It is mid April. While others will begin publishing mock drafts, most of us would agree that a mock draft that actually gets one actual Packer selection correct is ahead of the mock draft masses. Mock drafts are just a fun way to dream about the upcoming season. With fun at the forefront, this article will focus on players that if drafted by the Packers, will be fun to watch in a Packer uniform. Then we take it a step further and list the “All Name” team. The “All Name” team has the best first, last or combo of names for either a football player or for their specific position, or the name will be fun to say for announcers during the game. Hope you have fun with it.
Fun Players to Watch
WR
Nico Collins (6’4”/215) 4.42 40
Collins is known to Badger fans from their annual bouts with the Wolverines. In 2019 he had a 32 yard catch among his three catches totaling 66 yards. In 2018 he had four catches in Michigan’s win. Collins is as fast as Davante Adams but three inches taller. He is very fluid in his routes and breaks and can make contested catches look easy. Playing at Michigan he has practice adjusting to inaccurate throws. He could be available in round 2.
Elijah Moore (5’9.5”/180) 4.35 40
Moore has such potential in LaFluer’s offense. He is not only straight line fast he is quick. Moore ran the three cone in 6.66 seconds (fastest in NFL history is 6.42) and a short shuttle in 4.0. (NFL record 3.82)
LaFluer’s offense would allow Moore to be used as a slot, motion receiver or motion starting in the backfield just like Lane Kiffin did at Mississippi. He also has special team return experience which the Packers could desperately use.
Offensive Line
Dillon Radunz (6’5”/300) Highest graded tackle at Senior Bowl
Radunz comes with questions due to the inferior competition he faced at NDST. He needs to fill out a bit but his Senior Bowl practices were impressive and he has no problem playing in snow or wearing green and gold.
Alijah Vera-Tucker (6’5”/308)
Tucker has experience at left guard and left tackle. He has good movement skills and projects well in a zone blocking scheme. He played only one college season at left tackle so a year of development could produce a quality guard or tackle.
Quinn Meinerz (6’3”/320)
Wisconsin Whitewater’s media favorite has hooked me with a combination of his Senior Bowl practices, his workout video, and his belly of pride.
CB
Eric Stokes (6’1”/185) 4.39 40
Georgia’s second corner has big play making history in big games and a self confidence and forty time to run with any receiver in the league.
Aaron Robinson (5’11 ¼”/186) 4.39 40
Robinson has good man cover skills and show the speed to match NFL receivers at his pro day. He had extensive slot corner experience and he tackles like a safety. The one concern, a prior concussion that caused him to miss games.
ILB
Pete Werner (6’2.7/238) 4.58 40
Ohio State’s most reliable linebacker Werner impressed with a 4.58 forty at his pro day. Werner can take on a block with his 33 ¼ inch arms and cover short routes in the passing game. He also has stayed on the field (35 starts) and made big plays, like his two fumble recoveries against Wisconsin in 2019.
Defensive Line
Alim McNeil (6’1 7/8”/317) 4.94 40 – 27 reps of 225lbs. bench
McNeil played at the Nose position on NCST’s defense but has the quickness to play end in a 3-4 defense. His length is below the average for the position but he is bigger than former tackle Mike Daniels.
Milton Williams (6’3”/284) 4.64 40 – 34 reps of 225lbs. bench
Williams is too small by NFL size parameters but has numbers that equal or better Aaron Donald speed and explosion. His sack numbers are high but against lower level competition. I have watched some tape (TCU vs. L-Tech) and his monster numbers did not equate to stops. TCU ran for 330 yards against L. Tech. But he sure is a workout warrior with tools that could be developed.
Favorite Draft Prospect Names:
OT: William Sherman: (Imagine an OT named after a WWII tank)
OG: Kayode Awosika: who’s name translates to “Bringer of Joy” in Nigerian.
OC: Creed Humphrey: From Apollo Creed to the sequels, they pack a punch.
QB: Kyle Trask: A quarterback who’s last name has a Marvel comic connection
RB: Kenneth Gainwell. His last name is his goal
TE: Pro Wells: Guess his dad really wanted a pro for a son.
WR: Ja’Marr Chase: So many announcer possibilities
DE: Shaka Toney: Named after the King of the Zulu’s.
DT: Osa Odighizuwa. Osa was a name for a Russian missile class warship in the 50’s and 60’s.
ILB: Jamin Davis: “I hope you like Jamin too…”
OLB: Hamilcar Rashed Jr. :Named after the Carthaginian general who led forces in the First Punic War.
CB: Rachad Wildgoose: More announcer possibilities
S: Divine Deablo (phonetically an angel and a devil)
S: Brady Breeze. (phonetically named after two Super Bowl QB’s)
Honorable mention: Punter Max Duffy: Too close to Duffer for a job where you can shank your drives
I always liked Hercules Mata’afa as a good football name. It is not the first name I like as much as the last name. Is that Mata’afa still in the NFL?
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Had an office pool for a few years, each person would choose 15 prospect names they felt their preferred team would draft each year. First five would be prospects they thought their team would draft with the first pick in order of most likely to least likely. 5 points for most likely down to 1 point for least likely to be drafted with the first pick. All 15 prospects would receive 1 point if chosen in any round other than the first pick. Most points wins.
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It should be no shock that many years the individuals (including me) who entered the pool did not select even one prospect correctly. It should have been a good bet for guys who selected for the Bears etc. when they were selecting in the top 10 to 15, but even that did not help most years. I won some money, but only because of luck and having a system. Still the most prospects I ever correctly selected in any one year was two.
I hesitate to say this because i know a lot of fans like the draft season and everything it entails discussing all the draft picks they want picked, trading up, trading down, etc.
To me it’s just an exercise in futility that i never really got into. I actually wish i did get into it because i would know far more about the players.
We all know about the talking head experts with their 5 versions of their mock draft. But they usually end up hitting on maybe 4-7 of them and the majority being the 1st 3 or 4 picks. That’s why i always call this the silly season.
For as long as i can remember, when the Packers pick who they pick, that’s when it starts for me, diving into those guys scouting reports, Pro Days, and i can’t get enough of reading scouts individual opinions on players that we drafted.
I look forward to the draft as much as everyone else, but these two weeks before the draft are the slowest for me. Everyone is discussing who they want, when they want them and how their team can trade up and get the guys they can’t have…lol
Collins makes too much sense, just like TJ Watt did. He will be available we will all say…PICK HIM!!! And they will trade down and select someone who is a project.
As they always do . . . The TJ Watt debacle stills irks me.
That’s how i feel about the “Jordy incident”.
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And the Jimmy G signing 3 days later.
Gute was…off to the races.
And as of today..we’re still looking for Jordy’s replacement.
Me too. Forever. Could have had Barry Sanders too by the way.
Same here. Then Ted finally leaves and they get Gute who proceeds to trade up, draft a QB no one has ever heard of and in the process pissed off Rodgers, and now everybody is drooling over which team he ‘ll end up on next year.
The draft is surely a spectacle, but I am amazed at how early these talking heads; acting as talent evaluators, start with their draft projections. Some start the day after their non-playoff team finishes the regular season. You Tube videos have exploded in recent years of fans making their own mock drafts; and making them with draft simulators. I guess it’s all in fun and it shows the popularity of the game. However, like many other fans, it gets to be re-hashed, over and over, with the talking heads agreeing and arguing, the many versions of mock drafts, and it all ends up being a very low, low percentage of what really occurs when the bell opens the draft. Proof of this was evident last year when Gute threw us all a knuckle- curve ball on the 1st 2 days of the draft. I wonder how many mock drafts and both expert and amateur talent evaluators saw that coming? So, with the draft a week away; we’re all mock drafted out, heads full of info; (good and bad). We’re at the point where it’s boring right now, so; let the spectacle begin; and hope Gute doesn’t throw us another shit ball!
The problem with “GUTE” is that he does not have a great scouting system IMO. I also believe that he does not have a great eye for emerging talent, nor any flair for finding a diamond in the rough. Very few GM’s do . . . He unfortunately continues to quantify this ineptitude. Time for him to go ruin some other HOF QB’s career . . .
Yes, and add failure to address obvious needs on the team to Gutes’ resume. As a matter of debate, I question their whole scouting department and their process!
Never was a fan of the Gute hire. Seems like all they got is Ted 2.0. Since the TJ Watt thing, it gets harder every year to be a fan. If they somehow push Rodgers out, I might not be investing any time or emotion in the Packers for a long time. The fans deserve better. I think management is happy making Lambeau a football theme park instead of maintaining a football team.
“Let The Belly Breathe” – Packers…3rd round.
Update: It appears not everyone “Down the hall” appreciated my football knowledge and outstanding personality :)
They changed the locks on me a day or 2 ago, and frankly, i’m just devastated.
Luckily i have a good therapist who said i should get back to happy in 6 – 9 months.
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Apparently…the truth isn’t of any particular interest over there.
Saying things like….”we have more needs this season than we did last season”….doesn’t go over well….lol
Or if you mention “the 2020 draft offered no help to the 2020 team”…Well….your fate is pretty much sealed.
That isn’t how they define a true Packer fan…lol
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If CHTV was a Country…Denial would be the Capital.
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In their defense…I was occasionally an ass.
But try teaching Quantum physics to 5th graders, and you’ll understand it gets frustrating.
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There are some very good informed fans there, like a handful.
But being in there,, reminded me what it was like being here 7,8 years ago.
A handful of us called things the way we saw it here back then, and we were called out and ridiculed on it …hard.
But it never swayed is. We saw what we saw and voiced it
As the years went by, everything we were saying came to be justified and we were proven correct.
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Readers like Cheese and MMSUCKS know exactly which i speak.
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What did i learn the past few weeks…..
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QUALITY always beats quantity.
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Like drafting one good wr early (See Rob). Instead of 3 wr’s late.
Every single productive receiver the Packers drafted the last 20 years were all drafted in the 1st or 2nd round, sans 3rd rounder (James Jones)
I agree PF4L. “Quality always beats quantity”; even when looking for backup players. The theory the Packers have is pick 3 players in a draft at a certain position; and hopefully one will be a difference maker. In recent years, they did that with CBs, OLs, WRs’ and Edge rushers. How many have stepped up to grab a starting spot, and made a difference? Your quote, “the needs on the team are exactly the same as last offseason”; is true. On CHTV and other “rose colored glasses sites”, we hear this insanity of “you can never have too many TEs”, or you can never have too many OLs”, Or, “too many Edge Rushers”; and on and on. What they should be saying is ” you can never have too many QUALITY FOOTBALL PLAYERS, at as many positions on the field that you can get. Another thing that is insane is, you hear these same people say, “well, they just don’t value the ILB, DL, and WR positions with early round draft picks”. I’m not even near the smartest fan around, but I’m bright enough to watch this team play, and figure out where the weak spots are, and wise enough to think that expecting to get QUALITY play from 6 and 7th round draft picks, UDFAs, and other teams castoffs to improve weaknesses, and more importantly, to start; is why this team can’t get to the next level.
Unless the NFL has changed the date, I think today is the last day that Tonyan can receive and sign an offer sheet from another team?
Good question…..No clue….
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I can find 100 places to tell us when it starts and about the 2 days of “legal tampering allowed”, but not on an end date.
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I’m sure i could find it somewhere in the CBA….but no thanks.
The 23rd is what I remember also. Looks like Tonyan is not going anywhere else this year.
Example:
A readers comment from down the hall…..
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“In 2022 if AR12 and DA17 aren’t resigned there’s $50 m in cap space to shore up holes”
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Really?….Well….lol. It doesn’t exactly work out that simple tiger.
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Right now…the Packers are 8 million over the projected 2022 cap according to OTC.
That is with only 32 players signed. 31 without Rodgers
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So if Adams isn’t under contract, you don’t gain any money by letting him go.
Rodgers doesn’t have to be resigned, he’s signed goofball (5th grader)
If you let Rodgers go, you gain about 22.6 million.
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More accurately….If the Packers don’t resign Adams, and they trade Rodgers, it will help them try to stay under the cap.
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But two things……if they leave, where is this team going? Nowhere would be my guess Jordan Love and MVS as the go to #1 receiver?…….Good luck.
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Plus, you still have Alexander to sign, a third of the team, and your draft picks.
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Reality….you still might have to get rid of one or two of your top 10 players, just to stay under the cap.
As you said previously, tell it like it is. Here it is…Thank goodness GB won 1 Super Bowl with Rodgers, because the odds of another one after 2021 are slim. 2020 was a year of possibility, just like 2011 and 2014. After this season an overwhelming amount of hard choices will have to be made, and everyone wants to get paid. They are already over the cap for 2022. Going all in to win is great….but only IF YOU WIN.
In retrospect, the Packers going “all in” occurred in 2019 with all the free agent signings. That, coupled with Covid (nobody’s fault) brought us to where we are this off season. Restructuring contracts….just to keep most of the team intact.
Kicking the salary cap down the road, which before this year, wasn’t the Packers style.
So where does that leave us in 2021? We lost a couple lineman which to me, is a big deal. We lost a ilb, a loss, but to a much lesser degree.
We are picking at the back of each round. We have no money for free agents. So we are once again reliant on the draft for improvement.
We would need to find 2 (good) starters in the draft just to get back to 2021 talent level, possibly a net gain if other factors fell into place.
So Ferris, your statement that “2020 was a year of possibility” couldn’t ring any more true.
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Everyone……except for one or two people thought the same thing.
Then the draft came upon us.
The Packers powers to be decided instead of trying to make improvements to the 2019 team. They would adapt a different plan of action and strategy
So we got a repeat of 2019.
Beaten down by a team in the regular season, and then that same team beating us in the NFCCG.
It’s not a sin not improving the 2019 team through the 2020 draft.
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The sin was……not trying.
As far as improving the 2020 team in the 2021 draft to get to a SB. The circumstances as addressed above has changed.
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That SB window…may or may not have closed.
The reason i leave that door open slightly, is on the chance Parry can improve the defense (his first year?) AND Gute hits home runs in the draft.
I’m not holding my breath on the draft.
I pretty much agree with the above. The fate of the 2021 draft is gonna hinge entirely on Gute. For Berry to succeed, Gute is gonna have to supply our DC with the horses he needs to improve on defense. Changing schemes and coordinators alone, simply isn’t enough; no matter who the DC is. They will have to draft smart this year, if they think the SB window is open; because next year with the salary cap woes, and with contacts coming up ,it’s gonna be even harder.
Mick…..I’m convinced this is Rodgers last season in Green Bay for 3 reasons.
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1) The teams avoidance in committing any new guaranteed money in his contract.
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2) They desperately need his salary cap savings next season.
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3) I don’t think the original plan of going after Jordan Love, consisted of him sitting 3 or 4 years.
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Never say never……
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2 reasons why he could stay…..
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1) The Packers get to the SB, or Rodgers plays anywhere close to MVP level. In that case it would be a public relations nightmare for the Packers to trade Rodgers.
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Note: It was a public relations nightmare for TT with the Rodgers/Favre drama. But the difference being, Ted had big balls.
Plus the fact i don’t think it’s any secret that Rodgers was far more NFL ready.
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2) The Packers don’t feel that Jordan Love is ready/able to replace Rodgers as starting QB.
Thank you for clarifying. The all in I was referencing is the past 2 years. Except for the draft of course. They went all stupid.
I like that, that’s pretty funny, and fitting.
Gute did have a good 2019 draft, at least the 1st two rounds,
If the Packers get two good starters out of a draft…that’s a big win.
Just imagine if he took a solid starter right out of the blocks with the 12th pick, that would have been a great draft.
According to Packers Wire, former Packers S/FS Morgan Burnett has officially announced his retirement from the NFL.
I don’t like doing this, and this is the last time i will.
But i’m going to show a post from someone who has earned my respect.
Someone whose thoughts reminds me of myself so much, it’s almost uncanny.
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April 24, 2021 at 10:23 am
The draft as a process in and of itself is boring. But that is not the point. The point is to select players who can help the team win and to fill out the roster. I’m not sure that it’s boring to take an OL or DL is that player evolves into a solid contributor or all-pro level player. Last season we took a QB with our 1st round pick and he has yet to put on the uniform. I’m not sure there is anything more boring than that.
For me the excitement comes in reviewing the selections and trying to picture the player helping the team either in the current season or down the road. Unless the team picks a Gale Sayers or a Bob Hayes they all about the same to me. That’s why I say wake me when it’s over and I will futilely attempt to determine if the Packers have made good selections or not.
Do NOT watch if you are squeamish.
Uriah Hall vs Chris Weidman
Leg kick….gone wrong.
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https://twitter.com/i/status/1386152092902039555
“What the heck is a “swim move”? Lol” – anonymous – NFL fan since 2020
Paul, did you call the Stokes pick? Interesting you selected Stokes picture for your article. Good call if you did think the Packers would select Stokes. The bad part is if Stokes does not work out it could always be partially your fault. ;-)