SECOND VERSE SAME AS THE FIRST

With only one returning player at inside linebacker and two defections to replace at cornerback General Manager Ted Thompson went heavy at safety with his first two draft picks.

 

After taking the top ranked safety Damarious Randall from Arizona State at No. 30 in the first round Thompson took another sip from the safety well by snagging fourth ranked Quinten Rollins from Miami of Ohio with the 62nd pick in the second round with the plan being to move both to cornerback.

 

Quentin Rollins

Both are similar in stature (5-11, 195) and in the NFL.com rankings Rollins was actually ranked six spots higher on the overall rankings list.

 

Rollins is an interesting prospect. He is almost a carbon copy of last year's No. 6 round draft pick cornerback Demetri Goodson from Baylor. Rollins has only one year of college football experience while Goodson had two after both started their collegiate careers as basketball players.

 

If everything goes to form Rollins might not see any action at corner like Goodson did last year. In fact, with both Randall and Rollins moving from safety to cornerback neither of Thompson's top two picks could have any impact at all next season.

Another factor in their playing time at cornerback is that Sam Shields and Casey Hayward should be the two starters on the outside with Micah Hyde taking over the slot corner full time. In fact with the addition of Randall and Rollins the Packers might have the smallest set of cornerbacks in the league. Shields, Hayward, Goodson, Randall and Rollins are 5-11 and around 195 to 197. Hyde and practice squad corner Tay Glover-Wright are the tallest at 6-0.

 

When Rollins and for that matter when their third round pick was taken the No. 1 ranked inside linebacker Paul Dawson from TCU was still on the table. Also still available when Rollins was taken were outside linebacker Eli Harold from Virginia (a great pass rusher) as well as wide receiver Jalen Strong from Arizona State.

 

I mention Strong because in the third round Thompson took Stanford wide receiver Ty Montgomery. Once again this pick had nothing to do with need since the Packers have one of the most solid receiving corps in the league. It evidently had everything to do with returning kicks.

 

Ty Montgomery

While I would love to finally get a great returner I find this selection curious with Dawson still available. The reason Dawson fell so far was concerns about his motivation and work ethic. However, he is a top rate talent and I fell he would have been a great pickup at the end of the third round. Evidently the Bengals did when they picked him as the last choice of the third round. I think he was worth the risk.

 

The NFL.com analysts actually loved Montgomery more than they liked Randall and Rollins, but only for his returning skills. In fact Montgomery seems to have a trouble with dropping passes. That's all we need.

 

So far after three rounds with a big need for inside linebackers, polished cornerbacks, a running back or two, and a tight end Thompson went off the rails with two converted safeties and a wide receiver/kick returner at the one position that is loaded.

 

The ratings of the Packer draft was B to B+. I give it a solid C with four rounds and six picks remaining.

 

I don't think I will try to predict where Thompson will go next. Still available are the No. 3 and No. 4 quarterbacks (Bryce Petty from Baylor and Brett Hundley from UCLA), the No. 4 tight end (Blake Bell of Oklahoma), the No. 5 guard (Tre' Jackson from Florida State), the No. 5 tackle (T. J. Clemmings from Pittsburgh) and the No. 5 safety (Jaquiski Tartt from Samford) from the top rated talent.

 

I won't predict, but I will give some unwanted advice. I would draft the best offensive tackle La'el Collins from LSU. He has legal issues, which is why he has not been drafted, but since Thompson doesn't care if any of his picks plays much next season while not take a flier on Collins. The police say he is not a suspect in a murder, but something else and he has said if he didn't get drafted in the second or third round he wouldn't sign and re-enter the 2016 draft. I would use the last pick on him anyway. Why not waste that pick, since none of the 2015 picks will probably play anyway.

 

Actually I bet Thompson will probably make it a trifecta and pick the last safety in the fourth round.

 

To sum it up midway through the 2015 draft I am baffled. Two smallish safeties to be converted to cornerback, a wide receiver with hands issues, but a possible great kick returner and a big hole at inside linebacker still unfilled. I can't wait to see what happens next. It can only get better because it can't possibly get any worse.