Free Agency: Packers Should Green Bay Pursue?

[HardRightEdge]

Just snapped this picture in my garage, you mean like this?

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ok....just bagged and weighed it, 164 lbs!

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It will be interesting to see what the new CBA does with pot testing. MLB got rid of it; there have been mumblings that the NFL might soften that policy. You could be in clover, so to speak.

 

[GreenNGold_81]

The Bears cut Taylor Gabriel today.

He's an interesting option for the Packers. He was a good role player for the 2016 Falcons, so Petals has familiarity there. He had a solid 2018 because things fell apart (for the entire Chicago offense, not just for him) this last year.

I think this would be a good move. Gabriel with the falcons was a real weapon.

He's 29 and still very fast. He shouldn't be overly expensive.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

For those who have been Tooting Robbie Anderson's horn as someone the Packers should pursue.....

.@TonyPauline reporting #Jets WR Robby Anderson could cost ~$15 million in free agency with New York pushing to keep him.

That's major money for an inconsistent player who has never been a true WR1.

No thanks!

 

[Jason Edens]

For those who have been Tooting Robbie Anderson's horn as someone the Packers should pursue.....

.@TonyPauline reporting #Jets WR Robby Anderson could cost ~$15 million in free agency with New York pushing to keep him.

That's major money for an inconsistent player who has never been a true WR1.

No thanks!

He isn't twice as valuable as Randall Cobb as it is. Much less to us with Cobb having experience with Rodgers. New York can keep him, and pay that much for an overrated RB as well.

 

[Dantés]

For those who have been Tooting Robbie Anderson's horn as someone the Packers should pursue.....

.@TonyPauline reporting #Jets WR Robby Anderson could cost ~$15 million in free agency with New York pushing to keep him.

That's major money for an inconsistent player who has never been a true WR1.

No thanks!

Any team who pays that kind of money to Robby Anderson deserves what they get.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Various reports have the Packers expressing interest in Littleton, Kwiatkowski and Hooper. Why not? Of course these things come down price.

Recall the Packers tendered Fuller but the Bears matched. That same offseason rumors had the Packers interested in Robinson and Watkins but were evidently outbid. Gutekunst ended up settling for Graham. Reports had Gutekunst interested in a receiver mid-season last year but he didn't like the cost.

Bulaga remains unsigned, Clark has yet to be extended, Jones agent wants to open extension discussions. Will Bakhtiari be far behind if his agent hasn't already put some numbers on the table? Lots of moving parts beyond speculation without knowing the asking prices.

I'll say this much. I'd much rather have Hooper at $10 mil/year than Anderson at $15 mil/year, and then draft a WR in the first two rounds. That strikes me as a kind of no-brainer if that is how the numbers shake out. The actual numbers? That remains to be seen.

 

[tynimiller]

Nope on Hooper at that price....that is almost as asinine as Anderson's claimed price, a strong almost, but still terrible.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Nope on Hooper at that price....that is almost as asinine as Anderson's claimed price, a strong almost, but still terrible.

I don't think Hooper is worth $10 mil/year either. He might not come in that high anyway. But it gets you the possession receiver you need, a guy who can block (which Graham could not), a player in his prime, and a WR draftee in a kind of two-fer cap-wise compared to going the other way, spending more for a WR without upgrading the TE position.

If the draft was heavy with TE talent, weak at WR, and there was a heavy WR free agent class, I'd be inclined to look at going the other way, just not for Anderson.

Hooper is a lot better than a terrible idea at that price in putting the pieces together.

 

[Dantés]

Various reports have the Packers expressing interest in Littleton, Kwiatkowski and Hooper. Why not? Of course these things come down price.

Recall the Packers tendered Fuller but the Bears matched. That same offseason rumors had the Packers interested in Robinson and Watkins but were evidently outbid. Gutekunst ended up settling for Graham. Reports had Gutekunst interested in a receiver mid-season last year but he didn't like the cost.

Bulaga remains unsigned, Clark has yet to be extended, Jones agent wants to open extension discussions. Will Bakhtiari be far behind if his agent hasn't already put some numbers on the table? Lots of moving parts beyond speculation without knowing the asking prices.

I'll say this much. I'd much rather have Hooper at $10 mil/year than Anderson at $15 mil/year, and then draft a WR in the first two rounds. That strikes me as a kind of no-brainer if that is how the numbers shake out. The actual numbers? That remains to be seen.

I agree with this. I think Hooper is being overrated and the Packers would be buying high on him, however I think that's a slightly ill-advised move vs. what would be a totally brain dead screw up in paying Anderson money like that.

 

[GleefulGary]

I still don't see what Hooper gives us that Sternberger doesn't, that would justify paying Hooper more than $8-9 million/year.

 

[Dantés]

I still don't see what Hooper gives us that Sternberger doesn't, that would justify paying Hooper more than $8-9 million/year.

Probably a better blocker and a more reliable pass catcher in 2020. Not necessarily because Hooper is special, but in Sternberger, you're talking about 3 career catches.

 

[Pkrjones]

I don't want Gute spending $10mil+ on any free agent this year, there's just not enough cap space to go around. Need a starting RT, 2 starting ILB's,a starting TE and a starting WR...can't be super comfortable that a young guy currently on roster is ready. Hoping Gute fills at least 2 of those spots with mid-level pay FA's.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I still don't see what Hooper gives us that Sternberger doesn't, that would justify paying Hooper more than $8-9 million/year.

Experience, maturity, demonstrated productivity, durability and blocking ability. Hooper is a known quantity in his prime, if not an elite one, whereas Sternberger is somebody yet to be proven and may never be.

Whether the money is better applied elsewhere remains to be seen. It probably will be, in fact, but the concept here is on point in terms of getting to the right mix of talents and a critical mass of threats even if the price point is not quite right.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I don't want Gute spending $10mil+ on any free agent this year, there's just not enough cap space to go around. Need a starting RT, 2 starting ILB's,a starting TE and a starting WR...can't be super comfortable that a young guy currently on roster is ready. Hoping Gute fills at least 2 of those spots with mid-level pay FA's.

You don't win without stacking drafts. The Packers need to get three players out of the draft, two starters on par with Jenkins and Savage and a contributing rotational player, and Gary to step up. Six guys who are players out of the previous two drafts is pretty much a prerequisite. Gutekunst will need to sign a free agent or two of some note, whether that's Bulaga and/or somebody else, and he should have the cap for at least one and maybe two.

 

[Jason Edens]

I don't want Gute spending $10mil+ on any free agent this year, there's just not enough cap space to go around. Need a starting RT, 2 starting ILB's,a starting TE and a starting WR...can't be super comfortable that a young guy currently on roster is ready. Hoping Gute fills at least 2 of those spots with mid-level pay FA's.

I couldn't agree more. Sorry for putting my stamp of approval on your post, I am a leaper on this forum at this point. But you are 100% correct. I hope Sternberger pans out, but he wasn't drafted to be a blocking TE, he is a weapon. We still need the blocking TEs for our run game. Graham gets replaced by Sternberger hopefully, and Lewis/Tonyan come back to be the blocking rotation. We are still down a TE, do we spend in FA or draft a blocking TE or a project to be put in that place. We still need run stoppers in the DL and ILB position. We still need WRs. Rodgers was never the QB to depend on TE in his career. Our best TEs have been Jackson, Chmura, Franks, and for one year Finley. Favre relied on TEs much more than Rodgers. We aren't getting a top 5 TE in FA or the draft this year. Lets stop pretending that these overpriced FAs are going to be the next Little, Gronk, or Kelce. They aren't.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

I still don't see what Hooper gives us that Sternberger doesn't, that would justify paying Hooper more than $8-9 million/year.

The proven ability to be an impactful NFL starter? I get the excitement over the new, unproven thing in Sternberger but history suggests that Sternberger, if he's actually going to be a good NFL player, won't show that for another season or two (at best).

Additionally, having two good TEs is a big plus for an NFL offense if Sternberger does prove himself able to become a quality NFL player.

 

[Jason Edens]

The proven ability to be an impactful NFL starter? I get the excitement over the new, unproven thing in Sternberger but history suggests that Sternberger, if he's actually going to be a good NFL player, won't show that for another season or two (at best).

Additionally, having two good TEs is a big plus for an NFL offense if Sternberger does prove himself able to become a quality NFL player.

He is an an impactful NFL starter? Which year? Care to read off his 2016 rookie year stats? Sternberger was a rookie last year and lost over half of it due to injury. Hell lets sign Jason Witten, he is the best TE in the NFL according to your measurement of a "proven impactful NFL starter". I believe that was the thinking that brought us Bennet, and Graham. And Graham hasn't been that been considering that Rodgers has never relied on TEs in his career.

 

[Sunshinepacker]

I don't want Gute spending $10mil+ on any free agent this year, there's just not enough cap space to go around. Need a starting RT, 2 starting ILB's,a starting TE and a starting WR...can't be super comfortable that a young guy currently on roster is ready. Hoping Gute fills at least 2 of those spots with mid-level pay FA's.

If Gute spends $10m+ and gets Hooper then that's a FA signing that should easily be worth it. Hooper is not an elite TE but he's a very dependable receiver and adequate run blocker. I also don't think the team needs two starting ILBs; one quality starter and a decent package player would be sufficient. Packers don't really play enough base defense (not many NFL teams do actually) to need two starting ILBs; one decent starter and another guy to help in obvious run downs should probably be sufficient.

Draft is probable where the team finds an answer at WR (unless they get good value in free agency) and RT of the future can be found in the draft with a short-term option like Veldeer to hold the fort in the mean time.

Packers do have multiple holes they need to fill if they want to become real Super Bowl contenders, but they need to find good, high-level starters at receiver/TE if they want this offense to really improve (though I do think Ebron is a potentially overlooked option as a receiving TE).

 

[Sunshinepacker]

He is an an impactful NFL starter? Which year? Care to read off his 2016 rookie year stats? Sternberger was a rookie last year and lost over half of it due to injury. Hell lets sign Jason Witten, he is the best TE in the NFL according to your measurement of a "proven impactful NFL starter". I believe that was the thinking that brought us Bennet, and Graham. And Graham hasn't been that been considering that Rodgers has never relied on TEs in his career.

Uhm, Sternbeger played 60 offensive snaps TOTAL last year. There is NOTHING proven about him. He is all potential at this point. Your point about Witten is both ridiculous and nonsensical. I was pointing out that Hooper is a proven NFL player. Do you think that Hooper is 25 years old and hasn't suffered catastrophic knee injuries, so I don't understand your comparison to Graham and, as for Bennett, well, let's hope Hooper doesn't fake an injury to get cut and then re-sign with his old team I guess?

I hope Sternberger becomes a great TE but counting on a guy who barely played last season to be a quality NFL TE is ignoring the history of the TE position in the NFL.

Finally, your point about Rodgers relying on TEs would only be relevant if you actually thought that Rodgers just didn't like throwing to really big receivers. Just because he hasn't had many good options in the past doesn't mean he won't throw to good options in the future. He's also never relied on receivers named Julio but I guarantee he'd throw the heck out of the ball if Julio Jones was one of his WRs.

 

[GreenNGold_81]

He is an an impactful NFL starter? Which year? Care to read off his 2016 rookie year stats? Sternberger was a rookie last year and lost over half of it due to injury. Hell lets sign Jason Witten, he is the best TE in the NFL according to your measurement of a "proven impactful NFL starter". I believe that was the thinking that brought us Bennet, and Graham. And Graham hasn't been that been considering that Rodgers has never relied on TEs in his career.

I actually don't think a Witten signing would be a bad idea. He'd be a good mentor for Jace and Tonyan and would come relatively cheap in comparison to some others. If we miss out on Henry/Hooper/Ebron, he's not a horrible option to get a vet in there.

 

[Dantés]

He is an an impactful NFL starter? Which year? Care to read off his 2016 rookie year stats? Sternberger was a rookie last year and lost over half of it due to injury. Hell lets sign Jason Witten, he is the best TE in the NFL according to your measurement of a "proven impactful NFL starter". I believe that was the thinking that brought us Bennet, and Graham. And Graham hasn't been that been considering that Rodgers has never relied on TEs in his career.

Hooper may be overrated this offseason and may well get overpaid, but a decent blocker who comes up with 75/787/6 at tight end can't be considered anything other than impactful. That is a significant impact. That doesn't make him elite, but it does mean that Sunshine is correct in how he labeled him.

This also isn't an either/or thing with him and Sternberger. LaFleur likes 12 personnel and will use it plenty if he has the horses for it. Both guys would see the field.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

It appears Hunter Henry will be Franchise tagged by the LAC, estimated to be $10.7M, so that would leave Hooper at the top of the TE Free Agent pile. The thing i like about Hooper is the fact that he is only 25, has played all 4 years and his stats seem to be increasing each season. Last season stats are really impressive if you break them down:

Played in 13 games, but only targeted in 11 of those.

Catches: 75
Targets: 97
Yards: 787
TD's: 6

DROPS: 2!!!!

I will let Gute and MLF decide if Hooper fits the Packer offense and if he is the kind of guy they want on their team, but I see Hooper as an ascending player, probably coming into his best years. We will be saving $8M by cutting Graham, go get em' Gute!

 

[Curly Calhoun]

Randall Cobb, anyone?

 

[tynimiller]

It appears Hunter Henry will be Franchise tagged by the LAC, estimated to be $10.7M, so that would leave Hooper at the top of the TE Free Agent pile. The thing i like about Hooper is the fact that he is only 25, has played all 4 years and his stats seem to be increasing each season. Last season stats are really impressive if you break them down:

Played in 13 games, but only targeted in 11 of those.

Catches: 75
Targets: 97
Yards: 787
TD's: 6

DROPS: 2!!!!

I will let Gute and MLF decide if Hooper fits the Packer offense and if he is the kind of guy they want on their team, but I see Hooper as an ascending player, probably coming into his best years. We will be saving $8M by cutting Graham, go get em' Gute!

We are only spending over $7M or so on one FA (not inclusive of resigning Bulaga of course)....if they decide to make it Hooper so be it...I'd rather it be an ILB like Littleton or Schobert but I'm not gonna say I'd hate it.

 

[Dantés]

It appears Hunter Henry will be Franchise tagged by the LAC, estimated to be $10.7M, so that would leave Hooper at the top of the TE Free Agent pile. The thing i like about Hooper is the fact that he is only 25, has played all 4 years and his stats seem to be increasing each season. Last season stats are really impressive if you break them down:

Played in 13 games, but only targeted in 11 of those.

Catches: 75
Targets: 97
Yards: 787
TD's: 6

DROPS: 2!!!!

I will let Gute and MLF decide if Hooper fits the Packer offense and if he is the kind of guy they want on their team, but I see Hooper as an ascending player, probably coming into his best years. We will be saving $8M by cutting Graham, go get em' Gute!

Pros: Decent blocker, Reliable Hands, Good feel against zone coverage.

Cons: Not necessarily a running game asset, Not a big play threat, Surprisingly lackluster 3rd down production.

Hooper is a solidly above average TE who is probably going to get paid like an elite one.