Prospects you are A LOT higher on than consensus…

[Voyageur]

There are several players who are hard to pin down and thus have a lower grade than they should.

Sione Vaki is one. His versatility is outstanding and he’s just a great football player. How many Safeties work both O + D and at a high level. Putting up 200+ All-Purpose yards in a recent game on Offense? The kid is a universal Swiss knife Baller. He’s currently dropped to #142 on the Billboard and he should be at least looked at 88-#91 area depending on who’s available.

Devontez Walker has dropped from mid round 3 to more recently into the back half of Round 2 and I said back when he was in the 70-80’s.. he’s not getting proper respect. Him and Pearsall have been Top 50 WR’s all along imo. However if you chart them they do nothing but rise the more you study them. If this draft wasn’t so thick at WR Tez Walker is just a hair behind that Tee Higgins type draft profile

Jonathon Brooks is another that is finally getting respect he deserves dropping to #51. Had he not injured he’s quite possibly picked up in later Rd1-opening of Rd2
If Brooks makes a full recovery he’s arguably the #1-2 RB in this class. His steady ascent from later Day3 over several months is one of the most dynamic risers in the build up to this draft. He’s now #51 and still rising. Overshadowed because of missed time/injury.

Everyone has heard my admiration for Tyrone Tracy Jr for several months now. He’s overshadowed and underestimated mostly due to a position change/team change. His limited production scares people. However when you watch him he’s just got that Aaron Jones ish X factor. To be fair, He has no business being in Day 2 because of limited production and he hasn’t even had time to learn the nuances of that position. That stated, if we look back and he’s the top 5 RB from this class in a couple years? it wouldn’t surprise me one bit. Good blocker also. Tyrone reminds me of a young, slightly smaller but faster version of our own, James Starks.

I watched a lot of Brooks down here in Texas, and I'm going to say that he's going to do a great job in the NFL. That is, as long as he's healed by the time he starts practicing.

The guy can move defenders. there won't be any arm tackles, or cross body blocks the DBs that will phase him. He's powerful enough to take those hits.

 

[Dantés]

Whoa! Not criticizing or disagreeing, but what is it you see there? I know a LB of his type is a very high priority, but is he really the kind of guy Gute would take in Round 1? What are we all missing?

Well let me just say first, I have neither the resources nor the expertise to be dogmatic about something like this. I'm not carefully studying All 22 and drawing a conclusion that's 100% my own. I've watched Cooper a bit and I like him, but this is about more than that as well.

-He's had three very productive seasons in the SEC. He was playing starting level snaps as a 19 year old.

-He's got good size for this era of football and a big enough frame to carry more weight. He's really long (95th% arm length, 88th% wingspan) without being too tall or high cut (6'2").

-He's not an elite athlete, but he's a very good one (9.13 RAS). Probably the most explosive linebacker in this class on tape, backed up by a 4.51 forty and a 1.56 ten split. His other measurables (jumps and agilities) are all solid.

-He has a diversified skill-set. He's a good blitzer, he has some zone coverage ability, he has the movement to match TE's or RB's in man coverage, and he's got serious range against the run and the screen game.

-While he isn't proficient at stacking and shedding blocks, virtually no one coming out of college football is. He has the length and explosive power to become more than adequate.

-While his consensus is #40, there are some noted names that really like him. Jeremiah has him at #29 and actually started with him at #20 back in January. Legwold just released his annual top 100 and had him at #26. Cosell doesn't rank people but believes him to be the top linebacker by a wide margin.

So I think he's a pretty darn good prospect and made all the more valuable by how poor this class is overall. Ideally, they would trade down and then take him, but if they were stuck at #25 and the board was cleaned out of tackles, I think he should be in play.

 

[PikeBadger]

You keep pointing that out as if it's something you think nobody realizes. I don't think there's a single person here who is not fully aware of it.

Ever been in here on draft weekend?

 

[Thirteen Below]

Ever been in here on draft weekend?

Yeah.... I hear that.... but I have to say, I don't think this is anywhere near the "romper room" that a lot of other forums are. I plan on keeping the Packer forum on Reddit open on one tab the entire draft, just so I can pop in every now and then and watch the train wrecks and screaming meltdowns.

I'm king of malicious that way.

 

[DoURant]

Ever been in here on draft weekend?

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[OldSchool101]

Well let me just say first, I have neither the resources nor the expertise to be dogmatic about something like this. I'm not carefully studying All 22 and drawing a conclusion that's 100% my own. I've watched Cooper a bit and I like him, but this is about more than that as well.

-He's had three very productive seasons in the SEC. He was playing starting level snaps as a 19 year old.

-He's got good size for this era of football and a big enough frame to carry more weight. He's really long (95th% arm length, 88th% wingspan) without being too tall or high cut (6'2").

-He's not an elite athlete, but he's a very good one (9.13 RAS). Probably the most explosive linebacker in this class on tape, backed up by a 4.51 forty and a 1.56 ten split. His other measurables (jumps and agilities) are all solid.

-He has a diversified skill-set. He's a good blitzer, he has some zone coverage ability, he has the movement to match TE's or RB's in man coverage, and he's got serious range against the run and the screen game.

-While he isn't proficient at stacking and shedding blocks, virtually no one coming out of college football is. He has the length and explosive power to become more than adequate.

-While his consensus is #40, there are some noted names that really like him. Jeremiah has him at #29 and actually started with him at #20 back in January. Legwold just released his annual top 100 and had him at #26. Cosell doesn't rank people but believes him to be the top linebacker by a wide margin.

So I think he's a pretty darn good prospect and made all the more valuable by how poor this class is overall. Ideally, they would trade down and then take him, but if they were stuck at #25 and the board was cleaned out of tackles, I think he should be in play.

Nothing is out of play. Nobody saw us drafting Quay at #22 either.

Im not enthused at #25 necessarily but I’m not appalled. For me it would be a bit more palatable if we dropped back to #28 and swapped a 7th for a 4th Rounder. In Turn ended up with BOTH
#28 Edgerrin Cooper
#128 Ty’Ron Hopper
That way #25 locks down that LB Room with 2 very good options

 

[DoURant]

Nothing is out of play. Nobody saw us drafting Quay at #22 either.

Im not enthused at #25 necessarily but I’m not appalled. For me it would be a bit more palatable if we dropped back to #28 and swapped a 7th for a 4th Rounder. In Turn ended up with BOTH
#28 Edgerrin Cooper
#128 Ty’Ron Hopper
That way #25 locks down that LB Room with 2 very good options

Aside for Daniel Jeremiah... he also notes that he could go much earlier. Now maybe he had some inside information, but we can only speculate on that. Much earlier could have meant 22 for Packers instead of 28.

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[OldSchool101]

Aside for Daniel Jeremiah... he also notes that he could go much earlier. Now maybe he had some inside information, but we can only speculate on that. Much earlier could have meant 22 for Packers instead of 28.

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The Mere fact that there are no consensus Day1 inside LB’s will draw attention to Colson, Cooper sooner than anticipated.
The other way to attack this LB approach is drafting 2 mid-draft etc.
Let others go reach heavy.
Really for most part, I’m out at iLB or RB in Day1 in this class but it’s only my opinion. Like I said unless it gets us a 2nd player in trade.

 

[DoURant]

The Mere fact that there are no consensus Day1 inside LB’s will draw attention to Colson, Cooper sooner than anticipated.
The other way to attack this LB approach is drafting 2 mid-draft etc.
Let others go reach heavy.
Really for most part, I’m out at iLB or RB in Day1 in this class but it’s only my opinion. Like I said unless it gets us a 2nd player in trade.

I agree, no 1st rd guys, but there are only 3 top guys, so teams will probably try drafting them in the 1st half of the 2nd. If GB wants one, they may have to do it with #41, otherwise 2 mid rd picks, like you suggested.

 

[Thirteen Below]

Aside for Daniel Jeremiah... he also notes that he could go much earlier. Now maybe he had some inside information, but we can only speculate on that. Much earlier could have meant 22 for Packers instead of 28.

Now, that's an intriguing and insightful thought. Seems quite plausible; he could quite possibly have been a fly on just the right someone's wall at just the right moment of just the right coversation.

For what it's worth, Jeremiah projects this year that the only players that it woud make sense for Green Bay to take at #25 this season (assuming these players are even available at that moment) are likely to be one of:

OT: Adarius Mims, Tyler Guyton
IOL: nobody, trade back
CB: Cooper DeJean, Cool-Aid McKinstry, Ennis Rakestraw
S: CooperDeJean (damn, what a draft day bonanza if Gute could draft him twice)
LB: Edgerrin Cooper
Ege: nobody; trade back
RB: nobody; trade back
QB: nobody; trade back
WR: Adonai Mitchell, Ladd McKonkey, Xavier Worthy
TE: nobody; trade back
K: c'mon, you kiddin' me??? get real.

A total of 9 players, at least 3 of whom the Packers would be very unlikely to draft, regardless of their obejctive value (the WRs).

Of course, that's just assuming we stand pat at #25, which I feel is unlikely. This is a year Gute feels is the beginning of our Lombardi window, and when you consider how aggressive he has been in most other drafts, I have a hard time believing this would be one of the few years where he would be content to just lay back and passively wait for the draft to come to him.

As with any self-appointed "draft guru", it obviously has to be taken with a whole shaker of salt, because everybody's got their own opinion. And 5 days from now, the vast majority will turn out to have been massively wrong. But I do like the way he broke the players down, and organized his presentation. It's very easy to follow and keep the information organized in your mind.

What Does Jeremiah’s Top 150 NFL Draft Prospects Mean for Packers?

Here is the breakdown of Daniel Jeremiah’s Top 150 NFL Draft prospects for NFL.com. Where do the strengths of the draft align with the Green Bay Packers' needs?

www.si.com

 

[gopkrs]

That first year looked a little iffy. The talent was clearly there, and the ability, but he had some serious maturity issues, occasional poor judgment in the heat of the moment. Some pretty stupid and costly penalties, a few more impulsive moments that came close to drawing flags... but LaFleur believed in him, worked with him, and while he still had a couple of flareups his second year, he showed a real determination to improve.

I respect that a lot. I'm looking forward to his progress this year. I just wish we could find someone else to stick the green dot on the back of their helmet; I don't have a lot of faith in him.

What team/coach would not work with their first round pick for awhile? I never considered his few roughing penalties to be that big of a deal and he did not play poorly enough to ever think of sitting him. What he will be in the future I don't know but he is obviously a starter on our team. I believe he will be better this year with either McDuffie or a rookie alongside him. It is tough for me to know if he should be wearing the green dot though. Is it their job just to look that we are lined up correctly and make a small adjustment for whatever way the offense is lining up? Seems like that needs to be a linebacker. But maybe he would benefit from not having that responsibility and paying attention only to where he needs to be. Tough call. Especially since McDuffie seems to move around alot. Probably he needs to be able to check the line and then let it go and focus on himself and where he thinks the play is going.

 

[Dantés]

According to the scouts that McGinn polls (or at least claims to), Cooper is not one of the players in this class that they think could wear the green dot right away. They were split as to whether Colson could. The guys that were generally agreed on as capable were: Payton Wilson, Cedric Gray, Jeremiah Trotter Jr, Edefuan Ulofoshio, Tommy Eichenberg, and J.D. Bertrand. Of that group, I really like Gray and Ulofoshio. I also think that Eichenberg is a better prospect than given credit for. I'm all the way out on Wilson.

I don't know if they feel that Quay is ready or perhaps they plan to lean on McDuffie for that job because he has background with Hafley. If it's the latter, then linebacker will be addressed further down the board because the two primary players are already on the team.

 

[tynimiller]

According to the scouts that McGinn polls (or at least claims to), Cooper is not one of the players in this class that they think could wear the green dot right away. They were split as to whether Colson could. The guys that were generally agreed on as capable were: Payton Wilson, Cedric Gray, Jeremiah Trotter Jr, Edefuan Ulofoshio, Tommy Eichenberg, and J.D. Bertrand. Of that group, I really like Gray and Ulofoshio. I also think that Eichenberg is a better prospect than given credit for. I'm all the way out on Wilson.

I don't know if they feel that Quay is ready or perhaps they plan to lean on McDuffie for that job because he has background with Hafley. If it's the latter, then linebacker will be addressed further down the board because the two primary players are already on the team.

Many feel Barrett is more ready for that dot than Colson. Entirely different player howerver.

 

[OldSchool101]

Aside for Daniel Jeremiah... he also notes that he could go much earlier. Now maybe he had some inside information, but we can only speculate on that. Much earlier could have meant 22 for Packers instead of 28.

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LOVE me some Jeremiah. His Dad makes my Top 5 list for favorite Pastor on a National level. Very inspiring he reminds me of my late Stepdad from LaCrosse. Just a solid, good man.
Happy Passover to each of you. It’s a Wonderful day to be human. Peace and Love abound

 

[PikeBadger]

Yeah.... I hear that.... but I have to say, I don't think this is anywhere near the "romper room" that a lot of other forums are. I plan on keeping the Packer forum on Reddit open on one tab the entire draft, just so I can pop in every now and then and watch the train wrecks and screaming meltdowns.

I'm king of malicious that way.

The PreDraft Viewers Guide over there is a must read imo for some of the people that are going to be posting here this week.

 

[RicFlairoftheNFL]

Every year I have some prospects which I feel are way better than their consensus…my best two of recent were Doubs and Tom….but I’ve had a few failures or so far failures as well (Rochell is one and is a Packer atm)

That said, who are some guys you’re way higher on than many?

I mainly think of guys most say are Day3 and you’re firmly in Day2 type grades.

For me a few that quickly come to mind are Malik Mustapha, Cam Hart and Caeden Wallace.

Not many if any would be happy to hear their names before Day3 but I 100% would get it and support it.

Another name is Crumedy, the trench d lineman from Mississippi State. Long arms, high level college competition, strong and athletic. Many say 6th or later I say fifth to late fourth.

I like BOTH Safeties from Utah AND Michael Barrett out of Michigan on Day 3...most people don't like any of them.

 

[RicFlairoftheNFL]

In the year we drafted Quay Walker, the No. 1 concensus LB was Nakobe Dean (Quays teammate). Quay was a 3rd round prospect (although he moved up very late in the process) and Dean was seen as a probable 1sr rounder.

Quay went in the first and Dean went in the 3rd.

Dean has 43 tackles in 22 games and 0.5 sacks 0 picks

Quay has 239 tackles in 34 games and 4 sacks And a pick 6.

I think about that and sort of expect some names we don't expect.

Dean spent most of last year on IR with a Lisfranc issue I believe. But yeah hell EVEN I wanted Dean.

 

[AmishMafia]

Dean spent most of last year on IR with a Lisfranc issue I believe. But yeah hell EVEN I wanted Dean.

So did I. He got a degree in mechanical engineering. That's difficult enough without also playing football. But he has averaged 2 tackles per game and Quay has averaged 7. And he is getting better every week. I haven't watched Dean play, not sure what he is showing. I am very excited about future for Quay. His floor is above average and I think he could be really become impactful.

 

[Thirteen Below]

It is tough for me to know if he should be wearing the green dot though. Is it their job just to look that we are lined up correctly and make a small adjustment for whatever way the offense is lining up? Seems like that needs to be a linebacker.

The green dot on the helmet designates the only player on the field who is allowed to be in one-way radio communication with the sideline/booth. They are not allowed to speak, so there is no mic, but the sideline can give them directions. They can receive transmissions up until the 15 second point on the play clock, or until the ball is snapped, whichever comes first. The radio is cut off while the play is live.

Even though only one player from each team is allowed to have a green dot on the field at any given time, each team is alowed to have a total of 6 green dot helmets per game - 3 for the quarterbacks, and 3 for the defensive dot-heads. In some cases, the player who normally wears the dot also sometimes plays a different position which is not suited for the radio communication, so those players have 2 helmets for each game - in case they switch to a position that doesn't make sense for radio communication.

For the defense, it's usuallly a linebacker, but I know some teams use a safety (at least some of the time). I imagine it's possible to use a CB, but I'm not sure if that's ever been done. I guess somebody's probably done it at some point.

And yes, the whole point is so that the coach or coordinator can call out the schemes and have someone move the players around as they see the way the other team is lining up.

The reason I'm not comfortable with Quay being that guy is that a number of the times last season when players were spotting gaps or changes in the offense, and tried to cheat up toadjust, I saw him motioning them back out of position. The most glaring example was that 4th down quarterback sneak in the Jaguar's game, where there was a huge hole in the A gap and their QB dove right through it.

That gap was big enough to drive a golf cart through, and Nixon (in the box, and right off the line) spotted it and moved up to cover it. Walker was playing about 6 yards back, in the center, and you could see him call out to Nixon and wave him back. Nixon turned to look at him, pointed to the gap, and made a "WTF?" gesture with his hands. Walker shook his head, and waved him back.

Well, Nixon was right. That was exactly where the play was going, and he spotted it easily. At the instant of the snap, he made a herculean effort to plug that hole, but the QB only had to dive a yard and a half and Nixon had to cover 6. He still came up only a split second short of stopping the play, but Walker had him too far away to close it up. It was amazing how quickly Nixon reacted and covered the ground; an incredibly athletic play, and I came away appreciating Nixon a little bit more.

Now, that may have been largely due to Barry, but I don't think so, because this all happened within the last 15 seconds on the play clock - meaning Barry could not have been telling Quay "hey, get Nixon back away from there" at that time. Walker made the decision on his own, and it cost us a 4th down conversion.

I don't trust Walker to have the smarts to make those kinds of decisions. The man has a reported Wonderlic score of 9. That's all I'm gonna say about that, except that I hope we have some better options on D for that dot this year.

 

[OldSchool101]

I agree, no 1st rd guys, but there are only 3 top guys, so teams will probably try drafting them in the 1st half of the 2nd. If GB wants one, they may have to do it with #41, otherwise 2 mid rd picks, like you suggested.

I’m totally ok at #41 also.
My other philosophy is the earlier a position is drafted such as LB? the less the need to revisit the same position unless it’s later Day 3. If we got Cooper at #41 I’m absolutely fine grabbing a 6th-7th Rounder if we double down. I still think Eric Wilson is being underestimated. As the 3rd iLB he’s better than most think. He’s resorted to being a leader on ST, but if asked to get in rotation he’s a good iLB in the right capacity. Now is he a long term solution? No. Can he hold it down for 1-2 seasons? 100% yes and Im obviously not the only one who knows it. Brian doesn’t pass out $3.3Mil contracts to question marks. At worst he’s a ST ace. At best he’s a solid complimentary LB. He fits a specific role but when Zimmer asked him to step up? He did so in a big way. Plenty of experience. Plenty of tenacity. Just a sound football player.
If we get Cooper or Colson I’m 100% ok with waiting at iLB later if at all. Late Day3 top Rd7 if we want to get a more developmental player behind him.

 

[OldSchool101]

I watched a lot of Brooks down here in Texas, and I'm going to say that he's going to do a great job in the NFL. That is, as long as he's healed by the time he starts practicing.

The guy can move defenders. there won't be any arm tackles, or cross body blocks the DBs that will phase him. He's powerful enough to take those hits.

Yes. Injury concern will pretty likely negate him from being the 1st RB off the board. However had he continued his ascent vs injury he’s arguably in that Later Day 1 consideration as far as talent.
Ja’Tayvion Sanders was pretty good in his own right there for the Longhorns. He plays bigger than his combine testing numbers and he’s an NFL starting TE inside 2 years. He was a 1st team All Big 10 selection two years running. Speaking of Running Texas produces some darn good RB’s here lately. Good OL will do that though also. They went out and invested in all these young 4 star recruits and they already had the best graded Tackle combo in their Conference. Not taking anything from Bijan he earned his keep.

 

[Voyageur]

Yes. Injury concern will pretty likely negate him from being the 1st RB off the board. However had he continued his ascent vs injury he’s arguably in that Later Day 1 consideration as far as talent.
Ja’Tayvion Sanders was pretty good in his own right there for the Longhorns. He plays bigger than his combine testing numbers and he’s an NFL starting TE inside 2 years. He was a 1st team All Big 10 selection two years running. Speaking of Running Texas produces some darn good RB’s here lately. Good OL will do that though also. They went out and invested in all these young 4 star recruits and they already had the best graded Tackle combo in their Conference. Not taking anything from Bijan he earned his keep.

I reported on where it was going with the Texas O-Line within days after NIL kicked in. Supporters had announced that all players who played in the offensive line were going to get a $50,000 NIL deal straight out of the chute. That included every single one of them who was on the roster, with a scholarship, and even a few, who were walk-ons that the coaching staff thought could develop into guys who could help them.

People missed what I was saying. They were creating the line that would allow them to develop a top running game, and passing game, and not have to worry about spending time trying to find guys who would choose Texas. They were lining up to get a chance at being on the team, not being recruited. It's sad it's gone this way, but money sure does talk now in the college ranks.

 

[Thirteen Below]

The billionaires who are systematically, piece by piece, destroying the NFL have finally gotten their tentacles wrapped completely around college football too - once and for all. And are succeeding in pulling it apart.

So they can make another 10 or 15 bucks apiece before what's left of it goes up in smoke.