Ted Thompson did what a fair number of people predicted: he traded away the Green Bay Packers’ first-round (29th overall) pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
His trading partner was GM Sashi Brown of the Cleveland Browns. The clueless Browns were busy on Thursday, taking edge rusher Myles Garrett with the top overall pick, safety Jabrill Peppers at pick 25, and tight end David Njoku with the pick given up by Green Bay.
In return, the Packers received Cleveland’s second-round and fourth-round picks. Because Cleveland was at the top of the draft list, that means the Packers get the 33rd and 108th overall picks. Unless Green Bay had its heart set on a particular player likely to be available late in round 1, it appears this is a helluva bargain for the Packers. Give Green Bay credit: trading with a team as dumb as Cleveland is almost always smart.
ESPN tracks a list of “Best Remaining Players” (BRP) that are available at any given time in the draft. When the 29th pick came up, here are some of those available who the Packers might have been interested in: ILB Reuben Foster (number 1 BRP, chosen by the 49ers at number 31), running back Dalvin Cook (4), cornerback Kevin King (6), cornerback Quincy Wilson (10) and outside linebacker T.J. Watt (15).
By dropping down four picks, the Packers lost out on some good players: tight end Njoku, linebackers Watt and Foster, and tackle Ryan Ramczyk, who were chosen at numbers 29 through 32 respectively. Of the four, however, the only one who might have gotten away – especially in the eyes of Wisconsin residents – is the Badgers’ T.J. Watt, who could develop into a top-notch edge rusher.
By having the first pick on Friday, Ted Thompson and his scouting team should have gotten a sound night’s sleep last night, as they don’t have to wonder or scheme around who might be chosen before they get to select at number 33.
So, providing they actually keep the pick, who will it be? Since I don’t claim to be a draft expert, I’m confining myself to that ESPN list of best remaining players. On that basis, the choice would seem to be between Florida running back Dalvin Cook (the number 2 BRP) and Washington cornerback Kevin King (number 4 BRP). The Packers certainly won’t select the top BRP, guard Forrest Lamp, nor numbers 3 or 5, who are tackles.
The number 6 BRP, Florida cornerback Quincy Wilson, is the only other possibility that I can foresee. However, when I compared the two in early April, I rated King as clearly superior. At 6’3” and 200 pounds, he’s big for a corner and yet he ran a 4.43 40-yard dash. He also did extremely well in NFL combine agility drills and his vertical leap of 39.5 inches is terrific. Quincy Wilson just doesn’t match up with King athletically and in particular due to his 4.54 dash time.
My conclusion in early April was that either Kevin King or Gareon Conley would still be around at pick 29, and that one of the two would be the Packers’ likely choice. Since Conley was selected by Oakland at the 24th pick – and since other cornerbacks were chosen at numbers 11, 16, 18 and 27 – if the Packers pick King, who would be the sixth cornerback taken, I believe they will get the high-quality corner they badly need.
By picking at number 33, and with the trade-down also earning Green Bay the first pick of round 4, I’m thrilled with how things appear to be turning out. I can only hope that Ted Thompson doesn’t spoil this scenario by selecting Cook. Cook is tempting, but it’s the defense, not the offense, that needs immediate help.
To whet your appetite a bit more, here’s a nice article by Sports Illustrated on Washington Huskies cornerback Kevin King.