Green Bay Packers: Post-Combine Big 3 Draft picks
Washington Huskies tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins breaks a tackle after making a reception at Husky Stadium. Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports photograph
Now that the NFL Combine is complete and the NFL 2014 Draft for the Green Bay Packers is beginning to round into shape – kinda – we take time out this evening to take a look at three different mock drafts that project three different selections for the Packers. Sure there has been plenty of talk about the possibility that the Packers will spend some money and make some noise in free agency, but we’ll believe that when we see it.
Packers GM Ted Thompson has surprised us in the past and will surely do the same this offseason. We all know most of those surprises will come in the Draft come May – and that’s why we’re looking at all these college prospects and will continue to do so right up until that draft bell rings.
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 difficult 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 putting together his Green Bay Packers board … yes, 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.
We all love to give it a shot. Bouncing from mock draft to mock draft to see who might land with your team is like Christmas morning as you shake those gifts to try to figure out what might be inside.
So, once again I did some bounding around this morning 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 these three separate mocks: Matt Miller, Bleach Report’s NFL Draft Lead Writer; Joel Klatt of FOX Sports; and Chris Burke, of si.com.
So get your arguments ready and your ammunition loaded – tell us what you think of today’s Big 3 … leave us a comment below with your own picks, like us on our Facebook page, or follow us on Twitter. We would love to hear from you.
Here we go …
Chris Burke
C.J. Mosley moves in for the tackle.
With the 21st pick of the NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers select … C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama.
Here’s how Burke justifies his pick:
"Perhaps chalk this up to the lengthy pre-draft process, but it feels like Mosley has slipped out of the discussion a bit. That’s a mistake. He’s a legitimate plug-and-play starter on defense — a guy with the ability to chase down running backs or drop back into coverage. The Packers badly need to find some safety help somewhere, so Calvin Pryor may be near the top of the board. Mosley, though, is a value pick and a LB who could solidify the Packers’ linebacking corps."
Lombardiave: Burke hits the nail on the head when he describes Mosley as the value pick that Packers GM Ted Thompson loves to target. Mosley, in my honest opinion, is one of those players who could slide out of the top 10 and the top 20 and will provide the Packers with just the player they need. While the Packers do need help at safety, picking up a talent like Mosley is going to help the Packers immensely at an important position for the Packers’ 3-4 scheme. If Mosley falls to the Packers at 21, it will be very difficult for Thompson to pass him by.
C.J. Mosley highlights
Joel Klatt
Washington Huskies tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins
Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
With the 21st pick of the NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers select … Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington.
Here’s how Klatt justifies his pick:
"Seferian-Jenkins wasn’t medically cleared to participate at the Combine, but his size and playmaking ability are awfully enticing for Aaron Rodgers. Terrific talent for his size and has hands – like a WR."
Lombardiave: Wow! I’m not sold on this one. Ted Thompson has never taken a tight end in the first round of any draft and isn’t about to start this year – not when he can get someone at the position equal to that of Seferian-Jenkins in later rounds. I feel Thompson will be happy to pick up a tight end in the second or third round and use that first-rounder for a defensive player.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins highlights
Matt Miller
With the 21st pick of the NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers select … Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, safety, Alabama
Ha Ha Clinton-Dix intercepts.
Here’s what Miller has to say about his pick:
"The safety position is among the biggest needs the Green Bay Packers have as the combine closes. A great safety can pull together an entire defense and make everyone around him better. That’s the type of player Mike McCarthy needs. That’s also the type of player Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is.Clinton-Dix fits the role of the single-high safety and is an ideal player for today’s NFL. He can run and shows great range to the flats, which is where teams want their safeties to be now. But Clinton-Dix isn’t just a coverage guy. He’ll come down into the box and hit guys.With the Packers needs at safety, this pick is a match made in Heaven."
Lombardiave: It’s no secret the Packers need help at safety. Clinton-Dix, if he’s still on the board, would be the best safety available, though many feel they would take Calvin Pryor. My question is whether the Packers might try to pick up a safety in free agency and use their first round selection to fill other positions of need, most notably linebacker and defensive line. I certainly wouldn’t complain about Clinton-Dix being selected by the Packers.