First Round - Eric Stokes

[IrishRainbow]

I just hope he’s more Sam Shields than Ahmad Carroll.

Should probably get a set of boxing gloves just in case.

[HaroldinGMinor]

For some unknown reason, the Green Bay Packers will not draft a first-round weapon for the league’s reigning MVP, Aaron Rodgers.

Insert the Mal from Firefly confused-look GIF.

In a vacuum, Stokes makes sense with the 29th pick after Kevin King was torched by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.

But the team doesn’t operate in a vacuum, and the front office hasn’t done enough to appease its star signal-caller.

A year ago, general manager Brian Gutekunst rationalized his continual passing on wide receivers by basically saying the board didn’t fall in Green Bay’s favor and the team liked the younger options on the roster.

That excuse no longer flies. The Packers could have chosen LSU’s Terrace Marshall Jr., Ole Miss’ Elijah Moore, North Carolina’s Dyami Brown or Purdue’s Rondale Moore.

Gutekunst is being stubborn for stubborn's sake.

Grade: F

[HaroldinGMinor]

This is kind of where I am at, if Stokes is the guy they want and let’s be honest a 4.29 is elite, even in this pro day results then take the dude. You have limitless clay to work with and don’t even need to have him start until after this year


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

to me the problem is honing in on "a guy"

my problem with "honing in" is different:
USAGE (from Oxford American English Dictionary)
The traditional form for the verbal phrase meaning ‘move accurately towards a target’ is home in on, not hone in on. More than a third of citations for this expression in the Oxford English Corpus are for hone in on, however, and in the US this form has become common even in edited text. Nonetheless, hone in on is still regarded by many as incorrect.

Were you champing at the bit to write that?

[M-C-G]

PFN write up

Positives

Underrated cornerback with the size and play speed to start in the NFL. Physical, battles opponents throughout the route, and tracks the ball in the air. Possesses excellent length, effectively diagnoses the action, and has a closing burst. Possesses good hands for the interception. Easily runs downfield with opponents. Gives effort defending the run and wraps up tackling.

Negatives

Doesn't flip his hips off the line and loses a half-step transitioning with opponents. Gets a little grabby in coverage.

Analysis

Stokes possesses terrific measurables and has shown developing ball skills. He's effective facing the action while also displaying the ability to make plays with his back to the ball. Stokes comes with a large upside and offers potential in nickel packages early in his NFL career, and he could eventually develop into a first-team player.

[DrWood]

Do you know how grading players works?.

There can be 10 or 40 players in a draft with a 1st round grade, it’s not a mock.....

I know that if there aren't 32 players with a first round grade it's a stupid exercise.

Do yourself a favor and stop embarrassing yourself. I can post 20 links talking about 1st Round grades if you really want to question the abc's of draft day

funny.

[DrWood]

to me the problem is honing in on "a guy"

my problem with "honing in" is different:
USAGE (from Oxford American English Dictionary)
The traditional form for the verbal phrase meaning ‘move accurately towards a target’ is home in on, not hone in on. More than a third of citations for this expression in the Oxford English Corpus are for hone in on, however, and in the US this form has become common even in edited text. Nonetheless, hone in on is still regarded by many as incorrect.

Were you champing at the bit to write that?

champ is a synonym for chomp, so not really an issue.

[DrWood]

:lol:

For some unknown reason, the Green Bay Packers will not draft a first-round weapon for the league’s reigning MVP, Aaron Rodgers.

Insert the Mal from Firefly confused-look GIF.

In a vacuum, Stokes makes sense with the 29th pick after Kevin King was torched by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game.

But the team doesn’t operate in a vacuum, and the front office hasn’t done enough to appease its star signal-caller.

A year ago, general manager Brian Gutekunst rationalized his continual passing on wide receivers by basically saying the board didn’t fall in Green Bay’s favor and the team liked the younger options on the roster.

That excuse no longer flies. The Packers could have chosen LSU’s Terrace Marshall Jr., Ole Miss’ Elijah Moore, North Carolina’s Dyami Brown or Purdue’s Rondale Moore.

Gutekunst is being stubborn for stubborn's sake.

Grade: F

I was hoping Terrace Marshall would fall to the pack on the second pick, but he was taken at 59. Taking someone at 29 who was picked at 59 seems a bigger reach than taking Stokes. Brown was taken in the third round. The Moores are tiny.

[Ron Swanson]

I will say that the "stiff hips" comments coming from so many scouts is a bit concerning. You can't teach his size/speed combo, but fluidity and change-of-direction skills is something that guys either have or they don't. It's as much a physical trait as it is a mental one.

[crkone]

https://247sports.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/Article/The-12-things-I-learned-watching-Eric-Stokes-164976036/

Now that the selection is made, the fun part is going back through Stokes’ tape and reviewing exactly the type of player he was in college, and what he can bring to the Packers both now and into the future. Over the past few days I’ve gone back and watched 11 total games of Eric Stokes, including every single snap from 2020. You can see the full list of games below. For each of these games I viewed all-22 footage, ensuring I could see the full play develop and see how Stokes matched up in coverage.

...

Hips

A lot of times track athletes can run fast in a straight line and out of a sprinter’s stance, but when they need to turn and run they don’t have the fluidity in their hips to make the turn and maintain their speed. That’s not an issue for Eric Stokes.

Stokes has some stiffness, and his change of direction ability isn’t ideal (as evidenced by his short shuttle time), but his hips are smooth and he can quickly turn and run with receivers down the sideline.

More in there but this is in regards to his hips.

[M-C-G]

https://247sports.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/Article/The-12-things-I-learned-watching-Eric-Stokes-164976036/

Now that the selection is made, the fun part is going back through Stokes’ tape and reviewing exactly the type of player he was in college, and what he can bring to the Packers both now and into the future. Over the past few days I’ve gone back and watched 11 total games of Eric Stokes, including every single snap from 2020. You can see the full list of games below. For each of these games I viewed all-22 footage, ensuring I could see the full play develop and see how Stokes matched up in coverage.

...

Hips

A lot of times track athletes can run fast in a straight line and out of a sprinter’s stance, but when they need to turn and run they don’t have the fluidity in their hips to make the turn and maintain their speed. That’s not an issue for Eric Stokes.

Stokes has some stiffness, and his change of direction ability isn’t ideal (as evidenced by his short shuttle time), but his hips are smooth and he can quickly turn and run with receivers down the sideline.

More in there but this is in regards to his hips.

I am not a scout, nor am I even a knowledgeable football person regarding technique. But what I saw in almost all his highlights is **** footwork. His feet were always crossed up from where you wanted them and I think some coaching will go a long way in helping him change directions.

[crkone]

https://247sports.com/nfl/green-bay-packers/Article/The-12-things-I-learned-watching-Eric-Stokes-164976036/

Now that the selection is made, the fun part is going back through Stokes’ tape and reviewing exactly the type of player he was in college, and what he can bring to the Packers both now and into the future. Over the past few days I’ve gone back and watched 11 total games of Eric Stokes, including every single snap from 2020. You can see the full list of games below. For each of these games I viewed all-22 footage, ensuring I could see the full play develop and see how Stokes matched up in coverage.

...

Hips

A lot of times track athletes can run fast in a straight line and out of a sprinter’s stance, but when they need to turn and run they don’t have the fluidity in their hips to make the turn and maintain their speed. That’s not an issue for Eric Stokes.

Stokes has some stiffness, and his change of direction ability isn’t ideal (as evidenced by his short shuttle time), but his hips are smooth and he can quickly turn and run with receivers down the sideline.

More in there but this is in regards to his hips.

I am not a scout, nor am I even a knowledgeable football person regarding technique. But what I saw in almost all his highlights is **** footwork. His feet were always crossed up from where you wanted them and I think some coaching will go a long way in helping him change directions.

Yeah Herman goes over his awful balance on the top of routes. I think as he watches tape and learns what routes WRs want to run he'll be able to judge when to use his speed better.

[jakecronus8]

A lot of the scouting reports I’ve read are that Stokes is much better facing the LOS rather than with his back turned and has issues recovering to play the ball. I wonder if they may think he could be an elite center field type safety given how he’s not averse to hitting folks.

[El Duderino]

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2021/05/11/next-gen-stats-loves-potential-of-packers-rookie-cb-eric-stokes/

[Swan Vox]

Super super early take, but I am excited about Eric Stokes. It’s always fun to see these guys in uniform for the first time & Eric looks the part. Tall, long & fast. Love the fact that he’s improved so much in the past few years. Think we may have found a sneaky top level player.

ETA: His energy & enthusiasm is great. Reminds me of Jamaal Williams in his interview. That kind of attitude bodes well for success, as well as adds something to the locker room.

[chonestown]

The guy has good length and can fly, so we know the intangibles are there. If he can take to coaching and the passive-aggressiveness of the northern midwest, I am hopeful.

[jakecronus8]

Still would love a hard hitting Sam Shields type. That’s pretty damn nasty

[Ill-yasova]

From everything I’ve heard or read his biggest issue is playing too fast (the “Luis Mendoza from DII Mighty Ducks syndrome”). He’s got the amp turned up to 11 at all times and that leads to bad footwork and holding. If they can teach him to play at 85% most of the time and only use his full speed when he needs it he could be a really good NFL CB.