Why Packers Need to Take an Inside Linebacker with Their 1st Pick in the Draft

The Green Bay Packers have excellent prospects available to them at multiple positions with the 30th overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft.

With promising candidates at the inside linebacker, tight end and defensive tackle positions, general manager Ted Thompson can follow the model he set in 2014 with the selection of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and select a player of great value while satisfying a team need simultaneously. 

Though it is not Thompson's usual modus operandi to draft primarily for need, there's no arguing that inside linebacker is the Packers' biggest weakness heading into April. 

A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones both saw their starting snaps decrease dramatically last season. Per ESPN Stats & Information, Hawk played 94 percent of defensive snaps over the first 11 games of the season, which fell to 31.1 percent over the last seven games (postseason included).

Jones started only one game last season, in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks. His snaps were taken by Sam Barrington and Jamari Lattimore. 

Green Bay finished the 2014 season 23rd in the league in run defense, allowing an average of 119.9 rushing yards per game. That was only a slight improvement from its No. 25 finish in 2013. A weak interior has been the primary issue in the Packers run defense, as opponents have been able to exploit Green Bay's lack of speed and tendency to miss tackles in the middle. 

Jones was also last in the league among inside linebackers in Pro Football Focus' tackle efficiency metric, which measures the total number of attempted tackles an inside linebacker made per each missed tackle, at just 2.3. 

Hawk and Jones have one year left on their deals, and Lattimore will become an unrestricted free agent in March. Green Bay could cut Hawk and/or Jones and let Lattimore walk, but regardless of what the team does, it will be looking to take an inside linebacker early in the draft. 

Player	School	Height	Weight	NFL.com Grade*
Paul Dawson	TCU	6'2"	230	6.0
Benardrick McKinney	Mississippi State	6'5"	249	6.0
Eric Kendricks	UCLA	6'0"	230	5.7
Denzel Perryman	Miami	6'0"	242	5.7
Stephone Anthony	Clemson	6'3"	245	5.4

(See NFL.com for a breakdown of what grades mean.)

And that is what the Packers should do instead of using their first pick on a tight end or defensive tackle. 2014 third-round pick Richard Rodgers' development spiked in the second half of the season, and he could legitimately earn the starting job in training camp.

If Green Bay does take a tight end this year, it shouldn't be with its first pick, unless the Packers don't feel Rodgers has the potential to start. 

The defensive line wasn't the deepest position group for Green Bay heading into the offseason, and it became even less so when defensive tackle Letroy Guion was arrested in early February on federal drug and weapons charges.

If the Packers elect not to re-sign B.J. Raji to play nose tackle, they'll likely take a player in the draft who can compete for the position with 2014 undrafted free agent Mike Pennel. 

The inside linebacker position, however, needs to be addressed early, and with the players projected to be available for the Packers' pick, Thompson can satisfy the team's biggest need and still draft for value. 

Player	Projected Round
Eric Kendricks	2
Denzel Perryman	2
Benardrick McKinney	2
Ramik Wilson	3-4
Stephone Anthony	4

In fact, Green Bay may get better value from the pick if it doesn't take an inside linebacker with the 30th overall pick. Prior to the combine, many of the top prospects in the class project to come off the board in the early second round.

CBSSports.com currently projects UCLA's Eric Kendricks, Miami's Denzel Perryman and Mississippi State's Benardrick McKinney all as second-round prospects. 

In Mel Kiper's second mock draft of the season for ESPN, he sees only Perryman going in the first round, to the Denver Broncos at No. 28. His colleague Todd McShay has only one inside linebacker in his top 32, and that's also Perryman. 

The Packers only have one pick in each round for a total of seven, and OvertheCap.com projects they could receive two sixth-round compensatory picks. Thompson has a legitimate opportunity to trade out of the first round and into the early second, gain more picks and walk away from the first day of the draft with McKinney or Kendricks. 

Player	Position Ranking
Denzel Perryman	1
Benardrick McKinney	2
Stephone Anthony	3
Eric Kendricks	4
Hayes Pullard	5

(Note ESPN.com has categorized Paul Dawson among outside linebackers.)

Moreover, in his first position-by-position rankings of the offseason, NFL.com's Mike Mayock ranks TCU's Paul Dawson as the best linebacker in this class. If he turns in an impressive performance at the combine and if teams can parse out what, exactly, scouts find worrisome about his personal character, his draft stock could skyrocket.

It could mean that Perryman is on the board for the Packers at No. 30, if Denver, the other team projected to be interested in an inside linebacker in the first round, goes with Dawson. 

Whether the Packers keep the 30th overall pick or trade down into the early second round, inside linebacker should be the position they address first. Not only would the move satisfy a glaring personnel need, but the positional value is heavily concentrated in the high-first and low-second rounds.