The Packers 2010 Draft: 3 Days To Go and What Does Mel Kiper Think?
by Brandon on Apr 19, 2010 7:00 AM CDT
in Green Bay Packers Draft
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PrintThe NFL Draft is scheduled to begin on Thursday and I wish I could say I was live blogging it from the Packers Draft Party. Instead I'll be blogging about it from my sofa. It's probably going to be all draft talk, all week here. And "nobody knows what the Packers will do."
I thought there isn't a better place to start then to see what the man, the legend, the hair, Mel Kiper, has to say about the Packers. Not that he's always right, but he sure is well known. He recently posted his rounds 1 through 4 projections, but they're safely behind the ESPN Insider wall. By the way, if the Lions end up with the four guys he projects for them with their top 4 picks then they might be a team to watch next season (seriously, he projects they'll have an awesome draft). As for the Packers, he projects these top 4 picks:
1st round, No. 23 overall, Idaho G Mike Iupati. I was gushing about him last month. Since then it's become known he had a low wonderlic score. This is not a sexy pick, he may not even start in 2010, but he'd be a good one.
2nd round, No. 56 overall, Virginia CB Chris Cook. While I chose Oklahoma CB Dominique Franks instead in the SB Nation mock draft, Cook was someone I took a long look at. Cook struck me as a player who has a lot of talent but it rarely shown on the college football field. I'd rather another team take a risk on a workout warrior like him.
3rd round, No. 86 overall, Stanford RB Toby Gerhart. While not a pressing need, I'm not sure I'd trust RB Brandon Jackson to take over full-time if something happened to RB Ryan Grant. Gerhart looks like someone who could start in place of Grant and could leave Jackson as the 3rd down back. According to NFL Draft Scout, Gerhart ran a 4.47 40 time and that's a fearsome combination along with his size at 6'0", 231 lbs. However If he's closer to his slowest 40 time of 4.62 then there's a lot less to get excited about. He'd be an exciting 3rd round pick no matter his likely NFL future.
4th round, No. 122 overall, Nebraska SS Larry Asante. He's 6'0", 212 lbs. according to NFL.com and "seeks out contact" but "has only average height." They make him sound like the next SS Atari Bigby which might not be a bad thing. He's probably worse than Bigby in pass coverage, but those were skills that Bigby himself has improved on over the past couple seasons. He'd be a good pick at this point.
One thing he doesn't mention is an outside pass rusher to replace DE Aaron Kampman. And that's the problem with the Packers draft position as it stands. While this is a deep draft, apparently because of all the juniors that came out in 2010, they still can't grab a great offensive line prospect, pass rushing prospect, and a secondary prospect. Due to their relatively late draft position they can only grab one. So if you have a preference then keep a close eye on the player taken in the 1st round. Everyone else after No. 50 overall (or so) is going to have some flaws to him.
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Not a good Mock on Green Bay
I know there is some thought that Uipati might turn into an OT, but that is a project for 3-4 years. For now, he is a Guard…a position we are stacked with: Lang, Sitton, Spitz, Wells, and (gasp) Colledge. No where in his Mock did he address our desperate need of an OT. Also, like you said, we need an OLB. I don’t want to rush Brad Jones development too quickly…especially in a season where we have a far more difficult schedule. I think Jones is nothing more than a solid backup as a 3-4 OLB at this time. After a couple more years of transitioning into the NFL, I can possibly see him becoming starter material.
The way I see it, if the draft does go heavy with OT’s in the 1st Round like it’s thought out to be and Sergio Kindle is available, I want Kindle. Even Jerry Hughes would be a good pick, in hopes he can handle the strong side though. If we get a good OT to fall into our laps and our scouting teams feels he will do well, then by all means get him. Just for the record, I’m not a fan of OT Bruce Campbell or Trent Williams.
I’d also like to add that we could use an upgrade at the LE position. Johny Jolly is average at best and does have several weaknesses. He isn’t bad, but he isn’t good either. An upgrade at this position would drastically help whoever we have at LOLB. The 3-4 defensive linemen don’t get a lot of attention or rewards. One thing I noticed on the right side is Cullen Jenkins doing his job and more. I firmly believe that Clay Matthews outstanding rookie campaign was because of Cullen Jenkins. That goes to show how I value defensive linemen.
"No player is greater than a team."
-Vince Lombardi
Ditto
Around the coaches meeting McCarthy was asked where he expected Lang to wind up and he said he thought it would be LG. If thats the case then we have more than enough interior linemen right now.
I also agree with DE as a possible need especially with Jolly probably facing a suspension at some point this season.
No OT = no credibility
Chris Cook I’m interested in, but I think Iupati is a bad fit for what we need now – namely a left tackle. No Jared Veldheer? No Charles Brown?
Ted Thompson’s recent comments notwithstanding, everybody and his cousin twice removed knows the Packers need one or more tackles to take over when Clifton and Tauscher retire. Maybe TJ Lang is Tauscher’s replacement, but he isn’t Clifton’s, and we saw what happened last year when Clifton went down.
Pass blockers, pass rushers, and pass defenders – gotta have’em. Kiper has TTCo addressing only one of the three in the first three rounds, and I can’t believe the Packers brain trust is that stupid.
Iupati is more of a guard.
And I think Charles Brown could go WAY too high. I’m not against taking him with a 2nd round pick, but if the draft completely guts the OTs by the time the Packers get to their first round selection, they may not have a choice in the matter.
I think we have a lot of talent at guard, but moving that talent to tackle has been a disaster. You just don’t give up 50 sacks with good tackles in place all year long (case in point? Washington with Jason Campbell and the first half of last year for the Packers). We could probably take Veldheer in the 2nd round, and let him develop behind Clifton and/or Tauscher into a good tackle. I just don’t want to see the Packers pass on Sean Weatherspoon and the Vikings pick him up.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Apr 19, 2010 10:19 PM CDT up reply actions
Iupati would be great but I don’t think he’d be a good pick. As it stands now we have Sitton, Spitz, Wells, Lang, and Colledge who are all OG’s with the exception of Wells and maybe Spitz. With Sitton at RG we’re ok, and I don’t think we could go wrong with Wells or Spitz at C. That hopefully puts Lang at LG, and if that’s the case our interior OL actually looks like it could be…well good.
If we’re gonna go OL then we have to go OT. You all know that’s what I would most prefer us to do but I’m starting to think more and more that Okung, Buluga, Williams, Davis, and Brown will all be gone. I didn’t include Campbell in there, and even if he is there I hope we stay away from him.
My first preference is we go OT, Cb, Olb. Though I wouldn’t really care if we went Olb before Cb. I think the ideal for me would be us taking Brown or Davis, and then trading up to grab a Hughes or Sapp in the 2nd round. That addresses two needs, and leaves Cb which can be taken care of later on.
I'd feel much much better if Jermaine Cunningham fell 2 picks instead of Gerhart
That would address the needs that would be most pressing to me.
"That's not a weird stat. Rickie is a run-scorer," Yost said. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter," Yost told reporters. "See, you guys have no concept. He's a run-scorer. So there's nothing weird about it. That's what he does."
Hope the Pack take a long look at...
West Texas A&M offensive tackle J’Marcus Webb. 6’8’’, 335lbs. Monster and probably a steal in the later rounds. Really hoping we address the our pass rush. Like the the Gerhart and Asante picks though.
insider says:
Green Bay Packers
Top needs: OLB, OT, SS, G, CB, RB, P, R
First round (23):OL Mike Iupati
Second-round (56): CB Chris Cook
Third-round (86): RB Toby Gerhart
Fourth-round (122): S Larry Asante
Summary: Iupati is a the kind of player who makes your running game better the second he steps on the field. He could develop into a tackle, but even as a raw guard, he’s dominant. He moves his feet, can pull and get out in front of runners, and gets to the second level well. Cook is quietly one of the better corner options available in Round 2, and Gerhart is a physical back who should surprise people with his ability to shift gears and even avoid a few hits. Asante is a solid safety in a class that has good depth beyond the trio I expect to go in Round 1.
Iupati
I’m all for drafting a tackle but I’d be quite happy with Iupati. I like the idea of a dominant run blocker to kick-start our running game. Right now it seems that we only run with any success because the defense is always playing the pass. I also like the idea of Chris Cook, but I’m not sold on Gerhart. How is he as a pass blocker/receiver?
by I voted for Kodos on Apr 20, 2010 1:21 AM CDT reply actions
myeh, who knows?
I’ve talked myself into just about every position being okay for that first pick, including trading either down or up.
The only thing I’m still committed to is that we need to find our LT of the future somehow, somewhere by the time this draft is done. Past that, I really don’t care.
TT always mystifies me (the Raji pick being the single exception), but he usually winds up being right. The trade for Ryan Grant is the best example. I mean, that trade was completely under the radar at the time, and Grant wound up emerging at the perfect time in ‘08. So, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt whatever happens.
Even if we draft an OG, which we absolutely don’t need in my opinion… who knows? That could wind up motivating everybody we currently have and push the O-line into the stratosphere across the board. If the draft has taught us one thing and nothing else over the years, it’s that any pick can fail and any pick can succeed.
Here’s a question for everybody… any nominations for the Javon Walker Trade-Bait Award this year? Is there anybody that you’d like to see us get rid of?
I remember loving that trade at the time, thinking it killed two birds with one stone, by getting rid of a problem and getting potential for the future all in one fell swoop. Could we trade Jolly or Colledge perhaps?
I have an idea for the trade bait.
It has but one word, Colledge. Kills two birds with one stone, get’s rid of an arogant player who really was the worst OL on our team last year and get’s something for him in return.
And what do we get for him?
It’s clear it’s not going to be a second since on one went for that. Are we ok getting a fifth or sixth for him? I doubt it’s as simple as trading away a third or fourth.
by PackApologist on Apr 20, 2010 1:57 PM CDT up reply actions
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