Leisher's Packer Mock Draft 4/13/22.

[jleisher]

Rod Marinelli Senior Defensive Line Advisor.  (Laugh all you want, but why wouldn't at least ask your Father-in-Law to come in and give some pointers?)

 

Colin Cowhard seems to think the Packers are sick of Rodgers and that is why they have not signed any WR free agents.

 

Pat McAfee thinks a big time WR will be coming to Green Bay soon, very soon.  Google has articles stating Deebo Samuel is available.  Who do you believe?

 

Green Bay Send pick #28 and 2023 1st rd pick to 49ers for Deebo Samuels and pick #134.  

 

Draft:

#22.  Trade UP Alert!  Packers send picks #22, #53 and 2024 2nd rd pick to Texans for picks #13 and #107

 

#13.  Eagles call and offer picks #18 and #83 to move up for Garrett Wilson WR.  The players the Packers are looking at are still there.  Pull the trigger!

 

#18.

George Karlaftis Edge Purdue 

(With Samuels and Karlaftis the Packers top two needs are covered.  Now we add depth, and ST players.)

#59.

Travis Jones DL UConn.  (Lowry, Clark, Reed, Slaton now we add Jones, DL depth is better.)

 

#68.

Josh Paschal Edge Kentucky 6'2" 268lbs.  (With Gary, Smith, Karlaftis and Paschal the Edge group is in better shape.)

First Step Explosiveness: There is a surprising amount of twitch in his frame when he’s queuing up the snap and looking to play in attack mode from the jump. He can be slow out of the blocks at times but those instances appear to be read-and-react reps. He gains good ground on attack reps and is capable of quickly getting hip to hip, especially on some of his interior alignments. 

Run Defending: I was very impressed with seeing how much more effective and confident Paschal was in this regard in 2021. He looked lethargic and uncertain at times in 2020 and was given fits by the likes of both Florida and Alabama that season in the run game, but he was a totally different animal this year. He moved swiftly, with a lot of confidence, and physically stonewalled a lot of blocks at the point of attack. 

Effort (Motor): Tireless, relentless effort both at the point of attack and when working to the perimeter. I was impressed at the number of times I saw No. 4 flashing outside the numbers five yards downfield. He does well when he’s pushed past his landmark as a rusher to try to peel back and hustle in late. 

Football IQ: I’m not sure what caused the lightbulb to come on for Paschal in 2021 but I’m glad it did. He was a totally different player in 2021 as compared to the 2020 contests studied and appears to have a much more confident understanding of how he can play and play diagnosis. Vetting what caused the issues of 2020 and what changed this offseason will go a long way in helping to determine the confidence I have in his reaching his lofty ceiling as a pro player. 

Versatility: His ability to align in any number of places in the defensive front and execute any number of styles of play is huge. I see him being a viable fit across most fronts and schemes, but a defense that asks their players to do all of the above is going to get the most mileage and value out of him as I’m not sure he’s got the ceiling as a pass rusher to be a dominant fixture in any one ideology of playing defense.

 

#83.

Alec Pierce WR Cincinnati.  (Samuel, Lazard, Cobb, Pierce and Rodgers, the unit is looking stronger, but not complete.)

 

#92.

Leo Chenal LB Wisconsin 6'2" 250lbs.  (Comes in and pushes Barnes for starting job.)

Tackling: If he catches you square, he’ll put you out. He’s got a massive amount of explosive hitting power in his frame and his ability to blow up ball-carriers should not be overlooked. His ability to flash and react late to cuts is only modest, however, so if you’re willing to play chicken with him and try to bounce late, you may be able to redirect outside of his tackle radius and force a missed challenge. 

Football IQ/Instincts: His ability to key and process back action out of the backfield as his primary read is consistent and helps him build momentum into his challenges and work into the line of scrimmage to play with the kind of big power he creates. I appreciate his effort in navigating the point of attack and ducking under blocks as the playside stack linebacker as well. His vision and feel for turning his back to the quarterback or playing zone coverage in space are not as strong. 

Competitive Toughness: An absolute jackhammer. He’s a blast to watch smash into lead blockers and pullers, or kick-out blocks, or ball-carriers, or quarterbacks. He’s relentless in pursuit and even when he busts his contain and leverage, he is quick to rally and continue to the ball. He’s got a lot of power and plays with the mentality of looking to dictate reps, even when catching offensive linemen trying to climb to him. 

Run Defending: You’re not going to want to test his sideline-to-sideline range, but if you ask him to play between the tackles, you’re going to get a heavy hitter. I appreciated some of his reps to anticipate and shoot a gap on stretch concepts—although he was effective here when leveraged as the playside linebacker and when he attempted to assertively claim a gap scraping behind the back, he’d duck under a lineman and lack the burst to realign and accelerate to the ball. This is a stout tackler in traffic, too. He’s done well to keep ball-carriers in the grasp while being leaned on. 

Leadership: I love the fire and the energy that he plays with. This is a “lead by example” player who plays a million miles per hour. He’s often seen chatting up with closely aligned teammates before the snap too, indicating he’s a part of the communication chain. 

Versatility: This is something of a rare breed, given that he is indeed capable of producing in the pass defense as a blitz player. But defenses that don’t want to play musical chairs to match personnel may have a hard time leaving him on the field on third down for worry that opposing offenses will find ways to exploit his tightness in coverage. 

 

#107.

David Bell WR Purdue.  (WR unit is getting stronger.)

 

#132.

Velus Jones WR/RS Tennessee 6' 190lbs.  (Unit is now complete.)

Route Running: Jones was only tasked with a simple route tree at Tennessee and there is notable development needed not only from the perspective of proving he can run a more diverse tree, but improving his overall technique. His route breaks are rounded and he coasts through turns. His step frequency is notable, leading to choppy and extra stems throughout his stem and through breaks. 

Hands: Jones hasn’t had many issues with drops throughout his career or from my exposures. He appears comfortable plucking the football, securing it, and getting to work after the catch. His utilization doesn’t lead to challenged catch points or the necessity to make grabs outside of his frame. 

Run After Catch: This is where Jones Jr. brings most of his intrigue to the table. His post-catch production has been notable and it translates to why he’s been so good as a returner. Jones is explosive and he makes timely cuts, which enables him to create for himself. Jones has good contact balance and 2021 saw plenty of defenders falling off their attempts to tackle Jones. 

Football IQ: Jones Jr. seems to have good spatial awareness from my exposures. The biggest indictment on concerns with football IQ are rooted in the modest route-running technique he showcased in 2021 despite it being his sixth season. He has a lot to prove about the full breadth of his skill set. 

Versatility: Jones offers value as a slot receiver and return guy. I have also come away impressed with his effort as a blocker. I have reservations about him being a true multi-level threat given his route-running technique and what he was asked to do in college. 

Big Play Ability: The hope for big plays with Jones is his speed and ability to create for himself after the catch. While he has been efficient with targets down the field, he hasn’t commanded many of them in college. Jones has proven able to create explosive returns. 

 

#134.

Sean Rhyan T/G UCLA 6'5" 321 lbs.

Pass Set: He demonstrates good ability in his pass set. He is fluid and easily redirects laterally. There is very little wasted movement in his set and this will only be magnified if moved to guard.

Competitive toughness: He has good competitive toughness. This is evident in his nastiness and finish in the run game. He also competes hard when he is bull rushed and does a good job anchoring. 

Football IQ: He has a high-level football IQ. He will have no issues handling the responsibilities of an interior offensive lineman. His instincts will help him handle the speed of the game for an interior player.

Versatility: He has aligned at tackle during his career. However, he is likely best suited at right tackle or inside at guard. His skill will easily translate inside and he should have no problems on the interior.

 

#140.

Matt Hankins CB Iowa 6'1" 175lbs.

Man Coverage Skills: When he is charged with playing press, which wasn’t often in the games that I watched, I was impressed with his lateral mobility and his hand pop to stab and create delayed releases. His ability to turn and carry is sufficient and I’ve seen him hold firm as a defender in the trail. Big, physical X-receivers may physically challenge his ability to stay in position at the catch point, however. 

Zone Coverage Skills: He’s got a good nose for coverage and he converts to attacking the football quite well. He’s patient and effective in his zone drops to split route stems flooding his area and has a willingness to sit on routes underneath—he has the agility to attack and crowd receivers suddenly from this position. 

Tackling: This dude plays mean as a hitter. He’s not going to be able to bully ball-carriers frequently at the NFL level, but he closes with intent and urgency and carries that pace through his hits. He laid out TE Peyton Hendershot on the sideline on an impressive form tackle—that one stuck with me. He gets square effectively and showcases firm striking ability. 

Versatility: I think he has enough reactive movement skills to move inside if you wanted to play him on a specific matchup and needed to reduce him inside, but his bread and butter is playing deep-third coverage and I appreciate his footspeed to pedal here and stay leveraged. He’s got ample special teams appeal with his movement skills and physical approach. I think you could make an argument for him to play all four special teams kick units. 

Football IQ: Hankins has served as a starter for the Hawkeyes going all the way back to 2017, so he’s a well-seasoned player and it shows. He trusts his fundamentals, illustrates good field vision and anticipation for route combinations, and has handled passing off routes and banjoing coverage sufficiently when faced with stacks and switch releases. 

Run Defending: Having 40-plus tackles in four consecutive seasons despite never playing more than 10 games in any individual year is a testament to how active he keeps himself. As a deep-third defender, he’s able to identify run game quickly and is potent with his hands to attack blockers. He’s a plus tackler on the edge and takes good angles to cut tacklers into the sideline. 

 

#171.

Bailey Zappe QB W. Kentucky 6'1" 220lbs.  (NEW.  Could come in and push Love.) 

Accuracy: Zappe has impressive flashes of well slotted throws between zones as well as throws that are dropped in a bucket, with plenty of perfectly placed balls down the field. With that said, he isn’t immune to missing the mark with throws falling short and wide of targets while occasionally sailing high. He is confident in his ability to place the football where he wants it to go but falls short of earning a “pinpoint” label given some of his inconsistencies. 

Decision Making: I love the confidence in which Zappe makes his decisions, fully understanding he doesn’t have top-end velocity to slot throws. With that said, there are plenty of instances of him putting the ball in harm's way with aggressive decisions into traffic. One thing is certain, Zappe understands where his answers are and distributes the football. 

Poise: There’s a lot to like about the toughness and poise that Zappe illustrates on the field. He’s willing to hang tough in the pocket and try to work off-script despite modest physical tools. Like most quarterbacks, his production and efficiency dips when pressured but I like the way he competes. 

Progressions: Zappe does well to make pre-snap reads and adjust when the menu changes post-snap. With that said, the offensive system he runs isn’t similar to what he will be tasked with at the next level so there will be a curve when it comes to adapting to the style of progressions he will be tasked with in the NFL. There are plenty of anticipatory throws on tape from Zappe. 

Leadership: There is no question that Zappe has control and command of the offense and his coaches rave about his leadership. He quickly took over as the starter at Western Kentucky and put together an exceptional season. He quickly mastered the system and is a highly-competitive player. 

 

#228.

Sterling Weatherford LB/S/ST Miami OH.    (One of my favorites.)

 

#249.

Max Borghi RB/RS Washington St.

 

#258.

Luke Wattenberg T/G/C Washington.  (Another favorite.)

 

FA:

AJ Green WR 2yrs. $6m  80%

 

UDFA'S:

    Britian Covey WR/RS Utah

 

    Brad Hawkins S Michigan

 

    Trae Berry TE BC

 

    Blaise Andries T/G/C Minnosota

 

    Antonio Ortiz LS TCU

 

    Master Teague III RB Ohio St.

 

    Glen Logan DL LSU

 

Justin Rice ILB Utah St.

 

Carson Wells Edge Colorado

 

Andrew Olgatree TE Youngstown St.

    Ben Stille DE Nebraska

 

[AlexGreen#20]

Nobody respond

[jleisher]

Why are you being a Richard?   Nobody respond, grow up!  Thought we were all Packer fans?

 

[Norm]

I'm Michael Jordan, McDonalds restaurants have given me this time to talk about something we both really care about. Kids. Kids who do mock drafts all day long. Do you realize that when you do mock drafts every day, you're wasting 3/4 of your life. When you're only doing mock drafts, you're only cheating yourself out of the chance to find out who you really can be, and believe me, if you don't do mock drafts, you can be just about anything you think you can be. Listen, you're only using 1/4 of your life, that's three more lifetimes to you if you quit, so don't blow it, don't do mock drafts, if you're doing it, stop it, get some help. McDonalds wants you to get youself a chance, a chance to find out all the wonderful things you really can be. And so do I.

Edited April 13, 2022 by Norm

[{Family Ghost}]

Mock drafts are dumb.

[PACKRULE]

My only question is why did we trade up from 22 to 13 and give up 53 and a 2nd next year to then drop back from 13 to 18 and only pick up 83. We moved up 4 spots and give up 53 and a second next year for a guy that is likely there with 83 back. Not a fan of that. Or did miss something?

 

[Old Guy]

Thank GOD there is only 2 more weeks until the draft and these will stop! They get worse with every iteration. 

[Norm]

16 minutes ago, Old Guy said:

Thank GOD there is only 2 more weeks until the draft and these will stop! They get worse with every iteration. 

2023 mocks though

[PACKRULE]

5 hours ago, {Family Ghost} said:

Mock drafts are dumb.

dumb mock drafts are dumb..........i don't mind a few good to see where the forums college scouts think guys will go. 

[CWood21]

Trade up seems off in terms of value.  Give up #22, #53, and '23 SRP for #18, #83, and #107.  Assuming my math is correct, that values that '23 SRP as roughly a late 6th round pick.  Throwing in the future SRP is just unnecessary on so many levels.

And some of the picks seem a bit on the optimistic side.  Don't see Travis Jones being available at 59, Alec Pierce at 83, Leo Chenal at 92, David Bell at 107, or Sean Rhyan at 134.  Seems a bit optimistic.

[Packerraymond]

7 hours ago, CWood21 said:

Trade up seems off in terms of value.  Give up #22, #53, and '23 SRP for #18, #83, and #107.  Assuming my math is correct, that values that '23 SRP as roughly a late 6th round pick.  Throwing in the future SRP is just unnecessary on so many levels.

And some of the picks seem a bit on the optimistic side.  Don't see Travis Jones being available at 59, Alec Pierce at 83, Leo Chenal at 92, David Bell at 107, or Sean Rhyan at 134.  Seems a bit optimistic.

He traded up to trade down. He's beyond critique at this point. 

[pgwingman]

22 hours ago, jleisher said:

Rod Marinelli Senior Defensive Line Advisor.  (Laugh all you want, but why wouldn't at least ask your Father-in-Law to come in and give some pointers?)

 

Who on earth would want to work with their father in law?

[Norm]

This guy is never coming back lol