Draft: Day Two: Déjà Vu All Over Again

Day Two of the Ted Thompson/Brian Gutekunst Collaboration Arrangement was second verse same as the first – a blast from the past (and not that far past) that turned out to be a major disaster.

Let’s step into Mister Peabody’s Wayback Machine to April 30, 2015 and Ted Thompson the Magnificent – the Know All and Be All – was conducting his 11th draft with a need to rebuild the secondary. Sound familiar. Day One Ted Terrific drafts Damarious Randall, a safety he will convert to an All-Pro cornerback to replace Tramon Williams, who was let go. On Day Two in the second round he drafted cornerback Quinten Rollins, to add to the competition and then added wide receiver Ty Montgomery to help rebuild that position.

Now back into the Wayback Machine to today, Day Two saw the TT/BG two headed monster draft, wait for it, wait for it, a cornerback (wow, who could have seen that). This time it wasn’t Quinten Rollins the Second or at least we hope not, it was Josh Jackson the First from Iowa.

At that point the Packers could put their feet up and wait out the rest of the 2nd round because “Gute” had traded away the Packers only 3rd round pick to get the first cornerback Jaire Alexander on Day One. But, noooooooo, “Gute” who likes his new found power of wheeling and dealing saw his version of an inside linebacker continue to fall, so he jumped with both feet and traded away his top pick in the 4th round (#101) and his 2nd pick (acquired on Day One in another trade) in the 5th round (#147) to get the 88th pick in the 3rd round to draft Vanderbilt linebacker Oren Burks. But don’t worry the theme of wide receiver will make a comeback times 3.

Now let’s look at Josh Jackson and see if he might be a bonafide prospect or just another Ted Thompson inspired waste of time.

Tangibles: Jackson is the right height at 6-0 and he isn’t skinny at 196, but he is a redshirt junior, who didn’t become a starter until last year, so he came out early.

Intangibles: Jackson has a prospect grade of 6.00 meaning, of course, he should be an instant starter, however….read on.

Bio: An all-district receiver at Texas' Lake Dallas High School, Jackson came to Iowa City thinking he would be catching passes. Turns out he was, though those passes would be coming from the opponents' quarterbacks. Jackson became a national name in 2017 by finishing as the nation's leader with eight interceptions and 26 passes defended. He earned first-team AP All-American and first-team All-Big Ten honors as a 13-game starter with 48 tackles, a forced fumble, and a blocked kick. He redshirted in 2014, and then moved from receiver to cornerback in the spring of 2015 and served in a reserve role on defense for two seasons behind a talented set of Hawkeyes cornerbacks. Jackson played in all 14 games in 2015, making eight tackles and breaking up two passes. He played in 12 games as a sophomore, starting the team's bowl game and finishing with 10 stops, one for loss, and four pass breakups.

NFL Analysis: Long-armed ball-hawk who understands how to maximize his length to disrupt the catch and take it away. Jackson could be labeled a "one-year wonder", but 27 passes defensed in a single season isn't random. He's talented but inexperienced and he has coverage holes that could be exploited early in his career. Jackson's draft stock likely took a hit with his average forty time and unimpressive work in position drills. However, he is armed with route anticipation, ball skills, and NFL length that teams covet in a press-man corner. It may take time, but the tools are there to be an early starter.

Hum, it seems he is a project with some severe negatives with the worst one being he’s slow and the second worst being he had a bad workout (bad workouts don’t worry Ted Thompson (or “Gute” if he’s allowed to be the room). I’m guessing Ted laughed when Jackson bombed his position drills, “Workouts!! We don’t’ need no stinkin’ workouts”. Now we have to coach him up, but wait a minute, Coach Mike McCarthy kept the worse secondary coach in the game. We’re in trouble with a capital T that rhymes with Pee and that is Poop. Heaven help us.

Strengths:

Had mind-blowing ball-hawking season with 27 passes defensed including eight interceptions

Tall with long arms

Allowed 41.3 percent completion rate

Made a play on 25.7 percent of his targets

Makes his own fortune

Instincts are top-notch

Plays the ball and not the man

Flashed supreme ball skills

High-point winner with ability to pull down the one-hand grab

Put together monster performances in big games

Finished with three interceptions in upset win over Ohio State and two pick-sixes against Wisconsin

Anticipates routes

Allowed no touchdowns after Week 4

Spotlight player

Lauded for positive attitude and strong work ethic

Now this list is quite impressive, so maybe not poop.

Weaknesses:

One-year wonder

Has just 14 career starts

Early opener from press

Needs more experience and more patience

Too easily influenced by release fakes at the line of scrimmage

Can be turned by quality routes

Doesn't flash a big chase burst when he gets behind on the routes (crossers)

Needs to tighten up tackling

Questions are being raised about his long speed

Buys into route breaks a little too hard from trail and can be double-moved

Hum, his weaknesses all come from being slow and lack of experience. So it seems this pick (sorry for the pun) is a year off at best no matter what his grade said, so Old Man Tramon, Ouch House and King For A Day won’t have to worry about him beating them out next season.

The problem is the Packers need help now, so once again TT strikes again. He always drafted players for three years down the road and never for immediate fixes. I hope the Packers brain trust knows Aaron Rodgers isn’t getting any younger.

However, overall I give him a B.

Now on to the Hazel Burk. Sorry, it seems I’m stuck on TV puns. Oren Burks has a prospect grade of 5.46, which means NFL backup or special teams potential. Remember “Gute” traded up to get Burks. This pick is pure TT, “Prospect grade. We don’t need no stinkin’ prospect grades”.

Burks was chosen with the 24th pick of the 3rd round and was the 3rd inside linebacker taken behind the Tremaine Edmunds (#1-16) and Leighton Vander Esch (#1-19). The pre-draft predictions had him going in the 4th or 5th round, so it seems there was no need to give up two draft picks for him. When he was chosen Micah Kiser (5.50) was the only inside linebacker with a higher prospect grade left on the board and irony of ironies Kiser was chosen with one of the picks that was traded for the pick that picked Burks. Hey, I just hit the trifecta of picks.

Tangibles; Burks is 6-3 and weighs 233. Another lightweight when the Packers need a banger they get a lover.

Bio: Burks' was named to the 2016 Allstate-AFCA FBS National Good Works Team for his work in the community. He was a defensive co-captain for the Commodores as a junior, starting 10 of 13 games played, racking up 59 stops, 6.5 for loss, 3.5 sacks, an interception and six pass breakups. He following up that season with a strong senior campaign, making 82 tackles, seven for loss, one interception, and three pass breakups. Burks actually played safety in 2014, starting all 12 games and leading the team with three interceptions (also compiling 59 tackles, two for loss, six pass breakups). The first-team all-state high school football player from Virginia played a significant role as a redshirt freshman in 2014 despite missing four games due to injury; he started seven of eight games played, making 37 tackles and breaking up seven passes at safety.

NFL Analysis: In any other decade, Burks' lack of familiarity for any position for more than a year would force him into the "tweener" stack and he would be on his way. In today's game filled with hybrid players and sub-packages, Burks' background could make him more valuable. He needs to play with more consistency in diagnosing and tackling, but his athleticism, cover talent, and ability on special teams make him a developmental prospect with decent upside.

Shit, another developmental pick. Can’t the Packers ever draft a player that will help them now? It seems Eddie Lacy will be the last Packer “Rookie of the Year” within our lifetime.

Strengths:

Well-proportioned between upper and lower body

Has broad back and long arms

Leader on and off the field

Has experience at three different positions over the last three seasons

Fits as 4-3 WILL or 3-4 inside linebacker

Former safety with athletic ability to handle coverage duties at linebacker

Range and pursuit speed is above average

Possesses good lateral twitch

Has reactive athleticism to spring into adjacent gap as tackler

Plays with good toughness

Willing to take on pulling guards with good force

Continued to improve as season progressed

Has talent to become a core special-teamer

Sounds good, but the theme continues to be he’s a special teamer. Even though I didn’t list special teams as a need nor did any other pundit, but Jeff Janis left us and we do need to replace him, but with a 3rd round pick I think not.

Weaknesses:

Will make mistakes in diagnosing that pull him out of position

Still learning the position, but instincts may be average for a role as inside linebacker

Below average punching and playing off blockers

Gets engulfed and will need to become more capable in slipping or playing around blocks

Gets neutralized in the hole

Has to become more effective at imposing his will despite physical challenges

Consistency as a tackler is a concern

Doesn't flow with leverage and will overshoot the ball carrier

Needs to tackle with better positioning to finish what he starts

Damn, all his weaknesses are the same weaknesses of Dom Capers’ defenses and Jake Ryan, the player he is supposed to beat out.

Burks is actually listed as a linebacker and not an inside linebacker, but the hallmark of Ted Thompson’s drafting philosophy is to pick a player and then make him play a position he’s unfamiliar with or never played before. I see Thompson’s grubby little fingerprints all over this pick. However, again, I give him a B-/C+.

Sum Up: Day Two of the Packers 2018 draft saw TT/BG drafting 2 prospects. It looks like “Gute” is in love with the Packers roster as much as TT was/is. When I see holes and below average players TT/BG sees cheap average players, which is fine with TT, BG and MM the figurehead (Mike Murphy) because they are happy with being the “Just Good Enough” Packers while I will only be happy with the “Super Bowl Champion” Packers. I guess that makes me one of the THEM and not one of the US.

“Just One More Thing” (another TV reference):

There were zero pundits on ESPN that had anything to say about the Packers 1st three picks that made them special. I think that says a lot.