Draft Grades Thread...

[humanrefutation]

I'm not sure I trust in Ted's capacity to draft defensive players. We'll see on that.

Our first four picks were pretty much universally graded as A picks (might be an overstatement but you get what I am saying)...Obviously we won't know for years, but maybe some national consensus will help you sleep at night

Green Bay Packers
Draft picks: Kevin King (No. 33 overall), Josh Jones (No. 61 overall), Montravius Adams (No. 93 overall), Vince Biegel (No. 108 overall), Jamaal Williams (No. 134 overall), DeAngelo Yancey (No. 175 overall), Aaron Jones (No. 182 overall), Kofi Amichia (No. 212 overall), Devante Mays (No. 238 overall), Malachi Dupre (No. 247 overall)
Day 1 grade: A
Day 2 grade: A
Day 3 grade: C
Overall grade: B+
The skinny: The Browns presented Green Bay excellent value in a trade out of the first round, so the Packers took it. Instead of trading down for more picks, Ted Thompson stayed put and got the difference-making cornerback he needed in Kevin King. Then they selected safety Josh Jones, who will play in the Micah Hyde role for the Packers despite being a solid 220 pounds. Bulking up the defensive line with Montravius Adams is a big help, as he can play nose tackle or five-technique. He's an excellent value at No. 93.

On Day 3, Green Bay continued to improve the defense. Vince Biegel is a solid inside/outside linebacker, which they needed. They also found an excellent replacement for power back Eddie Lacy in Jamaal Williams, and then hit the position twice more with UTEP's Aaron Jones and Devante Mays. That's probably overkill for a position where there will be plenty of undrafted free agents available. Receiver DeAngelo Yancey was one of the hottest names among prospects who weren't invited to the combine this year.

Yeah, I don't really care about post-draft grades. They're fairly meaningless in terms of projecting performance.

[M-C-G]

I'm not sure I trust in Ted's capacity to draft defensive players. We'll see on that.

Our first four picks were pretty much universally graded as A picks (might be an overstatement but you get what I am saying)...Obviously we won't know for years, but maybe some national consensus will help you sleep at night

Green Bay Packers
Draft picks: Kevin King (No. 33 overall), Josh Jones (No. 61 overall), Montravius Adams (No. 93 overall), Vince Biegel (No. 108 overall), Jamaal Williams (No. 134 overall), DeAngelo Yancey (No. 175 overall), Aaron Jones (No. 182 overall), Kofi Amichia (No. 212 overall), Devante Mays (No. 238 overall), Malachi Dupre (No. 247 overall)
Day 1 grade: A
Day 2 grade: A
Day 3 grade: C
Overall grade: B+
The skinny: The Browns presented Green Bay excellent value in a trade out of the first round, so the Packers took it. Instead of trading down for more picks, Ted Thompson stayed put and got the difference-making cornerback he needed in Kevin King. Then they selected safety Josh Jones, who will play in the Micah Hyde role for the Packers despite being a solid 220 pounds. Bulking up the defensive line with Montravius Adams is a big help, as he can play nose tackle or five-technique. He's an excellent value at No. 93.

On Day 3, Green Bay continued to improve the defense. Vince Biegel is a solid inside/outside linebacker, which they needed. They also found an excellent replacement for power back Eddie Lacy in Jamaal Williams, and then hit the position twice more with UTEP's Aaron Jones and Devante Mays. That's probably overkill for a position where there will be plenty of undrafted free agents available. Receiver DeAngelo Yancey was one of the hottest names among prospects who weren't invited to the combine this year.

Yeah, I don't really care about post-draft grades. They're fairly meaningless in terms of projecting performance.

While I agree they don't mean squat in projecting performance, I'm hoping it gives you some confidence that we nabbed some pretty decent pieces.

[humanrefutation]

Our first four picks were pretty much universally graded as A picks (might be an overstatement but you get what I am saying)...Obviously we won't know for years, but maybe some national consensus will help you sleep at night

Yeah, I don't really care about post-draft grades. They're fairly meaningless in terms of projecting performance.

While I agree they don't mean squat in projecting performance, I'm hoping it gives you some confidence that we nabbed some pretty decent pieces.

They don't. I mean, why would they? If they don't project performance, then why should I really care about whether they're good value picks?

Post-draft grading is a truly asinine venture. They're really about trying to grade the value of the player versus the pick number, but too many fans think of them as a reflection of projected performance.

[M-C-G]

Yeah, I don't really care about post-draft grades. They're fairly meaningless in terms of projecting performance.

While I agree they don't mean squat in projecting performance, I'm hoping it gives you some confidence that we nabbed some pretty decent pieces.

They don't. I mean, why would they? If they don't project performance, then why should I really care about whether they're good value picks?

Post-draft grading is a truly asinine venture. They're really about trying to grade the value of the player versus the pick number, but too many fans think of them as a reflection of projected performance.

I wouldn't call it asinine as much as it used for relative discussion, but this is getting away from the point I was trying to make...I read enough on other forums and other websites that have me pretty excited for the first three guys. I'm not sure about Vince, but something tells me that Ted hates to draft Wisconsin players so maybe he is that good, but then the other part of me says that Ted is infatuated with white linebackers, so maybe that isn't good.

We got some pretty high ceiling guys though and we got (hopefully) a lot faster and bigger on defense, which everyone can get excited about.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Draft grades by their very nature are a reflection of where that writer had a player projected to be drafted and if they go lower they consider that a good value and give a good grade. So it's all a crap shoot because even the teams get these picks wrong a high percentage of the time.

I do think they might be a little more "accurate" these days. I was listening to a podcast (might have been Mike Lombardi) where they were saying there isn't as much variance in teams draft boards or the media's draft boards as there used to be because everyone has so much access to video of these players. It's not like even 10 years ago where small school or unknown guys fall through the cracks anymore.

[RRyder823]

I mean I get not getting excited over the draft. Players bust all the time, don't fit a scheme and don't live up to expectations.

That said if one were to take on that mantra then there's no point in discussing FA signings either as alot of them end up being a bust on their new teams, don't fit into their new scheme and many/most of the big FAs don't live up to expectations.

Only real difference is name recognition and having seen them play more often alot of the time when examining a roster for the upcoming season

Point is its simply a starting point for conversation so unless you want hear crickets up untill training camp is in full swing it's not the worst thing to discuss

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[HKPackFan]

We got faster, that's for sure. That was desperately needed.

What's better is we didn't just get faster with Janis types who never really played at a high level, but we got faster with guys playing in bigger programs who look like they can actually contribute.

Of course we don't know for sure, but they look pretty solid.

We really need the top half of this draft to succeed.

[Profound23]

We got faster, that's for sure. We really need the top half of this draft to succeed.

Hopefully quickly too. I know it's asking a lot but if 2 of the first 3 can come out guns blazing immediately and a couple other late picks (specifically one of the running backs) start to evolve I will be happy. Anything is possible which is the best thing about the draft. Nobody thought Dak would make a huge impact from day 1.

[crkone]

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2017/5/1/15493170/grading-the-2017-nfl-mock-drafts-judgment-day-for-kiper-mcshay-mayock

McGinn with the 2nd worst mock draft, lol.

[LUKE23]

We added speed at 3 positions with our first three picks, and a guy who should be a good 3/4 OLB with Fackrell in Biegel. I don't know how you can't rate this draft high as of now. Speed on D was our biggest hindrance last year.

Overall House, King, Jones, Adams, Biegel for additions, and improvement of young guys such as Clark, Lowry, Fackrell, Randall, Rollins, and Brice, I think our D has improved quite a bit. Our secondary with King and Jones added is really damn young but it's talented. I believe Randall and Rollins were playing through worse injuries than advertised last year. I also think Brice is going to be damn good.

[Ron Swanson]

So, pretty universally agreed upon that we addressed most of our major needs on defense this offseason without breaking our salary cap, right? Just bookmark it and remember that if our defense has another vintage Dom Capers postseason collapse so that none of us try and place the blame on TT in hindsight.

[Iheartfootball]

Didn't see anyone post this. I know many wanted the Packers to draft Foster. Sounds like he *could* miss the season.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/49ers-shanahan-admits-reuben-fosters-worst-case-scenario-is-missing-the-season/

[El Duderino]

So, pretty universally agreed upon that we addressed most of our major needs on defense this offseason without breaking our salary cap, right? Just bookmark it and remember that if our defense has another vintage Dom Capers postseason collapse so that none of us try and place the blame on TT in hindsight.

Based on what?

The corner position will be improved a lot as it needs to be if King proves to be productive as a rookie and at the very least one of Randall/Rollins isn't straight garbage as they were last season.

Both Biegal and Fackrell have to be reasonably productive as pass rushers. Unless Adams provides some pass rush on the DL as a rookie, Daniels is the only guy on the line skilled at it. So nearly all of the pass rush when not blitzing will have to come from the OLB's.

I have confidence in Perry, but who knows with Clay and if he can stay healthy. Either way, those outside backers rotate in and out of the game, so if Biegal and Fackrell can't beat tackles one on one, it will be a problem.

ILB group still below average

There are quite a few young guys picked in rounds 1-4 who's play will dictate a lot

King/Jones/Adams/Clark/Fackrell/Biegal/Randall/Rollins/Lowry/Martinez

Gotta hit on some play makers out of those picks and the bulk of those guys need to be the foundation of the defense given where they were drafted, mixed in with Perry, Burnett, Dix, and Daniels. Hopefully they do, but i'm skeptical until i see it happen.

[Profound23]

Yeah I'm not sure about that universal agreement. At best, most are saying they will wait and see. There was a lot of talent in this draft, if TT whiffed he shares in a lot of the blame.

Either way he was smart and weighed more options than usual. Even tried to see what he could get for Hundley which is smart because I doubt he gets much in next year's QB heavy draft.

[ReasonablySober]

No one knows a damn thing post-draft. Literally no one.

[Jollay]

So, pretty universally agreed upon that we addressed most of our major needs on defense this offseason without breaking our salary cap, right? Just bookmark it and remember that if our defense has another vintage Dom Capers postseason collapse so that none of us try and place the blame on TT in hindsight.

I think it's a good assessment that we addressed most of our needs on defense. I feel way, way better that we tried to address obvious deficiencies on our roster in general than last offseason, where we did nothing at RB and plugged in Blake Martinez as a starter, pretending beating out Carl Bradford was some sort of major accomplishment.