Bent on sharpening corner position
Brian Gutekunst most definitely targeted the Green Bay Packers’ pass coverage in the first three rounds of this year’s draft.
But the Green Bay Packers’ rookie general manager did it at the expense of outside pass rush, a position the Packers have mostly neglected in the prime rounds of the draft for six years now.
Gutekunst clearly was hell bent on building up his pass defense after the carnage of the last two years, which saw the Packers finish No. 26 in defensive passer rating in 2016 and No. 31 last year. In a passing league, that’s a tough way to win games. This had to be the priority.
Gutekunst went all-in for coverage on the first two days of the draft by selecting cornerbacks Jaire Alexander (No. 18 overall) of Louisville and Josh Jackson (No. 45) of Iowa in the first two rounds, and trading into the third round for a coverage inside linebacker, Vanderbilt’s Oren Burks (No. 88). Fair enough. The Packers need all the help he can get there.
But when you take a player at one position of priority, you’re neglecting another position of priority. And Gutekunst’s first draft continues a run in which the Packers at the top of the draft have neglected the most important part of pass defense: rushing the quarterback. In the last six years, they’ve picked an outside rusher in the first three rounds only once, and that was Kyler Fackrell, a third-rounder in 2016 who after two seasons is looking very much like a miss.
Maybe Gutekunst’s picks Thursday and Friday speak to his assessment of this year’s class of outside rushers. But he could have maneuvered for a rusher if he’d wanted, and it really is stunning that since picking Nick Perry in the first round in 2012, the only outside rusher the Packers have selected in the first three rounds is Fackrell. It really has been a need the entire time, because the only thing that gives you a chance to slow down the top quarterbacks in the NFL is the rush.
Gutekunst and coach Mike McCarthy no doubt feel a lot better about matching up in pass defense with their re-made cornerback corps. Their top four cornerbacks now are Kevin King, Tramon Williams, Alexander and Jackson, none of whom were on the active roster at the end of last season. King was recovering from shoulder surgery, Williams was playing with the Arizona Cardinals, and the two draft picks were in college.
The new GM now has eight picks Saturday to address his other needs, including the rush, but outside of the prime top three rounds. It’s possible to find good players and even difference-makers in any round, but it takes a lot of skill and luck to do it, especially with outside rushers, where there’s a premium on explosiveness that usually gets them drafted higher.
One outside rusher of renown, Boston College’s Harold Landry, went just before the Packers picked Jackson at No. 45 overall. Tennessee traded four spots ahead of the Packers to take him.
A few other rushers still on the board at 45 were Florida State’s Josh Sweat, who went to the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 48; Rutgers’ Kemoko Turay (Indianapolis at No. 52); Ohio State’s Tyquan Lewis (Indianapolis at No. 64); Georgia’s Lorenzo Carter (New York Giants, No. 66); and Ohio State’s Sam Hubbard (Cincinnati, No. 77).
Also on the board at No. 45 were Texas A&M receiver Christian Kirk (Arizona at No. 47) and South Dakota State tight end Dallas Goedert (Philadelphia at No. 49), both positions of need for the Packers.
So with this draft, the Packers are putting a lot of their pass rush on the precarious health of Nick Perry and aging Clay Matthews, which didn’t work out so well last season, along with the defensive scheming of new coordinator Mike Pettine. They have to hope he’s as good as advertised.
They’re also looking for big jumps from young players last season: 2017 fourth-rounder Vince Biegel, whose playing time was limited after he had surgery on both feet last off-season, and Reggie Gilbert, who spent most of last year on the practice squad.
Nothing wrong with hoping they might add something, but it’s not something I’d be counting on if I were the Packers.
In the meantime, Gutekunst has made over the Packers’ cornerback corps for the second time in four years — his predecessor, Ted Thompson, did the same in 2015 by selecting Damarious Randall in the first round and Quinten Rollins in the second. Randall proved to not be as confident as his demeanor suggested, and he probably was miscast as a cornerback instead of his more natural position at free safety. McCarthy couldn’t get him out of the locker room quickly enough with a trade to Cleveland this offseason.
Rollins’ future, in the meantime, is in doubt because of the torn Achilles tendon last season.
Drafting a cornerback in each of the first two rounds also could be a hedge against King’s recovery from shoulder surgery last December.
Regardless, if we call the nickel back a starting position, which it is in today’s NFL, then barring any issues with King’s shoulder, he’ll be one starter. It’s safe to say one of the two rookies also will start, and maybe both depending on how much 35-year-old Williams has left in the tank.
In Jackson, Gutekunst drafted a cornerback with good length (6-03⁄8, 196) and change of direction (6.86-second three cone, 4.03 short shuttle) and great ball skills (eight interceptions as a first-year starter last season), but suspect speed. His first electronically timed 40 at the NFL scouting combine was 4.59 seconds, his second 4.48 seconds.
“It goes back to his awareness and IQ for the game,” said Packers area scout Alonzo Dotson. “He knows how to cut things off and leverage routes. The speed never really worried us because he's just so smart and he's always in the right position to play the ball. Obviously, the end result is getting the ball and he will do that.”
One scout I talked to before the draft didn’t like Jackson’s tackling at all.
“You might want to get on him because he’s a leaner built kid,” Dotson said. “But the will and the want-to to get players down is there. He can cut tackles down, wrap up. So I have no issues with that.”