We’re only five days away from the Draft, and with that comes the endless speculation of what will Ted Thompson will do for the Packers. And this is the perfect draft class for his needs, deep in almost all the positions that the Packers are desperately seeking to improve: edge rusher, cornerback, and running back.
So with that, I did three Mock Drafts using Fanspeak’s simulator. The first two were done by me using Matt Miller’s big board from Bleacher Report. The third one was simulated completely through the website with no user input, and using their own big board. All three have interesting results, and I will let you decide which one would be better for the Pack.
MOCK DRAFT #1 (User Picked on April 21st, Bleacher Report’s Big Board)
ROUND 1, PICK 29: Quincy Wilson, CB. Florida
ROUND 2, PICK 61: Zach Cunningham, LB. Vanderbilt
ROUND 3, PICK 93: Carl Lawson, DE/LB. Auburn
ROUND 4, PICK 134: Ethan Pocic, C. LSU
ROUND 5, PICK 172: TJ Logan, RB. North Carolina
ROUND 5, PICK 182: Ejuan Price, OLB. Pittsburgh
ROUND 6, PICK 212: Nathan Gerry, S. Nebraska
ROUND 7, PICK 247: Sojourn Shelton, CB. Wisconsin
This one fell really well for the team. Wilson is rated as a Top 15 talent, but with a run on linemen and receivers in the middle of the first round, Wilson was able to fall to Pick 29. I had to choose between Wilson and Gareon Conley, but Wilson is the more pro-ready and more of a boundary corner at 6’1”. I took Cunningham in Round 2 to help inside as a tackling machine. I almost took Fabian Moreau at that spot, but Cunningham has a ton of value as a sideline-to-sideline linebacker with great size. Lawson and Pocic are SEC products who we know can produce as long as they are healthy. Both can start fairly quickly and I would expect Pocic to step in at RG. Logan is a good backup running back who can hit the home run with his blazing speed and will blend with Ty Montgomery well. Ejuan Price is a favorite of a lot of writers on this site and other Packers sites. An undersized speed rusher in the mold of Elvis Dumervil, all he does is get after the quarterback. His nfl.com comparison is James Harrison, high praise. Gerry is a very good athlete and a good hitter who will be a special teams dynamo from the first day of camp. And Shelton, while badly undersized at 5’9”, is a perfect guy to have in the slot. He’s fearless and has shown good ball skills. Also a good special teams option.
MOCK DRAFT #2 (User Picked on April 22nd, Bleacher Report’s Big Board)
ROUND 1, PICK 29: Jonathan Allen, DL. Alabama
ROUND 2, PICK 61: Jordan Willis, OLB. Kansas State
ROUND 3, PICK 93: Derek Rivers, OLB. Youngstown State
ROUND 4, PICK 134: James Conner, RB. Pittsburgh
ROUND 5, PICK 172: Mack Hollins, WR. North Carolina
ROUND 5, PICK 182: Tyler Orlosky, OL. West Virginia
ROUND 6, PICK 212: Channing Stribling, CB. Michigan
ROUND 7, PICK 247: William Likely III, CB. Maryland
This first pick was extremely difficult to decide on since Charles Harris, Corey Davis, Taco Charlton, and TJ Watt were all on the board. But Allen is a Top 10 talent who can step in and dominate in the trenches. Him and Mike Daniels would be scary good together. Willis is a high-ceiling pass rusher with a non-stop motor, while Rivers is more polished and dominated lower competition, but needs a little more strength. To know why I would pick James Conner, just read this on the Player’s Tribune. He’s also extremely talented as a runner. Hollins is a pure speed guy, but at 6’4”, he’s a unique player who could help a lot. Orlosky is almost a clone of Corey Linsley. Undersized for a center, but massively strong. I had to wait until late to address corner because all the top corners kept going right before I would pick, plus I still trust Randall and Rollins to grow. Stripling is a good, solid cover corner who excels at press coverage. Likely is an undersized corner (5’7”) who is an extremely polished coverage player.
MOCK DRAFT #3 (Computer Simulated, FanSpeak’s Big Board)
ROUND 1, PICK 29: Takkarist McKinley, OLB. UCLA
ROUND 2, PICK 61: Chidobe Awuzie, CB. Colorado
ROUND 3, PICK 93: Wayne Gallman, RB. Clemson
ROUND 4, PICK 134: David Sharpe, OL. Florida
ROUND 5, PICK 172: Josh Harvey-Clemens, S. Louisville
ROUND 5, PICK 182: Tarik Cohen, RB. North Carolina A&T
ROUND 6, PICK 212: Jon Toth, C. Kentucky
ROUND 7, PICK 247: Jordan Herdman, LB. Simon Fraser
I didn’t actually draft this one, but I do really like some of the picks. McKinley is a high motor player with big-time potential but is a risk in Round 1. I love taking Awuzie in Round 2. He is a fluid corner with great tools compares favorably to Prince Amukamara. Gallman is a bit of a reach for me in Round 3. He could be a really good player, but he also could end up like Christine Michael. Sharpe is a massive human being (6’6”, 343 lbs) who is a bulldog in the running game, but needs work in pass protection. Harvey-Clemons is a huge safety (6’4”) who has a lot of athletic tools, but needs refinement and has some off-field baggage. Cohen is a small, lightning quick back who has earned the nickname “Human Joystick” with his work in college. He could be a Darren Sproles clone. Toth is the 2017 version of Scott Wells. Solid across the board, he doesn’t have exceptional tools. Herdman dominated Division II, making at least 113 tackles each season. But he’s severely undersized and raw as a prospect.
All three classes, to me, would do a good job with helping the Packers. But what do you guys think? Let me know in the comments, and we’ll see what the team actually does starting Thursday night.
——————Mike Wendlandt is originally from Iola, Wisconsin and graduated from Drake University in 2015 with a degree in History. With a significant journalism background both in writing and broadcasting, Mike can be heard as the play-by-play voice of Central Wisconsin High School sports on WDUX FM 92.7 and on Twitter @MikeWendlandt.
Mike Wendlandt is a writer covering the Green Bay Packers for PackersTalk.com.
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3 responses to “The Weekend Before: Three Potential Packers Draft Classes”
Mock draft #2 is absolutely ridiculous!!! How in the world does anyone project Allen dropping all the way to 29th??? Not only that we still land Willis and Rivers. Maybe if we switched spots with the Bears each round we could grab those players, but not from where GB is sitting. Not only that but look at all the Players who were still available at 29. This just isn’t realistic, not in the least!
Sorry but all 3 drafts are bad. Wilson is not a 1st rounder, Willis will not be there in the 2nd, Cunningham will not be there in the 2nd, a 5’7″ CB will NEVER be drafted by Ted and shouldn’t be, Cohen is an UDFA, Gallman is a fumbler, Price is too small, as Nick Perry stated Allen will not be there, why in the world do we want to draft Div. III undersized Lb ers? No offense but man, these 3 drafts are a mess. You can salvage them into 1 really good draft though.
I really believe Green Bay is going Mixon Rd. 1. if he’s available. He might be the best RB in the draft! I’ve been doing my own homework on this draft and will put mine out tomorrow. I know you’re all chomping at the bit right now. I’ll probably be way off but I like wearing my GM helmet.
I really appreciate this site!