NFL Draft Big Boards are a lot more intriguing than mock drafts for a couple reasons. One, mocks are mostly guessing. No one knows what is going through the mind of each general manager and there really is a chain reaction scheme when it comes to mocks. Also, mocks tend to be more broad when it comes to analysis of every team, whereas big boards can be specified to one team. When drafting a big board, the author does not need to know what is going through the general manager’s mind because the author already knows the team’s needs and can rank players based on their position in each round (i.e. the Green Bay Packers have the 27th overall pick in this year’s draft).
Green Bay Packers 2016 Mock Big Board
The Packers needs (from greatest to least) are:
Inside Linebacker
If the Packers wish to slide Clay Matthews back to the outside, then they must get an inside linebacker either early in this year’s draft or in free agency. With Sam Barrington coming back it brings depth into Green Bay’s linebacking corp, but both Barrington and Jake Ryan need more experience. If Packers general manager Ted Thompson can find a linebacker in the first round, Reggie Ragland or Darron Lee (who expressed the fact that he sees himself as an inside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme), then that selection would be an instant starter for Dom Capers.
Tight End
As the Packers stated earlier in the offseason, they need a vertical threat down the seam. That usually means a dynamic, playmaking tight end. Richard Rodgers is still progressing, but he seems to be a possession receiver, not the type to get a lot of yards after catch (YAC). Rodgers is simply a complementary receiver. Green Bay needs to find a difference maker and could very well find one (Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Jerell Adams or Nick Vannett) in the first or second round of this year’s draft .
Defensive End/Outside Linebacker
With questions surrounding the return of Nick Perry and Mike Neal, Ted Thompson will need to look at the pass rusher position in the draft. There are plenty of defensive ends to go around in this draft, such as Kevin Dodd, Adolphus Washington and Shilique Calhoun. Even if the Packers were to re-sign one or both of their impending free agents they would still need to draft a pass rusher. Capers uses his edge rushers in a very unique way. Neither an outside linebacker nor a defensive end is considered as such, rather they are just considered hybrid edge defenders, and they are expected to be viable at both.
Offensive Tackle
As of now, the Packers do not really need to add a starting offensive linemen, but they could use some depth. The Packers poor pass protection in 2015 was not due to lack of talent. Green Bay’s offensive line was riddled with injuries with only one Packer lineman starting every game last season. Although, selecting a tackle first round this year is something every Packers fan could see Ted Thompson doing, right? If he were to, it would be a smart strategy considering that four key offensive linemen will be free agents come next offseason (Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang, David Bakhtiari and J.C. Tretter). Packers fans may dislike the selection at first, but they would soon realize Thompson is building to make the Packers a contender for more than just the 2016 season.
Below is Green Bay’s projected big board for the 2016 NFL Draft. This is based on the most realistic selections the Packers will have available to them when they select at 27. These are the prospects the Packers could realistically target in the first two rounds of April’s draft.
Player Position School
1. Reggie Ragland ILB Alabama
2. Jaylon Smith ILB Notre Dame
3. Robert Nkemdiche DL Mississippi
4. Jarran Reed DL Alabama
5. Jack Conklin OT Michigan State
6. Darron Lee OLB Ohio State
7. Kevin Dodd DL Clemson
8. Hunter Henry TE Arkansas
9. Leonard Floyd OLB Georgia
10. Taylor Decker OT Ohio State
11. Adolphus Washington DL Ohio State
12. Andrew Billings DL Baylor
13. Le’Raven Clark OT Texas Tech
14. Sheldon Rankins DL Louisville
15. Shilique Calhoun DL Michigan State
16. Scooby Wright III ILB Arizona
17. Nick Vannett TE Ohio State
18. Jerell Adams TE South Carolina
19. Deion Jones OLB Louisiana State
20. Kentrell Brothers ILB Missouri
Of course the draft is fluid each year because a team’s moves depend upon trades and selections that happen before their pick, but organizations always put together big boards together, with good reason, before each draft.
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