With the 2017 NFL Draft just around the corner, the Green Bay Packers now stand to address some weaknesses. Free agency season has felt more like open Season to Packers fans. The top three needs have been to shore up\u00a0the running back, corner back and outside linebacker positions. Although recent signings have alleviated some of the issues, they far from fix them all. The Packers will pick 29th\u00a0in each round. At that point, quite a few of the top prospects they would ideally have liked to pick will already have been snapped up by other teams. But what about the diamonds in the rough? Let\u2019s take a look at the sleepers in the 2017 draft.<\/p>\n
To address the need for a cornerback, Green Bay\u00a0may want to take a serious look at Lamar\u2019s Brendan Langley<\/a><\/strong> and\/or San Diego State\u2019s Damontae Kazee<\/a><\/strong>. Both players impressed at the Senior Bowl, and both hail from small schools. In 2016, Brendan Langley led the Southland Conference with six interceptions. He logged 43 tackles and returned two touchdowns. His weaknesses were mainly things like on occasion failing to hit and lift opponents and missing arm tackles. Kazee, on the other hand, was the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year two years running. Like Langley, he\u2019s a player with balance, and who can change direction easily. He can perhaps be described as lighter on his feet than Langley, and although as athletic, Kazee is more compact. His weaknesses include a lack of ability to accelerate quickly, and he has been known to be tricked by double moves.<\/p>\n Kazee weighs in at 184 pounds and stands at 5\u201910\u201d. In combination with the somewhat shorter arms, this means that he may not be the ideal size for the position. 17 recorded interceptions in four years at SDSU is nothing to sneeze at, though, and neither is six forced fumbles. In addition,\u00a0Kazee has started for SDSU all four years, and been a great playmaker for the team. <\/a>He displays an impressive field vision, and his ability to anticipate routes is good for a college player. Despite these stats, he is not well known outside of his own conference, and must be considered a sleeper. It would be interesting to see what the Green Bay coaching staff could do with this young player. He looks good on paper and is entertaining \u2013 exciting even – to watch. A bit of flash and awe perhaps, for Green Bay?<\/p>\n At 6’0″ and with 199 pounds of nicely distributed brawn, Brendan Langley looks like a cornerback. At the Senior Bowl, he showed good ability to shadow receivers, and looked quick, balanced, and changed direction swiftly. The ability to accelerate on a dime also impressed. Langley started his college career at Georgia. However, the Bulldogs seemed unable to figure out the optimal position for him. They shuttled him between the cornerback and wide receiver positions. This led to few games as a starter for Langley, who transferred to Lamar in search of more playing time. It was there that he began to start as a cornerback on a regular basis. It is also fair to say that Langley has been an excellent punt returner.<\/p>\n The shuttling between positions has led to Langley being described as \u201craw\u201d<\/a>. In Langley\u2019s case, however, \u201craw\u201d can be read as malleable. For a team like Green bay, whose brand has become synonymous with \u201chomegrown,” raw can be a good thing. Langley\u2019s weaknesses seem to stem from issues with form and technique. That\u2019s something for the coaches not just to address, but also to work with. They can shape and coach a player like Langley. That\u2019s exactly the kind of talent Green Bay likes to grow. What cannot be taught is the kind of athleticism that this player displays. That\u2019s good \u201craw\u201d material for coaches. Also in Langley\u2019s favour, Green Bay has used several players to return punts. This includes Micah Hyde<\/a>, who recently signed with the Buffalo Bills. Langley could arguably fill Hyde\u2019s shoes in that regard.<\/p>\n We can be reasonably sure that the Green Bay organization already knows which players they would like to draft. There is, however, no accounting for that wrench that sometimes gets thrown into the plans of mice and men. That\u2019s when sleepers get a chance. Being a sleeper doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that you are a flawed player. It can just as easily mean that someone hasn\u2019t received deserved attention because he\u2019s is from a small school. It can mean a player was shifted from one spot to another because he\u2019s talented in more than one slot. In Langley\u2019s case, both apply. For Kazee, only the former. Whether these players sign with Green Bay or another team, they will likely get a (deserved) shot at the NFL.<\/p>\nFlash and Awe?<\/h3>\n
The Athletic Sleeper<\/h3>\n
Raw\u00a0Material<\/h3>\n
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Coaches<\/h3>\n