Initial 7-Round 2015 NFL Mock Draft for the Green Bay Packers
The process has begun for NFL teams like the Green Bay Packers looking for talent in the 2015 NFL draft. We've already seen the all-star matchups like the East-West Shrine Game, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and the Senior Bowl.
The NFL Scouting Combine will start on February 17, which will give teams a closer look at the prospects. After that, players will have their individual pro days.
The actual NFL draft will start April 30 and run through May 2.
Anyone who has studied the Packers during the Ted Thompson/Mike McCarthy era knows the Packers are a draft-and-develop team first and foremost.
Although it's sometimes hard to get inside the head of Thompson and determine whom he may select, I'm going to give it my best shot and do my initial mock draft for the team.
Round 1: Inside Linebacker Denzel Perryman (Miami)
1 of 7
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 242 pounds
There is no question that the number one need of the Packers is getting help at inside linebacker. That situation will be even more apparent when the Packers release both A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones, which I believe will happen in the near future.
The Packers will save $7.25 million on their salary cap by jettisoning Hawk and Jones based on the information provided by spotrack.com.
Sam Barrington looks to be one starter at inside linebacker in 2015, as he really blossomed in the second half of the 2014 season. Like a lot of young players on the Packers have shown, Barrington really developed in his second year with the Packers.
Other players who will compete at inside linebacker next year include Carl Bradford and Joe Thomas. Jamari Lattimore is an unrestricted free agent and I'm not expecting the Packers to bring him back.
That takes us to the 2015 NFL draft. There are three players at inside linebacker who could all be there at pick No. 30 for the Packers in the first round. They are Benardrick McKinney of Mississippi State, Eric Kendricks of UCLA and Denzel Perryman of Miami. I wrote about those players last week.
Perryman played at the Senior Bowl and interviewed with the Packers, according to Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball.com.
The former Hurricane had a nice senior season, as he had 110 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, three forced fumbles and one interception.
I was also able to talk with scout Chris Landry last week to get his thoughts on Perryman.
"I love Denzel Perryman," Landry said. "When healthy, and he's not completely healthy right now, he is outstanding. He's got great range and has cover ability. He's got the ability to blitz and he's a big-time playmaker.
"He looks like one of the old Miami defenders of yesteryear."
That endorsement is good enough for me.
Round 2: Defensive Lineman Carl Davis (Iowa)
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Height: 6'5"
Weight: 321 pounds
The Packers definitely need to look at their situation at nose tackle. Two of their players (B.J. Raji and Letroy Guion) who play the position are unrestricted free agents. Guion was recently arrested for pot possession, while Raji spent the 2014 season on injured reserve due to a torn biceps.
Undrafted rookie Mike Pennel also received minimal playing time at the position in 2014, plus Khyri Thornton, who was drafted in the third round last year, can play there too. Unfortunately, Thornton did not exactly distinguish himself in training camp before going on injured reserve last season.
Before his arrest, the Packers were working on re-signing Guion to a new deal, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Now that could be up in smoke. Some additional light was shed on the situation with a later report put out by profootballtalk.com.
While the situation with Guion is cloudy, the Packers will probably do what they can to re-sign Raji, who had signed a one-year deal for $4 million last season before getting injured.
The Packers are hopeful both Pennel and Thornton will take a step up in their play in their second season like many players on the team do.
That being said, there are too many questions at the position, which is why I see the Packers selecting someone early in the draft who can help out on the defensive line. One player who can do that is Carl Davis of Iowa.
Ted Thompson has had a pretty good track record of drafting former Hawkeyes. Examples are right tackle Bryan Bulaga, defensive lineman Mike Daniels and defensive back Micah Hyde.
Davis had had 34 tackles, with nine tackles for a loss and two sacks in 2014. He also played at the Senior Bowl.
The strength of Davis is in his run-stopping ability. The Packers need someone to do that effectively, as stopping the run is the No. 1 weakness of the Green Bay defense.
Round 3: Tight End Jesse James (Penn State)
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Height: 6'7"
Weight: 254 pounds
Currently, the Packers have four tight ends on their roster. They are Andrew Quarless, rookie Richard Rodgers, Brandon Bostick and Justin Perillo.
Quarless and Rodgers combined for for 49 catches and five touchdowns. Bostick only had two receptions (one for a touchdown) in 2014. Many thought Bostick was going to be the starting tight end for the Packers this year before training camp, but he suffered a leg injury in the second preseason game which set him back.
Bostick never received any meaningful playing time on offense, but did play on special teams. And it was on special teams where Bostick had one of the most infamous plays in Packers history.
Yes, his botched attempt on an onside kick late in the NFC Championship Game against the Seahawks will probably lead to his release by the team at some point this offseason.
The undrafted rookie Perillo did not catch a pass but showed promise in the preseason.
With those situations in mind, I would expect the Packers to select a tight end in the draft. One interesting possibility is Jesse James of Penn State. James has a great name and also excellent size.
In his three years as a Nittany Lion, James had 76 catches for 995 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Besides being a large, inviting target in the red zone where he can "steal" a pass from defenders, James also has freakish athletic ability with his strength and speed, which was noted by Josh Moyer of ESPN.com.
James has bench pressed 225 pounds 27 times and has been timed at 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
We shall see what happens at the NFL Scouting Combine with James, but his upside looks to be very promising in the NFL.
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Round 4: Offensive Tackle Rob Havenstein (Wisconsin)
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Height: 6'7"
Weight: 332 pounds
The overall play of the offensive line of the Packers in 2014 was very good. The play of the line was probably the best performance the Packers have had in around a decade in the trenches.
The big question for the line is whether the team can re-sign right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who is an unrestricted free agent. Seeing that the team is in excellent shape with the salary cap, which I noted in a recent story, I expect Bulaga to be back.
Once Bulaga is re-signed, the Packers need to make sure there is quality depth behind the five starters. I expect JC Tretter will be the backup at center and guard only, as he struggled at times playing tackle when given the opportunity last season.
I also expect Don Barclay to be the number one swing player on the line, as he can play both guard and tackle. In fact, Barclay has started 18 games at right tackle while Bulaga was injured in 2012 and 2013. Speaking of injuries, Barclay was on injured reserve last season due to a knee injury.
Because Tretter and Barclay can play inside, I expect the Packers to draft an offensive tackle in the upcoming draft for quality depth. One player who can help out in that area is Rob Havenstein of Wisconsin.
The running game has become a big staple of the offense for the Packers and Havenstein has performed very well in that area in his career in college. Just ask Montee Ball, James White and Melvin Gordon, who all excelled at Wisconsin at running back behind Havenstein and company.
Havenstein was also a steady pass protector.
The big right tackle was also a first-team All-America (AFCA) in 2014, who played 54 games as a Badger, which includes 42 starts.
Havenstein also played at the Senior Bowl.
Round 5: Cornerback Ladarius Gunter (Miami)
5 of 7
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 200 pounds
The cornerback position for the Packers was very deep in 2014. But that may change in 2015. Three players, Tramon Williams, Davon House and Jarrett Bush, are all unrestricted free agents.
I do expect the Packers to be able to re-sign either Williams or House plus bring back Bush, as he is an anchor on special teams.
The team will also still have Sam Shields, Casey Hayward and Demetri Goodson. Micah Hyde can also help out at corner.
One can never have enough quality depth at cornerback, and that is why I see the Packers selecting another one in the 2015 draft.
One player to keep your eye on is Ladarius Gunter of Miami. Gunter has nice size, which he showed off at the Senior Bowl.
Gunter had six picks in his career as a Hurricane, including one for a touchdown. Like Goodson was in the 2014 NFL draft, Gunter has the athletic ability to develop into a solid NFL cornerback.
Round 6: Fullback Jalston Fowler (Alabama)
6 of 7
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 264 pounds
John Kuhn is one of the best fullbacks in the NFL. No. 30 went to his second Pro Bowl after the 2014 season as a matter of fact. Another fact is Kuhn will be 33 years old early in the 2015 season if he remains a member of the Packers.
The cult hero in Green Bay is an unrestricted free agent, but I believe the Packers will be bringing him back.
But Kuhn's age is why I believe the Packers will look to the future in the 2015 NFL draft at the fullback position. A player that they should look closely at is Jalston Fowler of Alabama.
Fowler has been the best blocking fullback in the country as a member of the Crimson Tide for a number of years now.
For instance, Fowler was the lead blocker for Eddie Lacy of the Packers and T.J. Yeldon in 2012, when they combined to rush for 2,490 yards and 29 touchdowns for Alabama.
In his career at Alabama, Fowler rushed for 738 yards and five touchdowns. He also had seven receiving touchdowns. But his main attribute was his blocking ability.
He showed off that ability at the Senior Bowl.
Kuhn is still a fine player in his role, but the time will be coming fairly soon when a new fullback will be needed.
Fowler would be a great replacement for Kuhn when the time comes. Plus he can learn from Kuhn about the nuances regarding the fullback position in the NFL and also how to contribute on special teams.
Fowler's experience with Lacy in college would be an added plus.
Round 7: Quarterback Taylor Kelly (Arizona State)
7 of 7
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 205
Things are pretty good for the Packers at the quarterback position. In fact, Aaron Rodgers is coming off his second NFL MVP award.
While all that is true, the two backups for No. 12, Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien, are both unrestricted free agents.
There is a chance both Flynn and Tolzien could re-sign with the Packers for the 2015 season, but as Ron Wolf proved in his time as general manager of the Packers, one should always look for a quarterback in the draft just in case.
Wolf did just that, even when he had Brett Favre (a three-time NFL MVP winner himself) as his starting quarterback. Wolf drafted quarterbacks like Ty Detmer, Mark Brunell, Jay Barker, Ronnie McAda, Matt Hasselbeck and Aaron Brooks during his tenure.
Wolf was also able to get compensation from other teams when he traded away quarterbacks who developed nicely in the Green Bay system like Brunell, Hasselbeck and Brooks.
In terms of drafting a quarterback in the 2015 NFL draft, one quarterback who showed some decent ability in college is Taylor Kelly from Arizona State.
In four years as a Sun Devil, Kelly threw 79 touchdown passes compared to just 26 interceptions for 8,819 yards.
The elusive quarterback also ran for 1,404 yards and 13 more scores in his career at Arizona State.
Kelly has good velocity on his throws, which he demonstrated at the East-West Shrine Game, although the results were not very good in that particular game.
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