1st round doesn't always equal great TE...but the Packers don't need to take one there...NFL has lots of good TE taken in R2-R6. But talent is only one factor...if the head playcaller isn't calling plays to be anything more than blockers, why waste a pick? Just go sign UDFA.
@Herschel posted:If one of the QBs gets traded, it will be interesting to see what the compensation is and how that works out. Best guess is if Love were to be traded it would be for compensation this April for an "all-in" run, but if Rodgers is traded there may well be a conditional pick, or picks, involved. Say he's traded to the Jets along with Bakhtiari. They'd get compensation this year, but it may be Favre-esque with a conditional pick next year or even 2025 if both guys are still playing and the Jets are successful. .
At this point, I do not see any way they trade Love. They have put this much time into him, ticked off Rodgers, and based on what everyone has said about Love's development it looks like he's ready to go. They will trade Rodgers for whatever they can get, or maybe even cut him and take the cap hit, before trading Love. It would be silly for the FO to get rid of Love now after drafting him in R1, putting three years into him, watching what he did against Philly, and the fact that he's accepted all of this crap with grace and just gone about getting better. He will probably never be a HOF QB, but how many of them are out there anyway?
@Fandame posted:At this point, I do not see any way they trade Love. They have put this much time into him, ticked off Rodgers, and based on what everyone has said about Love's development it looks like he's ready to go. They will trade Rodgers for whatever they can get, or maybe even cut him and take the cap hit, before trading Love. It would be silly for the FO to get rid of Love now after drafting him in R1, putting three years into him, watching what he did against Philly, and the fact that he's accepted all of this crap with grace and just gone about getting better. He will probably never be a HOF QB, but how many of them are out there anyway?
This.
Nothing would be more frustrating for Packers fans then to watch Love get traded and he becomes a true franchise QB for another team for the next 8-10 years.
Meanwhile, Rodgers is kept, the Packers maybe make the playoffs only to exit yet again in an underwhelming performance. Then he retires.
The ceiling is obviously much higher with a 24 year old QB than a 40 year old one.
@Fandame posted:At this point, I do not see any way they trade Love. They have put this much time into him, ticked off Rodgers, and based on what everyone has said about Love's development it looks like he's ready to go. They will trade Rodgers for whatever they can get, or maybe even cut him and take the cap hit, before trading Love. It would be silly for the FO to get rid of Love now after drafting him in R1, putting three years into him, watching what he did against Philly, and the fact that he's accepted all of this crap with grace and just gone about getting better. He will probably never be a HOF QB, but how many of them are out there anyway?
He threw 9 total passes against Philly, completing 6 of them for 113 yards… one of which went for 63 yards.
A good performance indeed. Is that enough to move on from the 4-time NFL MVP? We will soon find out.
Ya gotta find out sooner or later. Just like in the McGinn article about moving on from Favre, they had to find out what they knew about Rodgers even though it wasn't always promising at the start.
Seems like there are more TEs that can run this year than the past coupe of drafts. Kincaid looks to be very good as a receiver but has some work to do as a blocker. Musgrave looks physically to be the best, great combo of size/ speed/willing blocker, but he only played in two games last season. Some guys (Whyle, Kuntz, and Strange) will also be available in later rounds.
Let's draft Kuntz so we fans can dust off the ole Kuhn chant with a twist. Can we get him in the 3rd round in case he doesn't work out?
TE is also hard to figure out. They priotitize WRs who block well, they took Deguara to be a mobile blocking H-Back type, signed Lewis who is all about the blocking, but spent their one "traditional" TE pick on the blocking lightweight Sternberger.
Although a productive receiver in college, Sternberger still only ran a 4.75 forty at the combine. They seemed to give up on him quickly though which probably indicated some problem other than just football talent ... work habits / attitude ?
Speed wasn't what got 'Berger run out of the league...it was the fact he was in love with the idea of being a football player rather than actually being one.
He's in the USFL now...good place for him. He has a kid to provide for, so maybe he will put down the video games and get to work.
@packerboi posted:The ceiling is obviously much higher with a 24 year old QB than a 40 year old one.
This.
@Chongo posted:Speed wasn't what got 'Berger run out of the league...it was the fact he was in love with the idea of being a football player rather than actually being one.
He's in the USFL now...good place for him. He has a kid to provide for, so maybe he will put down the video games and get to work.
Jace Sternberger = Kyler Murray?
I’m curious to see what weight Tui Tuipolotu from USC shows up at the combine carrying. He’s only 20 years old and may project anywhere from Undertackle to 3-4 OLB and seems to fit the Packers’ profile.
Per my USC friends...Tui is either going to be a boom or bust. "When he wants to, he's as good as we've had. But the question is...when is he going to turn it on?"
Probably the reason he will fall...but if you can get him in R3-R5 probably worth it.
If I recall, wasn't that the knock on Gary as well? He didn't want to work hard all the time? It took a little bit, but that worked out well. (As long as he recovers, but I think that won't be a problem.)
There's knocks on every guy, every year. Sometimes they are right, sometimes they are rong.
Davantae was too slow, and his "basketball moves worked at Fresno but won't in the NFL."
@Fandame posted:If I recall, wasn't that the knock on Gary as well? He didn't want to work hard all the time? It took a little bit, but that worked out well. (As long as he recovers, but I think that won't be a problem.)
Knock on Gary was that his college production didn't match his athleticism. He has obviously learned quite a bit from his position coach.
That's what I recall too. I also remember reading that the work ethic concern was BS.
@Fedya posted:That's a bold prediction, cotton.
Making a case for Darnell Washington...
Dang it, the link for candid shots of Lily from AT&T didn't work.
@Packmeister posted:Making a case for Darnell Washington...
Interested to see what he runs at the combine. If he is sub 4.7 I am all in. If not, he is a young Mercedes Lewis (who ran a 4.85 and in his best season had 52 catches). By using so many TEs there is a place for him, but we still need a TE that can threaten the seam.
Yeah, better blocking DikPlod is still a DikPlod.
@Packmeister posted:Making a case for Darnell Washington...
Washington, in many mock drafts, was there for the Pack, with their 2nd round pick. He was off the board by their 3rd round pick, in those mock drafts. I doubt Gute tries for Michael Mayer, TE Notre Dame, in the 1st round, but he may think Washington is a good value, at a needed position, with the 2nd round pick. I'd also try to pick up a 2nd TE, later in the draft. We do not know what the future holds for Big Dog and Tonyan, staying with the Packers. We can never can have too many good blocking TEs, on this squad.
Kraft, Musgrave and Kincaid are all interesting options at TE as well
TE appears to be strong this year overall, maybe the strongest position in the draft.
Of course that means the Packers will take the last decent guy in Round 5 instead of one of the prospects with a higher ceiling. Say hello to Luke Shoonmaker. ;-)
Or totally ignore the position completely
How dare you! There will be plenty of UDFA's to pick from.
Assuming a 7th-round pick from Las Vegas for Rodgers, I came up with this mock:
A couple things: I couldn't trade out of 45, as I didn't really want to add any extra picks, so I took the best safety remaining on the board. Washington was sitting right there at #78, a no-brainer pick, IMO. I moved up in the 5th to dump some extra picks and grab another weapon for the offense in Mingo. I reached for Hall, as he was the last good QB left on the board, and didn't think he'd be there in the 7th. Honestly, he's probably a good value there in the 5th round, anyway. He may be older, but he's athletic, has a great arm, and he's not being drafted to start, at least not right away.
Chess-piece D-Lineman? Check
Starting-quality RT? Check
Ball-hawking Safety? Check
3-Down TE? Check
More Receivers for the Offense? Check
Pass Rush Specialist with potential? Check
Plus-grade backup QB? Check
FB for special teams and short yardage offense? Check
Mason's replacement? Maybe...hopefully Check
Developmental LB for special teams and depth? Check
Daniel Jeremiah has the Packers taking Dalton Kincade at 15. I like Kincade a lot more than Mayer.
Interesting how as things shake out guys projected as day 2 or 3 picks end up rising into the 1st.
Also, Van Ness going #8 overall...knew he was going to be a fast riser.
I'm not sold on Van Ness going that high...maybe he blows up the combine and/or his pro day, and if he does, good for him. I'm just not sure he's going that high in the draft...
Just to clarify, I'm not in any way against Lukas. There is the question of why he wasn't the starter. You can clearly see from his video that he has a motor and strength. However, a top 10/15 DE needs to have an array of pass rush moves, and not just the bull rush. That Is what I've been seeing He may be elite in that regard. Is that worth a top 15 pick? I don't know.
Pack won't take a WR or TE in the first round.
Might take a kicker
Re: Gary - in the same draft analysis it would be something like "Positives - motor that never stops, gives high effort on every play, gym rat. Negatives - doesn't give full effort, takes plays off, not a gym rat." Draft analysts are idiots.
Not in Gary's case ....all the negatives were of a technical nature
One of about 1`000 evaluations. The morons are all over the place on every draft prospect.
I really like the NFL.com site. They grade and rank players along with their evaluations. I've found that they typically get around 25 of their top 32 graded guys picked in the First Round. No idea how that stacks up vs. some of the others.