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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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Packers RB DuJuan Harris will surely be back with the Pack in 2013.

As far as personnel, the Packers underwent more changes at running back than any other position. James Starks was the starter through training camp before the team signed Cedric Benson after the first preseason game. Injuries added up, allowing DuJuan Harris–a former used car salesman–to take over as the team’s feature back.

Where are we now:

Here are the current suspects;

DuJuan Harris (UDFA, Signed as FA in 2012)
Alex Green (3rd round, 2011)
James Starks (6th round, 2010)
Brandon Saine (UDFA, 2011)
John Kuhn (UDFA, Signed as FA in 2007)

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

Harris: For the 2012 Packers, DuJuan Harris (5-9 208) was a huge blessing in a small package. After starter Cedric Benson was lost for the season with a Lisfranc injury, and reserves Alex Green and James Starks both battled injuries of their own, the team turned to Harris to be the lead back. Harris played in a total of six games last season and recorded a team-high four rushing touchdowns.

Green: After Cedric Benson was lost for the season while James Starks was already out of the lineup, Alex Green was the next man up. Green broke off a season-long run of 41 yards later in the game Benson got hurt but never grabbed hold of the starting job. For the season, Green averaged just 3.4 yards per carry.  Read more... (1284 words + 1 image, estimated 5:08 mins reading time)

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March Madness: Packers’ Sweet Sixteen”

As March Madness was zeroing in on the “Sweet Sixteen,” the ALLGBP readers voted for the Packers best sixteen players over the weekend.

With the top 12 already selected, our readers voted for the last four to make the list of “Sweet Sixteen.”

Here are the 12 that made it by default.

1) Aaron Rodgers

2) Clay Matthews

3) Josh Sitton

4) BJ Raji

5) Ryan Pickett

6) Tramon Williams

7) Randall Cobb

8) Desmond Bishop

9) Morgan Burnett

10) Jordy Nelson

11) James Jones

12) Sam Shields

And now here are the voting results for the last four spots. (The percentage numbers represent what percentage of the voters cast a vote for that player.)

93% Casey Hayward

86% Bryan Bulaga

67% Jermichael Finley

50% Tim Masthay

47% T.J. Lang

24% Brad Jones (write-in)

23% Dujuan Harris (write-in)

20% Davon House (write-in)

17% A.J. Hawk

9% C.J. Wilson

7% John Kuhn

5% Mason Crosby

5% Jarett Bush

Other random players received a vote here or there, not much worth mentioning, except that Aaron Rodgers got a write-in vote. Either someone didn’t read very well or they thought he was twice as good as anyone else on the roster. I guess we’ll never know.  Read more... (319 words + 3 images, estimated 1:17 mins reading time)

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Player Information:

Jordan Rodgers, QB Vanderbilt
6-1, 212 pounds
Hometown: Chico, CA

STATS

NFL Combine:

Not invited

News and Notes:

Based on the comments from my previous draft posts, I’d like to point out that this is a prospect profile, not a draft prediction.  I haven’t analyzed a player who I think the Packers will take at 26 and that trend is going to continue; in fact I’m not advocating one way or the other that the Packers should draft/sign Jordan Rodgers at all. With that being said, Jordan Rodgers is an interesting prospect because he’s almost a reflection of what Aaron Rodgers’ story might have been had it not gone as well; Jordan also started at Butte Community College, where he lead the team to it’s first undefeated season in his second year.  He then transfered to a big name football program (Vanderbilt) but ended up redshirting his freshmen year with a shoulder injury.  From there he rode the bench until injuries struck and ended up as the starter, again much like his brother.  However, it took Jordan two years to transfer out of JUCO, then lost a year after getting a medical redshirt and only ended up as the legitimate starter in his senior year.  All in all, Jordan Rodgers will begin his NFL career at 25 while his older brother was only 21, which makes Aaron’s story all that more incredible.  It’s hard to imagine how different Aaron Rodger’s story would be if Jeff Tedford hadn’t come up to Chico to scout a tight end or if Rodgers hadn’t had the chance to start as a junior, but in fact that story might be Jordan Rodgers.  Read more... (1167 words + 1 image, estimated 4:40 mins reading time)

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Packers WR Randall Cobb will return as a top playmaker in 2013.

The injury bug bit the position hard, but players continually stepped up and the offense didn’t miss a beat. James Jones has had his fair share of struggles with dropped passes, but he had the best season of his career in 2013, leading the league with 14 touchdown catches. Randall Cobb also had a breakout season, due in part to the absence of Greg Jennings for much of the season. With Jennings likely headed elsewhere as an unrestricted free agent, more pressure will rely on the shoulders of Jones, Cobb and Jordy Nelson.

Where are we now:

Here are the current suspects;

Jordy Nelson (2nd Round, 2008)
James Jones (3rd Round, 2007)
Randall Cobb (2nd Round, 2011)
Jarrett Boykin (UDFA, 2012)
Jeremy Ross (UDFA, Signed as FA in 2012)

For expanded coverage of this topic, listen in using the player below or download the podcast from the Packers Talk Radio Network on Itunes.

Nelson: Coming off a breakout 2011 season, expectations for Jordy Nelson were high coming into 2012. Nelson will likely assume the subjective role of the Packers’ No. 1 receiver without Jennings in the fold. Although he missed four games due to injury, Nelson performed well when he was in the lineup. In a two-game stretch against the Houston Texans and St. Louis Rams, Nelson racked up 17 catches for 243 yards and four touchdowns.  Read more... (1104 words + 1 image, estimated 4:25 mins reading time)

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Packers GM Ted Thompson

1) Introduction:  After following a Super Bowl title up with a 15-1 regular season in 2001, it seemed Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson could do no wrong.   After a tense beginning to his tenure with the Packers, many fans have come to completely trust Thompson when it comes to building the roster of their team.  Even when Thompson doesn’t sign many fee agents, he’s finding good players in the draft to restock Green Bay’s shelf with fresh talent.  2012 was no exception to how Thompson has gone about his time with the Packers.

2) Profile:

Ted Thompson

• Age: 60
• Born: 01/07/1953,      in Atlanta, Texas
• Rookie Year as  GM: 2006 (Packers)
• NFL Experience:  player: 1975-1984 (Houston Oilers), executive      1992-present (Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks)

Biography and more: 

(3) Expectations heading into 2012:  The expectations for Thompson’s roster have been the same since the Packers won Super Bowl XLV: Lombardi Trophy or bust.  The defense was Green Bay’s Achilles Heel in 2011 but it was often ignored or overlooked because of the record amount of points the offense was putting up.

Thompson’s objective was to improve the defense and he delivered in the draft with six of the Packers’ eight selections being devoted to the defensive side of the ball.  With Aaron Rodgers in command of a young but explosive offense, Thompson was afforded the luxury of being able to focus on one side of the team.  Read more... (623 words + 1 image, estimated 2:30 mins reading time)

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Packers Cornerbacks:  All eyes were on the cornerback group during Training Camp in 2012. This unit, above all others, had some serious competition going on for a starting job. And the result was that this competition continued throughout the season until we ended up with Tramon Williams, Sam Shields, and Casey Hayward as the clear leaders of the secondary.

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

Where are we now:

Here are the current suspects:

Tramon Williams (UDFA, 2006)
Jarrett Bush (UDFA, 2006)
Sam Shields (UDFA, 2010)
Davon House (4^th Round, 2011)
Casey Hayward (2^nd Round, 2012)
James Nixon (UDFA, 2012, Practice Squad)

How many teams can say that their top two cornerbacks went undrafted as rookies? The Packers can, though they can also say that their past two draft selections on cornerbacks are also beginning to make names for themselves.  Read more... (936 words + 1 image, estimated 3:45 mins reading time)

• Williams: After a horrible showing in 2011 thanks to an early shoulder injury, Tramon Williams was looking to get back to his championship form of 2010. Unfortunately, he only seemed to get about halfway there. He showed clear improvement but still came up short, especially in key moments. The big question is whether he’ll continue the upward trend or start falling again.

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