And Now For The Rest Of The Draft

After all the wheeling and dealing the Ted Thompson/Brian Gutekunst Collaboration did on Day One and Two (acquiring 9 draft picks and trading away eight, including the Damarious Randall trade before the draft) the Packers had  eight picks in the final four rounds.

According to most pundits the Packers were looking for cornerbacks, linebackers, offensive linemen, wide receivers. I added a pass rusher and a safety.

In the past the local kiss-ass media has revered Ted Thompson for his drafting prowess on Day Three of the draft, so you would expect Saturday to be an overwhelming success, but we’ll see.

Round 4-133: WR J’mon Moore from Missouri. 6-3, 207. Prospect Grade: 5.56 (Chance to be NFL starter). He was projected to be drafted in the 4th or 5th round. His strengths are size, speed, athleticism, separation, soft hands, and YAC (yards after the catch). His weaknesses are DROPS, still raw and scouts say he can be surly and question his maturity level. Despite being a reach and maybe a pain in the ass I give him a solid B-.

Round 5-138: G Cole Madison from Washington State. 6-5, 308. Prospect Grade: 5.39 (NFL Backup or Special Teams Potential). He was projected for the 5th or 6th round. Madison played right tackle in college, but evidently the Packers feel he would be better at guard or this was a need pick to replace Jahri Evans at right guard. His strengths are good athlete who excels as move blocker, gets down field in screen game and won’t give up. His weaknesses are play strength is average, allows speed rushers to push him into backfield, will panic and grab and lack of length and anchor is a concern. The key is the move to guard, so I give him a C.

Round 5-172: Punter J.K. Scott from Alabama. 6-6, 208. Prospect Grade: 5.50 (Chance to be NFL starter). He was projected in the 3rd or 4th round. This was a surprise because I thought Justin Vogel did a pretty good job last year, so to waste a 5th round pick on a punter is usually a no-no. However, this is what the NFL analysis said, Four-year punter who is able to work for distance, hang time or placement whenever he needs. He's been a consistent performer who operates well under pressure and possesses soft hands to handle poor snaps. He has the talent and play traits to become a long-time NFL starter. I think he might be a steal, so I give him an A-/B+.

Round 5-174: WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling from South Florida. 6-4, 206. Prospect Grade: 5.20 (NFL Backup or Special Teams Potential). He was projected to be drafted in the 6th or 7th round. His NFL analysis is: Height, weight, speed prospect with intriguing deep ball capabilities as a big field stretcher. Valdes-Scantling is a work in progress who hasn't learned how to create leverage within his linear routes and doesn't have the ball skills he will need to win downfield. He's probably not ready to help a team just yet, but his issues may be correctable so he's worth a Day 3 selection as a stash-and-coach prospect. Another issue is DROPS. I give him a D+ for being a reach and a future player, but not a current contributor.

Round 6-207: WR Equanimeous St. Brown from Notre Dame. 6-5, 214. Prospect Grade: 5.56 (Chance to be NFL starter). He was projected in the 3rd or 4th round. NFL analysis said, St. Brown's combination of size and speed will be coveted by offenses looking for a prospect who can create throwing windows down the field with his ability to separate as the route progresses. St. Brown's competitive nature needs to improve as does his play strength to elude early pressure from physical cornerbacks. He has never been a volume target and has just three 100-yard games in his career. At this stage, St. Brown is more of a threat than a weapon and his ceiling may be an average starter or WR3. Another issue is DROPS. He is another project, so I give him a C.

Round 7-232: DE James Looney from Cal. 6-3, 287. Prospect Grade: 5.21 (NFL Backup or Special Teams Potential). He was projected the 6th or 7th round. His NFL analysis is Looney's quickness and disruptive qualities were on full display in 2016, but he was much easier to block in 2017. He lacks the size and strength to play inside and it appears as though adding functional weight on his frame is a non-starter. Looney will likely need to improve his lean muscle mass and try to transition into a role as a base 4-3 end who might be able to reduce inside as a situational pass rusher in sub-packages. He regressed last year and seems to be a tweener. He is definitely a project, but I don’t see this pick helping much. I give him a F+.

Round 7-239: LS Hunter Bradley from Mississippi State. He had no height, weight and no grade thusly listed as needing time in developmental league. I guess he was chosen because for some odd reason McCarthy and Thompson hate Brett Goode. Can’t say much except he is the second long snapper signed since the end of the season. I can’t grade him.

Round 7-248: Edge Rusher Kendall Donnerson from Southeast Missouri State. 6-2, 248. Prospect Grade 5.00 (50/50 chance to make NFL roster). He was projected 7th or rookie free agent. He played outside linebacker at SEMO. His NFL analysis said, Donnerson's tape is nowhere near draftable in terms of his skill set, but from an athletic standpoint, his testing numbers are beyond rare for his size. Donnerson is a project that teams might not be willing to draft, but will be more than happy to stash on the practice squad as a PFA while they try and improve his technique and skill, hoping to unlock his athletic gifts. At this point, Donnerson is no more than a lottery scratch-off with the potential for a tremendous pay-off, but with the odds against it. It also said, Nowhere near skilled enough as an edge defender at this point and considered more workout warrior than pro prospect currently. Another project, so I grade him a D-.

The Day Three tally is 3 wide receivers, 1 guard, 1 edge rusher, 1 defensive end, 1 punter, 1 long snapper. Well, one thing I could say TT/BG definitely checked off all the needs list and then 2 more.

The breakdown is 2 possible steals (punter J.K. Scott and WR Equanimeous St. Brown) and 1 reach (WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling) with the rest being taken in the proper round.

However, upon further analysis 6 are future projects with 1 (punter J.K. Scott) possibly earning a starting job and the other no one knows anything about.

Overall the Packers drafted 11 players with 2 listed as instant starter (#1-18: CB, Jaire Alexander and #2-45: CB, Josh Jackson), 3 listed as chance to be NFL starter (#4-133: WR J’mon Moore, #5-172: Punter J.K. Scott and #6-207: WR Equanimeous St. Brown),  4 listed as NFL Backup or Special Teams Potential (#3-88, ILB Oren Burke, #5-138: G Cole Madison, #5-174: WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, #7-232: DE James Looney); 1 listed as 50/50 chance to make NFL roster (#7-248: Edge Rusher Kendall Donnerson) and 1 ungraded (#7-239: LS Hunter Bradley).

So with 5 potential starters out of 11 that seems like a good haul. However, I see only Alexander, Jackson and Scott with a chance to make any impact next season. The rest are all projects.

It seems wide receiver was the main position with cornerback second that TT/BG were focusing on. While it seems cornerback got 2 good prospects wide receiver got three players with DROPS being an issue.

Of the other positions that needed immediate help offensive line got only 1 major project and edge rusher got 2 drafted, but neither will help. The other needy position inside linebacker also got a project. So those three positions were not helped.

With only cornerback getting immediate help and possibly punter while offensive line, edge rusher and inside linebacker not being helped I give the draft a C-.