Green Bay Packers: Rookie defenders will be tested right out of the gate
When the Green Bay Packers went deep into the first round and then traded back into the second round during the 2017 NFL Draft, we wondered what was on GM Ted Thompson‘s mind.
He didn’t make us wait long when with the first pick of the second round he selected Kevin King, the much-touted cornerback from the University of Washington.
He followed that up with the team’s second pick of tha
t round by selecting Josh Jones, a safety from North Carolina State.
But not to be outdone, Thompson continued with a focus on the defensive side of the ball by selecting defensive lineman Montravious Adams from Auburn and then finished up in the fourth round with his pick of Wisconsin native and Packers fan Vince Biegel.
Thompson’s goal was to infuse youth and talent into the Packers defense – something that the draft experts say he did.
Of course, we won’t know exactly what the Packers have in these new players, but we do know one thing after taking a look at the Packers opponents in 2017: This new group is going to have its hands full.
Though the Seattle Seahawks will come into Lambeau Field for the season opener sporting a new running back by the name of Eddie Lacy, the Packers defense, especially those new young defensive backs will have to be awake.
Seattle doesn’t sport a superstar at receiver, but this is a team that has Russell Wilson at quarterback – the guy who seems to dig every bit of talent he has from deep inside and lay it all out on the field.
We’ve seen him succeed with the likes of Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse. He could certainly do so again when the Seahawks play for a first win of the season against the Packers.
Things won’t get any easier in Week 2 when the Packers take to the road to play the Atlanta Falcons.
Forget the fact that Green Bay will be looking for redemption from their loss to the Falcons in the most recent NFC Championship Game. What the Packers are going to need to be focusing on is how to stop the likes of Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu. We saw what those guys did to the Packers’ makeshift defensive backfield last January and if things are going to be different this time around, the young guys are going to have to step up early and often.
The Packers then have to turn around and host the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3.
OK, so the Bengals already have A.J. Green on one side and the overachieving Brandon LaFell in the slot, but when Cincinnati went out and drafted John Ross, he immediately jumped to the front of the pack at wide receiver, not so much because he’s better than anyone else, but because of his blinding speed.
Will the Packers’ young guys have what it takes to shut down a dynamic player like Ross? Only if they can get to quarterback Andy Dalton.
That’s just the start …
Don’t forget, the Packers will have to play against the Cowboys’ Dez Bryant; the Steelers’ Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant; the Buccaneers’ Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson; as well as whatever the Lions, Vikings and Bears throw at them over the course of the season.
What we will be waiting for as we head toward the offseason workouts and heading into minicamps and training camp will be how these young defenders pan out. Will they help the Packers take the next step to a Super Bowl or will our high expectations be crushed as they were after cornerbacks Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins came crashing down to mediocrity?
With a challenging start over the course of the first three weeks, the Green Bay Packers will know early just what they have in these young players and how they fit into the team’s defensive scheme.
Stay tuned …