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With veteran free agency essentially concluded and the 2019 NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, Acme Packing Company will once again rank and break down the Green Bay Packers’ 90-man roster.
These rankings represent a composite of the individual selections from several APC contributors. Today, we reveal players 50 through 46, a group that includes solid backups and unrealized potential.
50. J’Mon Moore
Moore was a fourth round pick before last season, and while he was the highest receiver selected that season, he was also the most disappointing by far. While Equanimeous St. Brown looks like a potential steal and Marquez Valdes-Scantling brought enticing straight-line speed, Moore struggled with route-running, and most importantly, drops.
Moore is probably the most talented of the trio, and you can’t help but think of Davante Adams when watching his college tape, but Adams put in a ton of work to get where he is today, and if Moore is not similarly inclined, his tenure could be short. The Packer receiving corps isn’t exactly deep, and if Moore can get himself together, he could find himself making an impact sooner than you might think. There is probably no Packer with a higher ceiling, or a lower floor.
49. James Crawford
The UDFA out of Illinois distinguished himself as the one-eyed man in the land of blind Packers special teams players. Crawford probably won’t be beating out any of the incumbent linebackers for playing time on defense, but he was a standout when on the field, which is especially impressive given the failure occurring all around him.
Crawford isn’t anything special as an athlete, but you need a few Crawfords on your team to do the dirty work, and lead the other young cannon fodder by example. If Ha Ha Clinton Dix had some Crawford in him the Bears would probably win an extra game next year.
48. Fadol Brown
The Packers claimed Brown off of waivers from Oakland, and saw enough there to pony up for his services in 2019. Brown’s an interesting case, as his college career was disrupted by coaches departing, and transfers. He has some physical tools to work with, and most of the criticism around Brown as a prospect seemed to be more technique-related.
In limited action last season Brown acquitted himself nicely as a stout run defender who managed to crash into the backfield with some regularity. His wingspan and athleticism started to show up in the back half of the season, and while there’s no reason to be overly optimistic, he’s intriguing. As a backup, you could do much worse.
47. Lucas Patrick
The Packers struggled on the interior line last season, and Patrick didn’t help matters. The Duke product and former undrafted free agent is typical try-hard, guy, but doesn’t quite have the chop to be anything but a stop-gap player on the inside.
Patrick has had his moments, but he’s also prone to getting overwhelmed, and while he’s not the worst guard on the team, he was prone to allowing fast interior pressure far too often in 2018. With a solid unit around him, Patrick can hold his own, and as a depth piece he’s not bad, as part of the Packers’ revolving door at guard, he’s one of the reasons it kept revolving.
46. Montravius Adams
Ted Thompson has a type, and it’s Montravius Adams. Nowhere is the former GM’s reliance on athletic thresholds more obvious and less useful than on the defensive line. The athletic testing aggregation website Mockdraftable.com has Khyri Thornton and Justin Harrell as two of Adams’ three top comparables.
That said, Adams actually flashed some of that agility in 2018 and occasionally made life miserable for opposing offensive linemen. Adams still has a long way to go to be a consistent contributor, but he has improved as a pass rusher, and his motor was much improved after a disappointing rookie campaign. Adams was willing to chase down plays from behind, and while he did not always win his one-on-one battles, be rarely quit on plays. He’s athletic enough to remain useful at worst, and there is still some untapped upside here. If he eventually lands as an every down player, don’t be too surprised.