Draft Weekend Recap
In a way, I suppose it's a good thing that I can't put this weekend's draft and subsequent acquisition of undrafted free agents into a neat little box, like, say, assigning the Packers a letter grade for their performance. It's hard to evaluate a thing that just happened based on how it could play out in the future. Obviously, there's a ways to go for this group of guys.
On the one hand, there are a few things that I really like. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was a fortunate windfall, and Ted Thompson would have been remiss for not taking advantage of his fall to the 21st spot in the first round. He should give the Packers a quality running mate for Morgan Burnett, or at the very least a running mate who isn't M.D. Jennings, Jerron McMillian, or Chris Banjo.
Davante Adams was also a fortunate acquisition, and he should be in a position to take something of a redshirt year this year playing no higher than fourth on the depth chart while figuring out the NFL game. His ridiculous productivity, prodigious jumping talents, and long arms should make him valuable, even as a rookie.
It will also be interesting to see what comes of Carl Bradford, a stout linebacker who presumably will work mainly as a pass rusher. Bradford has also been discussed as a potential candidate at inside linebacker, where at 252 pounds, he'd easily be the thickest of the bunch next to comparative lightweights A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones (242 pounds each).
Despite the positive feelings, I still have some questions, though. First of all, why three wide receivers? I like Jared Abbrederis as much as the next guy, but surely he's just going to be fighting for a fifth spot as a receiver, right? And on top of that, is Thompson basically conceding that he's not going to bring all his draft picks onto the active roster by drafting a third receiver in Jeff Janis? That's a head scratcher.
Secondly, why didn't the Packers target an inside linebacker in the draft? Perhaps they did and something didn't work out, but it'd be surprising if the Packers were completely content with their inside linebacking crew. Beyond A.J. Hawk and a recovering Brad Jones, the cupboard is relatively bare. Sam Barrington and Jamari Lattimore are highly praised by coaches, but the Packers banked on big growth from M.D. Jennings and Jerron McMillian last year and came away empty handed. I'd hate to see the same thing happen again.
But again, it's hard to evaluate this product without seeing it on the field. There are still moves to be made before training camp. The roster is far from set. The names we see now may not be the ones that matter when the lights finally turn on at Lambeau Field. Now is a time to enjoy what we have and see how the roster plays out between now and training camp.