I have some comments and concerns that I have broken down here.
1) The Packers draft grade is a B.
DT Justin Harrell looks to be a force. Football is won through the offensive and defensive lines. It all starts up front. I have absolutely no qualms about strengthening either one. Also, it is not easy to find quick, exlposive and athletic 300 pounders that can stop the run outside the top 15 or 20 picks. Kevin Williams, Tommie Harris, Haloti Ngata, John Henderson were all high first round picks. Teams don’t get shots at drafting those players everyday.
RB Brandon Jackson looks like a player. I saw some tape of him and he was very elusive and a hard runner. He should be a good addition. Looks like a football player.
DT Allen Barbe. I was praying to God that the Packers would draft a left tackle. I never knew that they would be able to get one athletic enough to be gunner on special teams. The man is big, is capable of adding more muscle and should be able to handle the athleticism of the zone scheme immediately. It was evident all season that Chad Clifton is only one injury or a few years away from retiring. His body is breaking down and he can’t move like 5 years ago. If he gets hurt and we didn’t have a backup LT. Our season would be over.
Kicker Mason Crosby. Really happy we have a strong kicker to compete with Rayner. Rayned did well for his first season, but anytime we can get a kicker that can kickoff through the back of the end zone, we must take a look. What better way to neutralize Hester than to kick it out of the end zone. Simple! If Mike Stock is as good a special teams coach as McCarthy says, he should have no problem getting these guys to kick more consistently.
The others guys drafter are pure football players and should make an immediate impact on special teams. I predict one or two of them will make the roster and their presence will make the current backups pay more attention to special teams.
2) Let me rebuke the Ted Haters and anyone who is complaining that this draft wasn’t sexy enough for them.
First at running back, Marshawn Lynch would have been a great pick but he wasn’t available. I wasn’t particularly enamored with Kenny Iron or Tony Hunt at all. Michael Bush is hurt and will redshirt this year.
Second, wide receivers take 2-3 years to develop and anyone we drafted this year will not be able to help Favre before he retires anyway. Guys like Greg Jennings are so rare that I would expect any rookie WR to do the same. The real sour spot is that Javon Walker wasn’t mature enough to work out his contract dispute timely. He was Favre’s big weapon and we won’t be able to replace before Favre hangs them up. I was never a huge Randy Moss fan and I don’t think we should have added him to our young, impressionable roster. He can play when he wants to, but only when he wants to. He’s not a Packer. I truly think Favre would be better off improving his decison making with the ball than encouraging him to throw desperation passes by adding Moss.
Third, I noticed Zac Alcorn runs a 4.6 40 while Greg Olsen runs a 4.5 40. Not much difference. I would if there is any difference on the football field, especially on grass or frozen grass. Zac seems like an athlete, lets give him a chance. Personally, I would never pick a TE in the first round if he couldn’t block and catch. A one-dimensional player is way to easy to negate.
Fourth, Reggie Nelson is going to be a great safety and would have been a solid pick. However, lets give some of our guys a chance. We can’t keep more than 2-3 safeties. Underwood looks like a player. Let’s see what he can do before we put someone in front of him that has to start because of financial obligations.
3) Concerning the NFC North:
I thought analysts concern that Adrian Peterson runs too high were overblown until I saw some tape of him. He run way, way too high, practically upright. All it’s going to take is a hard hit from Ernie Sims or AJ Hawk to put him on IR. He runs nothing like Chester Taylor who runs low to the ground. Plus AP is a me guy. I wouldn’t touch him with a 39.5 foot pole.
Calvin Johnson will play well, but Al Harris benches 400 pounds and has impeccable technique. Harris will lock him down and he won’t get far. He’ll need some safety help which Underwood will have trouble providing since he’s only 5-11. However Underwood can intercept so hopefully he will be able to get to the ball first, or get into Johnson chest or at least take out his knees. Maybe Thompson’s response to Johnson was a 6-4 safety named Rouse. we’ll see.
Greg Olsen will make an impact, just not a first-round impact. He doesn’t like contact, that’s why he doesn’t block. Let’s see how long he stay’s healthy. Winslow and Shockey can’t stay healthy and even though they are great players, they add nothing to their team. Plus, you can’t tell me Barnett can’t cover him. Hawk is physical and athletic so he’ll be able to jam and cover. Let’s see who plays Sam.
By Matt Schmalzigan