Jordy Nelson observations

[MadScientist]

Re: Nelson

For the life of me, I'll never understand why scouts and GM's get so caught up in the 40 thing. It just boggles the mind...........

Your Williamson comment had me chuckling. Pefect example of "speed gone wrong"!

The combine numbers are an attempt to normalize the field. It takes the opponents and the teammates out of the equation and treats everyone the same. The 40 is used more than the 20 or 10 because it is long enough to start showing some difference, even if the 10 and 20 are more realistic for football distances. All other things being equal, the better combine numbers should indicate a potentially better problem. The problem is that all other things are never close to being equal.

[Patler]

Maybe I'm just a little bitter in that I expected a little more of him when we drafted him, but he was embarrassingly raw. His route running was abysmal and I was personally hoping for more. I guess I shouldn't expect anything from Thompson's late round WR pickups, but maybe Brett Swain will knock my socks off.

I never expect much from any 6th or 7th round pick (or even 5th, for that matter). I usually just hope they are good enough to stick around on the roster or the practice squad and contribute a year or two later. Driver took 3 or 4 years to get it going.

A guy like Tauscher is very rare in the 7th round. Wells was no where near as good as a rookie or even in his second season as Tauscher in his first two. Yet I look at Wells as a very good pick for the 7th round

[Bretsky]

Maybe I'm just a little bitter in that I expected a little more of him when we drafted him, but he was embarrassingly raw. His route running was abysmal and I was personally hoping for more. I guess I shouldn't expect anything from Thompson's late round WR pickups, but maybe Brett Swain will knock my socks off.

I never expect much from any 6th or 7th round pick (or even 5th, for that matter). I usually just hope they are good enough to stick around on the roster or the practice squad and contribute a year or two later. Driver took 3 or 4 years to get it going.

A guy like Tauscher is very rare in the 7th round. Wells was no where near as good as a rookie or even in his second season as Tauscher in his first two. Yet I look at Wells as a very good pick for the 7th round

Looking at our roster we have some awfully good late round picks that developed into Pro Bowl Players

Driver
Tauscher
Kampman
Grant (potentially if you count him as our 6th rounder)
KGB


Jolly is at least solid
Wells is decent

[KYPack]

The stories of Craig Bragg and David Clowney aren't much more encouraging than that of Corey Rodgers, but so far Thompson is batting pretty well on the first day WRs. I'd rather he hit on the higher picked WRs and miss on the lower picked ones than vice versa.

I wouldn't throw Clowney in there with Bragg and Rodgers just yet. He was on the Packers' practice squad, where they expected he would spend his first year even when they drafted him, and the Jets signed him. He's still with the Jets.

I saw him on the sidelines for a Jet's game last season. That kid needs to fill out. He honestly looks like a high school kid.

I know he can fly, but he's raw and tiny.

[Patler]

Looking at our roster we have some awfully good late round picks that developed into Pro Bowl Players

Driver
Tauscher
Kampman
Grant (potentially if you count him as our 6th rounder)
KGB

Jolly is at least solid
Wells is decent

The Packers apparently do a pretty thorough job in scouting, because for years they have come up with some decent second day picks. Driver and Tauscher stand out particularly, then Wells for as low as he was drafted. KGB and Kampman in the 5th came with a little more expectation, but Kampman has certainly exceeded by a long ways what could have reasonably been expected when he was drafted. KGB is sort of what you hope to find in the middle of the second day, a one-trick pony that adds a dimension to your team.

I wonder a little about Jolly. Seemed like there was something there last year, but I guess we will have to wait and see. I wonder how ready he will be for this season.

[Patler]

(Re: Clowney)
I know he can fly, but he's raw and tiny.

That's just it, he is smaller than a small receiver. "Tiny" is a good description. He showed some ability as a return man in preseason. Ultimately, that might be his best "career path".

[run pMc]

What I'm saying is the conference arguement has no weight when it comes to the WR position due to the myriad of factors in determining how good a WR really is.

Thanks for explaining. I agree there are many factors that play into a WR's success on the pro level. I also think the quality of the competition faced on the college level has a big impact on preparing that player for the pros. I'm sure Nelson saw his share of extra attention by opposing secondaries, and that should help him.
I guess we'll have to agree to a certain extent.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Nice catch by Jordy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXqfbAksg_k&feature=related

I missed this earlier. This is nice. I like the kid. Have the same feeling watching this as I did when I watched Jennings highlights. Nice. I didn't get the same feeling watching James Jones' highlights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIUu-nLx0lw&feature=related

[Partial]

The stories of Craig Bragg and David Clowney aren't much more encouraging than that of Corey Rodgers, but so far Thompson is batting pretty well on the first day WRs. I'd rather he hit on the higher picked WRs and miss on the lower picked ones than vice versa.

That makes very little sense. I'm happy if he hits on anyone. Period. But i'd rather it be a lower round player as they're cheaper.

[Lurker64]

That makes very little sense. I'm happy if he hits on anyone. Period. But i'd rather it be a lower round player as they're cheaper.

The higher round players usually have a higher ceiling and develop faster. If we hit on Cory Rogers he would have made the roster, played special teams, and could in a couple years from now be a decent starter in this league. Hitting on Greg Jennings, on the other hands means that he will likely be one of the most exciting young receivers in the game this year, and it would surprise nobody if he made the pro-bowl.

When a guy you draft in the 5th-7th round makes the pro-bowl in his third or fourth year, that's not just a hit that's a crushing blow and it's just not something that happens very often.

[Fritz]

The stories of Craig Bragg and David Clowney aren't much more encouraging than that of Corey Rodgers, but so far Thompson is batting pretty well on the first day WRs. I'd rather he hit on the higher picked WRs and miss on the lower picked ones than vice versa.

TT seems to do a little better than Matt Millen.

[Partial]

That makes very little sense. I'm happy if he hits on anyone. Period. But i'd rather it be a lower round player as they're cheaper.

The higher round players usually have a higher ceiling and develop faster. If we hit on Cory Rogers he would have made the roster, played special teams, and could in a couple years from now be a decent starter in this league. Hitting on Greg Jennings, on the other hands means that he will likely be one of the most exciting young receivers in the game this year, and it would surprise nobody if he made the pro-bowl.

When a guy you draft in the 5th-7th round makes the pro-bowl in his third or fourth year, that's not just a hit that's a crushing blow and it's just not something that happens very often.

That still makes very little sense. What difference does what round a player is drafted make? None.

[The Leaper]

I missed this earlier. This is nice. I like the kid. Have the same feeling watching this as I did when I watched Jennings highlights. Nice. I didn't get the same feeling watching James Jones' highlights.

I completely agree. Last year, I was very hard on Jones. I didn't think he was a good choice. He turned out to have an OK season last year, but had some inconsistency and hit the wall after 2 months. Jones just isn't an explosive player and doesn't create a lot of separation. He's a reliable route runner with very good hands. With Favre, that might be enough to be a capable starter down the road...but with lesser talented QBs, I'm not sure Jones is starting caliber.

[The Leaper]

TT seems to do a little better than Matt Millen.

Someone in a coma does better than Millen.

[Scott Campbell]

I missed this earlier. This is nice. I like the kid. Have the same feeling watching this as I did when I watched Jennings highlights. Nice. I didn't get the same feeling watching James Jones' highlights.

I completely agree. Last year, I was very hard on Jones. I didn't think he was a good choice. He turned out to have an OK season last year, but had some inconsistency and hit the wall after 2 months. Jones just isn't an explosive player and doesn't create a lot of separation. He's a reliable route runner with very good hands. With Favre, that might be enough to be a capable starter down the road...but with lesser talented QBs, I'm not sure Jones is starting caliber.

We all had questions about Jennings heading into his second season too. Jones had a good first year, and you can ask Champ Baily about his ability to create separation. He just needs to take that big second year step like most guys need to.