: 6'2⅛"
Weight: 245 lbs
Arm Length: 31.4"
Hand Size: 10.3"
40-yard Dash: 4.61 seconds
Vertical Leap: 33.5"
Broad Jump: 9'3"
225-pound Bench Press: 26 reps
Wonderlic: 26 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Karl Klug (DE, Iowa), Dion Lewis (RB, Pittsburgh) or Christopher Carter (OLB, Fresno State)
Analysis: Williams had a tough childhood, his father suffered from mental health issues and beat his mother so Williams was forced to move to Arkansas to get away from his father. On a more positive note, Williams was the 2010 John Mackey Award recipient (best collegiate tight end) thanks in large part to a pretty impressive career at Arkansas. As a two-year starter Williams had 152 receptions for 1,855 yards and 10 touchdowns. One final note, the Denver Broncos traded up 12 spots with the Green Bay Packers to select Julius Thomas (TE, Portland State) instead of Williams. Check back in five years to see if Denver should have taken Williams instead of Thomas.
6th Round (179th Overall): Caleb Schlauderaff, Offensive Guard
School: Utah (MWC)
Height: 6'4¼"
Weight: 305 lbs
Arm Length: 32.2"
Hand Size: 9.6"
40-yard Dash: 5.09 seconds
Vertical Leap: 28"
Broad Jump: 8'6"
225-pound Bench Press: ? reps
Wonderlic: 28 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Tyrod Taylor (QB, Virginia Tech), Jordan Todman (RB, Connecticut) or David Carter (DT, UCLA)
Analysis: Even with Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz as kinda a sorta free agents because of the labor unrest the Packers have a ton of guards on the roster (Sitton, McDonald, and Lang) so Schlauderaff looks like a pure luxury pick. Schlauderaff was a four-year starter at Utah but I would be surprised if he makes a start in the NFL before 2013. The Packers moved back twice (shocker) before taking Schlauderaff. The San Francisco 49ers selected Daniel Kilgore (G, Appalachian State) 16 picks earlier, another set to compare against down the road much like Williams and Thomas.
6th Round (186th Overall): D.J. Smith, Outside Linebacker
School: Appalachian State (Southern)
Height: 5'10¼"
Weight: 239 lbs
Arm Length: 32.0"
Hand Size: 9.6"
40-yard Dash: 4.74 seconds
Vertical Leap: 31"
Broad Jump: 8'8"
225-pound Bench Press: 20 reps
Wonderlic: 20 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Jason Kelce (OG/C, Cincinnati), Brian Rolle (OLB, Ohio State) or Markell Carter (DE/OLB, Central Arkansas)
Analysis: When Thompson drafted Smith I am sure most Packers fans thought it was about time Thompson got another outside linebacker. As I said a few months ago though, the Packers have a ton of talent at outside linebacker already on the roster even before the 2011 NFL Draft. Smith started every game from 2008-10 (32 at WLB and 8 at MLB). At least 15 potential 3-4 outside linebackers went before the undersized Smith so the odds that he becomes an actual NFL starter are slim.
6th Round (197th Overall): Rick Elmore, Defensive End/Outside Linebacker
School: Arizona (Pac-10)
Height: 6'4½"
Weight: 255 lbs
Arm Length: 31.0"
Hand Size: 9.6"
40-yard Dash: 4.84 seconds
Vertical Leap: 34.5"
Broad Jump: 9'7"
225-pound Bench Press: 26 reps
Wonderlic: 20 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Jerrell Powe (DT, Mississippi), Ross Homan (OLB, Ohio State) or Steve Schilling (OG, Michigan)
Analysis: Elmore has shades of Frank Zombo shifting from defensive end to outside linebacker. Elmore actually had more production than his college teammate outside linebacker Brooks Reed (picked 42nd overall by the Houston Texans) that was often linked with the Packers. Elmore started 36 of 51 games at Arizona and was very productive for his career: 128 tackles (33.5 for loss) and 25.5 sacks. Elmore lead the Pac-10 in sacks in 2010 with 11. If you are not already in love with Elmore as much as I am, he worked with the Claymaker's dad to help him transition from a 4-3 defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker in the pros. Mark my words, Elmore is Aaron Kampman 2.0 for the Packers.
7th Round (218th Overall): Ryan Taylor, Tight End
School: North Carolina (ACC)
Height: ?
Weight: ? lbs
Arm Length: ?
Hand Size: ?
40-yard Dash: 4.78 seconds
Vertical Leap: 34"
Broad Jump: 9'10"
225-pound Bench Press: 21 reps
Wonderlic: ?
Other Possible Picks: Anthony Gaitor (CB, Florida International), Greg Romeus (DE, Pittsburgh) or Frank Kearse (DT, Alabama A&M)
Analysis: After drafting a tight end earlier in the draft and already being the only team in the league to carry more tight ends/fullbacks than true wide receivers and running backs, Thompson added another tight end/fullback. Thompson has drafted more tight ends (5) than quarterbacks (4), running backs (4), centers (1), and defensive tackles (4). It might have been better for Taylor to go undrafted because he could have gone to a team with less depth at tight end. Either way, why not draft the feel good story of the draft Mark Herzlich? For those that don't know, Herzlich passed on entering the draft despite looking like a sure fire first round pick to return to Boston College. Soon after making that decision, Herzlich was diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately Herzlich beat cancer but his play suffered as a result of his illness. Herzlich's story has all the makings of a Donald Driveresque ending, why not add a guy like that instead of another backup tight end/fullback?
7th Round (233rd Overall): Lawrence Guy, Defensive Tackle/Defensive End
School: Arizona State (PAC-10)
Height: 6'4⅛"
Weight: 305 lbs
Arm Length: 32.59"
Hand Size: 10.6"
40-yard Dash: 4.99 seconds
Vertical Leap: 29"
Broad Jump: 8'8"
225-pound Bench Press: 28 reps
Wonderlic: 17 out of 50
Other Possible Picks: Lee Ziemba (OT, Auburn), Bill Nagy (OG/C, Wisconsin) or Chris Neild (NT, West Virginia)
Analysis: A big body that can move will help add some depth along the defensive line for the Packers. For his career, Guy had 122 tackles (23 for loss) and 8 sacks. Some people are comparing Guy to the Packers' 7th round pick from the 2010 NFL Draft, C.J. Wilson (6'3", 300 pounds). Guy left college early and barely got drafted, will that put a chip on Guy's shoulder?
If you want to take a look back my thoughts on the 2010 Draft for the Green Bay Packer the day after the 2010 NFL Draft, click here.
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