Grade the Packers Draft

[pgwingman]

My only real gripE from this draft was not adding to the TE group, which is why I'm a little salty about paying so much to get a WR like Watson at 34.

If Watson was worth overpaying to get at 34, he was probably worth taking at 28. The reason we took Wyatt at 28 over Watson had to be that we viewed him higher, and I get that. However, it just feels like we could have moved up 5-6 spots from 53 to get a WR, and used 59 on the TE room.

Edited May 2, 2022 by pgwingman

[vegas492]

47 minutes ago, ChaRisMa said:

Right. I agree with that. Like I said, the other guys were far better in other ways to make up for it. It’s clear MLF wanted 4.3 speed—we’ve talked about how MVS was our only guy who could predictably blow the top off a defense.

I thought everyone wanted either a WR1 or someone who would develop into one. Was that only me? Because I don’t see Watson being more than MVS with the ability to run reverses/jet sweep for Rodgers remaining time. I do wanna point out MLF talked about how they spent time examining how far off their original year 1 offense they’d become and that they wanted to return some of the concepts—I think Watson will see some reverses and be in motion occasionally. No more watching EQ try to run inside of a blocking WR on a reverse.

Not that it matters, but.....

I feel like Watson's field speed is right on par with his combine speed.  Dude just plays fast.  And at the Senior Bowl, he showed it, along with Doubs.  

Watson has size and speed, something that none of the other top prospects had.  And I dare say, he cuts nicely, too.

Remember those little bubble passes we would feed Jordy?  Catch it at the LOS, throw a stiff arm and get 12 yards?  I see Watson doing that, but breaking through that arm tackle and taking it farther.

He's obviously got the deep stuff going for him, but with his size, speed, he is going to be perfect in selling a run or pass out of any set or look.  And he's gonna be a weapon on play action stuff, but not like MVS.  We are going to use him differently than a typical boundary WR.

[vegas492]

3 minutes ago, pgwingman said:

My only real gripE from this draft was not adding to the TE group, which is why I'm a little salty about paying so much to get a WR like Watson at 34.

If Watson was worth overpaying to get at 34, he was probably worth taking at 28. The reason we took Wyatt at 28 over Watson had to be that we viewed him higher, and I get that. However, it just feels like we could have moved up 5-6 spots from 53 to get a WR, and used 59 on the TE room.

I too feel like we overpaid for the Watson pick via trade.

But it should tell you just how much of a gap there was from Watson to the "other" WR's.

In other words, just be happy that we got "our" guy.

I loved me some Pickens, so I was sad to see him go at that pick that we traded.  But deep down inside, I knew there was a lot of risk with him.  I think he could be great, or he could be buried on a depth chart for 3 years and then out of the league.  I couldn't tell if he was TO or Terrance Marshall.

To be fair, I can't tell if Watson is Calvin Johnson or Stephen Hill either.  

[wgbeethree]

9 minutes ago, Packerraymond said:

Like Jeremy Shockly wrong? 

Like Shock G.... the one who put the satin on yo panties?

[ChaRisMa]

5 hours ago, incognito_man said:

your initial post was trash and deserved all the trash responses.

It's hilarious you consider yourself among "quality" posters when posting things like

"I turned off the draft after that pick"

"Carson Wentz is the best FCS product"

"The NDSU staff is trash"

You have a wildly inflated opinion of your own takes. Please don't consider yourself among the actual quality posters with good football takes here.

Find where I said that second quote. I’m not talking all of FCS history. Don’t put words in my mouth. You post is literally you emotionally attacking someone on the internet. Here’s what actual discussion in a post looks like:

Who do you think coaches WR better? FBS powerhouses like Georgia, Bama, Ohio State, Clemson or NDSU? The point there is that he isn’t as pro ready as someone coming from a higher quality progrum. And that’s a problem because we only have Rodgers for so long.

Please respond with actual content and not just a personal attack including putting words in my mouth.

[pgwingman]

2 minutes ago, vegas492 said:

I too feel like we overpaid for the Watson pick via trade.

But it should tell you just how much of a gap there was from Watson to the "other" WR's.

In other words, just be happy that we got "our" guy.

  

Yeah I agree with this too. We obviously had him valued like a round 1 WR.

I should be happy Gute got his guy, but in all honesty I'm just a little salty that I once again wasted many hours reading about TE, S, and EDGE prospects while ignoring the top ILB prospects, only to have Gute fool me again.

[PossibleCabbage]

I mean, the reason Watson went to NDSU instead of a blue blood was most likely because he was a "late bloomer".  The college football blue bloods exclusively recruit the guys who already have or are close to the bodies that they're going to need for high level college football.  It's the smaller programs that thus benefit from getting the guys who still have growing to do.

This is why, for example, Northern Iowa, Tulsa, and Central Michigan had their left tackles drafted before Ohio State's.  The best guys coming out of HS are not always the best guys coming into the NFL.

[ChaRisMa]

1 minute ago, PossibleCabbage said:

I mean, the reason Watson went to NDSU instead of a blue blood was most likely because he was a "late bloomer".  The college football blue bloods exclusively recruit the guys who already have or are close to the bodies that they're going to need for high level college football.  It's the smaller programs that thus benefit from getting the guys who still have growing to do.

This is why, for example, Northern Iowa, Tulsa, and Central Michigan had their left tackles drafted before Ohio State's.  The best guys coming out of HS are not always the best guys coming into the NFL.

Completely agree. Those small schools are filling a really nice role for player like you are describing. But—We’re already looking at an individual case and if the goal was a WR1 then the question that’s being asked is if we see Watson developing into a WR1 in this offense? 120+ targets annually? Or is this an MVS upgrade for pick 34?

[Sasquatch]

I'm not at all worried about this draft, or any draft for that matter.  Each year, some picks that we're excited about, don't pan out, and some that we're "meh" about, surprise us and flourish.  Same will happen this year.

I'm more curious to see who becomes Aaron's new favorite receiver.  More like, I'm hoping they're all so good that he can't decide who is favorite receiver is and just spreads it around to everyone.  

[James Lofton]

Before the draft I felt like the Packers had an opportunity to have a championship caliber defense. I think it's obvious the Packers have elite DBs a descent pass rush, but have struggled with teams that want to exploit the middle of the field, especially by running. Now we have a team, that at least on paper, should be much better at stopping the run.

I would say that our strength on offense are the running backs who can succeed running and catching. So imagine a team who can move the chains with the RBs, a top 5 defense and an elite QB. Sounds like a recipe for a Lombardi trophy!

My only criticism is that I would have preferred two 2nd round receivers from the middle of the round rather than 1 from the top of round 2. But what do I know?

B+

[{Family Ghost}]

2 minutes ago, Sasquatch said:

I'm not at all worried about this draft, or any draft for that matter.  Each year, some picks that we're excited about, don't pan out, and some that we're "meh" about, surprise us and flourish.  Same will happen this year.

I'm more curious to see who becomes Aaron's new favorite receiver.  More like, I'm hoping they're all so good that he can't decide who is favorite receiver is and just spreads it around to everyone.  

At least one thing we know .. Aaron is going to try and prove to the world that he doesn't need Davante Adams to post another MVP level season.  

[vegas492]

11 minutes ago, pgwingman said:

Yeah I agree with this too. We obviously had him valued like a round 1 WR.

I should be happy Gute got his guy, but in all honesty I'm just a little salty that I once again wasted many hours reading about TE, S, and EDGE prospects while ignoring the top ILB prospects, only to have Gute fool me again.

Gute playing chess, we be playin' checkers, right? 

Yah, I feel the same way.

Had I drafted for this draft, I would have overvalued WR and EDGE.  I would have invested heavily into those.

And I would have missed out on building the roster.  Fan viewpoint (and talking head viewpoint) over NFL GM viewpoint.

Here's what I thought about this draft class.  Strength was ILB and OT.  Safe guys there.

The other thing I thought was that our draft got easier after you found your first WR.

We drafted 3 OL and 1 ILB.  Loved it.  We also got "our" guy at WR, for better or worse.

I'm just in love with our DL and OL right now.  Secondary was already set.

Now if we can entice an EDGE like Houston or Hughes over here to rotate in, that defense is going to be amazing.

And if we can train our QB to run the offense and spread it around, we are going to be in business.

[ChaRisMa]

19 minutes ago, vegas492 said:

Not that it matters, but.....

I feel like Watson's field speed is right on par with his combine speed.  Dude just plays fast.  And at the Senior Bowl, he showed it, along with Doubs.  

Watson has size and speed, something that none of the other top prospects had.  And I dare say, he cuts nicely, too.

Remember those little bubble passes we would feed Jordy?  Catch it at the LOS, throw a stiff arm and get 12 yards?  I see Watson doing that, but breaking through that arm tackle and taking it farther.

He's obviously got the deep stuff going for him, but with his size, speed, he is going to be perfect in selling a run or pass out of any set or look.  And he's gonna be a weapon on play action stuff, but not like MVS.  We are going to use him differently than a typical boundary WR.

I see that too. Getting past NFL corners on those routes is different than FCS though. Seems like everyone is pretty confident he’s gonna be fine against competition that’s 20 lbs heavier, 2 tenths faster, 2 inches taller, and 5 times as experienced as anyone he’s matched up against, based off the senior bowl.

[incognito_man]

17 minutes ago, ChaRisMa said:

Find where I said that second quote. I’m not talking all of FCS history. Don’t put words in my mouth. You post is literally you emotionally attacking someone on the internet. Here’s what actual discussion in a post looks like:

Who do you think coaches WR better? FBS powerhouses like Georgia, Bama, Ohio State, Clemson or NDSU? The point there is that he isn’t as pro ready as someone coming from a higher quality progrum. And that’s a problem because we only have Rodgers for so long.

Please respond with actual content and not just a personal attack including putting words in my mouth.

Like 6 pages back...

"We’re talking FCS to NFL...The best player they’ve produced is Carson Wentz"

[vegas492]

6 minutes ago, ChaRisMa said:

Completely agree. Those small schools are filling a really nice role for player like you are describing. But—We’re already looking at an individual case and if the goal was a WR1 then the question that’s being asked is if we see Watson developing into a WR1 in this offense? 120+ targets annually? Or is this an MVS upgrade for pick 34?

He looks like MVS on paper because he is big and fast.

But he is not MVS.  He's a much better runner and much more physical.  This kid has every tool you want in a WR1.  Except for maybe hands (key word, maybe).  Nelson, Jones and MVS struggled with hands for periods of time, too.  We should expect it from Watson and hope he grows out of it like the others did.

We haven't had this type of WR prospect since Javon Walker.  No offense meant to Jennings, Nelson, Cobb or Adams, but this kid is better athletically than they are.  Now we just got to get it out of him.