Packers mock free agency/draft

[thequick12]

Done on fanspeak

Cut

Mason Crosby, Nick Perry, Tramon Williams, and a bunch of fringe guys like Trevor Davis, Antonio Morrison, Tra Carson, etc

Resign

Brashaud Breeland 3 years 15 million 5 m guranteed
It was tough to cut Williams but I think his 5 million in cap space was better off allocated to resigning breeland the younger player who provides more playmaking at this point in their careers

Sign

Lb Dee Ford 4 years 48 million 24m guranteed
Strong edge rusher had 13 sacks for new Packers Lb coach while they were both in KC in 2018.

Lb Anthony Barr 4 years 48 million 24 million
guranteed
The man who injured Aaron Rodgers comes to gb to win a superbowl as a team leader excelling at a new/old position alongside Rodgers. Should make for quite the story during sb week. But all foolishness aside I think if gute pays Barr and the coaches move him back to the edge a position he excelled at in college, 23.5 sacks in 2 seasons, should pay huge dividends for the Packers.

S Earl Thomas 4 years 36 million 16 m guranteed
Pettine gets the single high playmaker his defense relies on so heavily to be at it's best. Between Thomas who I'd expect to be rejuvenated by the move from Seattle and the two edge rushers, the gb defense would immediately be a legitimate one.

Wr John Brown 3 years 21 million 10 m guranteed
The only offensive addition brown is a small explosive slot reciever, the likes of which the Packers have never had during the Rodgers era. In 2018 in Baltimore brown put up 42 receptions 715 yards and 5 tds. That was good for 17 yards a catch with a ling of 71. Getting even that production from the slot would be a welcome addition to the offense. But there's good evidence Brown would exceed those stats in a full season with Rodgers. In Baltimore brown put up most of those numbers when flacco was the qb once the rookie took over browns stats fell off. And in his first 2 years n Arizona he had 113 catches for 1699 yards and 12 tds. That was with Carson Palmer at qb another more conventional guy like flacco. With Rodgers the 28 year old should return to his 2015 form 65 for 1003 and 7 tds. Which would be huge for the Packers offense

End up with over 26 million of cap space left. With draft picks costing 10 million approximately that still leaves a nice cushion to protect against in season injury.

Draft

#12 Devin White ilb
Packers defense finally gets that explosive playmaking 3 down ilb they haven't had for too long. White should develop into an all pro in Mike pettines inside linebacker friendly scheme

#30 Tj hockenson te
Offense gets the piece it's been missing since Jermichael Finley with one huge difference this guy can block just as well as he can split the seam or turn a short pass into a long gain

#44 Zach Allen de
A big athletic defensive end with pass rush skills. Paired with Clark and Daniels the dl would be truly dominant

#75 chauncy Gardner Johnson s
This guy reminds me of nick Collins the way he flys up to fill in run support. He's super athletic and would be a perfect compliment to Earl Thomas at string safety. He excels in making plays from the slot where hed likely spend a lot of his time as Thomas manned the deep middle. But make no mistake Gardner Johnson has the skill set to take over that role from Thomas in a few years

#114 Beau benzschawel g
Packers get a plug and play Wisconsin offensive linemen who will instantly stabilize the right guard position for years to come

#118 jalen jelks olb
Tall and athletic needs to develop a little but he's got plenty to build on. The guy knocked down 7 passes in 2018

#150 Jamal Peters
Long athletic corner prospect to add depth and provide value in special teams. 4.4 speed and plus athletism a continuing trend

#185 penny Hart wr
An explosive small slot receiver pretty similar to John Brown but in my mind having two of those guys isn't a bad idea to both protect for injury and to have the ability to really stress the defense from the inside

#194 Nate Davis ol
Another prospect to add some depth along the line. I think davis can play guard or tackle valuable versatility

#226 Cole Tracy k
A young kicker with great accuracy to replace mason Crosby.

This team could really make a turn around in 2019 with these additions. I think it's a for sure playoff team and highly likely to make a deep run into the playoffs depending upon the jumps they get from their young guys.

 

[elcid]

Done on fanspeak

Cut

Mason Crosby, Nick Perry, Tramon Williams, and a bunch of fringe guys like Trevor Davis, Antonio Morrison, Tra Carson, etc

Resign

Brashaud Breeland 3 years 15 million 5 m guranteed
It was tough to cut Williams but I think his 5 million in cap space was better off allocated to resigning breeland the younger player who provides more playmaking at this point in their careers

Sign

Lb Dee Ford 4 years 48 million 24m guranteed
Strong edge rusher had 13 sacks for new Packers Lb coach while they were both in KC in 2018.

Lb Anthony Barr 4 years 48 million 24 million
guranteed
The man who injured Aaron Rodgers comes to gb to win a superbowl as a team leader excelling at a new/old position alongside Rodgers. Should make for quite the story during sb week. But all foolishness aside I think if gute pays Barr and the coaches move him back to the edge a position he excelled at in college, 23.5 sacks in 2 seasons, should pay huge dividends for the Packers.

S Earl Thomas 4 years 36 million 16 m guranteed
Pettine gets the single high playmaker his defense relies on so heavily to be at it's best. Between Thomas who I'd expect to be rejuvenated by the move from Seattle and the two edge rushers, the gb defense would immediately be a legitimate one.

Wr John Brown 3 years 21 million 10 m guranteed
The only offensive addition brown is a small explosive slot reciever, the likes of which the Packers have never had during the Rodgers era. In 2018 in Baltimore brown put up 42 receptions 715 yards and 5 tds. That was good for 17 yards a catch with a ling of 71. Getting even that production from the slot would be a welcome addition to the offense. But there's good evidence Brown would exceed those stats in a full season with Rodgers. In Baltimore brown put up most of those numbers when flacco was the qb once the rookie took over browns stats fell off. And in his first 2 years n Arizona he had 113 catches for 1699 yards and 12 tds. That was with Carson Palmer at qb another more conventional guy like flacco. With Rodgers the 28 year old should return to his 2015 form 65 for 1003 and 7 tds. Which would be huge for the Packers offense

End up with over 26 million of cap space left. With draft picks costing 10 million approximately that still leaves a nice cushion to protect against in season injury.

Draft

#12 Devin White ilb
Packers defense finally gets that explosive playmaking 3 down ilb they haven't had for too long. White should develop into an all pro in Mike pettines inside linebacker friendly scheme

#30 Tj hockenson te
Offense gets the piece it's been missing since Jermichael Finley with one huge difference this guy can block just as well as he can split the seam or turn a short pass into a long gain

#44 Zach Allen de
A big athletic defensive end with pass rush skills. Paired with Clark and Daniels the dl would be truly dominant

#75 chauncy Gardner Johnson s
This guy reminds me of nick Collins the way he flys up to fill in run support. He's super athletic and would be a perfect compliment to Earl Thomas at string safety. He excels in making plays from the slot where hed likely spend a lot of his time as Thomas manned the deep middle. But make no mistake Gardner Johnson has the skill set to take over that role from Thomas in a few years

#114 Beau benzschawel g
Packers get a plug and play Wisconsin offensive linemen who will instantly stabilize the right guard position for years to come

#118 jalen jelks olb
Tall and athletic needs to develop a little but he's got plenty to build on. The guy knocked down 7 passes in 2018

#150 Jamal Peters
Long athletic corner prospect to add depth and provide value in special teams. 4.4 speed and plus athletism a continuing trend

#185 penny Hart wr
An explosive small slot receiver pretty similar to John Brown but in my mind having two of those guys isn't a bad idea to both protect for injury and to have the ability to really stress the defense from the inside

#194 Nate Davis ol
Another prospect to add some depth along the line. I think davis can play guard or tackle valuable versatility

#226 Cole Tracy k
A young kicker with great accuracy to replace mason Crosby.

This team could really make a turn around in 2019 with these additions. I think it's a for sure playoff team and highly likely to make a deep run into the playoffs depending upon the jumps they get from their young guys.

Your mock draft seams really plausible and furthermore, very desirable imo. I like Jelks 118 and while Beau might grow to be a formidable player, it will take some time before he is. He seems more of a project to me, but I agree that he would have a good chance to start given what we have at the position.

Personally I am not a fan of signing Thomas at all. We need investments in guys on the up and while I love Earl as a player, he seems too much of a risk to me given his age and injury history. I like picking up Barr and Brown. However I dont think we will be able to sign up Breeland for 5m and Ford for 12m a year. Even given all your cuts, it seems to me that if we would like to sign a guy like Ford, we wont be able to sign both Breeland and Brown.

 

[AmishMafia]

We spend $47M per year on FAs and we still have $26M in cap space? Not sure that is correct.

Like your first 5 picks. Wish we addressed oline more than just Beau at 114. But you can't get everything, so this would be a great haul for us.

Not sure I am on board with FA Thomas or Ford. Both think they will be too costly.

 

[gopkrs]

Like it a lot though I don't know all the rookies. And would like to see a bit more on the o line. Is it possible? e.g. I think Ford will be franchised or re-signed.

 

[tynimiller]

Breeland will be more expensive that $5M/year...but I still want us to re-sign. Perry while I understand cutting leaves A TON of wasted money and not much gained (like $3.5Million or something like that with over 10M dead)...I just don't see it due to that.

 

[GleefulGary]

All of your signings are too cheap, except maybe Barr.

Dee Ford, who won't even be available, would get more than 12/year.

Breeland would get more than 5/year.

You have CGJ, and Nate Davis going too late. Both are probably year 1/2 starters. I would argue Hock won't be there at 30, but that's more speculative and who knows with TE's. And I just flat out don't like Devin White at 12.

ET would get more than 9/year.

 

[Dantés]

Done on fanspeak

Cut

Mason Crosby, Nick Perry, Tramon Williams, and a bunch of fringe guys like Trevor Davis, Antonio Morrison, Tra Carson, etc

Resign

Brashaud Breeland 3 years 15 million 5 m guranteed
It was tough to cut Williams but I think his 5 million in cap space was better off allocated to resigning breeland the younger player who provides more playmaking at this point in their careers

Sign

Lb Dee Ford 4 years 48 million 24m guranteed
Strong edge rusher had 13 sacks for new Packers Lb coach while they were both in KC in 2018.

Lb Anthony Barr 4 years 48 million 24 million
guranteed
The man who injured Aaron Rodgers comes to gb to win a superbowl as a team leader excelling at a new/old position alongside Rodgers. Should make for quite the story during sb week. But all foolishness aside I think if gute pays Barr and the coaches move him back to the edge a position he excelled at in college, 23.5 sacks in 2 seasons, should pay huge dividends for the Packers.

S Earl Thomas 4 years 36 million 16 m guranteed
Pettine gets the single high playmaker his defense relies on so heavily to be at it's best. Between Thomas who I'd expect to be rejuvenated by the move from Seattle and the two edge rushers, the gb defense would immediately be a legitimate one.

Wr John Brown 3 years 21 million 10 m guranteed
The only offensive addition brown is a small explosive slot reciever, the likes of which the Packers have never had during the Rodgers era. In 2018 in Baltimore brown put up 42 receptions 715 yards and 5 tds. That was good for 17 yards a catch with a ling of 71. Getting even that production from the slot would be a welcome addition to the offense. But there's good evidence Brown would exceed those stats in a full season with Rodgers. In Baltimore brown put up most of those numbers when flacco was the qb once the rookie took over browns stats fell off. And in his first 2 years n Arizona he had 113 catches for 1699 yards and 12 tds. That was with Carson Palmer at qb another more conventional guy like flacco. With Rodgers the 28 year old should return to his 2015 form 65 for 1003 and 7 tds. Which would be huge for the Packers offense

End up with over 26 million of cap space left. With draft picks costing 10 million approximately that still leaves a nice cushion to protect against in season injury.

Draft

#12 Devin White ilb
Packers defense finally gets that explosive playmaking 3 down ilb they haven't had for too long. White should develop into an all pro in Mike pettines inside linebacker friendly scheme

#30 Tj hockenson te
Offense gets the piece it's been missing since Jermichael Finley with one huge difference this guy can block just as well as he can split the seam or turn a short pass into a long gain

#44 Zach Allen de
A big athletic defensive end with pass rush skills. Paired with Clark and Daniels the dl would be truly dominant

#75 chauncy Gardner Johnson s
This guy reminds me of nick Collins the way he flys up to fill in run support. He's super athletic and would be a perfect compliment to Earl Thomas at string safety. He excels in making plays from the slot where hed likely spend a lot of his time as Thomas manned the deep middle. But make no mistake Gardner Johnson has the skill set to take over that role from Thomas in a few years

#114 Beau benzschawel g
Packers get a plug and play Wisconsin offensive linemen who will instantly stabilize the right guard position for years to come

#118 jalen jelks olb
Tall and athletic needs to develop a little but he's got plenty to build on. The guy knocked down 7 passes in 2018

#150 Jamal Peters
Long athletic corner prospect to add depth and provide value in special teams. 4.4 speed and plus athletism a continuing trend

#185 penny Hart wr
An explosive small slot receiver pretty similar to John Brown but in my mind having two of those guys isn't a bad idea to both protect for injury and to have the ability to really stress the defense from the inside

#194 Nate Davis ol
Another prospect to add some depth along the line. I think davis can play guard or tackle valuable versatility

#226 Cole Tracy k
A young kicker with great accuracy to replace mason Crosby.

This team could really make a turn around in 2019 with these additions. I think it's a for sure playoff team and highly likely to make a deep run into the playoffs depending upon the jumps they get from their young guys.

I highly doubt they're getting Breeland back for 5M/season. I don't see why, with a higher cap now in 2019, he would get the same annual amount as Tramon Williams got at 35 years old.

There has been zero indication that the Chiefs will actually let Dee Ford get to the open market. They have the space to franchise tag him if necessary. I don't think he's going to be an option.

After the cuts you suggest, the Packers would have about 45M in cap space. You then have them spending approx. that exact amount on the FA's you listed. That would leave them in the negative in cap space, not with 26M left over.

In general, I can't take fanspeak mocks seriously. It's nothing against you, but their boards allow for some stupidly unrealistic stuff.

Hockenson at #30?
Gardner-Johnson at #75?

 

[HardRightEdge]

Done on fanspeak

Cut

Mason Crosby, Nick Perry, Tramon Williams, and a bunch of fringe guys like Trevor Davis, Antonio Morrison, Tra Carson, etc

Brashaud Breeland 3 years 15 million 5 m guranteed

Lb Dee Ford 4 years 48 million 24m guranteed

Lb Anthony Barr 4 years 48 million 24 million

S Earl Thomas 4 years 36 million 16 m guranteed

Wr John Brown 3 years 21 million 10 m guranteed

End up with over 26 million of cap space left.

Your math is off.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Wr John Brown 3 years 21 million 10 m guranteed
The only offensive addition brown is a small explosive slot reciever, the likes of which the Packers have never had during the Rodgers era.

While Brown has lined up in the slot he's primarily an outside receiver.

 

[tynimiller]

I tried using Spot Trac to duplicate your math and I cannot make it work. Is there a cut somewhere you didn't mention of a big contract or two?

 

[Stanger37]

With the news of the Jets trying to draft down and sell off the 3rd pick...depending the asking price for that, would anyone be willing to part with any of their picks to move up? Is there a big name in the top 3 that could potentially be a game changer off the bat?

 

[rodell330]

With the news of the Jets trying to draft down and sell off the 3rd pick...depending the asking price for that, would anyone be willing to part with any of their picks to move up? Is there a big name in the top 3 that could potentially be a game changer off the bat?

Josh Allen. He’s worth the #3 pick. If he can give us half the production that Nick Perry hasn’t given us, that’s a win. He defends the run well and he gets to the QB.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Gute was asked at the combine what his approach to Free Agency will be, if memory serves me correct, this was very similar to what he said last year.

"I think we’ll be really active – I’d like to be really active. It’s a small market. Free agency is always a small market, so we’d like to be a part of a lot of the conversations, and when the opportunities present themselves, if [a player] can help [our team] I think we’ll be ready to pull the trigger. I’m excited to get to it. Obviously, the draft is how we build our team, that’s kind of the foundation of it. But I think our team is ready to move into free agency a little bit more than we have [in the past]."

 

[HardRightEdge]

I refer to the "2019 Cap Space" thread, post #54. The numbers have not changed.

Once the cap cost of the draft class, the practice squad, and a nominal amount ($3 mil) held in reserve for PUP and IR replacements, the Packers currently have $23.7 mil in usable cap space.

The cuts suggested in the OP (Mason Crosby, Nick Perry, Tramon Williams, Trevor Davis, Antonio Morrison, Tra Carson), assuming they are done before roster bonuses are due a few days into the FA period, would add:

Crosby: $3.6 mil
Perry: $3.3 mil
Williams: $4.75 mil
Davis: $720,000
Morrison: $2.0 mil
Carson: $570,000

Those cuts would add $15 mil in additional cap space for a starting point of about $39 mil in cap space.

 

[PackAttack12]

I refer to the "2019 Cap Space" thread, post #54. The numbers have not changed.

Once the cap cost of the draft class, the practice squad, and a nominal amount ($3 mil) held in reserve for PUP and IR replacements, the Packers currently have $23.7 mil in usable cap space.

The cuts suggested in the OP (Mason Crosby, Nick Perry, Tramon Williams, Trevor Davis, Antonio Morrison, Tra Carson), assuming they are done before roster bonuses are due a few days into the FA period, would add:

Crosby: $3.6 mil
Perry: $3.3 mil
Williams: $4.75 mil
Davis: $720,000
Morrison: $2.0 mil
Carson: $570,000

Those cuts would add $15 mil in additional cap space for a starting point of about $39 mil in cap space.

I expect the Packers to cut Perry and Williams. On the fence about Crosby. Cutting him would likely mean using draft capital for his replacement. Not sure how I feel about that at this point.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I expect the Packers to cut Perry and Williams. On the fence about Crosby. Cutting him would likely mean using draft capital for his replacement. Not sure how I feel about that at this point.

I think it would be a mistake to cut Crosby right now. Doing it before the start of the new year only saves you $400K, as opposed to doing it before the regular season starts.

Hang on to him, bring in some healthy competition and if you find your new kicker, cut Crosby and save $3.2M.

The only reason I would cut Crosby earlier, is if the Packers absolutely need his cap space to sign a FA or if they have already made the decision to move on from him.

I can't help but think of the Bears and Robbie Gould when I read about cutting Crosby. I know....can't base decisions on something like that.

 

[Mondio]

If you're cutting Crosby, do it after someone beats him in TC and get your savings. The 400K difference now is nothing if you get a kicker like MN or Chicago to replace him with and don't realize it until it's too late.

 

[PackAttack12]

I think it would be a mistake to cut Crosby right now. Doing it before the start of the new year only saves you $400K, as opposed to doing it before the regular season starts.

Hang on to him, bring in some healthy competition and if you find your new kicker, cut Crosby and save $3.2M.

The only reason I would cut Crosby earlier, is if the Packers absolutely need his cap space to sign a FA or if they have already made the decision to move on from him.

I can't help but think of the Bears and Robbie Gould when I read about cutting Crosby. I know....can't base decisions on something like that.

If you're cutting Crosby, do it after someone beats him in TC and get your savings. The 400K difference now is nothing if you get a kicker like MN or Chicago to replace him with and don't realize it until it's too late.

Yeah. Crosby's been a mixed bag, but all things considered, it could be a whole lot worse than what he's provided, even with the inconsistencies.

 

[Stanger37]

Is it stats or contract that is wanting people to discuss cutting him? I think going from Favre to Rodgers really spoiled fans and media because it hasn't been a losing culture in a very long time. Ask a team with a sub-par kicker if they'd like to have Crosby over the last 11 years instead of a team like the Bengals who have had like 8 kickers in that time frame. Aside from his 40-49 this year, it wasn't by any means a bad year.

 

[PackAttack12]

Is it stats or contract that is wanting people to discuss cutting him? I think going from Favre to Rodgers really spoiled fans and media because it hasn't been a losing culture in a very long time. Ask a team with a sub-par kicker if they'd like to have Crosby over the last 11 years instead of a team like the Bengals who have had like 8 kickers in that time frame. Aside from his 40-49 this year, it wasn't by any means a bad year.

Oh sure. Just remove distance in which he kicked most of his field goals. lol.

 

[Stanger37]

Oh sure. Just remove distance in which he kicked most of his field goals. lol.

he went 11-15 in that range, take out that Lions game that seemed to be a big fluke, he went 11-13. Also tied the most 50+ yarders at 5. Only missed two, which again, the Lions game was 56 yards that he missed. It isn't like he made it a habit what happened that game. Removing that game would have given him his best FG% of his career.

So again, is it stats that were drastically affected by ONE game last year, or his contract that is getting people to run to cut him? Because there are bigger fish to fry on this team.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

he went 11-15 in that range, take out that Lions game that seemed to be a big fluke, he went 11-13. Also tied the most 50+ yarders at 5. Only missed two, which again, the Lions game was 56 yards that he missed. It isn't like he made it a habit what happened that game. Removing that game would have given him his best FG% of his career.

So again, is it stats that were drastically affected by ONE game last year, or his contract that is getting people to run to cut him? Because there are bigger fish to fry on this team.

I think this has become an annual debate

I have always been a Crosby supporter, but for the first time I am open to at least bringing in competition. I also wouldn't mind seeing the Packers use one of its two 6th round picks or the 7th round pick on one of the top college kickers. Historically, those late picks don't net you much at other positions, so why not get one of the top college players and not have to hope you can sign them as an UDFA.

 

[Mondio]

he went 11-15 in that range, take out that Lions game that seemed to be a big fluke, he went 11-13. Also tied the most 50+ yarders at 5. Only missed two, which again, the Lions game was 56 yards that he missed. It isn't like he made it a habit what happened that game. Removing that game would have given him his best FG% of his career.

So again, is it stats that were drastically affected by ONE game last year, or his contract that is getting people to run to cut him? Because there are bigger fish to fry on this team.

He's getting to the point where they should be looking for a new kicker. He's not going to kick forever. Personally, if they can replace him I'm fine with it, but I'm not looking to get rid of him just to save some money because some other kickers came in and have kicked for or better than his career average.

Without context a lot of that means nothing to me. Overall i'm happy with Crosby, he's had some rough patches in a season or two that bring things down, but overall he's been solid. Kick long enough all these new guys will probably come down a bit too. I know there are better kickers and I know there are worse. He's played a long time in the league, I'm ok paying him more than others. It's not like it's 10 million per or something.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I can only imagine what people will say if Crosby is released and Rodgers isn't consulted with first.

 

[Stanger37]

He's getting to the point where they should be looking for a new kicker. He's not going to kick forever. Personally, if they can replace him I'm fine with it, but I'm not looking to get rid of him just to save some money because some other kickers came in and have kicked for or better than his career average.

Without context a lot of that means nothing to me. Overall i'm happy with Crosby, he's had some rough patches in a season or two that bring things down, but overall he's been solid. Kick long enough all these new guys will probably come down a bit too. I know there are better kickers and I know there are worse. He's played a long time in the league, I'm ok paying him more than others. It's not like it's 10 million per or something.

That is where I am at. Draft someone late, bring in some competition. Complacency is a word that has plagued this team over the last at least two years. Competition for every position is a good thing, I am all for it. But I am not all for cutting a guy that has been better than most for his 11 years or so. Look at the turn over in just the NFC North for the last 5 years, good kickers are certainly hard to come by. Bring in competition to at least have him fear for a job, yes. Cut him to save 3.6mil, no. Especially in a place where it probably isn't too friendly kicking the 2nd half of a season.