With the NFL draft over and done with, most of the major personnel changes NFL teams will make are done until preseason cuts begin, the Packers included. “Most of” does not mean all however. Teams still can and will make trades between now and the start of the season, as evidenced by the new today.
This move wasn’t completely out of the blue after the Steelers sent a 2nd round pick to Seattle for DK Metcalf. That said, it is a significant move for both teams, and got me wondering if there were any likely trade candidates on the Packers roster.
Before we get started I am leaving Jaire Alexander off this list because its been discussed to death and nobody has any idea what is happening with that. I will be talking about him in the context of another potential move however.
Potential On the Block Packers
One more point of order before we begin – I do no think these moves are likely, just that if the team were to move a player, these would be the most obvious candidates.
Javon Bullard:
Why he could get traded: The Packers secondary is a bit muddled after the draft and free agency. While the team did bring in Nate Hobbs as a free agent, they didn’t draft anyone until the very end of the draft, and now have several players that do their best work at the same position.
Lets assume Jaire doesn’t get traded in this scenario. You have three players that have all been their best or played most of their time in the slot with Bullard, Hobbs and Nixon. With Evan Williams seeming to have locked down the safety spot opposite Xavier McKinney, that really only leaves the slot for Bullard unless you want him as a high end backup. The team could play Nixon or Hobbs on the outside opposite of Jaire, but that still leaves one spot for two guys. Obviously if Jaire goes this becomes slightly less complicated, but with every day he’s still on the team the likelihood of him getting traded diminishes.
Rasheed Walker
Why he could get traded: Much like the secondary, the offensive line is in a bit of a state of limbo right now. The team spent big money in free agency to bring in Aaron Banks, to take over for Elgton Jenkins at LG. Jenkins will be moved to center, and Zach Tom has the RT spot locked down. In both this years draft and last years the team has spent top 60 picks on players that spent their college careers as left tackles.
The team has said repeatedly that they plan on giving Jordan Morgan a shot at left tackle this offseason. Anthony Belton, the other new player, may well be destined to take over at RG if Morgan wins the LT job. Walker has been solid at the position, especially given that he was a 7th round pick, but I suspect the Packers aren’t keen on paying top dollar for “solid” which given the market for tackles they’d likely need to do next off season. If Morgan or Belton can’t win the job this becomes a different story, but if they do, it wouldn’t stun me if the Packers looked to get a return on a player at a premium position that they don’t intend to pay.
Romeo Doubs
Why he could get traded: The pick a team makes in the draft can often be telling on the teams opinion of certain position groups from the year prior. Matthew Golden and Savion Williams as two of the Packers first three picks tells us that the Packers want more from their WR corp.
Doubs, like Rasheed Walker has been solid but not spectacular. He also has a concerning history with concussions. There are however a lot of WR needy teams in the league, and Doubs is another player in the final year of their contract that the team may have already decided that they aren’t going to pay.
If that ends up being the case, a trade could make a lot sense. Given that George Pickens just went for a third round pick, expecting anything more than a 5th is unlikely. If that is the rate, the team may simply decide to try and get a comp pick and let Doubs sign elsewhere.
