That seems to be the thought about this year’s Green Bay Packers. Coach Mike McCarthy has made note of how athletic the team is.
“You have to be practical because of the environment and the climate that we practice in, but we’re athletic,” he said. “I can clearly say that: We’re an athletic football team. It’s something that jumps out at you on the field, especially when you can see it in your big guys. Obviously, you better be athletic in your perimeter players, but I would say our athletic ability is high.”
That shouldn’t come as a surprise, since this year’s draft class was clearly one of the most athletic Ted Thompson has ever assembled. That obviously was the directive going in.
We’ve kind of been here before, though.
Remember, back in 2013, after the Packers’ defense got ripped apart by Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs, they went into that draft trying to get faster on defense.
Their first-round pick was defensive end Datone Jones, who was actually somewhat undersized for the position in the Packers’ 3-4 scheme. Obviously, that didn’t work out so hot. Jones never made a significant impact with the Packers and is now with the Vikings.
That isn’t to say we don’t have higher hopes for this year’s draft class.
Thus far, there are a number of intriguing players, including cornerback Kevin King and safety Josh Jones.
Thankfully, the pads go on later this week. Then we’ll have a better idea of what the Packers really have.