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Did the Packers slip up in round two ?


OneTwoSixFive

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Pick 45 rolls around. On the board are, among others,

CB Josh Jackson
TE Dallas Goedert
WR Anthony Miller
WR D.J.Chark
OT Connor Williams
DE/OLB Lorenzo Carter

The Packers chose CB Josh Jackson, very likely the highest rated player on their board. I don't have a problem with his ability or value at #45, so why do I think the Packers dropped the ball in that round ?

It's all about depth and the future. With CB Jaire Alexander taken at pick one, you (hopefully) have more than replaced the loss of Randall in the slot. King mans one boundary, Alexander is in the slot , House or Williams can manage  the other boundary, while one of them and one other (Hawkins/Pipkins/Brown) have at least a year under their belts to back up the starters. That is a pretty thin group, taken in isolation it could really do with a young and talented boundary guy, hence Josh Jackson.

I think the Packers can survive at OLB this year, without a premium pick. Lorenzo Carter (taken at #66) would have been very welcome, but Perry and Matthews backed by Biegel and Gilbert (and possibly Fackrell) could survive. Again this position is thin, but just about survivable for another year if the unit doesn't suffer cluster injuries there (which can decimate any unit, even good ones).

The same applies to the O line. There is some depth there, though there are questions. Bulaga at the start of the season is one, his desire not to renegotiate may be another. The last-chance year of Spriggs is another. There is a hole at guard. It isn't critical here, but it isn't comfortable either. I'm hoping a decent guy can be found at tackle and/or guard on day three of the draft.

TE Goedert would have been a sensible pick. The Packers have bought a year with Graham, but they need a starter level guy for the longer term and Goedert would have given them that. they can, however survive with Graham and Kendicks, as long as no-one goes down. A later (day 3) pick could help stabilise this group and I expect a later pick here.

Where I don't think the Packers will do well is at wide receiver. The loss of Nelson creates a huge hole, and though I get the need to lower the cost of that position group (Nelson, Adams and Cobb all on $12m+ contracts demanded that), Jordy still needs replacing with a starter-level guy. Unless you are hoping for a miracle with a lower draft pick, the Packers are in a bind. Any veteran receiver, even a borderline starter, will command significant money. What was needed there was a starter level guy on a rookie contract. 

Now we get to the meat of it. WR Anthony Miller was sitting there at #45, and though he might have been rated a little lower than Jackson, he wasn't a reach pick on most boards, or with teams (was taken at pick 51). So, while CB looks fairly comfortable now, WR looks like an injury to Adams away from having nothing running up the sidelines. If you don't like Miller, Washington (#60) and Chark (#61) were also available there.  I think the Packers may have increased the odds of an abortive 2018 season by an uncomfortable amount. I know it takes time for receivers to learn an NFL playbook, but I think the choice of pick there will haunt them for a couple of years.

In the Packers first two rounds from 2015 to 2018 (eight picks overall), the Packers DB group has sucked up 6 of them (Randall, Rollins, King, Jones, Alexander, Jackson). If you add in Clinton-Dix in (in 2014), that makes it seven of ten picks on the DBs. That looks like an over-investment compared to other position groups, which is one reason WR and TE look so thin.

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I mean, taken in a vacuum....... maybe. GB can still take advantage of trades, cap casualties, etc. to fill out the rest of their roster. 

If they were playing games next weekend? Yeah the WR position is pretty weak imo and the draft so far hasn't helped, but there's still some names available. 

I'm of the opinion that Gute couldn't go wrong with DB BPA in the second. 

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I was taken aback by the pick (was expecting a trade down) but can understand the logic. Gute is making sure the defense gets fixed

Don't understand the fetish for high pick at TE. He will sit for 50% of his contract. Bad value. It's not time. A mid round guy who can block a little bit will provide a nice mix for now.

WR is a quandry. The learning curve is pretty high for this offense, but yet we need to get some usable bodies. I was wondering late yesterday if there were any stopgaps in FA not named Bryant that we could sign to get us by. I also go back to the re-vamping of the playbook, and knowing Philly, NE, and many other teams doing just fine without a star studded WR corps. A trade up in Round 4 for a WR sounds about right along with a ton of UFA

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5 minutes ago, Packerraymond said:

If this was Ted I'd be concerned. Gute's going to go get Dez, Maclin or a June 1 cut to play the #2 on a 1 year deal. I have almost 100% confidence in that, he's not going to toss Allison out there as #2.

????

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9 minutes ago, Packerraymond said:

If this was Ted I'd be concerned.

This is the elephant in the room.

Packer fans have been so conditioned that talent acquisition is over the moment the draft/UDFA is over, they don't notice that teams like Philly picked up one of their starting CBs in August of last year and teams like NE have added VETERAN talent to patch holes right up to the in-season trading deadline for many, many years running.

We have a new GM who repeatedly makes a point of emphasizing that he will use whatever means necessary to better the roster. How refreshing.

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Good points 1265.  Share your concern with WR.  Was hoping they would have taken one high last year.  It takes time for rooks to develop.  But to answer the question did Gute slip up in the 2nd round?  No.  Jackson was BPA not by a little but by a lot.  Couldn't believe he fell that far.  Kid might turn out to be our #1 CB in time.  Gute didn't have a choice.  I am sure he would have preferred going another direction but with Jackson staring him in the face he had to pull the trigger.  I wanted either OLB, TE, or WR in round 2 also.  Weak OLB class also WR.  Think Goedert will be a fine TE and would have really liked him.  Had Jackson not fallen bet he would have been the pick.

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Clark is going to burst onto the scene this year, so no worries. Keep in mind I made the same prediction of Jeff Janis for a few years too. Seriously, I think Allison can help on the boundary and Clark will get an opportunity. I also don't think we're done at the position. After the draft additional vets get cut every year so we can find a guy off the streets. Maybe it's Dez, maybe someone else. Maybe we strike gold in round 4 or 5. 

Understand the concern, but we've never had a Jimmy Graham at TE either. Finally, we'll be running the ball more with Williams and Jones. Oh, and Rodgers make average receivers look pretty darn good on a regular basis. 

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5 minutes ago, CWood21 said:

Anyone else amused that the one who complained about our lack of CBs is now complaining that we drafted too many?

Complained is strong. Acknowledged is better, just as I felt the Packers needed help at TE, WR, OLB. I would also have been happy to see a second CB with a later pick, rather than at #45. I just think at that point we needed a starter-level WR more. That doesn't mean I won't be right behind Jackson to do well.

I just have to hope the Packers find a way to bridge a possible two year gap with no credible receiver opposite Adams, assuming the receiver contributes significantly in his second year, and further assuming a WR is drafted high next year.

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Just now, OneTwoSixFive said:

Complained is strong. Acknowledged is better, just as I felt the Packers needed help at TE, WR, OLB. I would also have been happy to see a second CB with a later pick, rather than at #45. I just think at that point we needed a starter-level WR more. That doesn't mean I won't be right behind Jackson to do well.

I just have to hope the Packers find a way to bridge a possible two year gap with no credible receiver opposite Adams, assuming the receiver contributes significantly in his second year, and further assuming a WR is drafted high next year.

Sorry thought I saw someone else this thread.  My apologies.

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26 minutes ago, Packerraymond said:

If this was Ted I'd be concerned. Gute's going to go get Dez, Maclin or a June 1 cut to play the #2 on a 1 year deal. I have almost 100% confidence in that, he's not going to toss Allison out there as #2.

Agreed. They're gonna add somebody post-draft on a 1yr deal and then we'll see them go WR early in the draft next year, perhaps with one of their 2 1st rd picks. I wouldn't be surprised if we see them continue to go defense today in the draft. This team had/has a lot of holes and they weren't gonna fix everything in one offseason. Get that defense right this year and fill out offensive holes with stop-gap options post draft and then focus on offense in next years draft

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I wasn't a fan of Josh Jackson at 14 overall.  If he is as good as advertised, the CB group should be good for the foreseeable future.  It looks to me like the long term future is King-Alexander-Jackson as our primary CBs with your UDFA types fighting for CB spots 4-6.  Tramon and House are like training wheels, not in the long term plan, but help to get things going at the beginning.

 

 

I will actually advocate for not drafting a WR at all anymore.  Since the departure of Mike Sherman, the only WR drafted in the 3rd or later that had an impact was James Jones.  Here is the list of WRs taken by the Packers after the second round:

Craig Bragg, Corey Rodgers, James Jones, David Clowney, Brett Swain, Charles Johnson, Kevin Dorsey, Jared Abbrederis, Jeff Janis, Ty Montgomery, Trevor Davis, DeAngelo Yancey, Malachai Dupre.

Aside from James Jones, only Charles Johnson has more career receiving yards than the undrafted Geronimo Allison* and Jarrett Boykin.  None of Johnson's yards are for the Packers.  Some of these guys did contribute to special teams, but I am going to assume that is not the area of the team that the idea of adding WRs was proposed for.  Maybe Trevor Davis breaks out for the Packers this season, maybe they find Donald Driver 2.0 in the 7th.  History is against them though.  

 

*Ty Montgomery has about 200 more receiving yards than Allison, some of that has come as a RB.

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