Will new WRs be better than last years rookies?

[James Lofton]

So we drafted 3 wide receivers this year. Do you expect them to be better than:

Yancey - practice squad

Dupre - cut

Clark - 53 man roster

And what about Trevor Davis? 2nd year guy.

To be honest what I'm hearing about this years group sounds eerily similar to these other guys.

[vegas492]

I have higher hopes.  The guys we drafted have size/speed combos that the others did not.

I"m expecting this draft class to keep Yancey off the roster.  Push Davis really, really hard.  Clark needs to turn it up to stay.  Even Allison has to make strides forward, or I don't think it will be too long before one of these rookies emerges.

That 3 cone from Moore is something else...combine that with his size, strength and straight line speed?  Oh my.  Hopefully he doesn't suffer from Janis disease.

[Siv]

I think having a guy like J’mon Moore in this years class gives it a much better chance to be impactful that’s last years class. He could be on the field week 1. Clark was the only one I was excited about  last year and that’s just because he’s a giant. MVS and ESB are projects and I’d be surprised if they do much this season. Both have some crazy tools to work with. I’m more excited for MVS than anyone though I know that’s not a shared opinion on here. Many feel we wasted that pick. 

[Green19]

We only drafted 2 last year. Clark was an UDFA.

They will be better their first year then them because of the simple fact there is opportunity for meaningful reps. Green Bay was top heavy. Adams, Cobb and Nelson got the lions share. Add into Allison being a Rodgers’ favorite... it’s tough to get reps.

I’ll say this... i bet Yancey surprises people this year. If he doesn’t straight beat Allison for 3rd, he will be 4th and maybe overtake Allison mid season.

As for the draft picks... at most 2 make the roster and one makes it to the practice squad. If I had to pick Jmon and EQ make the roster. MVS is placed on the practice squad.

As far as making an impact on offense this year... I think only Jmon has a shot at contributing. He just seems to be more polished (hence getting drafted higher).

[craig]

James Lofton, I doubt any of these three picks will be as good as you were!  If only....

I certainly see your point.  Last year there were hopes that Dupre had formerly been viewed as a high-round option, that he had length, could run, and had good hands, and might be a steal.  Likewise Yancey and Dupre both scored well on the athleticism tests, Sparq and that stuff.  Yet Dupre released before game one.  What will make these guys any different?

I'm a fan,  so I hope one or more turn out better, perhaps for some reason, hope is my job as a fan....   

• This year they drafted 3, versus drafting 2?  Better statistical chance of a success?  
• Moore (133) came 42 picks before Yancey (175).  Higher pick = better chances?  
• Valdez-Scantling (174) was a pick higher than Yancey, and Valdes-Scantling (174) and St. Brown (207) came 80 and 47 picks before Dupre (254) ). Higher picks = better chances?  
• Yancey may still emerge as a usable guy?   Maybe he will be vindicated as a good-value pick, and Moore etc. will end up even better-value yet?
• Perhaps Clark will emerge as an UDFA success story? 
• Perhaps St. Brown (207) was down-drafted based on personality factors more than on talent, and he'll prove to have much more productive NFL talent than either his draft position reflects or than Dupre ever had?  
• Perhaps Moore was down-drafted based on his poor 40 at the combine, but it was mis-representative?   
• Perhaps the Packer scouting has improved?  (I recall Wolf giving the Yancey report after the draft, and it didn't sound like he'd even watched any film till his draft year....  I felt kinda shocked on how uninformed he seemed to be about a guy we'd just spend a draft pick on....)  
• Perhaps we're just overdue to get lucky?  

[craig]

For whatever reason, I'm not very optimistic on Valdez-Scantling.  Tall and fast, yes, but I'd think he'd have not taken so long to become productive if he had any knack for receiving and getting open.  I'm sure having some NFL career as a gunner might be a great accomplishment, but I'm not sure as a scrimmage guy that he's a great risk.  

Moore's volume of catches  in elite conference suggests to me that he's  perhaps more instinctive in getting open, and  more resourceful in making himself a target.  

[MacReady]

Don't think any of them do anything honestly.  Rookies, Rodgers, no mix.  Randall Cobb played in 15 games as a rookie.  25 catches.  Doubt any of the guys we just drafted match that. 

[Gopackgonerd]

I think so, Yancey really didn't have great tape, didn't have a great QB either but didn't produce much in the preseason. Dupre didn't really get going after that bad  hit in the preseason as well.

J'mon and St. Brown im really high on over previous years guys. We haven't had these bigger fast WRs other than Janis and he was a bad route runner and not much more than a special teams guy. I think J'mon will start opposite Adams when it's all set and done and is really gonna produce a lot in our system. EQ is also gonna be a monster in the redzone. Not a fan of Allison besides that Bengals game, so I think these guys are gonna eclipse him this year.

[vegas492]

HZ...going from memory here, so bear with me...  WR room was pretty crowded when Cobb got there, right?  Driver, Jennings, Nelson, Jones, Finley?

That being said, I thought that 25 catches was pretty good for that rookie given the vets in front of him.

This year...Adams, Cobb, Graham, Allison, Davis, Clark...rookies.

Thinking there may be more balls that can go to a rookie.  At least I'm hoping there is.  One of those rookies has to prove to Rodgers that they know where to go.  

[Gopackgonerd]

4 minutes ago, HorizontoZenith said:

Don't think any of them do anything honestly.  Rookies, Rodgers, no mix.  Randall Cobb played in 15 games as a rookie.  25 catches.  Doubt any of the guys we just drafted match that. 

You also had Jordy, Jennings, Driver, Jones, infront of him. This year its wide open for that number 2 outside spot, one of these guys can take it.

[Leader]

I'm not going overboard with definitive assessments of guys I've only seen YouTube videos of - but I like the size/speed of all of them and the athleticism far exceeds previous picks.

That said - we had a hard time keeping skill position players we parked on PS - on our PS. The only one that went unclaimed by another team (best as I can recollect....) is Yancey - and (I think) we moved Clark up to the roster because another team was sniffing around him later in the year.

May not mean much - but might say something about Yancey.

So - having not seen ANYTHING of ANYTHING these guys can do on an NFL field I'm simply gonna kick it back to "I like the size/speed of all of them and the athleticism far exceeds previous picks" - plus - the competition it brings to the position group. A much needed competition IMO.

I think any of them exposed to the PS would be prime targets for another to snag for their own PS and develop.

[PossibleCabbage]

I feel like Moore is a much higher caliber of WR than we've historically landed on day 3.  He has the potential to contribute as a rookie similiarly to how guys like Jennings, Jones, Cobb, and Adams did.  MVS is basically another Janis moonshot with special teams upside, and ESB is above all enigmatic.

Biggest concern with Moore is that IIRC he was one of those "only plays on one side of the field" players from CFB, and sometimes those guys struggle to adapt.

[craig]

1 hour ago, vegas492 said:

HZ...going from memory here, so bear with me...  WR room was pretty crowded when Cobb got there, right?  Driver, Jennings, Nelson, Jones, Finley?  That being said, I thought that 25 catches was pretty good for that rookie given the vets in front of him...

Yes.  Going back to Cobb and Jordy as rookies, neither had big volume numbers.  But both looked good when they were given opportunity.  There just wasn't much need for them when you already had room crowded with pretty good tenured veterans.  If they were blocked only by Allison, they'd have each gotten a lot more snaps and accumulate a lot more catches.  

That said, I think the board is overly negative on Allison.  Yes, we know he's slow.  But he's got hands, he knows the system, and he's got the ability to change direction.  As a rookie in camp, the other guys were faster then too; but he made lots more catches and plays in camp because he had knack, could change directions, had excellent body balance, and could catch stuff that he could reach.  It's not all about speed.

That said, back when Cobb and Jordy were coming in, Allison would have had a hard time making the team.  Now, he's a starter.  The bar is way, way, way lower.  It's a terrible position group.  The bar is so low that Allison will probably start, and rookies and 2nd-year D+D's won't need to be great to compete.   Let's hope that Yancey and Clark step up; and that the rookies show they can catch rockets from Rodgers.  

[MantyWrestler]

Good question. Honestly, the bar is pretty low for these guys to get over. I expect all 3 to play. 

[strat1080]

2 hours ago, Gopackgonerd said:

You also had Jordy, Jennings, Driver, Jones, infront of him. This year its wide open for that number 2 outside spot, one of these guys can take it.

I agree. Rookie WRs haven't always had huge impacts as rookies with Rodgers but it's mostly been because we've had a pretty deep WR group. That WR depth has been slowly deteriorating over the years to the point where the last couple years our WR group really hasn't been very impressive. The guys we brought in last year just didn't have the HWS measurable that this years class does. I think one of these guys will make an impact this year. Maybe not 1000 yards and 10 TDs impact but an impact nonetheless. They will certainly get an opportunity to do so.