The more my board grows, the more I’m ready to dig deeper. This is the first analyzed draft where I’ll go through the 5th round to start seeing how things shape up deeper in the draft.
As the 13th mock, something was sure to go wrong and the database connection dropped before the draft could be saved, so instead of the nifty little picture, you’ll all have to settle for this text version:
Round 1
Five Edge guys went with the first five picks followed by three Defensive Linemen before 12. That left me with Montez Sweat, who has a huge wingspan and dominated Senior Bowl practices. Great first step, but doesn’t quite have the flexibility of the 5 Edges that went before him.
At 30, I couldn’t help but double up with Brian Burns, who fell again to give me a great combo of physical freaks on the edge. He needs to add some weight, but he has as many natural gifts as anyone in this class. These two would immediately transform the Packers defense.
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Round 2
Lots of options at positions of need flew off the board between 30 and 44. Very disappointed that value didn’t meet need, so I just went with value and took Josh Jacobs, a complete, compact running that I put at the top of the class.
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Round 3
The Jets offered me a 2020 2nd round pick to move down 18 spots in the 3rd. Normally, this is a no-brainer, bt I didn’t take ut because A) It’s so silly it would probably never happen and B) There was only one player left on my board with a 3rd grade and it was at a position of need.
I stayed put and took Elgton Jenkins, an Center-Guard who dominated Senior Bowl practices and has the mobility and smarts to be a very good zone blocking interior lineman. He played 4 positions on the line in college – everything except (ironically) Right Guard.
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Round 4
With the first pick, I went with my man Darnell Savage. He is a solid all-around safety with the skills to cover in man and was the best DB at the Senior Bowl. Great place to fill a hole.
With my second pick, I was all ready to take Linebacker Germaine Pratt, a physically imposing figure who really jumped with his Senior Bowl showing that was at the top of my board, but he was taken one spot before me. This happens so much in mocks and I’m sure it happens to GMs all the time in real life. The contingency when there is just one guy left in a tier can be unpredictable.
Since I was going for best player and not need, I couldn’t just take the next Linebacker on my list. I went with the next best player and grabbed Penny Hart, a slot receiver who wasn’t originally invited to play in the Senior Bowl, but was added after a number of other receivers were injured. While he was there, he was virtually uncoverable from the slot, making the second best receiver showing behind Deebo Samuel’s amazing week of practice. At 5’8, he’s 2 inches short than diminutive Hollywood Brown, yet he’s a lot heavier at 180. However, he runs in the 4.3’s and could be the fastest player at the combine. Nice toy for LaFluer and Rodgers.
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Round 5
I went with the top guy on my board in Dennis Daley, a super strong, athletic lineman that lacks the ability to hang at LT. He might be able to handle RT, but if he can’t, he should be a big contributor at Guard in a zone blocking system.
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Rounds 6-7
I’m not going this deep, but stay tuned.
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Analysis
Getting Sweat and Burns will immediatley transform the defense. I think this will have an even bigger impact than last year’s defensive double dip. Savage will help strengthen back end coverage, which will also benefit from increased pressure on the opposing Quarterback.
On offense, Jacobs and Hart will be the fun pieces to watch, but both will be in a committee role (bad for fantasy, good for the Packers). The bigger contributions will come from Jenkins and Daley, who will stablize the line with zone blocking abilities and could both be starting by the playoffs.
The team will still need a Tight End, even with Graham coming back, and more competition depth is needed on the defensive line and linebacker groups.
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Check out our PFTW 2019 Mock Draft Archive to see how other scenarios played out!
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