Here’s a trade proposal the Packers should consider
By GERY WOELFEL
Nobody can dispute the Green Bay Packers are an ascending team.
They are one of the NFL’s youngest teams, and they have stock-piled some intriguing players on both sides of the ball.
Yet, if the Packers are going to take that next step and join the truly elite teams, they’ll need to plug several holes in the upcoming draft, which will run from April 25-27.
And make no mistake about it, the Packers have several positions they clearly need to upgrade, most notably offensive tackle, safety and cornerback. The latter is the most pressing.
The NFL is all about passing and, if you don’t have high-level cornerbacks, you’re going to be in a world of hurt. Just ask Joe Barry, the Packers’ former defensive coordinator. Barry rudely discovered how extremely difficult it is to have a highly productive defensive unit without competent corners.
Last season, the Packers played the bulk of their 17-ga-game regular season without not only one of their starting cornerbacks but two of them.
Jaire Alexander, their pro Bowl left corner, missed more than half the season, suiting up for a mere seven regular-season games. Three seasons ago, Alexander was available for just four games.
And Eric Stokes, the Packers’ right cornerback, has played even fewer games than Alexander in recent seasons. He suited up for a measly three games last season and that came after he played just nine games the season before.
If you’re Brian Gutekunst, the Packers general manager, and you know how injury-plagued your top two cornerbacks are,, are you going to roll the dice that both of them will be totally healthy next season?
Of course, not.
That’s why Gutekunst and his scouting crew spent an ample amount of time observing the cornerback crop at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., and why they formally interviewed numerous cornerback at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis in recent months.
Fortunately for Gutekunst and Co., this year’s draft class has a nice supply of quality cornerbacks. In the first round alone, there could be as many as eight cornerbacks selected. That group includes:
- Quinyon Mitchell of Toledo.
- Terrion Arnold of Alabama.
- Cooper DeJean of Iowa, who can also play safety
- Nate Wiggins of Clemson.
- Kool-Aid McKinstry of Alabama.
- Ennis Rakestraw Jr. of Missouri..
- J. Tampa of Iowa State.
- Kamari Lassiter of Georgia
The consensus opinion among the NFL officials I spoke with the Scouting Combine and Senior Bowl was that Mitchell and Arnold will be long gone before the Packers’ first ick, the 25th overall.
The next two best CBs, according to those I chatted with, are DeJean and Wiggins. And it’s dicey if either DeJean and Wiggins would still be on the board for the Packers to draft.
That means the Packers would likely choose McKinstry, Rakestraw, Tampa or Lassiter. If they remained content to stay at 25.
But would Gutekunst be satisfied with one of the “leftover’’ cornerbacks when he has the wherewithal to move up in the draft order to secure either DeJean or Wiggins, or even Mitchell or Arnold?
Based on Gutekunst’s draft history, the answer is an unequivocal no. The Packers GM has demonstrated on several occasions in past drafts a willingness to move up and secure one of his targeted players.
Gutekunst is an especially enviable position to climb the draft ladder this year. Besides their first-round pick, the Packers have two, second-round picks and two, third-rounds, not to mentioned a spate of later-round picks, at his disposal.
So, what should Gutekunst do?
Here’s my suggestion.
How about swinging a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers? They currently have the 20th overall pick. The Packers would give the Steelers the 25th pick, plus the second of their two-third round picks, which is 91st overall.
The deal fits perfectly into the NF’s trade value chart, too. The Steelers’ current 20th pick is valued at 850 points; the Packers’ current 25th pick is valued at 720 points. Do the match and there’s a 1300 point difference. The Packers’ second, third-round pick is … 136 points.
By moving up to 20, the Packers could likely position themselves to draft Wiggins (pictured above) or DeJean, two potential stars, two potential players that would make Gutekunst and new defensive coordinator Jeff Hadfey sleep a lot better, knowing the Packers would finally have a cornerback who they could actually depend on showing up for work on a regular basis.
