Are you bored? Is day 11 of home quarantining getting you down? Do you need something to fill your time after binge watching all of Tiger King in one day? Fear not, I have you covered football fans. This will be the first post of my team-by-team 7-round mock draft series. In it, I will establish a team's needs, recap their free agency moves, and put together a mock draft with analysis on each pick. I'll start with the NFC North division and specifically the Green Bay Packers today. I'll be using the Mock Draft Simulator at TheDraftNetwork.com for this exercise. I highly encourage you to check out their work and try your hand at the simulator as well.
Offensively, the Packers need to do everything they can to improve the situation around QB Aaron Rodgers. The NFC Championship game they played against the San Francisco 49ers was butt ugly. And while the defense deserves much of the blame for that terrible showing, the offense was just as sluggish. The Packers can't rely on Davante Adams to carry the entire passing game. The other in-house options at wide receiver are largely unproven or inconsistent players such as Jake Kumerow, Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown (great name). MVS was supposed to be a bigger factor last year but only put up 452 yards and 2 TD's on the season. Lazard is a big-bodied receiver that came on strong down the stretch but it remains to be seen if he can be a consistent threat long-term. Kumerow is a fan-favorite who rarely makes plays when given the opportunity and St. Brown spent all of last season on IR, making him pretty much an unknown at this point. Not to mention the tight end position is looking rough as well. Jimmy Graham was deservedly cut from the roster, but that leaves Jace Sternberger, with his 0 regular season catches in 6 games last season to start at the position. 80-year-old blocking tight end Mercedes Lewis is the only threat to Sternberger's starting gig right now. The Packers did bring in Devin Funchess in free agency but he's not a very inspiring signing. He's coming off a lost season in Indianapolis where he got paid $10 million to play in one game before being shut down for the year with a broken collarbone.
Offensive line help is also a bit of a need for this team after letting life-long Packer Bryan Bulaga walk away in free agency. Green Bay did add a veteran stopgap in OT Ricky Wagner but he's going into his age 31 season coming off a year in which he only played in 12 games and was ineffective when on the field. Finding long-term options to displace Wagner and also overpaid, unproductive RG Billy Turner should be priorities in this draft, even if they wait until the middle rounds to snag more developmental prospects.
Defensively, the Packers are in much better shape. They prioritized their front-7 last offseason by adding the law firm of Smith and Smith (Z'Darius and Preston) at the EDGE positions. while extending underrated DE Dean Lowery. Linebacker remains a need even after adding Christian Kirksey in free agency. Kirksey's play has largely been up and down the past several seasons as he's struggled with injuries and the starting linebacker position next to him is currently wide open.
Cornerback may also be a position that this team tries to upgrade. If you look up the term "high variance" in the dictionary, a picture of CB Kevin King will be right there next to it. His play was mostly bad last season and yet he was somehow able to snag 5 interceptions. Scientists are still trying to figure out how this happened. Meanwhile at slot CB, Chandon Sullivan appears poised to step up into a starting role after playing well in the team's dime packages in 2019, but that does not mean Green Bay won't try to add competition. And hopefully that will be young competition, not in the form of last year's starting slot Tramon Williams, who has been in the NFL since the dawn of time.
As far as priorities go for this draft, Wide Receiver and Linebacker are the top two positions that need to be addressed because there are no clear starters on the roster at those positions. The starting spots next to Christian Kirksey and Devante Adams are wide open. Offensive Guard, Offensive Tackle, and Cornerback are the secondary needs for Green Bay, as they at least have starter-capable guys there. So here is the 7-round mock draft I was able to come up with:
Round 1, Pick 30: Patrick Queen, LB, LSU
I'm not so sure a player of Queen's caliber will be here at pick 30 but I got lucky this time around. After watching 2019 tape of LSU against Oklahoma and Texas, the first thing that jumps out at you is Queen's athleticism. It is amazing to watch him get depth in his zone drops because his quickness and footwork are so fluid. Queen was used as a spy often on QB Jalen Hurts against Oklahoma, showing that the coaching staff trusted his speed and instincts. He does not easily get fooled when working the flats, as I saw him be able to turn and run with RB's on wheel routes. But for as strong as he is working the zones, there was little to no examples of Queen working in tight man coverage so he's a bit of a projection there. He does have trouble at times processing what is going on in front of him, sometimes overrunning plays or getting fooled on option plays. But when he reads his keys correctly, he comes downhill in a hurry. Watching him blitz the A-gaps is a lot of fun because his first step is explosive and strains the interior of the opposing offensive line. Tackling technique could use some work as I have seen players slip out of his grasp a couple times. But the mental aspect of the game as far as processing and technique can be cleaned up with good coaching. You are really betting on his athleticism and tenacity. One aspect that I love as far as the tenacity goes is how aggressively he tries to rip the ball out in the process of a tackle. Here is a great example of it against Texas at the goalline:
The running back is inches away from a touchdown when Queen stands him up, rips the ball away and gets up field (Pay no mind to him losing the ball at the end. Whoops.). Those types of splash plays could make him a star at the next level.
Round 2, Pick 62: Brandon Aiyuk, WR, ASU
Aiyuk gives the Packers an immediate starter opposite Devante Adams. He's an explosive athlete that will be a playmaker in Matt LeFleur's Sean McVay influenced offense. There are multiple examples on tape of him being able to stretch a defense vertically and make plays downfield. I do worry about how he'll fair against press coverage at the next level since he was not challenged at the line often in college, but playing him at the Z receiver spot opposite Adams at the X should limit his exposure to press. The most exciting part of Aiyuk's game is his dynamic ability to run after the catch. He's the prototypical "get the ball in his hands" type with screens, jet sweeps and reverses being staple plays. Aiyuk's lateral agility, low center of gravity, explosion and play strength make him extremely dangerous in the open field. Don't believe me? Here's a fun example:
Round 3, Pick 94: Ben Bartch, OT, St. John's
I thought finding tape on Bartch would be hard considering the small school he hails from. Finding tape wasn't the issue as much as it was finding tape of him working against quality competition. While he's a developmetal type that will be stuck behind Wagner for at least a year, Bartch has strong tools as far as pass protection go. Here's a good clip of him at the Senior Bowl working against one of the better pass rushers available in the draft this year, Jabari Zuniga. Bartch gets his hands into the chest of Zuniga and does not let go, mirroring him and showing good footwork in the process. Very strong rep.
Round 4, Pick 136: Ben Bredeson, OG, Michigan
I'll have to do a deeper dive on Bredeson in a later post, as I am trying to provide more analysis on the top three picks of each mock draft as to not let these lengthy posts get lengthier still. Also I'm sure this will not be the first time I mock Bredeson to a team. He gives the Packers a long-term solution to eventually replace Billy Turner at RG.
Round 5, Pick 175: Dane Jackson, CB, Pittsburgh
Developmental outside corner who can eventually push Kevin King out of the starting lineup
Round 6, Pick 192: John Reid, CB, Penn State
Another corner from the great state of Pennsylvania. One of my favorite sleeper picks in the draft, Reid is a slot-only corner who should push for playing time sooner rather than later. He can replace Sullivan in the dime package and eventually push him for starting slot duties.
Round 6, Pick 208: Davion Taylor, LB, Colorado
Linebacker depth worth developing especially with Kirksey's troubling injury history.
Round 6, Pick 209: Trevon Hill, EDGE, Miami
Who gave Green Bay all of these Day 3 picks? This is exhausting. You can never have too many pass rushers though. And Hill fits the bill of a 3-4 OLB.
Round 7, Pick 236: Kendrick Rogers, WR, Texas A&M
Somebody save me. More receiver help for Aaron Rodgers.
Round 7, Pick 242: Carter Coughlin, LB, Minn.
Finally. Coughlin is an intriguing prospect because he was mostly an EDGE player at Minnesota but he'll have to move to off-ball linebacker in the pros because of size limitations. He'll be a standout on special teams for sure.
All in all, a pretty solid draft for Green Bay that addresses all of their major needs. Wide receiver and linebacker get addressed early. The shelves get restocked along the offensive line and the secondary. And the overall depth of the team is filled with an abundance of Day 3 picks. Now...anybody know anything else I can binge watch?
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