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NFL Draft Sleepers to Fill the Packers Need for Speed.

One of the things discussed almost constantly since the end of the season is speed, with the premise being it was just the lack of speed on the part of the WR’s that made the offense so bad. I give equal blame to the offensive line.  And as the season went on the quarterback gave up early on plays and was off on his long throws.  Rodgers was the second most sacked quarterback in the NFL with 46, only Jacksonville gave up more with 51.
 
Add Lacy’s poor play and another part of the offense was pretty bad compared to the two years before that. Lacy was the 7th in yards in 2014, 20th for 2015.  Between Lacy and Starks they had 1,359 combined yards. Lacy himself had 1,139 yards in 2014.  Some of that I blame on the offensive line also. 
 
The mid-length pass up the middle was nothing exciting either, and that is on the slot wide receivers and the tight ends.  Popular belief is how slow, well, really, everyone was and as I saw posted more then once about Richard Rodgers, “The worst tight end in the NFL”.  And Cobb was vastly overpaid.   Cobb was beat up all year, double teamed over and over; he took some nasty beatings.
 
Everyone wants a Gronkowski of their own and those are rare. Only 4 tight ends went over 1,000 yards in 2015, 13 went over 600 yards and 12 with 58 catches or more for 2015.  The addition of Cook can and should bring back that aspect of the offense, but I also saw comments on him being one of the laziest players in the NFL.  I hope Cook can become what his potential has always seemed to be.  He has never had a quarterback like Rodgers.  Even with a down 2015, Cook has never played with a quarterback that comes close.  I give Richard Rodgers credit with his 58 catches for 510 yards and 8 TD’s.  No, he really isn’t a threat every down, maybe not at all except in the Red Zone.  But he was 12th in catches for tight ends, 18th in yards - and that is inflated with one long pass - and 5th in TD’s with 8.  That is respectable for the 2015 season.
 
Nelson being on IR hurt a lot more than I thought, and then Montgomery went down.  He showed promise in the slot.   James Jones came out of the gate like it was the middle of 2012 with six TD’s in six games, three more for the rest of season, and two games with 0 catches and two with one catch for the rest of the season.  Adams had his chance to stand up and fell flat, 27 more yards than 2015.
 
If Abbreaderis can make it through the whole off season and training camp healthy he can help.
 
Janis flashed what he is physically capable of.  Now can he develop all the little things his head coach talked about that he needs to become an NFL wide receiver.
 
The group needs a new coach. And the quarterback coach is on my watch list.
 
I am not even going to bring up inside linebackers other than to point out a couple that could help in the draft with speed.
 
Speed is the question.
 
I read where two-tenths of a second less in quickness equates to two yards of separation. Maybe if the wide receiver and corner back were running the 40 that might be true, but it is about so much more.
 
Lets look at  prospects that get little or no coverage. These prospects can add speed to the team.  We will look at players from the fourth round thru priority free agents.  There were over 130 FCS or below players on the fifty-three man rosters at the start of 2015, so players can be found anywhere.
 
Maybe one of these two could help the speed deficiency at wide receiver.
 
Max McCaffrey 6-2 196# WR Duke. 4.46 40 and 1.54 ten yard. 4.15 short shuttle and 7.09 3-cone. Lots to work with.  Yes, he is the son of that long time Bronco Ed McCaffrey. Max had his best production with 52 catches for 643 yard and 5 TD’s for 2015.  Late round pick or high value undrafted free agent. I think he will move up on some boards after those testing numbers.
 
 
Cody Core WR 6‘ 3”  205#  Ole Miss. 4.37 40 time, 1.54 ten yard.  4.40 short shuttle and 6.75 3-cone, and a 37.5” vertical. Played across from Treadwell, so his chances were limited. He has good body control and you can see the speed.
 
 
Throughout the 2015 season I heard the Packers had the slowest in the NFL and less complimentary comments along the way for tight ends.  With the addition of Cook, it takes pressure off finding a tight end in the draft.  I happen to like the upside of both Kennard Backman and Mitchell Henry already with the Packers.  Don’t hold me to it, but I believe Backman would be the fastest tight end in this year’s draft at 6-3 243#.  He ran a 4.66 40 time and had a 1.65 ten yard. He also had a 35.5” vertical.   Mitchell Henry at 6-4 252# had a 4.69 40 time and a 1.68 ten yard. He also had a 37” vertical.
 
Both had to get stronger and both had to learn the system.  All the parts are there for both of these players.  Developmental time is where it’s at for both.  And if you do a little digging, you will find that rookie tight ends, no matter where they’re picked, do much at all in the NFL.  One of the only ones I can think of is Ditka, and no one in the NFL right now has done so.
 
One of those later round prospects is B.J. Goodson ILB Clemson. Day three rankings from a lot places including the NFL site.   Ted Thompson has a lot of picks for the start of day 3 to take him.  6’1” 242# 4.62 40 time, 1.60 ten yard. 4.51 short shuttle and 7.05 3-cone drill. 34” vertical and 30 reps at 225# are both worth noting. Long arms, 33.5”.  Highly productive player with 118 tackles, 15 for loss and 5.5 sacks in 2015.
 
Sorry, little video on him.
 
I like a lot of the top of day three and after ILB’s. Moving Joe Schobert to ILB in the 3-4.  Nick Vigil is another player in that range.  Nick Kwiatkosky is another prospect I really like as a ILB for the Packers.
 
Tyrone Holmes  6’ 2” 253# OLB Montana is a interesting player. 4.59 40 time and a 1.65 ten yard. 4.30 short shuttle and a 7.0 3-cone drill. 37.5” vertical and  28 reps at 225#.
 
 
Tvvis Powell 6-3 211# Safety Ohio State.  4.44 40 time, 1.59 ten yard with good agility 4.25 short shuttle and 7.03 3-cone. After seeing Hyde beat time and time again last year, the safety/DB depth has to be upgraded, and Banjo is more special teams then DB.
 
 
Ken Crawly 6-0 187#  CB Colorado.  4.41 40 time, 1.53 ten yard 36.5” vertical.  The knock on him is ball skills and a spindly frame; he has a lot of pass break ups but few INT’s.  I think the Packers have one of the best corner back coaches in the NFL.  NFL level training can make him bigger and stronger, and NFL level coaching can help with his ball skills.   
 
 
Keith Marshall RB Georgia  5-11 219#. 4.31 40 time, 1.49 ten yard.  He is a late day three prospect because of injuries.  But he has speed, speed and more speed at 219#.  He is a good blocker in pass protection and his toughness was never questioned.
 
 
Speed can’t be taught; you have it or you don’t.  All these players have it for their positions and are worthy of being drafted.
 
Editor's NOTE: This column is from guest draftnik "Yoop" as he is known over on the Talkin' Packers Message Board.  Yoop loves to dig deep and find those potential Day 3 or UDFA hidden gems.

 

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Comments (17)

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dobber's picture

April 26, 2016 at 01:59 pm

I like Core later. He's got potential as a project, but the question becomes: who is he realistically going to bump from the roster if all WR emerge from TC healthy? Abby?

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4thand1's picture

April 26, 2016 at 05:42 pm

Adams

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dobber's picture

April 26, 2016 at 06:57 pm

He would have to fall off the map even further in camp to not make the team in 2016.

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holmesmd's picture

April 26, 2016 at 02:06 pm

J Brown at ILB is better than every LB'r mentioned in this article, sorry.

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RCPackerFan's picture

April 26, 2016 at 02:23 pm

you and I are both very, very high on Brown.

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EdsLaces's picture

April 26, 2016 at 03:06 pm

Really RC you like Brown ? Who knew haha. Yeah he's a sleeper for sure.

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RCPackerFan's picture

April 26, 2016 at 03:25 pm

lol.

2nd round sleeper. ;)

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EdsLaces's picture

April 26, 2016 at 06:34 pm

I'm guessing 3rd.

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RCPackerFan's picture

April 26, 2016 at 09:19 pm

I have seen 2nd to 6th for projections.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

April 26, 2016 at 08:06 pm

He's small..and short. He's sideline to sideline though (which he should be at 220) and I like it. Has some fight in him too. Aye, anything to get Joe Thomas off the field. Mid round pick? Maybe use one of those 4th round picks?

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RCPackerFan's picture

April 26, 2016 at 09:43 pm

For the record I like Thomas.

Brown is short and light, but he doesn't play that way. He plays a lot bigger then his size would suggest.

He plays with strength and really good leverage. He can cover, blitz, stop the run and go sideline to sideline.
The way he was used on defense is very similar to how he would be used in GB. That is another reason why I like him. He would fit in really well in their defense.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

April 26, 2016 at 10:31 pm

Yes, RC. I know. I know :)

Answer this:

Do you think Thomas would be gone if Brown was drafted by the Pack between Rounds 4 and 5?

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RCPackerFan's picture

April 27, 2016 at 06:48 am

I don't think so.

I thought Thomas improved as the season wore on. And I think his coverage skills are underrated. That being said I think he is probably a Dime/Nickel LB only. Where Brown, is a 3 down LB. Depending on packages, they can be used together or one could be taken off the field. No reason to get rid of one player just because another was drafted.

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dobber's picture

April 27, 2016 at 07:46 am

I think the Packers will draft at least 2 LB if not 3. If I were Thomas, Barrington, or Elliott, I would not get too comfortable. Carl Bradford? Good luck, fella.

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EdsLaces's picture

April 26, 2016 at 03:08 pm

I didn't know Ed had 2 kids playing ball at the same time. Christian is no freakin joke I wonder if his brother is even half as talented.

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dobber's picture

April 26, 2016 at 03:35 pm

He's just a fringe/UDFA type by all accounts.

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holmesmd's picture

April 27, 2016 at 05:40 am

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/jatavis-brown?id=2556148

It sounds and looks to me that this guy has a lot of upside potential?Tackling and technique can be coached in the NFL, speed can't! This guy benched 225# 33 times, which is more than almost every lineman in the draft!

I like Joe Thomas as well. Roster spots and cuts will be decided by competition in camp as they always are, regardless of who the Packers draft:)

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