Everyone was whining to trade up. No, I said, stay put and there will be a good player. No, you’re wrong everyone said. Well, no one ever accused me of not being a gloater.
Derwin James and Tremaine Edmunds – two of my top 5 defenders – were both available!
And the Packers went with… none of the above.
At first, I was ticked they traded down, then I saw that they got another first and I declared Gutey’s first draft move a smashing success.
I was hoping they could sit at 27 and see Josh Jackson or Harold Landry slip to them (amazingly they are both still on the board). Instead they traded up – using their 3rd round pick (which I am a little leery) of – to take Jaire Alexander at 18.
Alexander is everything you want in a corner… except tall. He’s coming out as a junior (and a young one at that – he just turned 21 in February) and is a smooth fluid athlete with a nasty streak.
But he’s 5’10”.
I wanted Josh Jackson becuase he would have paired up with Kevin King to have two very tall corners. So much for that idea.
As it stands, they have Alexander at 5’10” (who everyone compares to Chris Harris, who, by the way, is pretty good) and 6’2″ Kevin King. This gives them versatility for matchups.
So the Packers settled on Jaire Alexander, an exceptional talent (and young) at a position of need, while swapping their 3rd rounder this year for a 1st rounder next year (while also giving away a 6th to get a 5th and a 7th for some nice side action).
Vic Ketchman (the great Vic Ketchman) used to say that the draft is about marrying value and need. In jockeying around, Gutey did just that. He moved down 4 spots, picked up a great talent at a position of need, and picked up another first rounder next year for his trouble. Plus he still has 11 more picks this year.
All in all, I have to say I’m pretty happy with it. I may have taken Jackson over Alexander and I might have preferred to stick at 27 and keep my 3rd rounder and see who else fell, but at first glance, I have to call this a win.
It may have been a B on some of the decisions, but gaining a first rounder next year, in a draft that should be deeper than this year, is a huge win and has to be considered an A.
Good first round, Gutey.
I can’t wait to se what happens on Day 2.
For our complete draft coverage, please visit our 2018 Draft Central page.