We are 11 days removed from the NFL Draft and everybody is now eagerly anticipating the start of the 2016 season. Green Bay will be in the first game of the year as it takes on the Indianapolis Colts in the Hall of Fame Game Aug. 7. The Packers will look to improve upon their 10-6 record from last year. They originally had nine selections in last month's NFL Draft, but traded two picks in order to move up in the second round. Green Bay finished with the seven selections.
In the first round, the green and gold selected UCLA defensive lineman Kenny Clark. The versatile Clark can play either nose tackle or defensive end in the 3-4 scheme. He will probably start out at defensive end with Letroy Guion as the starting nose tackle. He is a perfect fit for the 3-4 defense. Clark possesses great strength as he was a high school wrestling champ. He excels against the run, where Green Bay finished 29th in the NFL in opponents yards per carry last season. Not a sexy selection as most Packers fans wanted Clark's college teammate, Myles Jack, with this selection, but he was a pick that was necessary to fill a gaping hole on the defensive line after the retirement of B.J. Raji.
In the early years of the Ted Thompson era, Thompson would not trade up. But over the past number of years, Thompson has shown the willingness to trade up if he sees a player he wants. That was no different this year, as Green Bay traded up in the second round with Indianapolis to nab Indiana offensive tackle Jason Spriggs. The former Hoosier was a second team All-Big Ten selection last season as well as being one of the six semifinalists for the Outland Trophy. Green Bay has five offensive linemen who are free agents next offseason and it will not be able to keep all of them. One thought is having Spriggs play left tackle and then re-signing David Bakhtiari and moving him inside to guard. One of the reasons I like Thompson is that he looks beyond this year and immediate needs.
In my very first Packers mock draft, I had Green Bay taking Utah State linebacker Kyler Fackrell in the second round. The Pack Attack was fortunate enough to get him in the third. With Julius Peppers probably gone after the year and Nick Perry only re-signed to a one-year deal, the Packers needed to draft a linebacker to pair with Clay Matthews. Fackrell is already 25 and is one year removed from ACL surgery. He was not quite the same player, but usually it is the second year after surgery that the player gets back to full strength. Even though it was his first year after surgery, he was an All-Mountain West first team selection and and was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's top linebacker. He could make the biggest impact out of all the Packers draft picks.
In day three of the draft, Green Bay took another defensive lineman, offensive lineman and linebacker while adding a wide receiver as well. In the fourth round, the Packers selected Stanford linebacker Blake Martinez and Northwestern defensive end Dean Lowry. Green Bay has a big need at inside linebacker with the Claymaker being moved back to outside and it may have found an answer in Martinez. The Stanford product was a tackling machine, leading the Pac-12 with 141 tackles and being named third team All-American. He will come in and compete for a starting spot against 2014 draft pick Jake Ryan. Lowry has good size to be a 3-4 defensive end and he improved every year since joining the Wildcats. He played well in Shrine Game practices and with Josh Boyd being cut and Mike Pennel being suspended for the first four games, Lowry has a very good chance of making the roster.
With their fifth round pick, the Packers took California wide receiver Trevor Davis, a speedster who has tremendous kick return ability. Davis will likely compete for a roster spot with former second round pick Davante Adams and Jared Abbrederis. Green Bay is likely to keep two. In the sixth round, the Packers took Stanford offensive tackle Kyle Murphy to complete its draft. Murphy helped anchor an offensive line that helped Christian McCaffrey explode onto the national scene and arguably should have been the Heisman Trophy winner. Like I mentioned above, Green Bay has five free agent offensive linemen next offseason, not to mention the Packers lack of depth on the offensive line hurt them last year, so it is not surprising they took multiple linemen this year. Murphy is a tough, powerful offensive lineman who will fit right in with Green Bay. He will likely be a right tackle in the NFL.
This was not a "sexy" draft by any means, but this draft was needed in terms of getting better in the trenches in current and future seasons. Most fans wanted Jack, but Thompson took the smart way by getting a defensive lineman who will start immediately and help a run defense that finished near the bottom last season. Fackrell is not a big name, but he is a perfect fit for the scheme and has a chance to make an impact this season. Only time will tell, but this seems like a solid draft for the Packers.