Identifying Green Bay Packers' Biggest Strengths, Weaknesses After Draft
The Green Bay Packers' 2015 rookies have yet to play a snap, so at this point in the offseason, we can only evaluate them based on their college production and their potential to produce in the NFL.
Given what we know about the rookies who will join Green Bay's existing position groups, we can determine which units project to be strengths heading into training camp and which ones still appear to need some work.
Ultimately, some of the players who appear to either boost these position groups or bring them down now may not even make the final 53-man roster, but it's the offseason, and everyone wants to talk about the new rookies. So let's take a look at how they fit into the overall scheme in Green Bay.
Strength: Wide Receivers
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The Packers already had 2014's most productive receiver duo in Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb on the roster before the draft. The two combined for 2,806 yards and 25 touchdowns last season.
Behind them, 2014 rookie Davante Adams showed rapid development and looks primed to win the No. 3 receiver role in training camp this summer. He had 446 yards and three touchdowns on 38 receptions last season.
The Packers will also get Jared Abbrederis back after he missed the 2014 season with a torn ACL. He'll finally get a chance to prove what he can do on offense and may make an impact in special teams, as well. Fellow 2014 rookie Jeff Janis rounded out the group, and it looked strong heading into OTAs.
However, general manager Ted Thompson made a strong group even stronger in the draft, when he selected Stanford's Ty Montgomery in Round 3. Montgomery led Stanford in 2013 with 61 catches for 958 yards and 10 touchdowns. His production dipped in 2014 as he dealt with a shoulder injury, but he's proven he can be productive.
Montgomery is also a skilled returner and may earn more snaps on special teams than on offense in 2015. But given their stable of weapons, the Packers may be able to employ more of the five-wide sets they used in their Super Bowl championship 2010 season.
Weakness: Inside Linebacker
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Is the inside linebacker group a liability heading into training camp? Clearly general manager Ted Thompson didn't think it was, or he might have addressed the position earlier than Round 4, when he selected Michigan's Jake Ryan.
The Green Bay Packers don't have many weaknesses, positionally, but most people would point to inside linebacker if forced to pick one. That's due in part to the fact that only one player on the current roster, Sam Barrington, has experience in an NFL game at inside linebacker.
Of course, Clay Matthews does too, but his official designation is still outside linebacker.
Still, for the lack of experience on the roster, the Packers certainly have a lot of bodies. Barrington will start, likely at "Mike" linebacker, and next to him on any given down Green Bay could play the rookie Ryan, an instinctual and high-motor player who could potentially develop into a three-down linebacker, outside linebacker-converts Carl Bradford and Nate Palmer, and 2014 undrafted free agent Joe Thomas.
Then, of course, there's Matthews, who will likely continue to see snaps inside in 2015.
But if you judge the group strictly by the depth chart, it's obvious the Packers lack experience and proven production there. Who knows—perhaps the 2015 iteration of the unit will be better than its 2014 counterpart, where A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones' sliding play was no longer excusable.
But from where we sit today, the unit still looks weaker than other positions.
Strength: Quarterbacks (Specifically, Backups)
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If Aaron Rodgers is the name atop your depth chart, your quarterback group is always going to be a strength.
In 2013, however, the Packers learned the hard way that their quarterback depth was, in fact, a major weakness when Rodgers went down with a shoulder injury in Week 9. They rotated through Seneca Wallace and Scott Tolzien before finally having to re-sign Matt Flynn.
Rodgers' health can never be taken for granted, and the specter of injury hovered over him at the end of the 2014 season, as well, though he played through his strained calf. Green Bay needs to be prepared for the worst, and re-signing Tolzien wasn't enough.
Drafting UCLA's Brett Hundley in Round 5, however, makes that group look a lot more reliable should Rodgers go down again.
Hundley is athletically gifted, and when he's on, he makes some remarkable throws. At UCLA he holds career records for touchdown passes (75), completions (837) and total offense (11,713). Hundley has a lot of developing to do, especially in regard to his mechanics, but what better place to do that than in head coach Mike McCarthy's offseason quarterback school?
With Tolzien entering his third year and a talent like Hundley, the Packers have some insurance in case the mighty Rodgers falls again.
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Weakness: Tight End
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Again, if the criteria for a weakness in Green Bay is a positional group that doesn't feature Pro Bowlers, which is basically the case for the Packers, you're in pretty great shape.
Still, when viewing Green Bay's positional groups at arm's length, the tight end group has room to improve. As much as Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers have plenty of skill to get the job done, the fact remains that the Packers are lacking a true impact tight end who can change games.
Ted Thompson did address tight end via the draft, but it was not until Round 6 and with a prospect who was projected to go undrafted in UAB's Kennard Backman.
The thought on Backman is that he has quality hands and can catch throws in traffic, but he likely won't be more than an H-back at the NFL level, per Lance Zierlein of NFL.com.
Backman adds some needed depth at the position, so that if either of Rodgers or Quarless goes down, the Packers will still have the capability to play two-tight end sets if they choose. Still, it's fun to imagine how virtually unstoppable this offense would be if it featured a top tight end to stretch the seam and be a continual red-zone threat.
Strength: Coaching
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To be fair, the Packers aren't able to add any coaches through the draft.
Still, this offseason has seen a lot of internal shake-ups in Green Bay's coaching staff, and those moves could mean that the Packers' already talented coaches are even more effective in 2015.
Let's review the moves. Head coach Mike McCarthy relinquished play-calling duties to offensive coordinator (now associated head coach/offense) Tom Clements in order to be more involved in all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams.
Former wide receivers coach Edgar Bennett was promoted to offensive coordinator.
Speaking of special teams, the Packers fired special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum and promoted assistant Ron Zook to manage that group, with plenty of oversight from McCarthy. Jason Simmons will be his assistant.
Alex Van Pelt is now the quarterbacks/wide receivers coach, Mike Solari's the assistant offensive line coach and Jerry Montgomery's the defensive front assistant. It will be particularly interesting to see if Montgomery and defensive coordinator Dom Capers can whip Green Bay's run defense into shape this season given the team's current personnel.
Though cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt did not change positions, his value to the team will become obvious this offseason as he develops Green Bay's first- and second-round draft selections, defensive backs Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins.
Overall, the Packers made some key promotions that should make for a well-run machine come September.
Strength: Secondary
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Green Bay's secondary was one of its strongest units in 2014, so the Packers needed to make some improvements after key pieces Tramon Williams and Davon House departed in free agency.
Whether this unit remains a strength in 2015 or takes a step backward, it depends, of course, on how well rookies Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins develop.
Both defensive backs, who played a mix of safety and cornerback (and baseball and basketball, respectively!) in college will play at cornerback for Green Bay, thereby replacing Williams and House in terms of depth. In terms of actual role, however, it's unclear whether they will compete with Casey Hayward for the starting outside job opposite Sam Shields for for the nickel and dime corner roles.
The Packers also have 2014 rookie Demetri Goodson on the roster, as well, and they added a few more defensive backs who went undrafted. Of particular interest is Miami's Ladarius Gunter, who signed with the Packers after going undrafted, as Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, despite being projected as Round 4 or 5 prospect by NFL.com.
Though Green Bay's secondary is looking a little crowded in terms of how many spots it will comprise on the final 53-man roster, Gunter is a talented player and has a chance to make the roster or, at the very least, the practice squad.
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