YOU DID WHAT?

I was almost totally wrong in my prediction about the Packers' first round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Well, maybe not totally wrong now that I think about. There were two parts of my prediction and I will examine my performance in two parts.

 

Part 1: So here comes my prediction. If (Marcus) Peters drops Thompson takes him at No. 30 red flags withstanding. If he doesn't and (Jalen) Collins is still there then he trades down (hopefully no less than six spots) and tries to draft him there or takes either (Eric) Kendricks, (Denzel) Perryman or (Benardrick) McKinney.

 

No. 1: I was right Peters wasn't there (I'll take any victories at this point). No. 2: I was right Collins was still available. No. 3: I was wrong Thompson didn't trade down.

 

Part 2: I could be totally wrong and (Thompson) goes off the board and picks a wide receiver or he stays with the need position and picks a name out of left field.

 

I hit this one right on the nose. Thompson went off the board and stayed with the need position and picked a name out of left field.

 

FINAL TALLY: On Part 1 I was right two out of three technically, but totally wrong on the whole. On Part 2 I was totally right (more or less). Not bad score for being wrong.

 

Damarious Randall

Now, if you're still listening to anything I have to say, here's my thoughts on free safety (soon to be cornerback) Damarious Randall from Arizona State.

 

No. 1: He was rated either the top (by Mike Mayock) or the second (by NFL.com) safety on the board, but safety was not hot position commodity, so I think he could have been drafted in Round Two.

No. 2: Lets look at who was still available when No. 30 came around. (The rankings listed with each prospect are by NFL.com).

 

No. 9 OLB Randy Gregory (Nebraska); No. 13 SS Landon Collins (Alabama); No. 21 DT Malcom Brown (Texas); No. 22 CB Jalen Collins (LSU); No. 23 Eddie Goldman (Florida St.); No. 24 OT La'el Collins (LSU); No. 26 OLB Eli Harold (Virginia); No. 29 OT T. J. Clemmings (Pittsburgh); No. 31 DT Michael Bennett (Ohio St.); No. 32 DT Carl Davis (Iowa); No. 34 NT Jordan Phillips (Oklahoma) and No. 35 WR Jaelen Strong (Arizona St.). In addition there were 21 other players rated higher than Randall still available.

Malcom Brown

 

Of those available there were many studs that would have been a good pick for the Packers, including OLB Randy Gregory, DT Malcom Brown, NT Jordan Phillps and WR Jaelen Strong. In addition, all the inside linebackers were available, but Stephone Anthony from Clemson was taken by the Saints with the next pick.

 

Brown and Phillips were slated to be drafted in the early 20's. Brown was taken by the Patriots with No. 32 and Phillips is still available. Gregory was dropping in all the mock drafts and is also still available. Landon Collins was picked from No. 20 to 31 and is still available.

Jordan Phillips

 

ANALYSIS: I think Randall was a reach even as the Best Athlete Available. Once again he could have been drafted in Round Two.

 

It is being said Thompson took him as a corner. If that is true then he is a small corner (5-11, 196) and to be honest we have had many smallish corners and several years ago when big wide receivers Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald were hot supposedly Thompson was wanting bigger corners.

 

Small corners have issues in the NFL, so once again I will bring up Sam Shields (5-11, 184). He is a great cover man with speed, but the other thing a coach can't coach besides speed is height. All during the season Shields was victimized by taller receivers and that was never more highlighted than the catch-no catch by Dez Bryant in the playoffs. If the call went the other way then the collapse wouldn't have happened.

 

Looking at Randall's pluses and minuses this pick would have made more sense if Thompson was looking for a safety to pair with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. But it seems to me there is a guy - with a big contract, no less - named Morgan Burnett currently occupying that position.

 

I hate projects and, especially, projects in the first round. Right now the best you can say is Randall would be a good slot corner ala Charles Woodson. However, Casey Hayward and Micah Hyde are already there. If Hayward is moved to the outside to replace Tramon Williams and Davon House then Hyde is there full time.

 

Finally Randall seems to have return capabilities. That is a big need for the Packers, but not a No. 1 draft pick. At best he might be a returner for a year or two if he develops as expected.

 

It looks like Thompson with this pick has issues with Hayward, Hyde and Burnett. So I would have gone with Brown or Phillips since it seems nobody wanted to trade for No. 30 or Thompson didn't want to trade. No one seems to know for sure. Those two would have been good value picks as the Best Athlete Available.