Green Bay Packers: NFL Draft – Feb. 11 Big 3
Oklahoma State Cowboys cornerback Justin Gilbert
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Here we go once again … from now until the middle of May we will be trying to put together mock NFL Draft after mock draft – taking our shots in the dark. It’s hard enough to think we can project how other teams will select, but it gets all the more difficult when we try to project and predict Ted Thompson’s thought process in making the Green Bay Packers pick … it’s kind of like trying to get a perfect NCAA Final 4 bracket correct from beginning to end. The likelihood that it will happen is about as rare as a Sasquatch sighting, or being abducted by aliens.
Maybe that’s why everyone loves them. Bouncing from mock draft to mock draft to see who might land with your team is kind of like Christmas morning as you shake those gifts to try to figure out what might be inside.
Well, with that said, I did some bounding around this evening to come up with three mocks that have three different selections falling to the Green Bay Packers at the 21st pick of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Today we focus on Todd McShay and Mel Kiper and throw in Pete Prisco
Get ready to agree to disagree with these guys for whatever reasons you come up with … Take a look and leave your own impressions below by commenting. You have a better pick at number 21? Tell us about it.
In the meantime, here’ what these guys have come up with for 2014 first round picks for the Green Bay Packers:
Justin Gilbert
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Todd McShay: With their first round selection at number 21, the Green Bay Packers select Justin Gilbert, cornerback, Oklahoma State
Here is what McShay has to say about his pick:
"Cornerback is a need position for the Packers, but not as much of a need position as tight end, safety, D-line and linebacker. So this is more of a value pick than anything else. Gilbert is the top cornerback prospect in a class loaded with them, and he is an absolute ball hawk with good size and the ability to press or sit back in coverage. Other options: Clinton-Dix, if he fell here, or Louisville’s Calvin Pryor would fit at safety, and Notre Dame’s Stephon Tuitt and Minnesota’s Ra’Shede Hageman would fit as 5-technique D-linemen. I think UNC TE Eric Ebron is the only offensive prospect the Packers would take over a defender."
Lombardiave: Interesting that McShay has the Packers taking a cornerback, considering they’ve already got Sam Shields, Casey Hayward, Micah Hyde, and Tramon Williams. Heck, they even have Davon House … well, maybe that’s why he has the Packers taking the number one cornerback in the draft. Williams is reaching the end of his time in Green Bay and if the old saying about not having enough good cornerbacks is right, then this might be a good value pick. However, I don’t think the Packers go the cornerback route. There are just too many other holes the team needs to fill.
Justin Gilbert highlights
Louisville Cardinals safety Calvin Pryor
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mel Kiper: With their first round selection at number 21, the Green Bay Packers select Calvin Pryor, safety, Louisville.
"People wonder how a prospect can have a lot of “momentum” after all of the games have been played and before the combine starts. What changed? Well, there’s simply a lot of teams finally taking a closer look at prospects, and Pryor is a guy who flew under the radar earlier in the season, but closed out his career at Louisville extremely well, and teams are beginning to catch up now that it’s evaluation season. Pryor is a downhill safety who will fly up to the line of scrimmage and make plays. While he’s got work to do in coverage, he’s instinctive and athletic enough to get better there. And he has momentum that could help him push past Clinton-Dix as the first safety taken."
Lombardiave: Here’s another draft guru projecting the Packers taking a cornerback in the first round … maybe they know something that we don’t. Well, we know that the Packers are probably more in need of a defensive lineman and safety – that’s been pretty clear. The play the Packers have gotten from their safeties over the past couple of seasons has been atrocious. Their defensive linemen haven’t exactly burned up the course either. And with three of them probably hitting the road through free agency, there may be a few changes along the line. Pryor is a good player, but I think the Packers will sign Shields and then look for a defensive lineman to disrupt offenses.
Calvin Pryor Highlights
Ra’Shede Hageman
Pete Prisco: With their first round selection at number 21, the Green Bay Packers select Ra’Shede Hageman, DL, University of Minnesota.
Here is how Prisco justifies his selection:
"The Packers have three defensive linemen scheduled to become free agents. They need to find a potential replacement."
Lombardiave: I have to agree with Prisco in his simple statement. The Packers biggest need is more so along the defensive line as opposed to cornerback and for the Packers not to take a guy like Hageman – or for them to select a cornerback over a good defensive lineman would be a travesty.