Three late-rounders The Green Bay Packers Should Target
Michigan State Spartans linebacker William Gholston (2) sacks Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Russell Wilson. Gholston could make a nice late round pick for the Packers. Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports photograph
With the NFL Draft kickin off tonight, the volume of information gets a kick in the rear tonight. Everyone is at the mountaintop screaming about why the Packers should select this player or that.
Well, whomever they select in the first round may or may not be a surprise. However, there are three players that I feel the Packers should target. You can agree. You can disagree. You can agree to disagree, but these are the players that should be somewhere on the Packers draft board.
William Gholston
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1. William Gholston, DE, Michigan State
Having forgone his senior year to declare for the draft, William Gholston may be a bit of a developmental prospect whose technique requires refining, but he should be able to contribute on a rotational basis in 2013.
Gholston has great physical intangibles at 6-7 and 280 pounds and when paired with Jerel Worthy, he was highly disruptive and effective despite some less than stellar statistics. Pairing those two together again along with B.J. Raji, C.J. Wilson and Mike Neal could go a long way in solidifying the defensive line for the next five years and providing a strong foundation for Clay Matthews and Nick Perry to wreak havoc on opposing passers. If Gholston is available in the fourth round, I can see Ted Thompson trading up to snag one of the most gifted athletes in the draft.
A highlight video of Gholston
Stedman Bailey
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2. Stedman Bailey, WR, West Virginia
The forgotten man among West Virginia’s trio of offensive stars, Bailey may turn out to be the true star of the group.
Bailey feels he is underrated and I agree scouts have fallen in love with Tavon Austin while completely overlooking Bailey, a player who had more touchdowns than Austin in college.
Bailey is not ranked as a top five prospect partially due to the fact he played with Austin, which is something that has put a chip on his shoulder.
Bailey wants to prove his worth and would provide great value to the Packers in the third round as a possession receiver with strong hands similar to recently departed Greg (The Greedy) Jennings.
A highlight video of Bailey
T.J. McDonald
3. T.J. McDonald, Safety, University of Southern California
Strong performance at the combine has seen safety prospects such as Jonathan Cyprien and Matt Elam rocket up the draft board. However, T.J. McDonald has been freefalling in the opposite direction.
There was quite a buzz about McDonald before the 2012 draft but returning to college has crippled his draft stock. McDonald, once regarded as a first round pick, is now battling it out to be the fourth or fifth safety of the board.
McDonald’s final year may have hurt him but it may also have helped him as he may fall to a team like the Packers where he can develop and compete for a spot.
Most scouts seem to judge McDonald on his one seaso,n which was below the high standards he set for himself previously. But the old adage of form being temporary and class being permanent should be remembered when thinking of McDonald. He is a guy who will be a high level contributor for many years.
McDonald would be a super pick-up for Thompson in the fourth or fifth rounds.
What do you think?
A highlight video of McDonald