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It’s a little early, but the 2013 draft might contain a special treat for Green Bay Packers fans, namely a shot at a Packers rookie getting the prestigious Offensive NFL Rookie Of The Year Award.  Last year’s draft was basically all defense with only BJ Coleman and Andrew Datko getting picked in the 7th round, and both spent the year on the practice squad (although 2nd round pick Casey Hayward almost got the defensive NFL Rookie Of The Year Award, but that’s a different story).

In 2011, Randall Cobb was a good candidate but going up against a loaded wide receiver core with Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson and James Jones, Cobb ultimately didn’t end up seeing much of the field during his rookie season.

In 2009 and 2010, the Packers didn’t really have a logical candidate as the early parts of the draft were filled with linemen and defensive players.  This year however is a little different where the draft has fallen in such a way and the Packers have drafted in such a way where I think rookie running back Eddie Lacy actually has a pretty decent shot at winning the award.

The Rules    Read more... (2192 words + 14 images, estimated 8:46 mins reading time)

1. In the last 20 years, only two offensive players who won were not drafted in the rounds 1 or 2 have won the award.  This makes sense as high round rookies are likely to see the field early and often, while lower round picks are often given more time on the bench to develop.

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2013 NFL Draft

Yin and Yang… Some of these picks should make you smile, some should make you cringe. Based on comments by someone with 40+ years of scouting experience, here are some guys that should make you jump for joy if your team drafts them and others that might cause you to lock yourself in your room for a few months. Again, the comments are not mine… Here goes:

Yin –  You should smile

Sheldon Richardson – Best DL in the draft
Datone Jones – Under Capers, WOW factor will come out in that kid…
Lane Johnson – best OT in the draft
Chance Warmack – best player overall in the draft
David Bass – Robert Mathis / Zach Thomas type
AJ Klein – Jonathan Vilma-like…
John Simon – Mike Vrabel clone
Mike Catapano – Aaron Kampman clone
Jamie Collins – will make some team VERY happy
JJ Wilcox – Best safety in the draft (really…)
Dwayne Gratz – This year’s Casey Hayward
Zach Sudfeld – Super Sleeper
Jesse Williams – on cusp of being a JJ Watt clone
TJ McDonald – like Morgan Burnett
Tank Carradine – nickname says it all
Brian Schwenke – favorite center…
Kevin Minter – best ILB in the draft
DJ Hayden – Best CB in the draft
EJ Manuel – Best of an uninspiring bunch
Stedman Bailey – like a Dodge truck – RAM tough
Gavin Escobar – best pass catching TE – the nextTony Gonzalez
Knile Davis – a gamble (injuries) but worth a late shot
Philip Thomas – like him better than Eric Reid.
Brandon Williams
Jasper Collins
Le’Veon Bell
Gio Bernard
Brandon Williams
Ryan Griffin – best late round QB
Cooper Taylor – sleeper
Michael Hill – sleeper (resembles Arian Foster)
Nick Williams – sleeper
Edmund Kubila
Charles Johnson – Late round bargain
Logan Ryan – late round bargain
Steve Williams – late round bargain
Corey Fuller – late round bargain
Rodney Smith – late round bargain
Khaseem Greene – plays like hair on fire, ala CM3
Michael Ford – late round bargain
Mike James – late round bargain
John Boyett – UFA steal – PUP until healed  Read more... (639 words + 3 images, estimated 2:33 mins reading time)

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With their first round pick (26th overall) in the 2013 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers select Datone Jones, a DE from UCLA.

PLAYER DETAILS: 
Datone Jones
DE
UCLA
6’4″/283lbs

CAREER NOTES: 

From NFL.com: The graduate of Compton High School stuck around Los Angeles to play college ball after being named a four-star recruit by multiple recruiting services. Datone (pronounced DAY-tone) played in 10 games, with two starts, as a true freshman in 2008 (credited with 17 tackles) before starting every game the following year while racking up 11 tackles for loss and four sacks (including one in the team’s EagleBank Bowl win over Temple). Unfortunately, Jones missed the entire 2010 season with a fractured right foot suffered in preseason camp. Jones’ statistics were nothing special in 2011 (41 tackles, 6.5 for loss, three sacks as a 14-game starter), and he wasn’t even named to the All-Pac 12 honorable mention squad by league coaches.

COMBINE: 
4.80 40 yard dash, 29 bench, 31.5″ vertical, 112.0″ broad, 7.32 3 cone, 4.32 shuttle

SCOUTING REPORT: (from our own Jason Perone)  Read more... (383 words + 1 image, estimated 1:32 mins reading time)

• Has a good initial move.  Quick burst, powerful
• Uses hands effectively but will initially have issues disengaging NFL O-linemen
• Can get downfield and pursues well
• Has a good motor and his initial burst can get him into the backfield
• Lacks ideal size for a 3-4 DL.  Will need to add some weight
• As with many college defensive prospect, overruns the play, taking himself out of it

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A.J. Klein, LB, Iowa State

Green Bay Packers NFL Draft prospect profile: LB A.J. Klein

Player Information:

A.J. Klein, LB, Iowa State
6-1″, 250 pounds
Hometown: Kimberly, WI

STATS:

NFL Combine:

40yd dash: 4.66
Bench: 20 reps
Long Jump:  9’5″
(injured his knee in pass coverage drills)

Pro Day: (still favoring his knee)

Vertical jump: 33″
Short Shuttle 4.35
3-cone drill: 7.09

News and Notes:

Klein was an All-State pick from Kimberly, Wisconsin, having led his team to two straight State Championships. After not receiving an offer from the Badgers, Klein chose Iowa State over Northern Illinois. Klein played special teams as a true freshman and and then was a three-year starter at linebacker. Klein showed uncanny consistency, finishing with 111, 117 & 117 tackles in those three seasons. Klein also returned four interceptions for TDs in his college career, tying an FBS record.  Klein was named All-Big 12 in 2012 and the co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2011.

What they’re saying about him:

CBSSports.com: “Excellent key and diagnosis skills. Reads the action and gets a jump-start, often beating blockers to the ball. Better than advertised speed to the flanks and in pursuit downfield and is a quick accelerator, able to slip through gaps to make plays at the line of scrimmage.” “…Could be viewed by some as a bit of a ‘tweener as he lacks ideal athleticism for the outside and does not take on and shed blocks as well as preferred to remain inside. Usually has to give ground to release from blocks once his opponents get their hands into his chest.”  Read more... (686 words + 3 images, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

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Thanks to Aaron Rodgers, and the guidance of Mike McCarthy, the Packers are set at QB.

Packers quarterbacks:  That Aaron Rodgers guy is pretty good. Should he ever get hurt for an extended stretch (God forbid), things could go south in a hurry. Most teams are in the same boat as the Packers when it comes to quarterback. If the starter gets hurt, they’re screwed. Fans like to get all worked up over the backup quarterback. “Bring in a good backup,” they yell. “I want someone with experience,” they cry. Well, if the backup QB was good, he probably wouldn’t be a backup in the first place. And bringing in a veteran? I’ll take a low-cost young guy with a high ceiling over someone with experience who is overpriced, washed up, and probably no good, anyway.

Where are we now:

Here are the current suspects;

Aaron Rodgers (1st round)
Graham Harrell (7th round)
B.J. Coleman (7th round)

Listen to expanded coverage of this topic using the player below or download the podcast from the Packers Talk Radio Network on Itunes.

Aaron Rodgers: The most physically gifted quarterback in the game. By now, we all know what Rodgers is good at. If we wanted him to be even better, I suppose we could point to his tendency to hold the ball and ignore underneath receivers. Sometimes it feels like Rodgers is almost too talented for his own good. He’s always trying to wriggle around the pocket and keep his eyes downfield, hoping a receiver comes open deep for a bomb. Sometimes you want to shake Rodgers and tell him that there’s nothing wrong with a “normal” five-yard pass every now and then. That’s getting really nit-picky, though. It’s not like Rodgers never throws underneath and always holds the ball too long.

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After a two days of voting, the fans have had their say and the Packers’ Final Four players have been chosen. As a reminder this was a vote for the Packers’ BEST pure football players, not those with the most value to them.

I’ve also listed the top 20 vote getters along the way, in order – so these represent the players our readers consider the best 20 on the Packers roster.

1.  Aaron Rodgers
2. Clay Matthews
3. Randall Cobb
4. Josh Sitton
5. Casey Hayward
6. Jordy Nelson
7. James Jones
8. BJ Raji
9. Bryan Bulaga
10. Sam Shields
11. Desmond Bishop
12. Ryan Pickett
13. Tim Masthay
14. Jermichael Finley
15. Tramon Williams
16. Morgan Burnett
17. T.J. Lang
18. A.J. Hawk
19. C.J. Wilson
20. John Kuhn

Close but didn’t quite get there: Brad Jones, Jarrett Bush, Mason Crosby, Davon House, DuJuan Harris.

Any surprises for you?

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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Green Bay Packers NFL Draft prospect profile: LB Sean Porter

Player Information:

Sean Porter, LB Texas A&M
6-1, 229 pounds
Hometown: Schertz, TX

STATS

NFL Combine:

40 yard: 4.75

Bench: 22

Vert: 35″

Broad: 119″

News and Notes:

Sean Porter’s story is much like another less known linebacker coming out of a big college program that Packers fans have gotten to know over the last couple years.  Like Clay Matthews III, Sean Porter was overshadowed by his peers in college; instead of Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga it was Von Miller and current prospect Damontre Moore.  With so much talent on the field at linebacker both Matthews and Sean Porter ended up playing everywhere, from traditional outside linebacker to the “joker”/”elephant” positions.  Porter in particular started out as the “joker” in the 3-4 and then moved both strong and weakside linebacker in a traditional 4-3 after a defensive scheme change in his senior year.  Both Porter and Matthews probably deserved to get more credit coming into the draft and like Matthews, Porter has the ability to be the best linebacker from his school this year.

 What they’re saying about him:  Read more... (998 words + 1 image, estimated 4:0 mins reading time)

• CBSSports.com: “Possesses an athletic, well-defined frame, looking the part of an NFL linebacker. Versatile defender who can line up in multiple roles. Has the burst to beat tackles off the edge as a rusher and is particularly adept at timing the snap as a walk-up blitzer, showing the burst and ability to “get skinny” to slip through interior gaps. Porter, however, is at his best in pursuit of ballcarriers on the flanks and operating in coverage due to his athleticism, including impressive straight-line speed. He shows good strength to set the edge and the agility to avoid blocks and make tackles in the running game.”

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