Absolutely right; but most likely another exampled of Gutebag drafting a player based on his almighty RAS
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EDGE class in next year's draft doesn't sound great, the OT class this year was not great. Has LVN stayed in school as they expected he might have ended up a Top 10 pick. Gute is known for drafting when/where there is good depth.
Broderick Jones was ranked about where he was taken, but everyone thought he was a good run blocker and poor pass blocker. Probably not a fit for GB, as they prioritize pass pro over run blocking. I wouldn't have been mad if they took him, I thought he'd be a project who would be starting in 2024 after they cut/traded Bakhtiari but PIT's OL has issues at OT and they just put him in. I wouldn't say one pick is a slamdunk over the other; too soon for that.
Next year's draft has more OT's who are worthy of a R1 pick - Fashanu, Alt, possibly Mims and Lathan and someone else I'm forgetting. GB will get chances to upgrade their OL with all the top 80 picks they have. Given they didn't draft any OL this past draft, and the likely departures of Runyan, Njiman and Bakhtiari I think they will draft heavily at OL.
I do think they have a habit of drafting players who are great athletes and meh football players. I wonder if those types ofplayers have a higher bust rate than a meh athlete who is a great football player. I suppose it's all about taking swings and going for upside a la Rashan Gary.
Now that the Packers have signed Gary to an extension we all don't seem to like him as much as we did when he wasn't locked up . . . human nature, I suppose.
I'd agree with run here - Guter was looking at depth at certain positions, and even at the time - last year - it was known this coming year was going to be good for offensive linemen and safeties, and not so much for edge rushers. So Guter picked a coltish edge rusher with upside and now will probably draft two or three offensive linemen and a couple of safeties and running backs. Plus probably another corner, and a late-round ILB.
human nature in here, maybe. Most of the world has better sense than to be continually negative and panicky like so many in here.
As for the draft, Fritz, you mostly nailed it about needs. It's a question of order or priority among them.
Right up until this post, I've been in favor of keeping Aaron Jones. Now, sadly, I don't expect them to pay big for him, although maybe he comes back cheap as damaged goods (has anybody heard for sure that the injury is long term?). There should be a lot of good speed backs coming out of college, and thus no need to draft one too early. I actually like our young DBs. Obviously we take a couple, but probably not too early there either. I don't like drafting O Linemen in the first round, but very likely that's what it will be pretty much by default.
Gary signed a pretty good deal for both sides. Not market setting, but still plenty to reward his production/potential. Won't kill the cap either.
Jones is a fan favorite and a good player, but there are whispers that he hasn't been healthy OR productive this year (outside of Game 1), and a lot of it is age.
RBs age overnight and even though they've never driven Jones into the ground with carries you have to wonder what he has in the tank. At a minimum he wasn't his old self in the PIT game - Elandon Roberts ran him down. If they can redo his contract somehow I'd bring him back. Dillon is a great guy but he can test the market.
Deguara too.
There will be an overhaul at a few positions - Runyan, Njiman, and probably Bakhtiari are gone. Meyers is on double secret probation. OL, RB, and S will get looked at in the draft for sure. CB is a sneaky one - Jaire/Stokes are beat up and Nixon is a FA, and Nixon is a better returner than slot corner.
I could see them taking an ILB. Devondre Campbell probably has one year left at most in GB.
The roster will continue to get younger as they unspool from their cap spending.
nm
Packers currently with the 9th pick at 4-6. But things could change dramatically. There are 6 teams at 4-6 and 8 teams between 4-7 and 5-6. 13 teams between 3-7 and 5-5.
There are a lot of bad teams and bad QBs out there. I've heard some of the 'experts' say it's because of the offseason and practice schedules negotiated by the CBA doesn't really help young players develop as much, which really hurts young QBs. Some coaches have said they don't even have time to work on fundamentals in season, you do that on your own in offseason. Probably explains why there is so much bad tackling as well. Coaches don't want to risk injuries in practice and players probably don't practice it much on their own. Too busy learning MMA with their fitness coaches.
I think GB picks no higher than 7th, somewhere in the 9-11 range sounds about right. They'll still have 5 in the top 80 or so, should be an opportunity to continue accumulating young cheap talent. Now if they can develop/coach it up...
I like Gary just fine. He is a stud. But so is Montez Sweat (and has been for longer than Gary) who went like pick 20. Sweat is an elite athlete who played in the SEC and was more refined than Gary. Having Sweat instead of Gary those first 2 years could have been the difference between contender and Owl. Now both are getting paid at the same time.
Packers as of now with the 13th pick. Bye bye Tank. Hello playoff race.
Blake Corum would look good in the Packers backfield.
I'd rather have Treveyon Henderson or any of several other speed backs than Corum.
Bakhtiari was a 4th round pick. He wasn’t great for his first two years and fans were insistent he would be replaced by Spriggs or a draft pick. But Bakh was decent his first two years and became great.
Rasheed Walker is a sleeper still as an above average LT. I’m not convinced he needs to be replaced.
Bit of an apples to oranges comparison. Walker is physically what you want for a T, he's that talented. Bakhtiari was an undersized guy with crazy determination and flawless technique. Bakh in his rookie year was better than Walker has been as a first year starter. Walker gets a little lazy with his technique and for a guy with his talents should be a better run blocker. He might improve (I have concerns about the OL coaching) and if he does they have a very cheap contract for a starting NFL LT. I would not be shocked if they draft a OT early, mostly because I think they want more competition and they aren't likely to have Njiman and Bakhtiari on the roster, which impacts their depth and quality.
Runyan has almost guaranteed himself a ticket out of town with how he's played the last two seasons, which is unfortunate. He started out really good (Newman wasn't bad as a rookie; this regression being the reason I worry about the OL coaching) and has regressed. Maybe he has an injury or RG is the wrong position for him, but there are times he looks fine and others where he looks like he doesn't know how to play football at all. Myers too, but I think they let that contract ride out another year and expire.
The tl;dr is do not be shocked if invest heavily in OL via draft/FA. They have talent on the roster but it could be a LOT better.
Consider this: why were they able to run the ball last year but not this year. (Before you say it's Aaron Jones injuries, recall that Aaron Jones is having a very down year statistically.) They can still pass block ok but this OL has gone from very good to very mediocre, primarily in run game.
Agree. I like Corum but I wonder how tall he really is, and the wear-and-tear question is reasonable...although I thought he was still splitting carries with Donovan Edwards.
Either way, GB needs to get younger/faster/better at RB. I like Jones and Dillon, but Jones is old, and Dillon has subpar vision. Both will be expensive for their production. I think we'll see rookie contracts next year.
Emanuel Wilson is a nice guy to compete for RB3, but until he can prove he's trustworthy at pass pro (and he's healthy) I don't know how much you can play him.
With Love and plenty of excellent young receivers already on the team, the Packers need to be Pass-First, same as in the Rodgers years. Dillon is good as RB1 in a Pass-First situation. If his price is not too extreme, they should keep him. If not, he's not irreplaceable. Aaron Jones is damn near a Packer icon, but yeah, he's getting old. I wouldn't be surprised if the demand for him isn't what many think, and maybe the Packers can keep him for fairly cheap. It's almost sacrilegious to lowball him, but business is business. It's just not that hard to find decent young speed backs these days. That applies to the Packers and everybody else too.
Jones is under contract for 24. A contract, kicked down the road to run it back for ARod, which now makes him playing for the Packers unlikely.
I know you are high on the guy, and his pass pro is pretty good. He had a 3 week slump with the rest of the offense in there, but he has come around. Now he needs to show some better effort on run plays. You can't have any OL in this offense that aren't interested in run blocking. He takes that step and he could be the answer. I posted somewhere its time to stop the bullshit and start both Walker and Nijman, and move Tom to Center. It won't happen now, and Nijman likely isn't back next year, but I think it would be the best 5. Maybe Rhyan at RG, but he hasn't been that good either.
So the most likely thing is to cut him because of the big back loaded contract. But it's entirely possible for him to not get any good offers in free agency, and after cutting him, the Packers re-sign him fairly cheap.
Aaron Jones I mean.