The So Early It's Both Awesome & Stupid Thread- Pick the 53

[Zool]

If Linsley is as good as advertised at LS, Goode is probably "good" as gone. That opens up another spot somewhere.

[vince]

Pretty good cut.

I think Janis goes to PS and the WRs that make it are Myles White and Kevin Dorsey. If people think Nate Palmer (a R6 pick) is good as gone, there shouldn't be any problem with GB cutting Janis and signing him to the PS. Also, I like Harper but it sounds like he's inconsistent and a PS possibility. Dorsey is on top ST units and according to camp reports White is turning heads playing out of the slot.

I'm not sure they will keep 5 S, even if Hyde can play either S or CB. I wonder if they'll carry another OL instead.

Not a lot to go on with Janis but his size, speed combo and early flashes in OTA's and camp already lead me to believe it'd be risky to try to get him on the practice squad.

Dorsey is getting special teams opportunities but I'm discounting that due to McCarthy's philosophy that everyone gets their opportunities, especially 2nd year guys from whom they're looking to see that jump.... It's early in camp and a ton more guys will be rotating through and getting looks on special teams before any spots are earned or decisions made...

I don't like White mainly because he's practically worthless on special teams and unless Cobb is down he's useless. The only outside hope for him would be as a punt returner and he's been dropping them with regularity when he's had the opportunities.

I think Harper will end up showing the most complete game to play all receiver positions if injuries dictate as well as contribute on special teams to help him make the team but admittedly the reports of one or two drops don't help.

One of them will probably separate between now and cut-down time. It's a toss-up but I'm picking Harper still.

In the offseason it seemed like it'd be hard to get to 53 but with Worthy seemingly headed for PUP or IR, Barclay going down for the year, and a couple other contenders going down it seems like it's kind of working itself out. Other than at the linebacker positions (Mulumba / Palmer / Hubbard/ a couple other potential gems TT has unearthed), WR (which is a bit less crowded for the 2 spots without Abby), and maybe running back (if a guy like Neal flashes in preseason and they decide he's too good to risk getting to the PS), unless someone comes out of nowhere, I'm not seeing a ton of tough decisions.

[Brandon494]

Not a lot to go on with Janis but his size, speed combo and early flashes in OTA's and camp already lead me to believe it'd be risky to try to get him on the practice squad.

Dorsey is getting special teams opportunities but I'm discounting that due to McCarthy's philosophy that everyone gets their opportunities, especially 2nd year guys from whom they're looking to see that jump.... It's early in camp and a ton more guys will be rotating through and getting looks on special teams before any spots are earned or decisions made...

I don't like White mainly because he's practically worthless on special teams and unless Cobb is down he's useless. The only outside hope for him would be as a punt returner and he's been dropping them with regularity when he's had the opportunities.

I think Harper will end up showing the most complete game to play all receiver positions if injuries dictate as well as contribute on special teams to help him make the team but admittedly the reports of one or two drops don't help.

One of them will probably separate between now and cut-down time. It's a toss-up but I'm picking Harper still.

In the offseason it seemed like it'd be hard to get to 53 but with Worthy seemingly headed for PUP or IR, Barclay going down for the year, and a couple other contenders going down it seems like it's kind of working itself out. Other than at the linebacker positions (Mulumba / Palmer / Hubbard/ a couple other potential gems TT has unearthed), WR (which is a bit less crowded for the 2 spots without Abby), and maybe running back (if a guy like Neal flashes in preseason and they decide he's too good to risk getting to the PS), unless someone comes out of nowhere, I'm not seeing a ton of tough decisions.

Nice read and I almost agree 100% but I'm picking Janis because TT knows he won't last on the practice squad and I think hes better then Harper to be honest. Harper looks like a beast but hes not that good of a football player. I also think Janis could add to the return game similar to Nelson early in his career, I heard he looked good catching punts during OTAs.

[Joemailman]

If Janis can return punts, that would certainly improve his chances. Looks like Myles White is failing there.

[wist43]

Don't think Janis would survive waivers to make it to the PS.

I would definitely like to see Worthy stick with the team, b/c I want a guy like him to play DE in the base. Since he seems to have no potential beyond eating up snaps, stick him in the base, and keep guys like Daniels fresh for subpackage duty.

Don't want to see Daniels, D. Jones, or Perry playing in base at all.

[vince]

Nice read and I almost agree 100% but I'm picking Janis because TT knows he won't last on the practice squad and I think hes better then Harper to be honest. Harper looks like a beast but hes not that good of a football player. I also think Janis could add to the return game similar to Nelson early in his career, I heard he looked good catching punts during OTAs.

I got Janis and Harper making it. Janis would be a great kickoff guy - even thought those seem to be kind of obsolete with the new kickoff rules. Maybe strategies will change toward higher kickoffs to pin teams back but the safe thing is obviously to boot it through the endzone. I'd love to see a punt returner with more quicks than long speed though the ability to reliably field the punt obviously comes first. Other than Cobb I'm not sure we have that ideal guy for punt returns. Haven't heard anything of Harris fielding punts but he'd potentially be a beast for gunners to corral on punts.

[Patler]

I had hopes for Harper, and he seemed to do well in the minicamps. But since the start of TC, he seems to hit the "Thumbs Down" lists every couple days. With the competition at WR, that won't make it. He needs to turn it around quickly.

[HarveyWallbangers]

QB (3) - Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien
RB (4) - Eddie Lacy, James Starks, DuJuan Harris, John Kuhn
WR (6) - Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Jarrett Boykin, Davante Adams, Myles White, Jeff Janis
TE (4) - Brandon Bostick, Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless, Ryan Taylor
OL (8) - David Bakhtiari, Josh Sitton, J.C. Tretter, T.J. Lang, Bryan Bulaga, Derek Sherrod, Corey Linsley, Lane Taylor
DL (6) - Mike Daniels, B.J. Raji, Datone Jones, Josh Boyd, Khyri Thornton, Mike Pennel
OLB (6) - Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers, Nick Perry, Mike Neal, Carl Bradford, Nate Palmer
ILB (4) - A.J. Hawk, Brad Jones, Jamari Lattimore, Sam Barrington
CB (5) - Sam Shields, Tramon Williams, Casey Hayward, Davon House, Jarrett Bush
S (4) - Morgan Burnett, Mycah Hyde, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Sean Richardson
ST (3) - Mason Crosby, Tim Masthay, Brett Goode

Keep 3 QB, 4 RB, 6 WR, 4 TE, 6 DL, 7 OLB, 6 CB, or 5 S? The Packers can keep any extra guy at 4 of those positions, and it's hard to see how it will shake out. There are some guys I like (Rajion Neal at RB, Jayrone Elliott at OLB, Jumal Rolle at CB, Chris Banjo at S) that they may keep, depending on what positions they decide to stock.

[Joemailman]

QB (3) - Aaron Rodgers, Matt Flynn, Scott Tolzien
RB (4) - Eddie Lacy, James Starks, DuJuan Harris, John Kuhn
WR (6) - Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Jarrett Boykin, Davante Adams, Myles White, Jeff Janis
TE (4) - Brandon Bostick, Richard Rodgers, Andrew Quarless, Ryan Taylor
OL (8) - David Bakhtiari, Josh Sitton, J.C. Tretter, T.J. Lang, Bryan Bulaga, Derek Sherrod, Corey Linsley, Lane Taylor
DL (6) - Mike Daniels, B.J. Raji, Datone Jones, Josh Boyd, Khyri Thornton, Mike Pennel
OLB (6) - Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers, Nick Perry, Mike Neal, Carl Bradford, Nate Palmer
ILB (4) - A.J. Hawk, Brad Jones, Jamari Lattimore, Sam Barrington
CB (5) - Sam Shields, Tramon Williams, Casey Hayward, Davon House, Jarrett Bush
S (4) - Morgan Burnett, Mycah Hyde, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Sean Richardson
ST (3) - Mason Crosby, Tim Masthay, Brett Goode

Keep 3 QB, 4 RB, 6 WR, 4 TE, 6 DL, 7 OLB, 6 CB, or 5 S? The Packers can keep any extra guy at 4 of those positions, and it's hard to see how it will shake out. There are some guys I like (Rajion Neal at RB, Jayrone Elliott at OLB, Jumal Rolle at CB, Chris Banjo at S) that they may keep, depending on what positions they decide to stock.

I think Pennel is PS. They can get by with 5 DL until Worthy and Guion are ready. That spot goes to either Rajion Neal, Rolle or Banjo. Mulumba vs. Palmer is also to be decided.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I think Pennel is PS. They can get by with 5 DL until Worthy and Guion are ready. That spot goes to either Rajion Neal, Rolle or Banjo. Mulumba vs. Palmer is also to be decided.

I agree that Guion could come back and win the spot. I think they need to keep one or the other though. They need somebody with size to backup up Raji.

I think Palmer has a good margin on Mulumba... mostly because he's better on special teams.

Recent camp reports had Jayrone Elliott playing well lately, and I was more impressed with him vs. Tennessee than Mulumba. I think Mulumba is this year's Dezman Moses.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I think Mulumba is this year's Clinton-Dix in that they both have lean builds and big shoulders, they look tough, like they're gonna take somebody's head off or at least steal their lunch money.




I think the packers can use a couple bad asses on defense. Mulumba is a project, I expect he gets another year.

[HarveyWallbangers]

With Peppers, Matthews, Neal, Perry, and Palmer (plays on a lot of #1 special teams), there isn't room for more than one project at that position. I suspect Bradford will be the project at that spot. I'd rather they keep a project like Rolle at CB.

[HarveyWallbangers]

McGinn has an updated roster projection. I think he's pretty spot on here:

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/packers-roster-looks-deep-mostly-settled-b99330488z1-271343571.html

I can't really quibble with anything--other than having "Ray Barrington" instead of "Sam Barrington".

I agree with his assessment at WR (although you'd think Boykin would be a lock), TE (he has Bostick and Rodgers as 1a and 1b), OL, QB, RB, DL, and DB. He has Barrington moving ahead of Lattimore. I did think Barrington had a better game against Tennessee. He seems a bit higher on Hubbard than me (on the fence vs. longshot). He thinks both Palmer and Mulumba struggled against Tennessee. I've kept Palmer on the roster because he's on a lot of special teams units. He calls the OLB group remarkable. With so much depth and some talent that might get cut, I wonder if we'll see a trade at the position.

[Bretsky]

Interesting Note on one of the perceived reaches in round 3

Overview: It's possible the Packers did as well 30 minutes after the draft as they did in the third round. Pennel, Robinson and Gray all have performed at or above the level of Thornton, the third-round pick.

Thornton had a rough debut against the Titans in terms of aggressiveness, awareness and point-of-attack strength. His $563,252 signing bonus guarantees a roster berth, but after three weeks there's little indication he can contribute much as a rookie.

[bobblehead]

Interesting Note on one of the perceived reaches in round 3

Overview: It's possible the Packers did as well 30 minutes after the draft as they did in the third round. Pennel, Robinson and Gray all have performed at or above the level of Thornton, the third-round pick.

Thornton had a rough debut against the Titans in terms of aggressiveness, awareness and point-of-attack strength. His $563,252 signing bonus guarantees a roster berth, but after three weeks there's little indication he can contribute much as a rookie.

McGinn is pissed because Thornton wasn't in his top 100 and it cost him the contest that he won 3 years in a row.