Packers Prospect Interest and Meetings

[Labrev]

I was just pointing out why the findings are different. I really don't feel invested in this debate because I legitimately don't care about hit/bust rate at position of DT vs. WR or any other positions, because you don't draft guys thinking "Well he has a 48% probability of success" in the first place. At least, that would IMO be silly logic.

You draft a guy thinking "this dude is going to be a player for us."

Safest position to draft by far, your article or mine, is OT and OG, but I don't want to draft OT and OG high all the time.

[Yoop]

I was just pointing out why the findings are different. I really don't feel invested in this debate because I legitimately don't care about hit/bust rate at position of DT vs. WR or any other positions, because you don't draft guys thinking "Well he has a 48% probability of success" in the first place. At least, that would IMO be silly logic.

You draft a guy thinking "this dude is going to be a player for us."

Safest position to draft by far, your article or mine, is OT and OG, but I don't want to draft OT and OG high all the time.

touche, of course you draft players ya think will succeed, these charts simply point out success rates by position by slot taken, round taken, and DT has a 58% rate, one of the lowest of all positions, and as I said, it's why I'd rather rotate in older vets every year or two then spend premium draft capitol on one, and our success rate of doing so has been my reason why, just look how well Reed did for us last season, or others in the past compared to those we've drafted.

[BF004]

Gute at OSU proday.

JSN and Paris Johnson maybe my two favorite realistic possibilities around that 13–15 area.

[YoHoChecko]

Gute at OSU proday.

JSN and Paris Johnson maybe my two favorite realistic possibilities around that 13–15 area.

Was also at Iowa St the day before. Hutchinson (WR) and one of the Anthony Johnsons (DB) are two of my favorite realistic breed targets in the middle rounds!

Gutey is clearly a Packers-Huddle lurker

[BF004]

Great time for him.

But not so great he will be vaulting to a top 10 lock or anything. Best case for us. Might still need to move near 10-11 if you really want him. WR needy teams at 11,12 and 14.

And is that fast OSU track still a thing?

[lupedafiasco]

4.53 is plenty fine for JSNs game. It’s his elite route running and change of direction skills that make him good. He’s also got a good release, great playmaking ability, and he run blocks his ass off for a WR. I do still believe Johnston will go ahead of him because he has the better size and athleticism. He reminds me a bit of Drake London but worse so I think he goes to 10. Possibly to the Bears.

We need to get pick 13. I highly doubt it’s straight up but if we don’t swap 15 for 13 the Bumst should be fired.

Also I hate how we keep hearing JSN is a slot only. It reminds me of the dumb dumbs saying Jefferson was a slot receiver. JSN is 6’ and a half. He’s 196. Those are number you can play outside of the skill set matches. With JSNs route running, release, and other playmaking there’s no reason he can’t be a boundary receiver. The main thing should be we need to find someone who can win early in the play progression and can make get YAC. I love Watson but he isn’t that guy consistently with his body type or game. Doubs really struggled last season with separation, getting off the line, and securing catches. He looked like a good #4 to me last season. That’s not to say he doesn’t develop into something better but his struggles were real last year. JSN offers a ton of flexibility to play anywhere on the field and block in the run game.

If I’m the Packers I’m looking to get JSN, Darnell Washington, and either LaPorta or Schoonmaker. If you want to marry the pass and the run and make everything look the same but still threaten in both phases of the offense you need players that can block as well as they can catch the ball.

And to tie it all together that’s why Mercedes Lewis was cheeks.

[Labrev]

That 40 is fine, neither drops nor boosts him.

I feel like he will be juuust out of reach for us even at 13, unless of course we trade up. WR is always in high demand and he is one of the only high-end prospects there in this draft, not to mention every team wants the next Justin Jefferson and, he's that. There seems to be a Packers draft favorite every year that gets taken *just* a few picks (or maybe just one pick) ahead of ours.

Not sure if I would trade up more than a 3rd and maybe a few other late picks. I want him, but I also want two more picks in the late 1 early 2 range to get value picks at TE and EDGE just as much.

[Yoop]

we used a 2nd on Watson last year the highest pick on a WR since Walker in 02 defense wins Championships, has everyone forgot normally JSN would be my choice too

we are more desperate for pass rush, Gary likely wont be himself till mid season maybe later, plus there is a 42% chance that Wyatt wont play up to draft slot, I'd try and improve on our edge rusher position, Smith is so hot and cold and Engabar is a pleasant surprise, but thats still not enough.

I'd also try and use UFA to bring in a couple Reeds again, that worked so well last season, don't draft DT's till the 4th or 5th rounds.

JSN plays much faster then he times, sometimes straight line speed like other stats give a incomplete picture of a players ability

[BSA]

I'd also try and use UFA to bring in a couple Reeds again, that worked so well last season, don't draft DT's till the 4th or 5th rounds.

Here's the current depth chart on the DL (5)

0,1 Tech: Kenny Clark, TJ Slaton, Jonathan Ford
3 Tech: Devonte Wyatt, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, TJ Slaton, Chris Slayton
5-Tech: Devonte Wyatt, Chris Slayton

Seems like the Packers need another DL with length who can play some 5 tech. ( Lowry snaps)
LVN would be a great fit and he can play 3,5,7 or 9 tech as needed- which helps out while Gary is rehabbing

Then you'd have a pressure package with Gary- Clark- Wyatt- LVN- Smith

[Yoop]

I'd also try and use UFA to bring in a couple Reeds again, that worked so well last season, don't draft DT's till the 4th or 5th rounds.

Here's the current depth chart on the DL (5)

0,1 Tech: Kenny Clark, TJ Slaton, Jonathan Ford
3 Tech: Devonte Wyatt, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, TJ Slaton, Chris Slayton
5-Tech: Devonte Wyatt, Chris Slayton

Seems like the Packers need another DL with length who can play some 5 tech. ( Lowry snaps)
LVN would be a great fit and he can play 3,5,7 or 9 tech as needed- which helps out while Gary is rehabbing

Then you'd have a pressure package with Gary- Clark- Wyatt- LVN- Smith

I said DT in 4th or 5th round jokingly, I do like the kid Karl Brooks from Bowling Green in the 2nd round, 6.4 300 lbs, he's a tweener, I havn't watched LVN yet or Adedawore who Yoho has said he likes too, I need to dig into these guys more, there seem to be a good group of tweener DL/edge rushers though so we should be able to find a good prospects.

[YoHoChecko]

PackersWire is tracking visits; short list so far, but I have included the LINK so we can check back whenever

Tracking Packers' official pre-draft visits ahead of 2023 NFL draft

Zach Kruse
March 23, 2023

The Green Bay Packers can host 30 prospects for official pre-draft visits before the 2023 NFL draft.

The team can use the visits to take a closer look at a top prospect, build out the scouting report on a lesser-known player, or help recruiting efforts on a potential undrafted free agent.

In 2018, the Packers drafted or eventually acquired seven of the 30 players who visited. A year later, the Packers drafted or eventually acquired six. Pre-draft visits were virtual and uncapped in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the Packers drafted six of their top 30 visitors, including top picks Devonte Wyatt and Christian Watson.

Here’s a tracker of the Packers’ reported pre-draft visits in 2023:

Current list

1. TE Darnell Washington, Georgia
2. OLB Will McDonald IV, Iowa State

[BSA]

For more on his game, here is what Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft report:

“Will McDonald is an explosive, pliable edge talent whose active hands and eager feet make it hard for tackles to get a firm grip on him. His burst and lower-body flexion give him an advantage at the top of the rush, while his spin moves and feel for pocket depth round out his attack.
He has good strength for his size and plays with admirable contact balance against bigger players, but setting firm edges and holding his ground against a downhill running attack could be an issue. Overall, McDonald’s hard-nosed demeanor and pass-rush talent are winning play traits that will help him become a successful 3-4 outside linebacker and sack artist.”

[YoHoChecko]

Never heard of this guy; time to take a look

[YoHoChecko]

Never heard of this guy; time to take a look

Jordan Howden:

Nice athletic profile

image.png (87.05 KiB) Viewed 464 times

NFL.com says:

Overview
Howden is a football-savvy free safety with good instincts and play recognition but a lack of acceleration, which could create a plethora of problems for him on the pro level. He’s quick to diagnose the run, but will need to improve his tackle technique. A lack of recovery juice could get him mismatched on the pro game, but he sees route combinations well when allowed to play as a two-deep safety. Howden has played a lot of football and can help on special teams but needs to prove himself as a tester at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Strengths
Team captain with 49 career starts.
Keys blocking scheme and immediately attacks run play.
Adequate patience when scraping with run play development.
Smooth hip flip to match route breaks with timing.
Intelligent and instinctive on the back end as deep safety.
Digests route combinations and flows with quarterback's eyes.

Weaknesses
Backpedal is a little tight and upright.
Lacks length and speed to stay with vertical targets downfield.
Allows blocking receivers to get into his frame.
Has a tendency to overrun his pursuit leverage at times.
Feet show stall in lateral change of direction.
Unable to recover from a bad pursuit angle.

interesting that the tape shows a lack of acceleration and change of direction, while the testing shows good numbers. Usually that would mean not processing and triggering fast enough, but those are listed as his strengths.n

Older prospect; very limited ball production

image.png (38.48 KiB) Viewed 464 times

PFF gives him a 78.7 grade for 2022, which is really good.

Snap alignment says he has slot and deep safety experience primarily, with a smaller but healthy dose of playing in the box

image.png (20.52 KiB) Viewed 464 times

[APB]

interesting that the tape shows a lack of acceleration and change of direction, while the testing shows good numbers. Usually that would mean not processing and triggering fast enough, but those are listed as his strengths.

I thought the same thing as I read through his testing numbers and write-up from NFL.com. Kinda strange.

I wonder if he just tested better on the Pro-Day track? Curious as to why he didn't test on the 20 ys shuttle or 3-cone at the combine but did rather well on them at his Pro-Day...?

[TheSkeptic]

4.53 is plenty fine for JSNs game. It’s his elite route running and change of direction skills that make him good. He’s also got a good release, great playmaking ability, and he run blocks his ass off for a WR. I do still believe Johnston will go ahead of him because he has the better size and athleticism. He reminds me a bit of Drake London but worse so I think he goes to 10. Possibly to the Bears.

We need to get pick 13. I highly doubt it’s straight up but if we don’t swap 15 for 13 the Bumst should be fired.

Also I hate how we keep hearing JSN is a slot only. It reminds me of the dumb dumbs saying Jefferson was a slot receiver. JSN is 6’ and a half. He’s 196. Those are number you can play outside of the skill set matches. With JSNs route running, release, and other playmaking there’s no reason he can’t be a boundary receiver. The main thing should be we need to find someone who can win early in the play progression and can make get YAC. I love Watson but he isn’t that guy consistently with his body type or game. Doubs really struggled last season with separation, getting off the line, and securing catches. He looked like a good #4 to me last season. That’s not to say he doesn’t develop into something better but his struggles were real last year. JSN offers a ton of flexibility to play anywhere on the field and block in the run game.

If I’m the Packers I’m looking to get JSN, Darnell Washington, and either LaPorta or Schoonmaker. If you want to marry the pass and the run and make everything look the same but still threaten in both phases of the offense you need players that can block as well as they can catch the ball.

And to tie it all together that’s why Mercedes Lewis was cheeks.

Watson can't get YAC?????????

[BSA]

from Packers Wire

Packers to host Florida State S Jammie Robinson on official pre-draft visit

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2023/0 ... ft-visit/?

" Robinson (5-11, 191) played two seasons at Florida State after transferring from South Carolina. Over four collegiate seasons and 47 total games, Robinson produced 319 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, seven interceptions, three forced fumbles and 23 pass breakups. He was a back-to-back All-ACC selection at Florida State.

At the combine, Robinson ran the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds, hit 33.5″ in the vertical leap, covered 9-8 in the broad jump and finished 23 reps in the bench press. His Relative Athletic Score is 5.97 out of 10.0. "

[YoHoChecko]

from Packers Wire

Packers to host Florida State S Jammie Robinson on official pre-draft visit

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2023/0 ... ft-visit/?

" Robinson (5-11, 191) played two seasons at Florida State after transferring from South Carolina. Over four collegiate seasons and 47 total games, Robinson produced 319 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, seven interceptions, three forced fumbles and 23 pass breakups. He was a back-to-back All-ACC selection at Florida State.

At the combine, Robinson ran the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds, hit 33.5″ in the vertical leap, covered 9-8 in the broad jump and finished 23 reps in the bench press. His Relative Athletic Score is 5.97 out of 10.0. "

This is a guy who was widely considered a 2nd/3rd rounder before the combine. Horrid testing numbers, not just the speed. People who liked his film seemed genuinely surprised by it. A visit may partially help answer questions about why there’s such a disconnect and try to make sense of his capabilities as a player.

You like a guy with instincts to be a good player, but the explosive elements just look non existent. Is that fixable?

[YoHoChecko]

I was hoping for East Carolina WR CJ Johnson to get some insight on his character concerns, but this guy seems good too

[YoHoChecko]

Wait, I missed this, but Marte Mapu is also coming for a visit!

I love this guy if the draft value is right. Just not really sure which position he is (LB or S) but definitely an interesting special teams/dime LB/3rd S type of guy with the upside to develop into a more fulltime player.

He got injured at the Senior Bowl after getting a call up from the NFLPA game, so we get no workouts on him, which is a shame. But a visit is a nice way for the Packers to get their due diligence in.