The Dust Has Cleared, Now, Let's Look at The NFL Draft of 2020

First the 2020 NFL Draft?  They did it!  In fact, it was NOT BAD!  It was different, but, anytime you use technology, and it is some new!  That is scary!  You hold your breath!  You say a lot of prayers!  And, you DO NOT sleep well!  Remember the year 2000!  New Years Eve, Dec 31, 1999!  The world could end.  Computers would stop working!  Traffic lights, the power grid, banking systems, hospitals, government, everything would stop!  NO IT DID NOT!  Remember, when Johnny Carson left the Tonight Show, we still have a Tonight Show (BUT, I still miss Johnny!)

And, the Packers 2020 Draft?  I KNOW, we did not draft a wide receiver!

My first comment, "(@&(^&%#&(@#)*@)&%#&%*@&)*@)"

But, it is what it is, he is what we have:

Now, today I will just give my first reaction, 

and in upcoming blog posts, more detail.

Round 1 - Jordan Love - Quarterback - Utah State - 6'4" - 224 lbs

First, the shock!  A QB?  WHAT?  This is supposed to be a deep NFL draft in wide receivers.  There were 6 receivers taken before our pick and 7 taken before our round 2 pick.  And, did you see our last game with the 49ers?  They, KIND OF ran all over us!  In fact, didn't Garapolo throw only 8 passes and they kicked our butt!  There were 2 defensive tackles & 2 linebackers taken before our first pick & 2 defensive tackles & 2 linebackers taken before our second pick.  

I'm finished, now Jordan Love.  Kind of feel sorry for the guy.  First, the "EYEBALL" test!  Nice size!  Very athletic!  First interview, well spoken & humble!  Like the kid!  My vision:

1 - Boy do we need a GOOD back up!  Last couple years, Aaron goes done, we are cooked, a sub 500 team that is very bad to watch!  Now, it will not happen this year, but, for his first contract, 4-5 years, do we have a QUALITY BACK UP!  I HOPE SO!!!!!  We really need one!

2 - Will Aaron play after 4-5 more years.  You need a crystal ball!  He will be 40-41.  He is a thinker, and "out-of-the-box" kind of guy!  He may want to climb Mt Everest, have kids, get married, run for president, teach yoga in Green Bay(I heard we need a good yoga place!)  If so, would Jordan Love be THE MAN!  We will eventually need one!

Round 2 - AJ Dillon - Running Back - Boston College - 6'0" - 247 lbs

First impression, well spoken.  Great blood, grand daddy was  a running back at Notre Dame & the first African-American Captain!  And, the little tape I've seen a beast of a runner. (A little like Eddie Lacy, before he found the salad bar at the Golden Corral!)

Round 3 - Josiah Deguara - Tight End - Cincinnati - 6'2" - 242 lbs

Boy, do WE need a tight end!  Jimmy Graham flopped, Jared Cook was a great pick up and we let him get away!  We have not had a quality tight end in awhile!  A Round 3 pick, some had him going round 5 or 6?  Are we that smart?  Time will tell!

Round 4 - NO PICK - we traded it to move up for Jordan Love - 

REALLY (Sorry, I lost it again)

Round 5 - Kamal Martin - Linebacker - Minnesota - 6'3" - 240 lbs

Reading his initial bio material, did not light up the Big Ten at Minnesota, he may be an OK special team player this year, but at this point does not seem ready or even close to push for a starting job in a VERY weak Packer inside linebacker group!

Round 6A - Jon Runyan, Jr - Offensive Guard - Michigan - 6'4" - 306 lbs

First, love the name!  Great Blood Line!  His dad was a beast of an offensive tackle in the NFL!  He Dad was bigger, a coming out of college better!  But, as a round 6 pick, not bad.  The young man should know what it takes to be a pro!  May have a surprise here, but will also be a guard.

Round 6B - Jake Hanson - Ceneter - Oregon - 6'4" - 303 lbs 

First, this is NOT Jake from State Farm (I asked Aaron)  Again, not a upper round pick, but started for 4 years in the Pac 12 & as a center, you need to have you act together, calling defensive lines & handling the pigskin!  You always need a backup center and our gut Corey Linsley is free agent next year!

Round 6C - Simon Stepaniak -  Offensive Guard - Indiana - 6'4" - 313 lbs

Another offensive lineman in the sixth round??? (Someone, must have thought you drafted offensive line in round 6 only - OPPS!)  Again, late round, so talent is questionable, but he benched 225 lbs - 37 times at the combine!  And, would is, he is a little nasty - WE NEED SOME NASTY!

Round 7A - Vernon Scott - Safety - Texas Christian - 6'2 - 206 lbs

First round 7 - he needs to make the team on special teams first!  We have some depth on the team know, I will be VERY surprised if he makes the team - maybe practice squad?

Round 7B - Jonathan Garvin - Edge - Miami, FL - 6'4" - 263 lbs

Another special team guy!  We do NEED depth at the outside linebacker position, so he will have that opportunity!  Word is he has some talent, but needs more consistency play (Otherwise, he needs a fire lit under his butt!)  Jonathan, $$$$$$$$$$$  if you hustle baby!!!

There it is!  My first quick look!  More to come!!!

NFL Draft Less Than A Week Away! Time To Get Serious!

OK Packers Fans, Time To Get SERIOUS!  WE NEED TO DRAFT SMART!

It is time the Packers draft a few PRO BOWL caliber players!  A lot is dumb luck, bet we are due!

If you have been following this blog, you probably know what I want!

FIRST!

A play maker!  This could be a wide receiver, a tight end, or a running back!
Aaron Rodgers NEEDS HELP!!!

A Wide Receiver, speed and open field game breaker!  We have ENOUGH TALL GUYS!

Or, Tight End - remember the Super Bowl - Kelce(Cheifs) & Kittle(49ers) - one of those guys!
Verdict is out on Jace Sternberger, he may be a player?  And, Graham is gone!

Or, Running Back - a Christian McCafferey type - running back & wide receiver!  We have one that
may be that guy - Aaron Jones, BUT two would be more fun!

SECOND!

Defense, again a play maker!

Defensive Line - A BEAST!  Remember the 49ers running & running & running & running!!

An Inside Linebacker - a BEAST with speed!  A HEAT SEEKING MISSLE!  Speed to cover tight ends.  A player that will have opposing ball carriers looking for him, because he HURTS!!!!

Remember we draft at #30, so, some quality will be gone, BUT plenty left!

Ideas to check out??  Will discuss next time - have a look!

1. Joe Burrow, QB1, LSU
2. Chase Young, EDGE1, Ohio St.
3. Tua Tagovailoa, QB2, Alabama
4. Jeffrey Okudah, CB1, Ohio State
5. Tristan Wirfs, OT1, Iowa
6. CeeDee Lamb, WR1, Oklahoma
7. Isaiah Simmons, LB1, Clemson
8. Jerry Jeudy, WR2, Alabama
9. Justin Herbert, QB3, Oregon
10. Javon Kinlaw, DL1, South Carolina
11. K'Lavon Chaisson, EDGE2, LSU
12. Andrew Thomas, OT2, Georgia
13. Tee Higgins, WR3, Clemson
14. Henry Ruggs III, WR4, Alabama
15. Jedrick Wills, OT3, Alabama
16. Curtis Weaver, EDGE3, Boise State
17. Josh Jones, OT4, Houston
18. Mekhi Becton, OT5, Louisville
19. Xavier McKinney, S1, Alabama
20. Derrick Brown, DL2, Auburn
21. Jalen Reagor, WR5, TCU
22. Kristian Fulton, CB2, LSU
23. Jordan Love, QB4, Utah State
24. Yetur Gross-Matos, EDGE4, Penn State
25. Jeremy Chinn, S2, Southern Illinois
26. A.J. Epenesa, EDGE5, Iowa
27. Neville Gallimore, DL3, Oklahoma
28. Bryan Edwards, WR6, South Carolina
29. Kyle Dugger, S3, Lenoir-Rhyne
30. C.J. Henderson, CB3, Florida
31. Zack Baun, EDGE6, Wisconsin
32. Grant Delpit, S4, LSU
33. Noah Igbinoghene, CB4, Auburn
34. Antoine Winfield Jr., S5, Minnesota
35. Terrell Burgess, S6, Utah
36. Jonathan Taylor, RB1, Wisconsin
37. K'Von Wallace, S6, Clemson
38. Laviska Shenault, WR7, Colorado
39. Josh Uche, EDGE7, Michigan
40. Jonathan Greenard, EDGE8, Florida
41. Denzel Mims, WR8, Baylor
42. Tyler Johnson, WR9, Minnesota
43. Cam Akers, RB2, Florida State
44. Ross Blacklock, DL4, TCU
45. Ashtyn Davis, S7, California
46. Julian Blackmon, S8, Utah
47. Isaiah Hodgins, WR10, Oregon State
48. Netane Muti, iOL1, Fresno State
49. Jeff Gladney, CB5, TCU
50. A.J. Terrell, CB6, Clemson
51. Jaylon Johnson, CB7, Utah
52. Gabriel Davis, WR11, UCF
53. Troy Dye, LB2, Oregon
54. Julian Okwara, EDGE9, Notre Dame
55. Jacob Eason, QB5, Washington
56. Trevon Diggs, CB8, Alabama
57. Jordan Elliott, DL5, Missouri
58. Willie Gay Jr., LB3, Miss State
59. Ezra Cleveland, OT6, Boise State
60. Jonah Jackson, iOL2, Ohio State
61. Patrick Queen, LB4, LSU
62. K.J. Hamler, WR12, Penn State
63. Brandon Aiyuk, WR13, Arizona State
64. Justin Jefferson, WR14, LSU
65. Matt Peart, OT7, UConn
66. Damon Arnette, CB9, Ohio State
67. Michael Ojemudia, CB10, Iowa
68. Isaiah Wilson, OT8, UGA
69. Chase Claypool, WR15, Notre Dame
70. John Hightower, WR16, Boise State
71. Akeem Davis-Gaither, LB5, Appalachian State
72. Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR17, Liberty
73. Matt Hennessy, iOL3, Temple
74. Ben Bartch, OT9, St. John's (MN)
75. Bryce Hall, CB11, Virginia
76. Michael Pittman Jr., WR18, USC
77. Anthony McFarland Jr., RB3, Maryland
78. Marlon Davidson, DL6, Auburn
79. Josiah Scott, CB12, Michigan State
80. Joe Reed, WR19, Virginia
81. Amik Robertson, CB13, La Tech
82. Cesar Ruiz, iOL4, Michigan
83. Damien Lewis, iOL5, LSU
84. Kenneth Murray, LB6, Oklahoma
85. James Proche, WR20, SMU
86. Javaris Davis, CB14, Auburn
87. Davion Taylor, LB7, Colorado
88. Darnay Holmes, CB15, UCLA
89. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB4, LSU
90. Harrison Bryant, TE1, Florida Atlantic
91. Brycen Hopkins, TE2, Purdue
92. Dane Jackson, CB16 Pittsburgh
93. Jaylinn Hawkins, S9, California
94. Darrell Taylor, EDGE10, Tennessee
95. Solomon Kindley, iOL6, Georgia
96. John Reid, CB17, Penn State
97. Darnell Mooney, WR21, Tulane
98. Stantley Thomas-Oliver, CB18, Florida International
99. Essang Bassey, CB19, Wake Forest
100. Geno Stone, S10, Iowa

Coronavirus - Life Without Sport

In these times of "Coronavirus", fans are experiencing life without sport!  First thought, we do not NEED sport, but, it sure makes life more fun!

Human Nature - "We are competitive creatures!"
   Let's race!   I can throw this rock further than you!  Can you jump over this creek?  Opps!

As a child, I'm sure most of you challenged your buddies!  Add a ball, baseball, basketball, football, a puck, or just racing on foot or on your bike - we competed!

Human Nature - "We all have strengths & weaknesses!"
     Speed, strength, height, intelligence, coordination, agility, - what is your "God given talent?"

The Coronavirus limits social distance, so, team sports are difficult!  What do we do???

GET COMPETITIVE!!  WHAT IS THE GAME?

BEAT CORONAVIRUS!!!!

1 - What is the season length?  3-4 months?  We are about half way through the season!  We are winning!  Now, for the next 1-2 months we must stay focused!

2 - Rules - Social Distance!  Was your hands!  Listen to you medical experts!

3 - How do we know we won?????  SPORTS will be back!!!!

Beat Coronavirus!!!

Building a Champion - Cornerbacks

Cornerbacks - if you do not have quality cornerbacks, you are in for a longgggggggg day!

So, how do the Packers corners hold up??

Jaire Alexander - 5'10" - 196 - Year 3

DeShaun Amos - 6'0" - 190 - Year 1

Kebion Ento - 6'1" - 187 - Year 1

Ka'Dar Hollman - 6'0 - 196 - Year 2

Josh Jackson - 6'0" - 196 - Year 3

Kevin King - 6'3" - 200 - Year 4

Chandon Sullivan - 5'11 - 189 - Year 3

Free Agent

Tramon Williams - 5'11 - 191 - Year 14

I would rate the Packer Corners at a C+, and moving in the correct direction!  Alexander and King are young and maturing!  Alexander is becoming the shut down corner.  He usually covers the best receiver.  At 6'3, King has become the corner that will cover the BIG tall receiver.  He is improving, but at times, injury prone.  With Tramon a free agent & unsigned at this time, our elder statesman may not be back!  Note, his 14 years of experince is greater than the sum of all the starting defensive backs! So, starters at defense - Safeties - Savage & Amos.  Corners - Alexander & King.  Now, about the backups?  But they need to make a jump this year - they are still NOT in the NFL top 20 list!

Josh Jackson, Ka'Dar Hollman, Chandon Sullivan all played a lot of football in 2019.  Adequate backups, but could do better!  Big disappointment so far, Josh Jackson - was drafted high!

So, another position that could be drafted, but I would wait till the 4-5th round!

Building a Champion - Safety

This is a small group!

Adrain Amos - 6'0" - 214 - Year 5

Darnell Savage - 5'11"  198 - Year 2

Raven Greene - 5'11" - 197 - Year 2

Will Redmund - 5'11" - 186 - Year 4

Free Agent

Ibraheim Campbell - 5'11" - 210 - Year 5

Wow!  Small is VERY small!  Our two starters are good ones:

Adrain Amos - 6'0" - 214 - Year 5

Darnell Savage - 5'11"  198 - Year 2

These two are good, not great!  Amos, came in from the Bears and did a good job his first year!  In a new system, in a new team, he became a quiet leader on the backend!  Savage, our young gun, was a typical young defensive back!  He was able to show his speed and athleticism, but made those young player mistakes!

Our backups:

Will Redmund - 5'11" - 186 - Year 4

Ibraheim Campbell - 5'11" - 210 - Year 5

Two players that helped in 2019 and should be adequate in 2020, BUT, will need to fight for a roster spot!

Don't be surprised if we draft a safety!

Building a Champion - Outside Linebackers

You know what happened last year?  2019?  Smith Brothers?? (Not really brothers)

We had some coin (cap space) and chose wisely!  Both, outside line backers, both had a nice season, and, oh yea, both have a last name of Smith! And, a BIG PLUS - good people in the locker room and great leaders!  So, where do we stand?

Za'Darius Smith - 6'4" - 272 - Year 5

Preston Smith - 6'5" - 265 - Year 5

Rashan Gary - 6'5" - 277 - Year Rookie

Greg Roberts - 6'5" - 258 = Year Rookie

Tim Williams - 6'3" - 244 - Year 3

Since they do all their interviews together, we will evaluate the Smith's together!  Athletic, enthusiastic, playmakers. game changers, quarterback attackers, and enjoy the spotlight.  Could we get 9 more of these guys?

Z Smith     55 tackles - 41 solo - 14 assist - 13.5 sacks - 1 fumble recovery
P. Smith     56 tackles - 36 solo - 20 assist - 12 sacks - - 1 fumble recovery

Will next year be better?  Yes - and with some help - much better!

Backups?

Rashan Gary - 6'5" - 277 - Year Rookie

This is a MUST - our #1 back up must be GOOD!  For two reasons, 1 - he WAS our #1 draft pick!  and, 2  he was OUR #1 draft pick!

The skills are there, the size is there, and it looks like the passion is there - NOW is he there?

Greg Roberts & Tim Williams, we do not know, one needs to stick!

So, a draft need?  YES!

So far, draft needs

 1 - wide receiver

2 - defensive line

3 - tight end

4 - inside linebacker 

5 - outside linebacker!

Building a Champion - Inside Linebackers

The NFL is in a strange place.  Example one, the traditional Fullback position is disappearing.  Many teams do not even have a fullback on their roster!  Another position in flux, is the inside linebacker position!  With the Run/Pass option offenses, 4 to 5 receivers on the field, the inside linebacker cannot survive!!  So, teams are playing 5-6 defensive backs.  Adapting to NFL offenses make defensive coordinators play for more speed.

The Packers inside linebackers:

Curtis Bolton - 6'0" - 228 - Year Rookie
Oren Burks - 6'3" - 233 - Year 2
Christian Kirksey - 6'2" - 235 - Year 6
Randy Ramsey - 6'3" - 238 - Year Rookie
Ty Summers - 6'1" - 241 - Year Rookie

Just like our defensive line, this may be the biggest need!  No All Pros, and scary, NO RETURN STARTERS!  Martinez is gone, our leading tackler the last few year!  So, now what?

Oren Burks - 6'3" - 233 - Year 2

This player should be ready!  Problem is cannot stay healthy!  Has great speed, a converted safety,
so has what it take to play against passing teams.  This is the year to shine Oren!  SHINE!

Christian Kirksey - 6'2" - 235 - Year 6

With our salary cap situation, we could not sign a #1 tier ILB, so we signed a #2 tier Kirsley.  Word on the street, has a high level of energy & is a great leader!  Now, all we need is a great ILB!

Ty Summers - 6'1" - 241 - Year Rookie

Played a lot of special teams last year.  Tough kid, but lacks speed, so, not able to play a 3 downs!

Randy Ramsey - 6'3" - 238 - Year Rookie
Curtis Bolton - 6'0" - 228 - Year Rookie

Young and unproven!  Will have their chance in the pre-season!

So, what do you see!  1-2 draft picks go to the inside linebacker position!

So, wide receiver, defensive line, & inside linebacker!  NEEDED in the 2020 DRAFT!