ACCORDING TO . . .
PACKERS BEAT WRITER BOB MCGINN
Journal Sentinel Packers beat writer Bob Mcginn answered your questions recently about the Packers and the NFL draft: Here’s an excerpt:
Q. What do you think of our offensive line depth? We are good at center and Barclay can be a serviceable back up at guard, but if we get an injury at tackle, I’m afraid Rodgers’ protection will not be worthy.
A. They didn’t draft any guards or centers since end of the season. They did add two guards and a tackle in college free agency. One of the guards, Pitt’s Matt Rotheram, was regarded as a draftable prospect by several teams and should be in the running to make club. Josh Walker is back from the practice squad and is a massive, impressivelooking athlete. He’s a guard as well. FA G Marcus Reed is 355 pounds and isn’t a bad player, either. Improved depth will have to come from FA class.
Q. Why didn’t the Packers take Paul Dawson when he was available? Looks like he’s much more of a hitter than Ryan, who reminds me of Hawk: great guy, leader, but not a special athletic talent. What do you think?
A. My guess is the Packers passed Dawson three times because they thought he was too slow. Dawson ran 4.90 at combine, then improved to 4.78 at pro day. He was 235 at combine before dropping to 230 on pro day when he knew lowering his 40 would determine his fate. Ryan was 240 at combine when he ran 4.65. Scouts said there was no question that Dawson played the game much better than Ryan. Some doubted how effective he would be at the NFL level. In other words, would his speed cause him to be a step slow chasing 4.5 RBS instead of 4.6 RBS. I saw Ryan a bunch during his four years because it’s my alma mater. He was an excellent OLB in a 3-4 for first two years before the ACL. He made a ton of tackles in the middle in 2014.
Q. As I look at the list of UDFA’S, I don’t see any ILB’S listed, no other players competing for a job in what remains a weak position group. I find this both confusing and troubling. What’s your take?
A. Tavarus Dantzler of Bethune-cookman is an ILB. Joe Thomas, a fairly impressive rookie FA last summer, is back and could make a run. Nate Palmer is there as well. It’s tough to say anything about ILB until the regular season starts, and we see how much Mike Mccarthy uses Clay Matthews there.
Q. Does this draft signal the end of the Jarrett Bush era in Green Bay? He was the target of much fan criticism over the years, but I always appreciated his toughness, work ethic and ability to tune out the noise and focus on his job. I understand the desire to get younger, but I have to think the DB room would miss the leadership and example provided by Bush and Tramon Williams.
A. CB coach Joe Whitt brought up Bush as being in free-agent limbo. After drafting two CBS, the Packers added two more FAS. Jarrett won’t be 31 for a few more weeks. I’ve probably never covered a harder working player. If it isn’t Green Bay, I sure hope he finds work with another team. What a class act. I always teased him about sloughing off, did he run the extra stadium, how much time post-practice did he spend on the field. He’d cock his eyebrow and always laugh. He’s such an earnest guy. Jarrett Bush will be missed inside that team.