2020 Needs and Free Agent List

[Silent502]

20 minutes ago, CWood21 said:

QB - Aaron Rodgers is under contract for the foreseeable future.  There needs to be some sort of jump from DeShone Kizer if there's any chance of him having a future in Green Bay.  He's still under contract for 2 more years, but the Y3 jump needs to happen otherwise the Packers are likely looking at drafting a developmental type next year.  Tim Boyle and Manny Wilkins will battle out for QB3 this year with the winner likely ending up on the PS.  I'd give the edge to Boyle right now, but I wouldn't count out Wilkins either.

RB - Aaron Jones needs to stay healthy if they want to find a feature for him, and Jamaal Williams is a nice complementary back.  I wouldn't be surprised if RB ended up being a bigger draft need come in 2020.  I'd give the odds of Dexter Williams winning RB3 by default, but it's open for competition.

WR - The Packers clearly like their WRs more than their fans do, as they didn't draft a single one and only brought in a couple as UDFA.  They're putting all their eggs in the basket of MVS, ESB, and Moore.  I'd imagine we'll find out pretty quickly whether or not they were right or wrong pretty early.  If they're wrong, they'll be back to drafting another WR relatively high.  Personally, I believe at least 2 of 3 of Moore, ESB, and MVS will prove their worth.  And they have Kumerow who could steal snaps from them as well.

TE - I'd anticipate a bounce back year for Jimmy Graham, but he's still likely to be a cap casualty at the end of the year.  The Packers save $8M by releasing Jimmy Graham, and a year in the offensive system hopefully will develop him a bit more.  I would have liked them put another draft pick to the position, but there's only a finite number of legitimate TEs available every year.  We're hoping that at least one of Sternberger or Tonyan develops.  I'm not a huge believer in Tonyan, or at least feel his hype is unsubstantiated.

OT - Bakh is a stud, but Jason Spriggs and Bryan Bulaga are pending FAs.  If Spriggs make a jump, he's going to get a second contract from Green Bay.  If not, he's going to get a second contract from someone else.  Bryan Bulaga's injury history probably prevents him from getting another contract from Green Bay, someone else is going to overpay him.  Not sure who OT4 is, but maybe they get someone to make a jump.  I think this position is dependent heavily on Jason Spriggs.  He's the player to watch.

OG - The Packers just gave Billy Turner $7M/year, and Lane Taylor just signed a multi-year deal and they drafted Elgton Jenkins in the second round.  That was the earliest they've drafted an IOL since 1996 when they took Mike Flanagan at 90.  It's hard to tell if this is a departure from previous regime, or if this was more of a belief that Jenkins is capable of playing anywhere on the OL.  He played 4 out of 5 positions at Mississippi State, but his future appears to be on the IOL.  I think he ends up getting the LG gig sooner rather than later, which would make Lane Taylor a cap casualty next offseason.

C - Jenkins played center his last two years at Mississippi State, but they announced him as an OG.  Plus, Corey Linsley is under contract for 2 more years.  He'll be their starting C as long as he's under contract, so I don't imagine they'll move Jenkins to C only to replace Linsley who was a capable starting C.  He could move there long term, but I'd imagine in the near future Jenkins finds a spot at guard.  Finally, we have some IOL depth.

DL - Going to lump the entire group together.  Kenny Clark is a stud, and he's going to be a very rich man soon.  Beyond that, Mike Daniels and Dean Lowry have their contracts up soon.  IF they'll be re-signed seems to be up for debate, and probably depends on how the upcoming season goes.  I'm not sure that Mike Daniels gets re-signed especially since the Packers usually don't give out 3rd contracts to their former draft picks.  Dean Lowry probably has a better chance of being re-signed, but if he gets too expensive they'll let him walk.  Rashan Gary probably gets some snaps here, but this position could probably jump in terms of priority.

EDGE - After giving Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith $110M+, and then drafting Rashan Gary in the first round, I'd put the odds of Kyler Fackrell being back in a Green Bay uniform after next season at around 1%.  If he regresses and can't replicate the production, someone's going to give him more money than he's worth.  If he is able to post another double-digit sack season, someone's going to give him stupid money and it won't be Green Bay.  I'd imagine we'll draft another EDGE or 2 for life after Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith whom both possibly could become cap casualties.  I'm interested to see if Kendall Donnerson makes a jump with a full offseason, but the tools are there.

ILB - Blake Martinez is probably the only "must sign" for the Packers, and I think most of it goes based on how much money he wants.  If he wants top money, it's not coming from Green Bay.  The Packers have had an opportunity to take an ILB early, and they've opted not to.  This seems like a philosophical stance.  Possibly Josh Jones make a jump here, because we've seen glimpses of it.

CB - The Packers have invested a TON into this position.  They took Kevin King in the 2nd round of the 2017 draft, and they took Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson in the first two rounds of the 2018 draft.  They clearly still like those 3 quite a bit, but we need Kevin King to stay healthy and Josh Jackson to rebound in a big way.  Otherwise, we might be back in the market for a CB.  Fortunately, Kevin King has looked really good and Josh Jackson still has a ton of talent.  And they've actually got some solid depth behind them with Tony Brown and they took a gamble on Ka'Dar Hollman who has the tools, but lacks the exposure.

S - Talk about a complete changing of the position.  Last year' starters HHCD and Tramon Williams both likely end up on the bench, or in the case of HHCD on another team.  The Packers threw good money at Adrian Amos, and traded up for Dantrell Savage using a FRP on him.  Josh Jones likely returns in that hybrid LB/S role, which probably fits his skillset a little bit better.  But in terms of need, this position went from being a major need to an afterthought.

Overall, I see OT and DL as obvious needs going into the 2020 draft.  WR, TE, ILB, and CB as potential needs depending on how things go.  QB and EDGE as potential developmental looks.

CWood21, do you think Mike Daniels might get traded before the season? If the team knows it won't re-sign him at least get compensation for him, a la Ha-Ha.

[CWood21]

3 minutes ago, Silent502 said:

CWood21, do you think Mike Daniels might get traded before the season? If the team knows it won't re-sign him at least get compensation for him, a la Ha-Ha.

I don't think so, no.  I think the HHCD was the anomaly.  We were already falling out of the playoff mix, we weren't re-signing him, and it was clear that he wasn't in Green Bay's future.

[incognito_man]

6 minutes ago, Silent502 said:

CWood21, do you think Mike Daniels might get traded before the season? If the team knows it won't re-sign him at least get compensation for him, a la Ha-Ha.

if we were going to trade him, it would have been for picks this year

unless we have a player trade (which is very rare) later this year.

I'd say the odds are 99% he is on our team for 2019, however

[rcon14]

QB: It's gonna be Rodgers for awhile yet, next draft might be the first one where you could kind of make an argument for an heir QB, but probably even the one after. Backup spot will likely be something they'll want to address as Kizer is a FA.

RB: Aaron Jones is good but he'll be a free agent after 2020, so I expect GB to continue to target day 3 guys to replace him. It might be Dexter Williams, who knows.

WR: Depends heavily on what happens this season. If Allison emerges as a legit WR2, maybe he's the answer. If EQ or MVS fill that role, same. This one is very up in the air right now.

TE: Depth will be key here. Graham is likely gone after 2019, as is Lewis. Sternberger and Tonyan... we'll need another body or two.

OL: Depends on what they do with Bulaga. A lot of options are available to them after drafting Jenkins. Maybe Jenkins plays RT, maybe Turner plays RT, maybe Spriggs plays RT, maybe they bring Bulaga back, maybe they draft a RT in 2020.

DL: Mike Daniels replacement will probably be the route here unless he takes a hometown discount. Clark will be getting locked up to an extension soon, so that takes care of NT.

EDGE: This has been pretty well taken care of.

LB: Blake Martinez's situation is the dictator of what happens here. He's a FA after 2019 and what GB decides to do here will dictate how big of a need it'll be. GB has not traditionally valued ILB highly.

CB: Depends on Kevin King's health and Josh Jackson's development.

S: Pretty well taken care of.

[BrettFavre004]

Hate the idea of losing Martinez next year, as we really have no one else there. 

But I hate the idea of considering giving him Kwon or CJ money even more. He is a solid, yet unspectacular player who doesn't make impact plays.  Not worth top dollar, so definitely depends what we are talking about for $. 

I may be more in the like 3 years for 27-30 million vs 4 for 52-56 range.

[PACKRULE]

57 minutes ago, BrettFavre004 said:

Hate the idea of losing Martinez next year, as we really have no one else there. 

But I hate the idea of considering giving him Kwon or CJ money even more. He is a solid, yet unspectacular player who doesn't make impact plays.  Not worth top dollar, so definitely depends what we are talking about for $. 

I may be more in the like 3 years for 27-30 million vs 4 for 52-56 range.

rich at 3 years for me and even worse at your math for 4 years.......at your 3 year deal i would think 36 maybe for 4years not 13/yeah I think you were doing fast math.

As you noted the deal should work for both and be fair which i'm sure we will be.

[BrettFavre004]

I don't follow what you are saying

[pacman5252]

Does the OP include considerations for cap growth? There probably another 10-12m in cap space there, plus 8 for Grahm (unless he tears it up).

It will be interesting to see what we do.

My opinion-

-Clark getting 15-18 a year is a no brainer. 

- I like Blake but not sure what I’d pay for him. He’d probably get 12 a year on the market 

-They have decisions to make on the interior. One maybe 2 of Turner, Linsely, or Taylor is gone. Probably Taylor but with how deals are structured who knows. 

 

[rcon14]

8 hours ago, pacman5252 said:

Does the OP include considerations for cap growth? There probably another 10-12m in cap space there, plus 8 for Grahm (unless he tears it up).

It will be interesting to see what we do.

My opinion-

-Clark getting 15-18 a year is a no brainer. 

- I like Blake but not sure what I’d pay for him. He’d probably get 12 a year on the market 

-They have decisions to make on the interior. One maybe 2 of Turner, Linsely, or Taylor is gone. Probably Taylor but with how deals are structured who knows. 

 

I'm almost positive Lane Taylor will be a cap casualty (if he's not cut/traded before the season). Linsley and Turner aren't going anywhere (Turner only saves 1M by cutting after 2019).

Cap for 2020 will probably fall between 195 and 200M. OTC projects it for about 200M, so I'll use that number.

GB is projected to have 39.2M in cap space in 2020. As far as cut guys, you're looking at adding another 12.5 by cutting Taylor and Graham (also could add 1.1 cutting Kizer). So about 51.7M in likely cap space w/o any extensions/FA retention.

[pacman5252]

2 hours ago, rcon14 said:

I'm almost positive Lane Taylor will be a cap casualty (if he's not cut/traded before the season). Linsley and Turner aren't going anywhere (Turner only saves 1M by cutting after 2019).

I think Taylor is probably most likely to be the odd man out but we'll see. 5M non guaranteed is not a big burden.  There are scenarios like

-Linsely getting hurt and Jenkins running with the C job (would save us 8.5)

-Turner just being meh and cut (not out of the realm of possibility, he's been essentially essentially a lower mid level guard). His deal doesn't hand tie us

[rcon14]

5 minutes ago, pacman5252 said:

I think Taylor is probably most likely to be the odd man out but we'll see. 5M non guaranteed is not a big burden.  There are scenarios like

-Linsely getting hurt and Jenkins running with the C job (would save us 8.5)

-Turner just being meh and cut (not out of the realm of possibility, he's been essentially essentially a lower mid level guard). His deal doesn't hand tie us

Let's say Linsley gets hurt and Jenkins is good at C... why not just move Jenkins to LG and have two good OL?

[Fl0nkerton]

Added to Draft Thread.

Edited April 30, 2019 by Fl0nkerton
Wrong thread.

[pacman5252]

15 hours ago, rcon14 said:

Let's say Linsley gets hurt and Jenkins is good at C... why not just move Jenkins to LG and have two good OL?

In this situation, Linsely would be coming off injury, 29 at the start of 2020, and would save 8.5 against the cap.

It probably won’t happen, but never say never. Either way, Linsely is probably gone in 21.(30, 3rd contract, iol typically play until 31-33 if they are good).

[JaireAlex]

On 4/28/2019 at 7:34 PM, ChaRisMa said:

This is Football's Future.

Packers 2020 Free Agents:

Blake Martinez

Mike Daniels -- gone

Bryan Bulaga -- gone or 1 yr

Dean Lowry. -- gone likely

Tramon Williams -- retires

Mason Crosby -- gone

Geronimo Allison 

Mercedes Lewis -- gone likely

Kyler Fackrell -- gone

Jason Spriggs

24 Million in Cap Space. + Rollover (13 Mil atm)

 

Who we want back and what will our needs be? I grayed the players I'd invest 3 year deals on. The rest are replaceable AF.

 

Hate to say it, but most of these guys are likely gone. Martinez will probably ask too much. 

I hope Bulaga plays his last year and we bring back Spriggs on a try it deal. He needs to get it together, not sure I trust him with a big contract. Gives another year to find/develop tackle.

Draft: DL, tackle, guard (depending mainly on Madison's growth), mid round developmental edge to replace Smiths down the road. Not sure Lindsley is given a third contract. WR will get an even harder look, even if our guys do well. Just need to keep restocking and I doubt Adams gets a third contract. Need a high pick replacement down the road imo. I loooooove all of EQ, Moore, and MVS. I am much higher on these guys. They are all worth more than their draft position imo. I doubt Allison gets money from us unless it's very team friendly.

The rest of the draft depends really on how our guys play and whether we shell out for a huge Clark contract. That wasn't a Pettine Pick and he may want a different look there.

[rcon14]

5 hours ago, JaireAlex said:

Hate to say it, but most of these guys are likely gone. Martinez will probably ask too much. 

I hope Bulaga plays his last year and we bring back Spriggs on a try it deal. He needs to get it together, not sure I trust him with a big contract. Gives another year to find/develop tackle.

Draft: DL, tackle, guard (depending mainly on Madison's growth), mid round developmental edge to replace Smiths down the road. Not sure Lindsley is given a third contract. WR will get an even harder look, even if our guys do well. Just need to keep restocking and I doubt Adams gets a third contract. Need a high pick replacement down the road imo. I loooooove all of EQ, Moore, and MVS. I am much higher on these guys. They are all worth more than their draft position imo. I doubt Allison gets money from us unless it's very team friendly.

The rest of the draft depends really on how our guys play and whether we shell out for a huge Clark contract. That wasn't a Pettine Pick and he may want a different look there.

If Pettine doesn't want Kenny Clark we burn down Lambeau.