SI NFL DRAFT BIG BOARD...DRAFT IS COMING...YO RATS.....WHO DO YOU LIKE

[pbmax]

This draft is going to be very hard to predict for the Packers. It's not that they have immediate holes they need to fill, but they have openings for a first round talent at almost very position. The have a hole at; rb, ol, wr, te, dl, lb, and s. fans can bitch but it is hard to argue if they take a player at either one of these positions, especially if they are the best player available.

Call me crazy, but that sounds like trade down time. Any number of needs and no high picks. Rounds 2-4 here we come!

[rbaloha1]

ESPN's Kiper and McShay differ about Packers' 26th overall pick in NFL draft
By Bob Wolfley of the Journal Sentinel Feb. 8, 2013

EMAIL PRINT |(59) COMMENTS
NFL draft analysts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay issued dual, dueling first-round mock drafts and differ about who the Packers’ will take at 26th overall.

Kiper picked Alabama running back Eddie Lacy, while McShay chose Georgia defensive tackle Johnathan Jenkins.

“I'll go a little bit out on a limb here, but I think by the time the NFL combine is over Lacy may be at the top of a number of draft boards at running back,” Kiper said. “And for a franchise that has lacked dynamic play at the position for way too long, Lacy could fill a need, allowing them to do more than simply "show" the run, but to gain some legitimate value out of it. Lacy has really good vision, balance and more shiftiness than many saw because the Bama O-line was so good at clearing a clean path. He has power to push the pile in short-yardage situations, and people will find he's an underrated catcher of the football. He's no lock here, but I like the fit at this early stage.”

McShay said: “The Packers would like to find a left tackle in the first round, but there are none available worth the pick in this scenario. They can also address their need at running back in the second or third round. Nose tackle is not a pressing need, but it's tough to find massive pluggers with some mobility like Jenkins. He and B.J. Raji would give Green Bay versatility along its defensive front, and Jenkins could bolster a run defense that ranked in the bottom third of the NFL in yards per carry allowed at 4.5.”

McShay said he had Lacy, Le’Veon Bell of Michigan State and Montee Ball of Wisconsin among those running backs graded out as second-round choices.

[smuggler]

This guy might be a bit too much like Brandon Jackson for some of the other posters' liking, but he's not bad. If he's available in the mid-rounds, I'd be happy if we scooped him up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8jwc3NNSZ8

I'd rather have this guy, though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...I7gwHQ07g&NR=1

[smuggler]

For a late-round flyer, I'd like us to consider this guy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cReVg_PmrU

Shamarko Thomas. He's got great pursuit to the ball.

[swede]

Call me crazy, but that sounds like trade down time. Any number of needs and no high picks. Rounds 2-4 here we come!

I think you are on to something. After the fact in post draft analysis you will hear comments in the line of "The Packers had a first round grade on that guy so they traded up to get him in the second."

If this sort of thing is true, the year we got Jordy the Packers' first round guys were gone before the first round was over, obliviously, so it was time to get a couple of guys off of the round 2 and 3 lists. I know I haven't seen any reason to believe that a true first rounder will be falling to us at our pick this year.

It would be funny if "trade down" wins the Packerrats' Mock Draft this year.

[Pugger]

This guy might be a bit too much like Brandon Jackson for some of the other posters' liking, but he's not bad. If he's available in the mid-rounds, I'd be happy if we scooped him up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8jwc3NNSZ8

I'd rather have this guy, though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...I7gwHQ07g&NR=1

I like they way Taylor blocks as well as the way he runs.

Barner is quick!

[KYPack]

Damn Nutz, that is one King hell post you generated there.

I think TT goes BPA in some slotted areas.

S, LB, WR, RB have to looked at firstly.

That all means that TT will pick a QB, eh?

It amazes me that interior DLineman seem to have such a long hatching time.

Two of the major mocks do have us snaring Lacy.

One way or the other, I'd think an RB goes in one of our first 3 picks.

[Deputy Nutz]

I think that Thompson likes two of the running backs on the roster, but wants a Another back to compete. Green showed a lot coming back from a torn acl, and there is a lot of promise with him. I can't see the Packers going first round for running back. Round two maybe, I think improving the offensive line will improve the running game more than drafting a running back.

[Deputy Nutz]

It will be interesting to see what Thompson is going to do with Rodgers. Rodgers is going to command a 120 million dollars and that is going to hold the Packers to a very tight budget even to sign their own players. Thompson better draft his ass off the next couple of years otherwise the Packers will quickly fall back to the rest so the pack.

[smuggler]

I'm not super high on Green, but I think that DuJuan Harris looks great and should be a decent player for us. I'd expect us to take a RB somewhere in the draft, but probably in rounds 4-6. It wouldn't hurt to get a power back who could compliment Harris. Maybe a RB/FB hybrid who can challenge Kuhn (and his contract number).

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that our #1 need is at nose tackle. If there's a viable 1st-round NT at 26, I think we'll take him. Our next picks, ideally, would be WR and C (though not necessarily in that order). Of course, on draft day anything is possible, so we might have a stud at some random position fall into our laps and be forced to take him.

Alternatively, here's a guy we might target in the third round at nose tackle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEJeUILylZQ

Guy makes a good play against Oday Aboushi (2nd-3rd round OL prospect) at around 7:50 in the video. He gets some penetration and isn't too slow considering his 340lb body.

[The Shadow]

Watched some tape on Margus Hunt, the DE from SMU.
I liked what I saw. I know he is raw, but this kid looks like he could develop into something special.

[smuggler]

I saw him lose contain a few times playing in a 4-3 during the senior bowl. I know, all-star game and all that, but still. He looks like he could put on about 20 more lbs easily with that frame.

[packrulz]

At DE, the Packers have Worthy, Neal, Daniels, and C.J. Wilson, and Wilson probably had the best year out of all of them. Wilson is a good run stuffer, but I'd like to see more pass rush at DE, I like Sharrif Floyd, http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1737102 , but he might be gone by the time TT picks. I think our RB's are promising, and much of the difficulty running the ball stems from a lack of push from the center, Barrett Jones can play all positions on the line, http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1632207 , he had torn ligaments in his left foot but he had surgery and will be there when TT picks. I think Hawk is decent at ILB, but if Manti Te'o slips to the Pack I'd want TT to take him. I like the CB's in this draft, tall, fast, you like to draft those early, Johnthan Banks would be a nice pick. It depends on how the Pack feels about Finley, but they could save money by cutting him and drafting TE Zach Ertz, who can do it all. Picking at 26th I don't like the idea of trading down, lot's of juniors coming out early this year, I like this draft crop! I think some really good players will still be there when it's TT's turn, good RB's and LB's will still be there in the 2nd round, but the best DL, OL, & DB's will go in the 1st round. Looks like some QB's will go early too, causing other players to slip.

[rbaloha1]

I saw him lose contain a few times playing in a 4-3 during the senior bowl. I know, all-star game and all that, but still. He looks like he could put on about 20 more lbs easily with that frame.

Easily could get to 300+. Its nice MH was coached by NFL coaches.

This is the type of prospect that starts moving up quickly in the first round. Hopefully more Watt like than Mamula like.

[rbaloha1]

Combine Countdown: SMU's Hunt a different breed at DE
By Tyler Dunne of the Journal Sentinel Feb. 9, 2013

EMAIL PRINT |(35) COMMENTS
Green Bay — His very first day at this new sport, Margus Hunt was confused. Coaches at Southern Methodist had the 6-foot-8 Estonia native run a 40-yard dash and he wasn't sure how to line up.

Oh well. Hunt ran a 4.7 anyways and a football career began.

Possibly the most intriguing prospect at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis at the end of the month is this defensive end from SMU. Hunt originally landed in the states to hone his shot put and discus skills — he won gold medals in both events at the 2006 World Junior Championships. Hunt decided to play football while he was here and now he's a potential first-round pick.

“He came in and he didn’t know if a football was popped or stuffed,” said Bert Hill, SMU’s defensive line coach. “He started from square one.”

His impact on special teams was immediate. With the Mustangs, Hunt used his 82-inch wingspan to block 17 kicks. By his senior year, he was a force at defensive end. Last season, Hunt finished with 31 tackles (11.5 for loss), eight sacks and one interception. Because of his size and untapped potential, many 3-4 teams like the Packers will surely be tracking Hunt in Indy. He's this year's textbook boom-or-bust prospect.

Hill spent more than a decade with the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. There weren't any players built like this, he said.

“I was in the NFL for 13 years and I never saw a guy like him,” Hill said. “Not with his abilities that he has right now, no. I didn’t see a guy.”

Hunt paid his way to SMU to work out with the school’s track coach, Dave Wollman, who has a sterling reputation with throwers. As Hill explains, Hunt ran out of money and joined the football team to earn a scholarship and stay in the states. Hunt missed one full spring football season because he was competing in Europe and missed another spring to repair his shoulder.

Thus, Margus Hunt has played football for a grand total of four falls and two springs.

And that's part of the intrigue with the 6-foot-8, 275-pound end. Hill said Hunt’s explosion with a shot and a disc does, indeed, transfer to the football field.

“All he did was train for explosiveness, being a thrower,” Hill said. “That’s why he had so many blocked kicks. He can get his pads down low and really come off the football.”

Hunt’s progress was gradual for obvious reasons. Everything was new.

“His first year, he’d grab the blocker and then just look around the backfield, trying to find the runner,” Hill said. “He wasn’t really playing the man he was lined up on. I think that’s where he has really grown over the last few years. He can line up now on a guy and he knows by the angle the guy’s using to block him where the ball’s going to go. So he doesn’t need to see it. He can put his hands on a guy, get off of him and go make the tackle.”

For Hunt, it all culminated in a 43-10 bowl win over Fresno State. In the first half alone, he had two sacks, three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one safety.

Watch his complete performance here. Hunt took the game over.

Now it's on NFL teams to figure out if the Estonian can keep progressing in the pros.

“There are times when he’s unblockable,” Hill said. “Then there were times on film when it looked like he didn’t really know he was playing football. The lights came on for him about halfway through his senior year. The guy just started playing lights out. He kept his pads down. He kept his hands on people. He got off of them. And he made a lot of plays.”

Leading up to the Combine, we'll take a look at each position. Here are a few other defensive linemen worth monitoring:

DE Bjoern Werner (Florida State): The ACC Defensive Player of the Year finished with 13 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. German exchange student picked up the sport quickly and is now projected by many to be a top 5 pick.

DE Damontre Moore (Texas A&M): Showed a ton of burst in college with 12 1/2 sacks and 20 tackles for loss last season. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound pass rusher will probably put up good numbers at the Combine, too.

DE Ezekiel Ansah (BYU): Much like Margus Hunt, was a late bloomer. The Ghana native picked up football in 2010. Very green but impressed scouts at the Senior Bowl in Mobile. Had 62 tackles, 4 1/2 sacks last season.

DT Star Lotulelei (Utah): Athletic 6-3, 320-pounder is projected to go in the top 5. Faced multiple blockers all season, yet still finished with 11 tackles for loss and five sacks.

DT Sharrif Floyd (Florida): Started 11 games at DE with 46 tackles, 6.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks. Translates to tackle at 6-3, 303. Florida laid an egg in the Sugar Bowl against Louisville, but Floyd did sack Teddy Bridgewater twice.