Hell, Denzel Ward, Minkah Fitzpatrick or someone else? Maybe the Green Bay Packers’ ultimate target in the 2018 NFL Draft is actually Florida State safety Derwin James.
No offense to the other guys mentioned, but we’re more excited about James than anyone the Packers could draft. Ward would be a get at No. 14. There were earlier reports the Packers liked him more than anyone and cornerback is a huge need.
And while Ward is a potential athletic stud, so was Terrell Buckley. Like that clown, Ward falls a little bit on the undersized side when it comes to the Packers’ qualifications for corners. Okay, he isn’t as small as Buckley was (5-10, 180). Ward is 5-11, 191.
While that isn’t tiny, it is lesser than what the Packers look for in cornerbacks.
That brings us back to James.
Most people feel James is the top safety prospect in the draft, slightly, over Fitzpatrick. The thing that I personally love about James is not only is he big and strong (6-2, 215) or fast (4.47 40) and athletic (40-inch vertical), James is an alpha. Everything we’ve heard and read suggests this is the defensive leader the Packers haven’t had since that dipshit Uncle Ted cut Charles Woodson.
Is it even possible that James will be there when the Packers pick at No. 14? We don’t see it being likely. However, other people can see it happening.
Tony Pauline, who tracks the draft endlessly, says the Packers want James more than they do Ward (or anyone else). He thinks they may get him at No. 14 (I do not agree).
I reported last week that it was going to be Minkah Fitzpatrick or Josh Jackson for the Packers, but the team has a higher grade on James. It’s an unexpected surprise when he’s still available at 14.
Yeah, so mock drafts…
We’ve got no love for them.
However, if James or Ward are available at No. 14, we would be ecstatic with either. On the other hand, if we had our choice, Derwin James all the way.
He can cover, he can hit, he can play in the box — much like Morgan Burnett did last year — and he can be the playmaker the Packers’ have lacked in the secondary since Woodson.