Official 2016 NFL draft thread

[smuggler]

Both the Seahawks and Steelers play tomorrow. If they both lose (likely), they will both pick before us in the first round of the 2016 draft, because all three are 10-6 and we had the strongest strength-of-schedule in the league (tied with the Bears).

In this scenario, our picks will be:

First round: 27th
Second round: 26th
Third round: 25th
Fourth round: 27th
Fifth round: 26th
Sixth round: 25th
Seventh round: 27th

Had we lost last week, we'd be picking 22nd in each round.

[pbmax]

Bingo. Luckily, this year there seems to be a bunch of good looking Dlinemen in 1st round and beyond. Depending how things fall, I might choose two of them.

I doubt both go, but then I said that last year about House and Tramontana.

[red]

i think TT has been looking for raji to give him any little reason to sign him over the last couple of years

so i think he'll be brought back after the solid year he had, even if he was a fucking idiot last night

[texaspackerbacker]

Let God damned Raji GO!

As for the draft, at this early stage, it's more important to think about what positions to prioritize. I doubt we take a ILB very early. Capers' schemes don't require a superstar there, just a rotation of moderate quality. The same is true for the D Line. Corner and OLB are the key positions with him as D Coordinator. The drop off when Shields went out was pretty bad. Randall does all right as a #2 Corner but he got beat badly as the top dog. Even with expected improvement in him and Rollins, I hope we can draft another excellent Corner in the first round. The possible departure of Hayward also makes that likely. OLB is less of an immediate need, especially with Neal and Perry upgrading their game playing for a contract, but either of them could leave and Peppers isn't gonna stay great forever. I like Elliot, but similar to the Janis situation, they just don't seem to make good use of him.

So Corner, OLB, O Line about 3rd or 4th round, TE mid to late, and maybe about the 6th or 7th round we find a strong punter who can hold for Crosby. It's kinda pathetic to keep a sub-standard punter just because he is a good holder.

[pbmax]

You need ILBs who can shed a block and tackle to make Caper's defense go. It might not be the most glamorous assignment, but the fact that it took moving Matthews to rescue it from Hawk and Jones means that you have to have some kinda talent there.

Think of it this way, a good ILB will make it possible to move Matthews around even more. I don't think they have to find a guy, but if they get one, it will help the defense more than just filling the position would seem to.

[Joemailman]

i think TT has been looking for raji to give him any little reason to sign him over the last couple of years

so i think he'll be brought back after the solid year he had, even if he was a fucking idiot last night

I thought Raji was a stud last night. There's a reason Arizona averaged 2 YPC.

[mraynrand]

I thought Raji was a stud last night. There's a reason Arizona averaged 2 YPC.

The whole defense was great. Damn shame to lose the way they did

[red]

I thought Raji was a stud last night. There's a reason Arizona averaged 2 YPC.

his stupid penalty was one of many turning points in the game

[call_me_ishmael]

I am hoping OJ Howard comes out. That will likely assure us a shot at a premier tight end prospect. In the one game I saw Bachman play, he looked even slower than Richard Rodgers, so I don't want any part of that. I would like to see them take two if possible.

I would also like to see the Packers try to find a big safety that they can play as a coverage line backer like Thomas Davis or Deon Bucannon from Arizona.

[Joemailman]

I am hoping OJ Howard comes out. That will likely assure us a shot at a premier tight end prospect. In the one game I saw Bachman play, he looked even slower than Richard Rodgers, so I don't want any part of that. I would like to see them take two if possible.

I would also like to see the Packers try to find a big safety that they can play as a coverage line backer like Thomas Davis or Deon Bucannon from Arizona.

Backman is faster than Rodgers. Whether he can learn the offense well enough to be productive is an open question at this point. He never saw the field on offense in the regular season.

[red]

the TE doesn't just have to be a speed freak, gronk isn't winning any foot races, but he's the best TE in the game cause of his size and he's determination not to even get taken down

gronks 40 was 4.68 btw

and was a mid second round pick

any physical freak TE's in the draft?

[Maxie the Taxi]

the TE doesn't just have to be a speed freak, gronk isn't winning any foot races, but he's the best TE in the game cause of his size and he's determination not to even get taken down

gronks 40 was 4.68 btw

and was a mid second round pick

any physical freak TE's in the draft?

Physical freak? Maybe. I just noticed that Tanner McEvoy is listed as a TE on the CBS 2016 NFL Draft site: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/p...nkings/2016/TE

I recall McEvoy's runs as a QB at Wisconsin. He was pretty fast, powerful and deceptive. I'd love to see him as a Packer TE. Wouldn't be a high draft choice either.

[Joemailman]

I think Jerell Adams might be interesting as a mid-round pick. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/p...8/jerell-adams

[Deputy Nutz]

Physical freak? Maybe. I just noticed that Tanner McEvoy is listed as a TE on the CBS 2016 NFL Draft site: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/p...nkings/2016/TE

I recall McEvoy's runs as a QB at Wisconsin. He was pretty fast, powerful and deceptive. I'd love to see him as a Packer TE. Wouldn't be a high draft choice either.

It would surprise me if he chose to play as a tight end. He was a starting safety all this year and played jostling wildcat as QB. He is an extremely athletic rangy kid. Some smart team should take him on day three of the draft and find some position for him. He is center field type safety that will struggle with tackling early on but can cover field and win jump balls.

He is not a tight end though. He could be three years from now.

[Maxie the Taxi]

It would surprise me if he chose to play as a tight end. He was a starting safety all this year and played jostling wildcat as QB. He is an extremely athletic rangy kid. Some smart team should take him on day three of the draft and find some position for him. He is center field type safety that will struggle with tackling early on but can cover field and win jump balls.

He is not a tight end though. He could be three years from now.

CBS had him listed as a FS until a few days ago. I don't know how CBS makes such decisions. They might get player/agent feedback. It might just be an error.

I've watched film of McEvoy at FS and QB. He does cover the field. He also seems to be a hard hitter and fearless. Of course, at QB he showed he is a good runner who can juke defenders at full speed.

Even before CBS re-categorized him, the thought occurred to me that he could help the Packers at TE. Then a wilder idea: could he help the Packers at ILB? McEvoy is 6'6" 231 lbs., a few pounds lighter than Nate Palmer but bigger than Joe Thomas. The trend in the NFL seems to be to have one ILB be a lighter, faster, hard-hitting over-sized safety (6'1" 208 lb. Deone Bucannon with the Cards, 6'3" 223 lb. Telvin Smith with the Jags).

The theory is this type of hybrid ILB can better cover the new breed of fast TE's and pass receiving RB's. I think having a guy who's 6'6", who can make plays sideline to sideline, who is a fearless tackler and who can easily run with a TE or drop back into coverage would present a real problem for opposing offenses.

The best part is you draft him on the 3rd day, not having to use a high draft choice on a traditional ILB. So you team McEvoy with Barrington (or Ryan) at ILB. Clay goes back to OLB.