Tyni 3.15 Mock "Plug N Play"

[tynimiller]

New Monday...New Mock. Lot has changed just in a week...we know now Preston is going nowhere, Jones is coming back...and while I still suspect a Lowry cut I sense we are looking at just a bunch of restructuring to get under cap at this point. With all that knowledge let's tackle my newest mock...majority of these guys have been discussed to ad nauseum by a lot of us so very condense brief list at top of post, bottom will have notes and such plus negatives and positives of the draft upon reflection:

I'll name this one "Plug N Play"

#29 - Greg Newsome II - Northwestern CB*

#62 - Josh Myers - Ohio State C/OL

#92 - Alim McNeill - NC State iDL

#135 - Dazz Newsome - North Carolina WR

#142 - Caden Sterns - Texas S

#173 - Shakur Brown - Michigan State CB

#177 - Tarron Jackson - Coastal Carolina Edge/DE

#212 - Jermar Jefferson - Oregon State RB

#219 - Josh Ball - Marshall OT

#255 - Anthony Hines III - Texas A&M LB


*I've said give me Newsome II or give me Samuel. Newsome gave up literally a 0.00 passer rating when his man was targeted on 3rd/4th downs...INSANE.

Overview Takeaways:

• Honestly, Preston staying and Jones re-signing really does open up the draft in a way that I'd argue makes it tougher to do. Which ultimately is something Gute will enjoy and embrace - far less peg holed by having to keep as many "needs" at the forefront of his mind now.
• I'd argue this draft provides two immediate Day 1 starters without question. Newsome and Myers both not only have the chops to do it, but they're coming to a team with holes at their respective positions. Doesn't get more Plug N Play than that.
• After those two, we have a collection of very solid supportive role players that wouldn't shock me if by year's end provide at least one more starter or immensely active depth - my guess would be McNeill or actually Shakur Brown if forced to attempt to predict.
• Rodgers got his playmaker in Aaron Jones already...but adding a WR type like Dazz should make him smile and think back to the days of Cobb (Newsome is touch taller and bigger tho). Throwing in Jefferson as a diverse back I'd argue has the potential to be very similar to Jones down the round is a cherry on top. Rodgers has to appreciate the Center love as well.

Negative Critiques of this draft:

• Not a single draft is all around perfect...this one fails to address with certainty the pending question of Offensive Tackle...if not for RT, but the future once Bahk finally hangs his cleats up. Josh Ball is a coin flip, his issues at Florida State draw ire over personality issues and then his struggles to stand too tall being 6'8" causes him to be where he is. Ball easily could become or is a starting Tackle at the next level...however he easily could flop too.
• Yet again no true high draft stock used on LB...at #62 many were screaming for Cox, Surratt, Moses or Werner, but in the end Green Bay did as they seem to always do and push LB needs deep - they're gambling that the flashes both Martin and Barnes exhibited in 2020 were not flukes. *Hines in the 7th is intriguing prospect to help Barnes/Martin as well though, VERY athletic but disappears a solid amount of games as well.

Best value pick in this draft: I'll go Sterns...but this was a tough one to pick. I'll say that the ability to find someone with his versatility which is more polished than some you might finder in later rounds at #142 is immensely valuable. Provides instant and capable Safety help, but what I love is his comfort in covering and man coverage to boot. His hips and mirroring skills are on par with many CBs and I could see him serving in multiple roles for us.

Wildcard pick in this draft: If this draft played out as what happens, I'd circle the Tarron Jackson pick right from the start as one to keep an eye on. Out of Coastal Carolina Jackson has had many critics question whether his NFL ready frame and apparent skills will actually continue to exhibit on a bigger stage with better players. He answered the call at Senior Bowl and even illustrated something he had zero or very little experience with and that was playing as interior DL. That athletic flexibility and proving capable to move along the front against excellent competition caught my eye and instantly made me fall in love!

 

[Schultz]

As I play GM for the week I will start by listing what I consider the Packers needs after last weeks signings.
14. #3 QB- MVP and traded up for 1st rounder in house. No need to throw any real money or use a pick here.
UFA, a low cost young QB somebody else has given up on or a low cost veteran who could tutor/mentor JL so that Rodgers can just concentrate on winning.
13. OLB- this is there best depth position
12. #3 RB- UFA or someone else's salary cap casualty. If the right guy is there late in the draft maybe.
11. TE- assuming we sign Lewis and Tonyan. If no Lewis flip flop with safety. If no Tonyan this becomes need #7.
10. S- love our 2 guys. Even if no Redmond or Greene (I only see 1 at the most coming back) Scott and Black will need to step up. Outside the box thinking. Josh Jackson as a safety. Last chance to stick. To me he is not a NFL corner.
9. KR
8. WR- would be great to get one who also returns kicks.
7. ILB- hate to put all the eggs in the Barnes-Martin basket
6. IDL- back-up for Clark
5. OL- preferably guy who can play a couple of spots
4. DE- must upgrade Lowery
3. CB- assuming King gone desperately need a starter
2. slot CB- I just think there are less slot guys than outside guys so I wanted to get the slot guy 1st.
1. OT- I have the mentality that Bakhitari is not even on the roster. Who knows when he will be back. For it to make any difference when he does come back Rodgers has to be healthy.

Depending on how the picks fall 1-4 could go in any order.

I would like to see one of the 1 thru 8 spots filled prior to the draft in free agency. It would also be nice to take care of one of the 9-12 spots on the cheap. Hoping for anything more than that is probably not possible cap wise.

 

[RepStar15]

Easily the best mock I have seen Tyni. I think it hits all the boxes. One area I have circled is TE, but honestly I am not a huge fan of anyone projected outside the top 5 TE selections and would not want to use a top 100 pick on it. Well done.

 

[tynimiller]

Easily the best mock I have seen Tyni. I think it hits all the boxes. One area I have circled is TE, but honestly I am not a huge fan of anyone projected outside the top 5 TE selections and would not want to use a top 100 pick on it. Well done.

There are 3 TEs I'm okay with us going after on Day 3 with the proper understanding and expectations; Pro Wells, Cary Angeline and Tony Poljan. Tre' McKitty is a late Day2/early Day3 guy as well I'm high on.

That is a fair negative out of this draft as well...if this is the draft class better hope I guess Big Dawg signs another year yet, Dafney continues to grow, no one picks up Tonyan's tender and Dequara appears healthy.

 

[AmishMafia]

Newsome is very tempting. He sure looks like a great CB in the making. But I worry about his injuries. He has not played a full season and even when he is playing, he misses lots of practices and parts of games with small issues. He has never had a major injury, and that is a plus. But I am leary of sinking a first into someone who is apparently fragile. Most players with lots of injuries in college tend to have more injuries in the pros.

But then again, I recall I downgraded Jaire because I thought he wouldn't hold up to the NFL grind.

 

[tynimiller]

Newsome is very tempting. He sure looks like a great CB in the making. But I worry about his injuries. He has not played a full season and even when he is playing, he misses lots of practices and parts of games with small issues. He has never had a major injury, and that is a plus. But I am leary of sinking a first into someone who is apparently fragile. Most players with lots of injuries in college tend to have more injuries in the pros.

But then again, I recall I downgraded Jaire because I thought he wouldn't hold up to the NFL grind.

The ONLY outside CB worth it at 29 that realistically may be there reasonably is Samuel. I don't dislike either guy, but Newsome is that dog. Too much of his game reminds me of Jaire I cannot ignore it. Minor tweaks and such he has experienced don't worry me enough to not pick him at all. There is a case to be made he gets the absolute most "talent" squeezed out of his body of any of the concensus top 3 (Horn, Surtain and Farley).

 

[RepStar15]

The ONLY outside CB worth it at 29 that realistically may be there reasonably is Samuel. I don't dislike either guy, but Newsome is that dog. Too much of his game reminds me of Jaire I cannot ignore it. Minor tweaks and such he has experienced don't worry me enough to not pick him at all. There is a case to be made he gets the absolute most "talent" squeezed out of his body of any of the concensus top 3 (Horn, Surtain and Farley).

Why Samuel over Stokes as an outside CB?

 

[tynimiller]

Why Samuel over Stokes as an outside CB?

Personally, Stokes to me cannot mirror as well and I am continually disappointed at his game speed vs his straight line speed. He 100% can play straight line catch up better than Samuel, but in short route bursts or working through traffic I give Samuel the nod.

I will say I love a corner that is more comfortable in man than zone, and Stokes thrives more in zone than man situations - Samuel is arguably to some the other way.

I prefer Samuel's ability to slide inside with comfort more than Stokes too.

 

[Schultz]

I have read the Packers are expected to play more zone under the new D.C.

 

[Poppa San]

I have read the Packers are expected to play more zone under the new D.C.

Great. More drop back 15 yards on 3&7.

 

[tynimiller]

I have read the Packers are expected to play more zone under the new D.C.

I don't think you'll see as much as some suspect, Jaire is a waste in zone calls IMO...you throw a younger Jaire in the mix and dear Lord the options are HEAVY!

 

[Favre>Rodgers259]

I feel like a 2nd Rounder on a Center is just way too much Draft capital. Drake Jackson and Trey Hill would be pretty nice options Day 3 that we could "reach" for.

Love McNeil....but in the 3rd? I got him in the 6th.

When you say "plug n play" and Caden Sterns I hope you mean as a Nickel. I don't like him lined up in the box. Most of his tackles are "free shots", he doesn't bring the thump that'd I'd like from a safety....(damn he sounds like when I played!)

Shakur as "plug n play" Dime with possible upside at Nickel? Sure.

You love Jackson/Jefferson and I definitely understand why. Too much high risk/high reward there for my blood, but they have absolutely no reason to play early so roll the dice.

I'd cry if Ball was the only drafted OT, but I do like him.

Still would prefer Eubanks over Hines, I know he was an OLB in FCS but he can do ILB, I'm confident.

 

[tynimiller]

You are drunk with McNeil in the 6th. He is a top 10 iDL.

Also read back, I only state plug and play with two guys: Newsome and Myers.

Also you know I'm big on Eubanks and highlighted him and Mills for most here that had no clue who either were. I wouldn't argue Eubanks over Hines personally, whichever we don't draft I'd focus on as a priority UDFA tho!

 

[Favre>Rodgers259]

List those Top 10 with Grades!!!! I wanna see em!!!!

 

[tynimiller]

List those Top 10 with Grades!!!! I wanna see em!!!!

Driving will share my DL list for sure.

I also pose a gentleman's wager for when he gets drafted of some kind?

 

[AmishMafia]

You are drunk with McNeil in the 6th. He is a top 10 iDL.

Also read back, I only state plug and play with two guys: Newsome and Myers.

Also you know I'm big on Eubanks and highlighted him and Mills for most here that had no clue who either were. I wouldn't argue Eubanks over Hines personally, whichever we don't draft I'd focus on as a priority UDFA tho!

I thought you were optimistic about getting him in the 3rd. I think he goes late 2nd or early 3rd. Very powerful and athletic. Doesn't give ground and should develop as a pass rusher. Only played 3 years of defense after being a RB in HS. Got better each year and is a projection. His upside is tremendous.

 

[Favre>Rodgers259]

Driving will share my DL list for sure.

I also pose a gentleman's wager for when he gets drafted of some kind?

Okay so I just redid mine and I reshuffled him above a couple people so I'll say Priority 4th Round. You got me to budge.

 

[tynimiller]

Okay so I just redid mine and I reshuffled him above a couple people so I'll say Priority 4th Round. You got me to budge.

Sorry never got around to it last night, here's my list for iDL:

I prefer Tiers so rough tiers, no tiers do not correspond with round grades.

Tier1 (order is not random for this tier)
Barmore
Nixon
Onwuzurike
Tufele

Tier2
Togiai
McNeill
Wilson
Shelvin
Tuipulotu
Odighizuwa

Tier3
Twyman
Stills
Brown
Slaton
Johnson

 

[Favre>Rodgers259]

Okay, my turn. For reference, I consider guys who can play 4T, IDL:

Tier 1
Paye
Barmore
Onwuzurike
Nixon
Odeyingbo


Tier 2
Tufele
Wilson
McNeil
Tuipulotu
Togai
Odighizuwa
Brown
Marshall

Tier 3
Shelvin
Jackson
Stills
Twyman
Tonga
Slaton
Ray
Johnson
Loudermilk

 

[tynimiller]

Okay, my turn. For reference, I consider guys who can play 4T, IDL:

Tier 1
Paye
Barmore
Onwuzurike
Nixon
Odeyingbo


Tier 2
Tufele
Wilson
McNeil
Tuipulotu
Togai
Odighizuwa
Brown
Marshall

Tier 3
Shelvin
Jackson
Stills
Twyman
Tonga
Slaton
Ray
Johnson
Loudermilk

Not a ton of disagreement really between us.

 

[Favre>Rodgers259]

So Paye to me is who sets all this off. I have Paye going between 10th and 17th. If he goes earlier than everything shifts up obviously, so yea, maybe McNeil COULD go late 2nd, but I can't see him going earlier than mid 3rd. It's really on how the GMs value these guys.

Because this IDL Class isn't really outstanding besides two guys(Paye/Barmore), some teams might wait and pick over the leftovers late. Whoever picks IDL early is probably going to miss out on the more premium positions. I mean I could live with McNeil at 3rd, but then 1st and 2nd Round HAS to be RT and CB. The talent drop off is WAY too much for anyone afterwards to be a starter/get major snaps, unless we hit the proverbial jackpot on a pick.

 

[Schultz]

It looks to me like we have to get the tackle at pick 29. Would have to have things fall close to perfect to get a starter at 62. Forget about it at 92.

 

[tynimiller]

It looks to me like we have to get the tackle at pick 29. Would have to have things fall close to perfect to get a starter at 62. Forget about it at 92.

Carman, Hudson and Brown are all to me very much options at #62 - each with a fairly solid chance at being a starter at Right Tackle for us if they were drafted. Each also has a fairly decent amount of flexibility that could surprise some folks serving as Bahk fill till he is back depending.

Beyond those three, the only guys that I'd say have a slightly better than 50/50 chance at giving you a starter at Right Tackle is D'Ante Smith, Hainsey, Little and Christensen. I do believe each of those guys have a fairly solid shot at earning a starting spot at Right Tackle at minimum until Bahk is back and we can slide the line around. Those guys to me are in play at our 3rd round pick (#92).

Three other personal favorites I think have an outside shot to provide starting options to teams in 2021 or serious back up roles at injury times are Josh Ball, Brenden Jaimes and Jaylon Moore.

 

[Schultz]

I think Carman is over rated. 62 too early for Hudson and he probably won't last to 92. I like Brown and Christensen as 4th rounders. Little is a risk I would not be willing to take until Day 3. I don't like Hainsey. If no OT by 92 would be ok with D. Smith out of necessity. I was thinking maybe Jaimes in the 5th round or an interior lineman on day 3.

 

[Poppa San]

serving as Bahk fill