Draft Preview

The draft kicks off Thursday with the Packers sitting in the 29th spot of the 1st round. That means one of two things. First, the Packers probably won't get a surefire starter at that position and that is what the Packers need out of their 1st round pick unlike the last year when defensive tackle Kenny Clark was taken at 27 and started just 2 games.

Second, it could mean that The Ted trades down like he did in 2008 when he traded the 30th pick to the Jets for the 36th pick in the second round, which turned into Jordy Nelson, and the 114th pick in the fourth round, which was later traded to back to Jets along with the 162nd pick in the fifth round for 102nd pick still in the fourth round, which he used to pick defensive end Jeremy Thompson, who started 3 games his rookie season at right end. The next season he was moved to outside linebacker and suffering a neck injury in the sixth game and ended up retiring never playing another game.

I'm guessing The Ted is in a trading mood this season or, at least, he should be. The Packers roster is in the worst shape its been since The Ted took over with 4 positions in dire need of help.

Going into the draft the Packers are picking at 1-29, 2-61, 3-93, 4-134, 5-172, 5-182, 6-212, and 7-247.

The loss of right guard T.J. Lang and backup center J.C. Tretter; and running back Eddie Lacy on the offense; edge rushers Julius Peppers and Datone Jones; and safety/slot corner Micah Hyde, along with the dismal play of cornerbacks Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins and LaDarius Gunter (or Gunner as Troy Aikman kept calling him) makes getting at least 4 starters out of the 8 or more picks imperative.

The biggest need is at right guard where G/T Don Barclay, T Kyle Murphy, G Patrick Lucas and G Justin McCray are the only candidates. Replacing Lang with any of those guys should strike fear in the hearts of Aaron Rodgers and Ty Montgomery.

My thinking is Barclay will be given the job with the chance to lose it. Lucas and McCray are wildcards with nobody knowing what potential they have beyond Lucas being talked about favorably while on the practice squad last year and McCray by just being signed. I will now predict Barclay will be beaten out by Lucas unless the Packer pick up a blue-chip guard on their first pick.

The next biggest need is at the edge rusher. Clay Matthews and Nick Perry are the starters. Both are question marks. Matthews hasn't had a "Claymaker" season since 2014. One thing people bring up is him having to play inside linebacker because of the malfeasance of The Ted, but that doesn't hold water, I mean the play of Matthews not Thompson's malfeasance.

In 2014 Matthews started the first 8 games at left outside linebacker and had 2.5 sacks with just 19 tackles. He was moved to right inside linebacker and had a great second half of the season with 8.5 sacks and 42 tackles despite having a groin injury. He was named 2nd team All-Pro and was named to his fifth straight Pro Bowl.

In 2015 Matthews played left inside linebacker and had 66 tackles with 6.5 sacks. If you remember The Dom didn't blitz him hardly at all that season and yet he still had 6.5 sacks. I think he would have had a double digit total if The Dom knew what he was doing.

Last year a big deal was made of him moving back to the outside for good and what happened was a mess. Before he got hurt it seemed to work when he had 2 sacks in the first 2 games. Then he hurt his hamstring and ankle getting clipped and later he suffered a serious shoulder injury on a cheap shot ala Warren Sapp by former Packer Allen Barbre and ended up with a just 3 more sacks the rest of the season.

In case Matthews is starting to slide and Perry, who won the lottery with one good season in his six, is a one-hit wonder and after the losses of Peppers and Jones and despite the re-signing of Jayrone Elliott and the maturation of last year's No. 4 pick Dean Lowry the Packers defense and porous secondary needs a pass rusher or 2.

The next need position is running back. With Lacy gone running back looks like Ty Montgomery, Christine Michael and Don Jackson. Montgomery looked good in a limited capacity and maybe he can be the No. 1 back Eddie Lacy was or will be more like James Starks in his heyday, which is ok. Michael looked bad in his limited time on the field and Jackson lasted 10 seconds before breaking his hand and later 3 games before wrecking his knee. A power runner is needed badly.

Last of the top 4 needs is cornerback. The starters last year after Sam Shields was lost for the season were 2015 No. 1 pick Randall and 2015 undrafted free agent Gunter. Having two second year men your main starters would have a recipe for disaster to begin with, especially when The Ted decided to let Casey Hayward walk and he ended up leading the league in interception with the Chargers. Talk about malfeasance.

2015 No. 2 pick Rollins was supposed to take Hayward's spot in the slot, but he wasn't up to the task mentally or physically. Now, speaking of malfeasance, The Ted lets Hyde walk from a position hurting for quality, but re-signed former Packers Davon House, who was let walk two years ago because of spotty play and being injury prone, and after having a great 1st season with the Jaguars was benched last year and cut afterwards. Not a great endorsement at the very least.

Cornerback may actually be the worst position for the Packers in terms of quality, but the best as far as numbers are concerned. The top 4 players are Randall, House, Gunter and Rollins, who are all coming off bad seasons. The backups are 2014 No. 6 pick Demetri Goodson (coming off a serious knee injury) and 2 undrafted free agents, Josh Hawkins and converted wide receiver Herb Waters. This is definitely a numbers rich, but quality poor position in need of help.

I also want to add a 5th position. The play of inside linebackers, Joe Thomas, Jake Ryan and Blake Martinez left a lot to be desired. None of the 3 are strong at the point of attack and make most of their tackles down the field. A big thumper on the inside would cure a lot of ills the Packers defense has.

So when No. 29 rolls around Thursday night The Ted should pick the best player available at guard, cornerback, edge rusher or running back or if he sees a chance trade down a few picks to pick up another pick (too many picks in that sentence) and then pick (here I go again) the best player available at those positions.