3.94 - Josiah Deguara [TE; Cincinnati]

[Golfman]

I knew nothing of this kid when we picked him. Not super excited like most when he was announced. Watch some of his highlights and the one thing that stands out his how thick this kid is. Looks like a very low center of gravity and hope that can at least translate into a great blocker. 

I assume he'll be adequate on a few routes but probably a roll player. 

[coachbuns]

19 hours ago, AlexGreen#20 said:

I'm not advocating we cut the guy. I'm all for letting him show his skills.

The significant difference between this guy and MVS is that MVS has prototypical size and speed at his position. He's got solid hands. He works vertically well. He had 8 games last year of rock solid #2 WR play including our best offensive performances playing as the #1. 

Point being, MVS has had a chance to show what he can and hasn't done.   There's all kinds of opinions how good, how bad, skills, etc  Deguara will be … hasn't had a chance to like MVS has.  Deguara has decent size and ok speed … I'm giving him a chance to see how he fits into MLF's system before making to much of a judgement.  Not sure that MVS has solid hands as he short arms a few but looking for more from him this year.

[{Family Ghost}]

18 hours ago, Golfman said:

I knew nothing of this kid when we picked him. Not super excited like most when he was announced. Watch some of his highlights and the one thing that stands out his how thick this kid is. Looks like a very low center of gravity and hope that can at least translate into a great blocker. 

I assume he'll be adequate on a few routes but probably a roll player. 

He will probably be a pretty productive player for the Packers, but I still think the Packers over drafted him by two rounds.  For whatever reasons the Packers valued this guy a lot higher than most.  

[vegas492]

16 minutes ago, {Family Ghost} said:

He will probably be a pretty productive player for the Packers, but I still think the Packers over drafted him by two rounds.  For whatever reasons the Packers valued this guy a lot higher than most.  

I thought he was over drafted too.  And I actually like it.

For years I've been mad when guys I like are slotted under us, but are gone by the time we pick next.  Kendricks and Hunter immediately come to mind.

I don't mind overdrafting a little for a guy who is a "fit" and I guess I feel like this kid is a "fit".  We shall see.  And when you pick late in rounds as GB was this year, well, that's fine in my book.  As long as the team got their guys.  And from looking at the smiles on Gute and MLF's faces, they certainly are happy about who they got.

[OneTwoSixFive]

28 minutes ago, {Family Ghost} said:

He will probably be a pretty productive player for the Packers, but I still think the Packers over drafted him by two rounds.  For whatever reasons the Packers valued this guy a lot higher than most.  

That's quite specific (over-drafted by two rounds) on a guy who is a developmental project. It's hard to know how this will play out, but given the importance of the QB position, if he works out it's a total steal of a pick (actually a 1st and 4th)............and if he doesn't, it's a busted pick that will need addressing gain in the next two years. The over-drafted by two rounds is actually pretty irrelevant, being a boom or bust is what is important.

I did post a piece here a couple of days back where the KC draft guy commented on how many calls he was getting from teams wanting to trade up into the first...........and once Love was taken all the calls stopped dead, which suggests other teams had him as early (1st round) interest. I suspect the Pats might have been interested, among others, in moving up from their 37th pick.

[{Family Ghost}]

2 minutes ago, OneTwoSixFive said:

That's quite specific (over-drafted by two rounds) on a guy who is a developmental project. It's hard to know how this will play out, but given the importance of the QB position, if he works out it's a total steal of a pick (actually a 1st and 4th)............and if he doesn't, it's a busted pick that will need addressing gain in the next two years. The over-drafted by two rounds is actually pretty irrelevant, being a boom or bust is what is important.

I did post a piece here a couple of days back where the KC draft guy commented on how many calls he was getting from teams wanting to trade up into the first...........and once Love was taken all the calls stopped dead, which suggests other teams had him as early (1st round) interest. I suspect the Pats might have been interested, among others, in moving up from their 37th pick.

I was talking about our 3rd round pick .. Deguara.

[coachbuns]

31 minutes ago, {Family Ghost} said:

I was talking about our 3rd round pick .. Deguara.

Yup, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[OneTwoSixFive]

28 minutes ago, {Family Ghost} said:

I was talking about our 3rd round pick .. Deguara.

Ah. I stand corrected. The one thing I will say, is that I think many fans underestimate the importance of 'fit' in a team. It can lead to big differences between teams. How much is Lamar Jackson worth to a pass-first team...............answer: not as much as his value to a run-oriented Ravens.

 I also would be lying if I said I thought it was a good pick.  All that's left now is to hope I'm wrong.

[TheGreatZepp]

1 hour ago, {Family Ghost} said:

He will probably be a pretty productive player for the Packers, but I still think the Packers over drafted him by two rounds.  For whatever reasons the Packers valued this guy a lot higher than most.  

So you had a 4/5th round grade on him? It only takes one other team to take him.i believe on stacking your board and sticking with it, not gambling on who will fall and who won’t.

 

mayve he had an awesome interview where he talked about how he wants to work on his leverage and smash blitzing linebackers in the teeth. The right attitude and intelligence can go along way for a player too

[{Family Ghost}]

16 minutes ago, TheGreatZepp said:

So you had a 4/5th round grade on him? It only takes one other team to take him.i believe on stacking your board and sticking with it, not gambling on who will fall and who won’t.

 

mayve he had an awesome interview where he talked about how he wants to work on his leverage and smash blitzing linebackers in the teeth. The right attitude and intelligence can go along way for a player too

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I don't grade players .. just had a couple different guides I was following and he wasn't on their radars in the 3rd round.  Brugler's - the beast guide had him as a 6th rounder.  I never did read a report from anyone that had him as high as the Packers had him.  Oh well, over and done with.  

[TransientTexan]

21 minutes ago, TheGreatZepp said:

So you had a 4/5th round grade on him? It only takes one other team to take him.i believe on stacking your board and sticking with it, not gambling on who will fall and who won’t.

 

mayve he had an awesome interview where he talked about how he wants to work on his leverage and smash blitzing linebackers in the teeth. The right attitude and intelligence can go along way for a player too

Yea, I think it is a bit futile to try and read the tea leaves as for whether a 3rd was over drafted. I think NFL teams tend to have a pretty similar board in the first 30-40 picks, but the boards start to diverge wildly after that. By the late 3rd, all the players have plenty of flaws, which makes projections difficult and causes different teams to project and rank players very differently. 

[TheGreatZepp]

We also drafted Clay Matthews, Kenny Clark, Davante Adams, Blake Martinez, Savage are all picks people were saying we could have “waited” on while HaHa was a steal...

[Joe]

6 hours ago, TheGreatZepp said:

We also drafted Clay Matthews, Kenny Clark, Davante Adams, Blake Martinez, Savage are all picks people were saying we could have “waited” on while HaHa was a steal...

Savage and Matthews were definitely guys we couldn't pass on.

 

7 hours ago, vegas492 said:

I thought he was over drafted too.  And I actually like it.

For years I've been mad when guys I like are slotted under us, but are gone by the time we pick next.  Kendricks and Hunter immediately come to mind.

I don't mind overdrafting a little for a guy who is a "fit" and I guess I feel like this kid is a "fit".  We shall see.  And when you pick late in rounds as GB was this year, well, that's fine in my book.  As long as the team got their guys.  And from looking at the smiles on Gute and MLF's faces, they certainly are happy about who they got.

I felt that way about Dillon. Not so much on Deguara. I would have been a lot more comfortable if we stayed put and gone with Love at 30, Madubuike at 62, Dillon at 94, and Deguara at 136...

[MrBobGray]

I don't think Deguara is going to be the player a lot of people expect.  Or at least I hope not.  He's not really a great blocker; he's very willing but even at his best he rarely drives anyone out of their gap.  He's also a nice athlete, but he's not a stud and he's a bit undersized.  I think on paper it's easy to see why people looked at him as a later round pick, especially in the H-back/FB role which isn't really a premium anyway.

But I think it's pretty obvious why they picked him; he's a FB/H-Back type that you can play at any WR position and feel OK about it.  He was an extremely productive receiver at a very good high school program, and played a ton of his snaps split out in college, and it shows.  He's not going to beat a lot of corners unless it's a size ball, but he's comfortable running routes from just about anywhere, and he can catch the ball over his shoulder and on sideline routes.  There's just not a ton of that body/skill set combo out there.

The advantage of a guy like Deguara is you can play him as a lead blocker, or you can motion him out and play him at any WR/TE position if you have a 1v1 match-up or good zone beater.  He's a Vitale that can actually be used as a receiver.  How many different ways can I find to say this.  So many probably, but I'll stop here.

[coachbuns]

10 minutes ago, Joe said:

Savage and Matthews were definitely guys we couldn't pass on.

 

I felt that way about Dillon. Not so much on Deguara. I would have been a lot more comfortable if we stayed put and gone with Love at 30, Madubuike at 62, Dillon at 94, and Deguara at 136...

Nothing suggests any of those players would have been there in any of those rounds.  Packers wanted them for their system and took them;  maybe higher than some thought/predicted but who knows wanted them to that was drafting ahead of the Packers.  Being at the very bottom of each round doesn't make for some players getting to them.