I agree with attacking the strength of the draft. This draft's strongest points are CB, WR, OT. But, we can't just get those positions really. So, in round 1 I would take one of the top echelon players if he falls to us, with my preferences being Taylor Lewan (pipe dream that he falls) or Zack Martin. Those are the players who most fit our pass-first offense and our greatest positions of need. Both are going to be stellar players. If one is available, we take him.
In rounds 1 and 2 I think we strongly favor the best player available over need. If the best player available in every round was a QB, I doubt Green Bay wins much drafting a QB every round, but hey, some people live and die by that philosophy. Personally, I think the main goal is to build the best football team available using all the resources available. Generally, that means taking the best player available in the draft and filling in need holes in FA with a few targeted acquisitions. But, that's not always possible. The GM needs to fill the holes, regardless of what's available in the draft and free agency, so sometimes that means having a holistic strategy of how to approach both.
So, other than QB, I don't think we now have any position that is so strong we can avoid drafting in round 1 and 2. That means BPA ... but with a caveat. We cannot in invest too much money in our OL, it's just foolish from a cap standpoint. This means we will need to draft 2 or 3 OL, and start 1 or 2 of them most likely. With that in mind, they really should be high or mid round draft picks to build it right. I'm advocating 2 or 3 of the top 4 picks be OL. So, if we are able to get Zack Martin in round 1, then we need another OL somewhere in rounds 2-4 to legitimately make this team building thing work with any level of confidence.
But, with the strength of the draft being what it is, we may have options at CB and WR later in the draft. If a guy like Bradley Roby or Jason Verrett slips to our 2nd rounder (pick 50?) then we take him. That represents a top notch starting caliber talent at a premier position who only fell out of the first round because this draft is so incredibly deep at CB. Despite the presence of Courtland Finnegan, Jamar Taylor and Will Davis, we are unsettled at CB and still need a short term starter opposite Brent Grimes, and eventually will need another CB anyway.
Unfortunately, good OL tend to be pushed up from the top/mid 2nd to the bottom of the 1st. I don't see us having a shot at a good OL in round 2, but there is a chance a CB or DL like Timmy Jernigan falls to us. Most likely, round 2 will not be OL. My guess is that it will be BPA as this draft is so deep there will still be a few highly talented guys available there for us, and we have a chance to to pluck one of the last remaining upper tier prospects, which is what I see us doing. Round 2 BPA.
The 3rd round the talent drops off considerably from the 2nd. Ideally, I'd like to get a RT here. There's a chance a guy like Bitonio is available, but kinda unlikely. Ditto for Morgan Moses. I like someone like Jack Mewhort, but he's more of a power guy, so I'm not sure we will have a shot at a good scheme fit RT in round 3. If we do, we should strongly consider him. Once our pick in round 3 comes all the upper tier prospects will be long gone for every position except maybe RB.
If we are going to get a RB, it seems doubtful we will spend much for one in FA, but this draft is full of Hickey type prospects. Guys like Tre Mason and Bishop Sankey fit the bill, or my personal favorite, Lache Seastrunk. There will likely be one of these guys available in round 3, possibly more. If one slides to round 4, we need to snag him. Lazor prefers pass catching backs, so he might want Charles Sims, but I'm not sure he or Mason last to our pick in round 3. I would hone in on Seastrunk or Sankey, and fortunately, I think that's the type of guy Hickey likes, and he will probably want to find his Doug Martin here as well. Ideally, we keep Miller as our speed back--where he did well I thought--and replace Daniel Thomas with a hard charging power back. But, Carlos Hyde will not be available in round 3, and I'm not sold on Andre Williams. The Doug Martin type backs appear to be the best choice here.
Round 4 is usually deep into the 'hope phase' of the draft, but this year it is so deep we may still find a player. One hidden gem I really love is James Hurst of UNC. He is a true LT and would have carried a 1st round grade if he hadn't gotten hurt. The broken leg caused him not to be able to work out at the combine, and in such a deep draft his stock has plummeted. I would definitely use a flyer on him in round 3 or 4 ... if he is still available ... and let him develop for next year. Getting a upper echelon player at such a premier position and a position of need in round 3 or 4 is a grand slam. Regardless of whether Albert remains healthy and playing at a high level through his entire contract or not, Hurst is a no brainer. He fits our scheme, can play RT and excel at pass protection and be a great pick. But, he might be our best pick in the draft if he works out at LT. I don't see how we pass up drafting James Hurst in the mid rounds (3 or 4). The only questions are whether he will still be there, and whether Hickey's insistence on rookies playing now precludes him from plucking this gem?
Rounds 5-7 are all about finding a quality or two that you like and a flaw that you can live with. These prospects are not without warts. This draft's strength will push down a lot of WR's (like Jeff Janis) and CB's (like Marcus Roberson and Dexter McDougle) much further than they would in other drafts. Teams that wanted these positions have them already. So this is the area where you can really find guys in a deep draft. I'm fully expecting the next Marques Colston and Brent Grimes to come out of this draft ... the only question is who will find them? There will be good OL available here too, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like there will be any scheme-fit ZBS guys here. For power teams, guys like Brandon Linder and Wesley Johnson will be there. Unless we take a real flyer on a walking injury report like Matt Patchen (ironic last name), we probably are going CB, WR or DT in these rounds.
That's my $0.02, hope you enjoyed it.
