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Who will replace Greg Jennings in 2013 is one of many questions left after the draft

The Green Bay Packers added 11 new players to their offseason roster via this past weekend’s NFL draft.  Packers GM Ted Thompson, as he does every year, maneuvered around and was able to add some additional picks to the stash that he began the draft with.

Heading into the draft, the team’s biggest needs were Defensive Line, Safety, Running Back, Wide Receiver, Tight End and Offensive Line.  The team addressed the defensive line with two selections in the first five rounds.  At running back, they added two players in the first four rounds and they selected two offensive linemen in the fourth.  Any pick within the first five rounds should be expected to stick on the team’s final 53 man roster.  The key word is “should” so I cautiously say that those three areas seemingly were covered.

While some GM’s draft more for need, Thompson’s philosophy has been more about taking the best player available on his board at the time.  Two good examples are his selecting two offensive tackles within 10 draft slots of each other in round four and trading back into the fourth round to select running back Johnathan Franklin when he had already selected a top-tier running back two rounds earlier in the form of Eddie Lacy.  Read more... (1362 words + 3 images, estimated 5:27 mins reading time)

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What chemistry problem?

With such a deep receiving corps, the Green Bay Packers have been able to let things slide a bit at the tight end position.  The question is how much longer they can afford to do so.  Starting tight end Jermichael Finley set a franchise record for receptions by a tight end while the departed Tom Crabtree seemingly scored a touchdown every time the Packers played on national television.

With Crabtree gone and Finley entering the final year of his contract, the tight ends face a crucial year in 2013.  Could the Packers draft a tight end early in this spring’s draft? Will Finley become the game changing weapon everyone thought he could be back in 2009? Who will replace Crabtree as the blocking specialist among them?

Where are we now:

Here are the current suspects:

Jermichael Finley (3rd round, 2008)

D.J. Williams (5th round, 2011)

Ryan Taylor (7th round, 2011)

Brandon Bostick (undrafted free agent, 2012)

Andrew Quarless (5th round, 2010)

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

Finley: The player so many fans love to hate.  His mouth got him into trouble early in the season but he came around late and had some solid games to close out the regular season.  Read more... (795 words + 1 image, estimated 3:11 mins reading time)

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TE Jordan Reed

Green Bay Packers NFL Draft prospect profile: TE Jordan Reed

Player Information:

Jordan Reed, RB North Carolina
6-2, 236 pounds
Hometown: New London, CT

STATS

NFL Combine:

40 yard: 4.72

Bench: 16

News and Notes:

Jordan Reed is one of the more interesting prospects when he joined the Florida Gators as a man with no position.  A high school quarterback that lead his team to an undefeated season, the Gators first tried him out at running back where he gained 335 rushing yards on 44 carries (4.4 ypc) in his freshmen year.  He then made the transition to tight end where he lined up everywhere including inline, in the slot and bunch formations.  While Reed offers up an intriguing skill set he also carries much personal baggage that may ultimately cause his draft stock to fall.

 What they’re saying about him:   Read more... (951 words + 1 image, estimated 3:48 mins reading time)

• CBSSports.com: “Reed is a fluid and flexible athlete with smooth body control and controlled balance. He flashes WR moves after the catch with quick, elusive feet and deceiving speed to run away from defenders.  Reed shows smooth athleticism in his routes, creating separation with sharp footwork and quick body movements. He has reliable hands and does a nice job holding onto the ball after a big hit, proving his ability and toughness over the middle of the field.”

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Aaron Rodgers and Josh Sitton are two of the Packers “blue chip” players.

Now that my fellow staff members and I have completed our annual player evaluations and report cards, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the Green Bay Packers’ impact players. Taking a page from Michael Lombardi, former NFL Network analyst who now works in the front office for the Cleveland Browns, I have categorized the players into representational colored chips.

I’ve added a couple more categories beyond the usual blue and red chips, but for the latter groups, I have taken some of the qualifications as used by Lombardi. While some players might have fallen short of their expectations this past season, I have attempted to look at their entire body of work and where they stand going into 2013.

One thing I did notice in this exercise was the lack of playmakers on the defense, which Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy, and Dom Capers need to work on correcting.

Feel free to chime in with any agreements, disagreements, or additions to the lists!

Blue Chip Players:

» Demonstrates rare abilities and creates mismatches that have an obvious impact on the game.
» Is a premier player in the league and a weapon on the field.
» Combines competitiveness and skill to provide a consistent championship-level performance.  Read more... (914 words + 1 image, estimated 3:39 mins reading time)

• Aaron Rodgers – One of the best quarterbacks in the modern NFL era, Rodgers is the heart of this team. His exceptional football intelligence, technique, and work ethic make everyone else around him look better.

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Notre Dame TE Tyler Eifert

The 2013 NFL Draft offers a deep crop of tight ends, headlined by Notre Dame’s Tyler Eifert and Stanford’s Zach Ertz. Both players can do everything NFL teams ask tight ends to do, but the class is much deeper than just the top two.

A handful of NFL-ready tight ends figure to come off the board on day two. And with the uncertain future of Jermichael Finley in Green Bay, the Packers could be in the market for a tight end at some point in this year’s draft.

Let’s take a closer look at the top ten tight ends in this year’s draft. There aren’t many surprises, although one player in my top ten wasn’t even invited to this year’s NFL Scouting Combine.

1. Tyler Eifert, Notre Dame (6-5 250)

• Draft stock: Late 1st
• 40 time: 4.68, Vertical: 35.5″, 225-pound bench: 22 reps
• Two-year starter, averaged 55.5 receptions, 713.5 yards and 4.5 touchdowns per year as a starter.
• Backed up current Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph as a sophomore but still managed to find the field, recording 27 receptions for 352 yards and two touchdowns.

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Packers CB Tramon Williams found himself in the falling category. Safety Morgan Burnett was steady.

The Packers end of season, full roster stock report is upon us. Below are over 2,300 words of insight, analysis, opinions and nonsense about every player currently on the Packers roster.

Read closely and enjoy, because many of these players likely won’t be around in 2013.

I incorporated each player’s performance from this season, and their future outlook while categorizing. Please agree or disagree in the comments.

As always, thanks for reading the weekly stock reports. Onto the last one:

Rising

Aaron Rodgers
It wasn’t as great as his MVP campaign, but it was still damn good. With chaos and injuries swirling all around, Rodgers kept the Packers offense moving forward and limited mistakes. A fine all-around performance and no reason to think it won’t continue in 2013.

Randall Cobb
With Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson hobbled most of the season, Cobb broke out and turned into the Packers most dangerous weapon. I worry a little about his durability, but his production when healthy was great. Oh, and he needs to drop fewer passes.

DuJuan Harris
Is this too much praise for the 5-foot-7, 210-pound rolling ball of butcher knives? Maybe. But if I’m buying Harris stock, I want in right now. I think he’s going to stick with the Packers and get a chance to make some noise.  Read more... (2396 words + 1 image, estimated 9:35 mins reading time)

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Packers TE Andrew Quarless

The Green Bay Packers have placed tight end Andrew Quarless and rookie safety Sean Richardson on the season-ending injured reserve.

Quarless had not played at all in 2012 due to swelling in his knee after suffering a torn ACL and MCL last season. He came off the physically unable to perform list Nov. 7 but was never able to get back to full strength.

Richardson had been active for five games this season and ranked sixth on the team in special teams tackles. He was on the injury report this week with a back injury but didn’t appear to be in jeopardy of missing the rest of the season.

Richardson missed six games with a hamstring injury.

To fill the void on the 53-man roster, the Packers signed running back DuJuan Harris and wide receiver Jeremy Ross from the practice squad. According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Harris had been impressive on the practice squad, even earning some snaps with the No. 1 offense.

Harris is expected to see play on special teams and be the team’s No. 3 running back Sunday against the Vikings.

Ross was signed to the Packers’ practice squad a week before Harris. His role is expected to be primarily on special teams.

Follow @MVEversoll

Marques is a Journalism student and also a columnist at Jersey Al's AllGBP.com and Bleacher Report. Follow Marques on Twitter @MJEversoll.

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