Packers 2018 Draft: Pros and cons of every top prospect

When you have as many needs as the Green Bay Packers, you can’t exactly go wrong with the 14th overall pick.

The Packers will likely miss out on some of the draft’s top defensive players, particularly defensive backs.

Here are the pros and cons of drafting the five most likely players to be available at No. 14.

1. Derwin James, S, Florida State

Pros: James has a number of things going his way entering the NFL. The 6-foot-3, 212-pound safety packs a punch every time he connects with a ball carrier and can play anywhere beyond the defensive line. Florida State asked all kinds of things from their top defensive back. As a versatile, three-down player, James split time at middle linebacker, slot cornerback and safety.

The Packers have needed this kind of versatility for years in their defense. The unit is filled with one-dimensional players who can’t adapt to other positions and help the defense conform to the advanced passing of the NFL. Josh Jones looks like a similar player to James, and the two of them roaming all over the defense would make Mike Pettine’s job significantly easier.

Cons: Positionally, this is a tricky pick for the Packers. They have plenty to like at the safety position currently. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is entering a contract year, while Jones, Kentrell Brice, and Marwin Evans form a strong group of last-liners. The team has a dramatically more pressing need at cornerback, and while adding James would give the team a slot defender, they would still be in need of a defensive back on the outside.

The Packers would also be making a strange statement by drafting James. The safety market in free agency this offseason has been nonexistent. Starters Eric Reid and Kenny Vaccaro are still looking for jobs and Morgan Burnett only found a home several days after the first wave of signings.

The crop of safeties was also solid in that most of the available players could provide teams with a young, long-term option, suggesting the league is prioritizing other positions rather than other players. If so many teams are avoiding the free agent safety class like the plague, why would they then turn around and spend a first-round pick on one?