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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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2012 Packers First Round Pick DE/OLB Nick Perry and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

Can lightning strike twice?

Packers general manager Ted Thompson hopes so after selecting USC defensive end/outside linebacker Nick Perry with the 28^th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.  For the second time in four years, the Packers used a first round pick on linebacker from Southern California.

The other pick? A certain Clay Matthews III, drafted in 2009.  Three years later, Thompson recognized his defense desperately needed another elite pass rusher to complement the Claymaker and once again took a player from USC.

Matthews has panned out very well for the Packers so far, so what does the future hold for Perry, who spent one season on the same team as Matthews at USC?

Well, to place Matthews-like expectations on Perry would be incredibly unfair.  No one expected the results Matthews produced in 2009 and since he and Perry played for the same college, some fans may be expecting Perry to duplicate Matthews’ rookie season.

Perry is a different player than Matthews.  Perry played with his hand to the ground, though Thompson said he wasn’t concerned about moving Perry to outside linebacker.  It’s easy to understand why Thompson feels that way, too.   Perry is a terrific pass rusher who has a good motor (not as strong as Matthews, but still decent) and explosiveness off the snap.  Read more... (955 words + 1 image, estimated 3:49 mins reading time)

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Packers First Round Draft Pick Nick Perry USC

With their first-round pick (28th overall) in the 2012 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers selected Nick Perry a defensive end/outside linebacker out of the University of Southern California.

Ted Thompson didn’t trade up, or out, of the first round and ends up with someone they can put opposite of Clay Matthews.

Player Details

NICK PERRY
Defensive End
University of Southern California Trojans
#8
6:02.6-271
Detroit, Michigan
Martin Luther King High School

CAREER NOTES

Perry started 22-of-37 games at Southern California – 21 at strong-side defensive end and one on the weak-side…Recorded 103 tackles (62 solos) with 21.5 quarterback sacks for minus 137 yards, 29.5 stops for losses totaling 166 yards and 51 pressures…Caused five fumbles and recovered two others, advancing one eight yards…Also deflected six passes…His 21.5 sacks tied Brandon Jenkins of Florida State and Melvin Ingram of South Carolina for 11^th among active players in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision ranks…He led the team in sacks as a freshman (eight in 2009) and again as a junior (9.5 in 2011), as he became just the eighth Trojan to lead the team in sacks more than once in a career since Southern California officially began recording those statistics in 1983. He joins such elite performers like Jack Del Rio 13.0 in 1983 and seven in 1984); Marcus Cotton (ten in both the 1985-86 seasons and  twelve more in 1987); Craig Hartsuyker (eight in 1988 and nine in 1990); Willie McGinest (sixteen in 1992 and six in 1993); Sultan Abdul-Malik (seven in 1997 and eight in 1998); Ennis Davis (five in 1999 and six in 2000) and Lawrence Jack-son (ten in 2005 and 10.5 in 2007)…Since the Pac-12 Conference (formerly the Pac-10) began to officially recognize sacks in 1984, Perry is the only Trojan to outright lead the conference in sacks, accomplishing that feat in 2011…McGinest shared that title with Ron George of Stanford in 1992 and D.D. Acholonu of Washington State joined the Trojans’ Kenechi Udeze in sharing that title in 2003.  Read more... (683 words + 1 image, estimated 2:44 mins reading time)

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With their 1^st pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers select offensive tackle Derek Sherrod  from the Mississippi State University.

Sherrod measured 6’5” 321 lbs with a 35 3/8 inch wingspan and at the combine and posted a 5.18 second 40-yard dash, 23 bench presses, 28 inch vertical jump, 97 inch broad jump, 7.43 second 3-cone drill and 4.63 second 20-yard shuttle.

College history: Derek Sherrod is one of the most decorated college football players in the nation both on and off the field; he was named to seven All-American teams this year as well as winning the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Award, which is given to the top 16 players in the nation for their academic and leadership ability.  Sherrod graduated in August of 2010 with a 3.54 grade point average in business.

On the football field he played in 47 games and started 36 of them at left offensive tackle, racking up 319 knockdown blocks (8.86 per game, highest of any draft eligible offensive linemen in this years draft), and graded out at 92.8% in blocking efficiency.  Sherrod is more of a pass blocker than a run blocker, just like the Packers like them.  He’s also seen as more of a technician than an athletic specimen, which again is just like the Packers like them (see Bryan Bulaga)  Read more... (388 words + 1 image, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)

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The Green Bay Packers got a very unexpected present at the NFL Draft. Bryan Bulaga, rated as a top 10 player on most draft boards, slipped to the #23 spot, where GM Ted Thompson had no choice but to graciously accept the gift.

This isn’t a sexy choice, it isn’t an exciting choice. Chances are he contributes very little next season. But it’s a pick for the future of the Green Bay Packers and the safety of their franchise quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.

I for one, have been calling for the Packers to take a Sergio Kindle or Jerry Hughes, both of whom were there for the Packers. Had Bulaga not dropped, I believe you would have seen one of those two linebackers terrorizing opposing quarterbacks next season.

It was a scenario I relished. I had this perfect vision in my mind. Matthews on one side, Kindle or Hughes on the other. Let see how comfortable Brett Favre would be in the pocket now…

But alas, it;s not to be. It’s not a time to be sad, however. The Packers got an excellent value for their selection. Not quite an Aaron Rodgers drop value, but a very good value nonetheless.

Bryan Bulaga Scouting Reports:

Walter Football

New Era Scouting

National Football Post

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