This year's draft was pretty solid for receivers. Alot of them went in the draft and there was a pretty good variety to choose from. I want to talk about some of the receivers in this years draft and my opinions on them.
Justin Blackmon
This guy is the best receiver in this year's draft as far as I'm concerned. He played for Oklahoma State and was a beast at the position. He isn't a terribly big guy at 6' 1" 207 pounds, but he has excellent speed and acceleration out of his cuts. The route running ability of this receiver is almost perfect because of his knowledge of the defenses, and his ability to recognize coverages. He can work to get inside position if he needs it, or drive his defender off the line to get the position on them he needs. He recorded a 4.4 in the 40 on his pro day and is a great possesion receiver. It really doesn't matter where the quarterback puts the ball, if it is in reach, Blackmon will come down with it. His arms will stretch out to get the ball in high or low places, and he works pretty well in traffic. A great receiver for the league and probably a successful one.
Michael Floyd
Floyd has that playmaking ability that every scout looks for. His ability to break long runs after the catch make him a great prospect in this year's draft. He is a little taller than Blackmon with a little more weight on him as well. Look for this guy to be making plays early on in his career for his team. Jamming him didn't work great as a defensive strategy against him in college, and we'll have to see how he does against it in the pros. Floyd is an exceptional route runner and good knowledge of coverages. He can make defenders miss in the open field as well as flat out pick a side and run through them. This guy is one of my favorite receivers in the draft and should be successful for his team.
Stephen Hill
Hill is this year's track star with a recorded 40 yard dash time of 4.3. His great straight line speed will definitely prove himself a tough receiver to cover for defensive backs all around the league. Also, he can make the big fingertip catch to give his team that much needed first down or touchdown. His quickness throughout his route makes him potentially the toughest receiver to cover one on one in this year's draft. He'll be burning corners deep in the NFL just like he did in college. Also, he can be used as a returner for his team right away. The guy is tough and can take a beating on returns if that is how it turns out. There's no doubt in my mind he will be able to produce early on as a returner, we'll just have to see if his ability as an every down receiver can hold up well enough to earn him a starting position at receiver for his team.
Kendall Wright
Kendall Wright is a little undersized at receiver in the NFL, but I am not worried about his way of making plays out of nothing. Wright makes his size a non issue on the field. He stands at 5' 10" just a little under 200 pounds. He may be a little slower in his 40 yard dash than other prospects, but what he lacks in size and speed, he makes up for with a good motor and determination to make plays on the field. His game speed is right up there with the best of the draft even if his 40 time is not quite down to expectations.
A.J. Jenkins
Another guy I like alot in this year's draft is A.J. Jenkins from Illinois. I'm a Big Ten football fan ofcourse, but i really think Jenkins has what it takes to be a productive player for his team. He should go in the later rounds, but the guy has great athleticism. The ability to get around defenders and burst into speed is rare. I see him being a later round returner type pick. He has great straight line speed with just uner a 4.0 time in the 40. What sets him apart is his speed laterally. He can juke and cut with the best of them. His success as a returner is a for sure thing.
The Wisconsin Badgers have been known to produce solid offensive lineman for the NFL. They usually have a few players from other positions drafted though too however. This is the analysis for the Wisconsin Badger players that were drafted here in 2012. Being a big Badger fan, i had to do this kind of post.
Kevin Zeitler
The first Badger to go off the board was Kevin Zeitler at offensive guard. Ofcourse it is a lineman that is the first badger that goes first off the board for the school. Anyway, Zeitler had a fantastic senior season opening up holes all year for his start running back Ball. Ball led the NCAA in rushing touchdowns for a single season and it is largely due to Zeitler's play. Already being solid NFL offensive lineman size was a big help for him being picked in the first round of the draft. He is a technically sound lineman with great strength and quick first step to punish defenders. He excels and doubling down on defensive lineman to the linebackers where he can make huge touchdown-springing blocks. He is just another productive player from the well-coached Badgers offensive line. The Cincinnatti Bengals picked Zeitler at the number 27th overall pick. In my opinion, he is ready for the NFL right now. He should be able to start right away and continue his productivity and success with his team.
Peter Konz
The Atlanta Falcons took our next Wisconsin offensive lineman, Center Peter Konz with the overall 55th pick in the draft. Being a Wisconsin fan, it is great to see two offensive lineman go on and do well in the draft like this, and eventually the NFL. Konz was fantastic for the Badgers in his time there. Konz had the rare ability to pull out and block on certain plays as a center. The ability to be quick off the ball and pull around to make his blocks is a special talent that NFL scouts notice. Zeitler stands at 6 foot 5 inches and 314 pounds, which is a good size for an NFL center. He won't be the strongest lineman on the field, but his quickness and great feet should give him a huge edge over his competition in the NFL. I believe Konz is also an NFL ready player and will hopefully be able to slip into the Falcons lineup in his rookie season if he is not starting in the first game already.
Russell Wilson
The next Wisconsin player to go was quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson was a playmaker for the Badger's in his 5th year season as a quarterback in the NCAA. He played four years at North Carolina State and transferred to Wisconsin for his fifth year. Wilson runs a 4.5 40-yard dash time, which is pretty rare speed for a quarterback. He is a mobile type quarterback who creates plays with his legs along with his ability to see plays down field once he buys himself time. His big downside is his size. Wilson stands at under 6 feet tall, and that is very short for the position. When he is in the pocket he sometimes has problems seeing over his lineman. I don't really know what he'll be able to do in the NFL but if he stays at quarterback, I'm looking for the same playmaker I saw playing for the Badgers last year. Hopefully Russell gets his chance under Pete Carroll at the Seahawks.
Nick Toon
Nick Toon was taken at the 122nd overall pick in the draft by the New Orleans Saints. This could be a great fit for Toon. Toon, in my opinion, was definitely a top 5 receiver in this year's draft. He had a great game in the Rose Bowl and that really helped his exposure. Toon is really an all around great receiver. He is big, strong, fast, and has no problem being physical on the edges with the corners. He has very good, but not great hands however. That is about as negative as this analyisis is going to get for him. He is at his best when he is one on one with a defender. He's also great down the sideline because his strength allows him to go up and take the ball from defenders. He uses his body to shed tacklers once the ball is secured and seems to always be making forward progress. Such a solid all around reciever is hard to find these days. I think he will fit greatly at the Saints right away. Toon may have been a great 4th round steal.
The other two Wisconsin Badgers that went off the board later in this year's draft were fullback Bradie Ewing, and punter Brad Nortman. Ewing was personally my favorite Badger to watch on the whole football team. He played with such intensity and power for his size. I don't mean to say he is an undersized fullback, but sometimes he was a little outmatched against the linebackers he blocked. However, he always found a way to take it to them and make the initial hit with a good driving force behind it. He was the type of player that didn't seem to quit, and he consistently came with a whole lot of power. Nortman was a consistent punter all year with pretty rare accuracy. He had the ability to pin teams deep in the right times.
I wish all of the Wisonsin Badgers luck in their 2012 rookie seasons. It will be great to watch their progress as professional athletes.
So as you may know from previous posts, I am a die hard Packers fan. So I found it fitting to analyze their draft on my blog. Here it goes:
First Pick
The Packers selected Nick Perry with the 28th pick in the NFL draft. I found this surprising. Perry went to USC and is a defensive end. That is the surprising part. Do the Packers need defensive ends so badly that they need to use a first round pick on one? I think not. I think the idea when drafting him was that he would be great to play on the opposite side of Matthews. Well, who says he is going to be good enough to start? He's used to a 4-3 system and the Packers run the 3-4 on defense. He isn't a Matthews type player. They went to the same college, but that doesn't mean he is the best pick possible for the Packers. The fact that they selected a defensive end in the first round is not productive. He's a great player sure, but the team has enough defensive ends already. In fact, it seems like the Packers already have too many. Being a Packer fan, I hope he comes through and is everything management dreamed of don't get me wrong, but why select a defensive end this early when the team doesn't really need one immediately in the first place. I personally was hoping for the Pack to pick a running back. Starks is not an every down back, neither is his back up. Also, I don't think either of them are good enough to gain the kind of yardage on the ground that the Packers need to go with their passing attack. To me this pick is a definite stretch and their should've been a running back or offensive lineman picked here. Hopefully we see those positions addressed in the upcoming picks.
Second Pick
The second pick for the Packers was used on Jerel Worthy from Michigan State. I liked watching this guy play in college. He really was a good all around defensive tackle. The problem is that the Packers are continuing to not address the positions they need to be addressing in the draft. The team has defensive lineman and can apply pressure. It's well known. With that said, I like the player alot and I hope the Packers find a good use for him. I think he would be a great guy to put in when Raji gets winded. He's 6 foot 3 inches and 310 pounds. He's a good size for the position but the Pack may decide to use him as a defensive end instead. We will just have to see
Third Pick
I was really hoping to see a running back or offensive lineman at this next pick, but I didn't. Instead I saw corner back Casey Hayward from Vanderbilt go off the board. Again, this doesn't address the right position necessarily, but i understand the thought process with this pick. The Pack will need someone to replace Woodson. Hayward is very experienced in his position at the college level. He's also a ball hawk. He's been able to rack up interceptions consistently for his team. Another thing i like about him is his ability to play the run. He plays like he's a linebacker and times and even recorded 7.5 tackles for loss in his senior season at Vandy. His kind of athleticism may also be useful as a returner right off the bat. He's a well rounded player who may have a future in Green Bay.
Fourth Pick
This pick came in the fourth round and is the Packers' worst pick in this year's draft. That's right, they did it again. They made the same mistake they made with the first three picks. For god's sake DRAFT A RUNNING BACK. The Packer's decided to go with another defensive tackle to add to the team. Fantastic. He is Mike Daniels from Iowa. Yeah, he was solid in college, but he is undersized for his position and will have to try to get reps in rotation at the defensive end position. He's fast and has a good motor, but I can't make much sense of this pick. Hopefully he can turn into something in the future.
Fifth Pick
Jerron McMillian was the Packers' fifth pick in the draft. Jerron is a strong safety from Maine. He provides some good size at his position with is 5' 11" 215 pound frame, and i can see him being a Collins type player after a few years with the Packers. He is a hard hitter with a good knack for breaking up passes in the right situations. He isn't the position that i wanted to see go off the board to the Pack, but he can be useful for them down the road.
The Packers finished out the draft with three more picks. They picked an outside linebacker, a quarterback, and an offensive lineman. No running backs were picked by the Packers but their offensive lineman from Florida State is good sized and has a chance to turn into something. Hopefully this is the case. Overall, I give the Packers a C- for their picks in this years draft. Hopefully the team improves and their picks prove me wrong.
I did a few different edits to this picture. First of all I made it brighter so the red color of the sky and the clouds would show through and jump out. The other thing I did was crop this photo. I cropped out the extra space towards the left of the photo so the photo focuses more on the plant and post to the right. The last thing I did was sharpen up the image to separate the barbed wire and plant from the background a little more.
For this picture I chose to use some touch up methods to show different textures in the grass and a little in the trees above. Another thing I did was saturate the colors a little more to make it full and solid looking. The last thing I did was add an antique effect to the picture to make it look a little older and nicer.
In this picture, the sky needed a little more texture so i used the touch up tool to change the way the sky looks. Also, I boosted the colors a bit after enhancing them. This made the picture come alive a little bit more.
The Packers' have been my favorite team for as long as I can remember. I was born into the idea that the Packers have always been, and always will be number one. My family mostly lives in Green Bay and even live so close to the stadium that a couple relatives park cars on their property for the game. My family is also season ticket holders thanks to my grandpa. He's had these tickets and been going to Packers games since the 1950's. I usually get to go to one game a year and the atmosphere never fails to impress. Lambeau Field is the best most historically famous football stadium in the country, and an absolute blast to watch a game in.
So, for me to blog about this team's draft possibilities was inevitable. The Packers had a fantastic regular season last year. I have to specify regular season because their immediate flop in the playoffs was nothing short of devastaing and honestly a little embarrassing to me. I only say this because their regular season was so fantastic. They were 13-0 at one point while suffering only one loss towards the end of the season. 15-1 they end up, but have nothing to show for it come playoff time. That's a hard thing for a huge fan like me to deal with. So 15-2 ends up being their final record. An awful record to end with given the circumstances of their defeats. But a new season is on the horizon. The last one is in the past and now for teams like Green Bay, it is time to step up this offseason, gain valuable talent for the team, and compete for the chance to win a Super Bowl.
The offseason has many ways for teams to improve throughout. My personal favorite is obviously the draft. The opportunity to gain young talent right out of college is such a key aspect to the growing of a football organization. Even the players that aren't used right away can be trained for the future. Take Aaron Rodgers for example.
Rodgers slipped by many teams in the first round of his draft, which was completely shocking and unexpected. I was skeptical when Green Bay took him late in the first round, but Aaron has obviously proved is worth. He learned behind Favre for years and now he's one of the leagues best quarterbacks. And without the NFL draft, in may never have happened. There is definite uncertaintly that the Packers would even have him at all at this point. Rodgers already has a super bowl ring with the Pack and he is still considered to be a young player. This is just one of the many unexpected success stories that come from the NFL draft.
So anyway, back to the current draft talk. The Packers did indeed have a great season regardless of their playoff flop. So who do we attribute their success to? Will this aspect of their success be back next year? Will it be back again and again for many years? These are the questions that should be thought about when coming up with the possible draft strategy for any team headed in.
What the Packers don't need: Wide Receivers and Quarterbacks
The Pack was known for their offenseive attack last year. Rodgers led the team with his perfect touch deep passes and quick slant passes that looked like they were shot out of a gun. But that is not to say that the Pack's receiving corps didn't do any hard work. All year the Packers' receiving corps was talked about as being the most elite in the NFL. I may be biased in saying this... But i would have to agree. With the exeption of a few missed passes that were maybe too hot for the receivers to handle, I would have to say that the Packers' receivers have very good hands. The chemistry between them and Rodgers took the team down the field like a well oiled machine. Perhaps the stat that the receivers were best known for was their YAC, or yards after catch. The positions McCarthy and Rodgers put the receivers in gave their receivers many great opportunities to gain many yards after the catch. They were doing it all year, and pretty well. They had a knack for breaking the quick slants from Rodgers off for huge gains. The only negative thing i would have to say about the passing attack is that this was pretty much all they had going on offense. Rodger's usually through the ball over 40 times a game, which with their passing success who would blaim them? But the issue with the running game proved to be a hole in the Packer's gameplan late in the season. When the passing game wasn't on, what could they do? The runinng game needed to be stronger, obviously. When competition really tightens up towards the end of the year it would've been nice to have a different type of attack to fall back on, but instead, the Packer's really had nothing. They tried to get the running game going and continued to fail. So who could the packers look at to address this issue in the draft this year?
My realistic solution to this problem would be to take a running back in the first round of the draft, but the draft for running backs this year is very slim. With the layout of the Packer's picks this year I see a couple of options that could swing in their favor. The first is Lamar Miller.
Miami's former running back Miller would be a solid choice for the Packer's in the draft this season. The Packer's could use a quick back like this to hit the hold, make one hard cut, and use his straight line speed to take it down the field. This type of ability at the running back position hasn't been seen by Green Bay since, in my opinion, Ahman Green. I don't think he would take Starks spot at running back right away, but I do believe he has what it takes to be a solid back in the years to come. The second option for running back is Chris Polk from Washington.
Polk is the tight of running back that can stay low to the ground while keeping good forward progress. He seems to bounce off tacklers in the box and keep his motor running. The kind of back seems to be exactly what McCarthy is looking for. He could be a steal in the 2nd round but i wouldn't be surprised if he slips to the third or even early in the fourth. He's a tough back and recently dropped a bit of weight to improve his forty time for the scouts. I think he can be a real asset to the Pack if they decide to take him in this year's draft.
Andrew Luck is one of the best quarterbacks to come into the draft in a long time. Many teams speculate that the Indianapolis Colts will snag him with the first spot in the draft. Others say the Colts wont spend their time on him and they will trade their number one pick to a different team. Some experts even say that the Colts will pick Robert Griffin at quarterback instead of Luck. Both athletes will probably get a top 5 pick in this year's draft at the very least. Anything can happen on draft day, but here's what i think will happen.
I think the Colts WILL take Andrew Luck as the first overall pick in this year's draft. It already seems like a done deal. Luck had an excellent pro day showing off to the scouts, and the numbers he put up his senior season were impressive with just over 3500 passing yards, over 70% on completions, and 5th overall in passer rating with 169.7. He will hit his targets right where he wants to in a seemingly effortless way. He proved this by capping off his pro day with a 70 yard bomb in perfect stride to an open receiver. He is even a good NFL quarterback size at 6 foot 4 inches. Luck also has great arm strength as he showed in the combine, and he has had a knack for performing even better in games agains't good teams and clutch situations. There is however, another great college quarterback in the draft to compare him to...
Robert Griffin III was absolutely fantastic this season with his 4293 passing yards, 72.4 passing percentage, and Heisman Trophy win. Griffin was not only a huge threat through the air but he performs on the field as a complete player. He can rush for many yards on any team that isn't ready for it. To me, that is what makes him such a dangerous player to play against. Griffin could easily be the overall number one pick in a different draft, but because he is in the same draft with Luck, he probably won't be. But that is ok for his success in my opinion. The Redskins will probably take him with the number 2 pick and they are a much more organized and playoff ready team than the Colts are. I can see Griffin starting right away with a great season, assuming he is not slowed down by any injuries or other issues. The danger in his legs opens up the opportunity to use the ability in his arm, and vice-versa. I don't see how the Redskins will be able to pass him up.
After the first two picks, in my opinion, the draft seems to be wide open. There really is no telling what would happen. Some experts are even saying that a trade away from the first pick by Indianapolis is possible. Is that really possible? I highly doubt it. The Colts are hurting at the quarterback position and I believe that they have no one they are molding for the future. The Luck pick seems to be a done deal and, in the Colt's mind, can hopefully be a good replacement for Manning down the road. What would the Colt's do with their pick if they didn't want a quarterback? They need help at many other positions. If the Colt's did not want a quarterback in the first round(which is unlikely), I could see them going with a receiver or an offensive lineman. They need some sort of help on offense, and what better way to get help than draft a possesion receiver or solid well rounded blocker?
The draft this year will be interesting without a doubt. If the Colt's trade their pick I would be shocked. The biggest mystery is how the rest of the top five picks will play out. The first two picks with the Redskins and the Colt's seem to be done deals to me, but the other three picks to finish out the top five is still a mystery.
This mock draft has St.Louis in the 2nd overall position of the draft taking Justin Blackmon. However, this mock draft is outdated because the Redskins are now in that position and the speculation is that the Redskins did so to get Griffin. As for the other three picks, this draft is definitely a good representation, analysis, and discussion of how the picks will unfold on draft day. Justin Blackmon WR, Matt Kalil OT, Trent Richardson RB, and Morris Claiborne cannot be ignored as possible top five picks. Everything is a complete coin toss after the first two picks.
