Packers will have over $17 million post Draft, how to use it?

[NelsonsLongCatch]

There is only one answer to the question: Packers should put the money in a high yield savings account.

 

[Poppa San]

There is only one answer to the question: Packers should put the money in a high yield savings account.

Instead of investing in real estate like they have been?

 

[GreenBaySlacker]

That is so funny. I started skim reading and my eyes went right to Janis. I don't think there is cause for concern regarding an aggressive market looking to secure the services of JJ. I, as much as anyone, want the kid to blossom into a stud. However, I am starting to wonder if he is what he is at that point which is a really nice ST's gunner and forgettable WR. Who knows, maybe this is the year but I would have to think JJ has an awful lot to prove to the coaching staff and TT before the topic of extension is broached.

Out of all the returning non-starter WR's I am highest on Geronimo. He flashed in some key spots last year and with another off-season under his belt I believe this young man could really become a difference maker for us.

I just read Geronimo was resigned recently

 

[Dantés]

Here's an idea:

The Eagles landed Timmy Jernigan in a trade with the Ravens by swapping 3rd round picks. They went from 74 to 99. According to the chart, that's the value equivalent to the 96th overall pick.

The Jets are shopping Sheldon Richardson, who despite having a higher ceiling than Jernigan did not play as well last year and has some off-field stuff. He's on a one year, 8M$ deal.

So see if the Jets will take one of our 5ths for him, keep him on the one year deal, get a motivated version of him playing for a long term contract, and then let him walk, likely replacing that 5th round pick if not improving on it via the compensatory system.

Now that's using the old noggan.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

He certainly needs to do better if his model is going to work. Hopefully that's a low water mark for him. Though if it is his low point and we come away with Bakhtiari, Perry, Daniels, and Cobb I think that's still doing pretty well.

Thompson added some key players in the ones you mentioned but there's no doubt he missed on too many other draft picks from 2011-13 which negatively affected the team's depth. Hayward being the only good talent leaving after his rookie contract expired is a strong indicator for that.

I just read Geronimo was resigned recently

Allison signed his exclusive rights free agent tender last week. There was never any chance of him playing for another team though as once the Packers tendered him he wasn't allowed to negotiate with a different club.

Here's an idea:

The Jets are shopping Sheldon Richardson, who despite having a higher ceiling than Jernigan did not play as well last year and has some off-field stuff. He's on a one year, 8M$ deal.

So see if the Jets will take one of our 5ths for him, keep him on the one year deal, get a motivated version of him playing for a long term contract, and then let him walk, likely replacing that 5th round pick if not improving on it via the compensatory system.

Richardson is an intriguing player but I'm not excited about the Packers spending $8 million of their remaining cap space on him. In addition I don't believe a fifth rounder will be enough for the Jets to trade him.

 

[SoonerPack]

I just read Geronimo was resigned recently

Yes he was. He was already under team control but they signed him to an exclusive rights FA tender. With another off-season under his belt and his confidence level at an all-time high (it sure should be!) I think he could be a guy that puts up a 50 catch, 650-700 yard and 6 TD season and keep stacking success moving forward. He is obviously a skilled player with enough size and speed to be a productive player in the league for years to come. You have to love stories like his...

G P G!!

 

[HardRightEdge]

Allison is on the slow side and awfully skinny which makes him neither a perimeter threat nor a possession-type receiver. I don't see him as much of a blocker in the run game and he has no special teams utility. He looks to have good hands but I don't think he's graduated from Route Running 101. He's a fill-out-the-roster guy getting paid the minimum.

Even if he retains his position as the #4 WR, it is hard to see how he'll see many balls thrown his way.

In 4-wide/single back or 4-wide/empty backfield sets there are combinations among the top 3 WRs, the 3 TEs and Montgomery out of the slot that will keep his snaps to a bare minimum.

Last season he rose to the #4 WR by default, Janis being Janis and Davis in the dog house for whatever reason.

Where he would get his snaps would be an injury to Nelson or Adams. For whatever reason, the Packers have been reluctant to flex Cobb to the perimeter when the injury bug hits.

I see the Packers looking to upgrade the #3 wideout position behind Nelson and Adams in the draft, particularly with Adams being a free agent after this season. I'd hardly be shocked if such a player is taken among the top 3 picks. The "just outscore 'em" approach to defense building looks to be still in place, and the World According to Rodgers is wideout-centric.

An upgrade to Allison should be in the cards.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Where he would get his snaps would be an injury to Nelson or Adams. For whatever reason, the Packers have been reluctant to flex Cobb to the perimeter when the injury bug hits.

I see the Packers looking to upgrade the #3 wideout position behind Nelson and Adams in the draft, particularly with Adams being a free agent after this season. I'd hardly be shocked if such a player is taken among the top 3 picks. The "just outscore 'em" approach to defense building looks to be still in place, and the World According to Rodgers is wideout-centric.

An upgrade to Allison should be in the cards.

I agree that the Packers should look for an upgrade over Allison as the #3 outside receiver but with more pressing needs hope Thompson won't use a pick within the first two days of the draft on it.

Cobb hasn't excelled on the perimeter in the few opportunities he has been given lining up there.

 

[Dantés]

Allison made his living on scramble drills when AR broke contain and made something happen outside of the structure of the offense. That's not a criticism, but it's just hard to know what he is when that's how he's coming up with a lot of his production.

 

[HardRightEdge]

As for the OP topic, there are 7 teams with $5.3 mil or less in current cap space. These teams are candidates for cutting veteran salaries where they can find replacements in the draft:

http://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space

Thompson's habit in bringing in FAs for a look see, and then with the occasional signing, has been predominantly those guys he's seen first hand in money games: his own guys on the rebound, guys from the division, or guys who have played against him recently (like Francois).

So, if anybody wants to waste some time, he might want to look at the rosters of these teams, identify overpriced players subject to replacement who would come at a reasonable price after the draft and who would fit the Thompson criteria ("I've see you, I know you.") CB, G/C, OLB, S, even WR...all could use for some vet competition/depth.

 

[Dantés]

If they wait until day 3 to find a receiver, I would target Michigan's Jehu Chesson.

His production took a step back in 2016, but I've heard some analysts hint that he wasn't totally healthy. He went from 50/764/9 in 2015 to 35/500/2 in 2016. Mind, Michigan isn't really a high volume passing offense.

He's 6'3", 204, ran a 4.47, 35.5" vert, 6.7 3C, and 4.09 SS.

For much of 2016, he didn't look like the same guy as he did previously. He wasn't creating separation. But he has size and ball skills, and if the athleticism all comes back on the field then he could be a nice value.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Cobb hasn't excelled on the perimeter in the few opportunities he has been given lining up there.

I don't know about that, but what I do know is they resist putting him out there. When Nelson went down for the season, moving Cobb to the perimeter and using Montgomery at slot would have been a natural move

I agree that the Packers should look for an upgrade over Allison as the #3 outside receiver but with more pressing needs hope Thompson won't use a pick within the first two days of the draft on it.

Cobb hasn't excelled on the perimeter in the few opportunities he has been given lining up there.

If your philosophy is "just outscore 'em" in a wideout-centric offense, and we see little evidence that has changed (Capers will just work his "magic" ), you don't want to find yourself in the position of having to field Jarrett Boykin or James Jones or Jeff Janis or Geronimo Allison for any extended period.

When Nelson went down, the move of Cobb to the perimeter with Montgomery in the slot would have been a reasonable fall back. Nope. It was James Jones, who's limitations emerged as the season wore on.

The Packers have put Cobb out there for a match-up or specific look here and there, but never installed there when the injury replacement options were slim.

 

[Dantés]

As for the OP topic, there are 7 teams with $5.3 mil or less in current cap space. These teams are candidates for cutting veteran salaries where they can find replacements in the draft:

http://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space

Thompson's habit in bringing in FAs for a look see, and then with the occasional signing, has been predominantly those guys he's seen first hand in money games: his own guys on the rebound, guys from the division, or guys who have played against him recently (like Francois).

So, if anybody wants to waste some time, he might want to look at the rosters of these teams, identify overpriced players subject to replacement who would come at a reasonable price after the draft and who would fit the Thompson criteria ("I've see you, I know you.") CB, G/C, OLB, S, even WR...all could use for some vet competition/depth.

Looking through the cap tables for those teams, the only guy I'm seeing who could be cut without incurring a prohibitive amount of dead money is Ryan Matthews. If we didn't take a RB until late in the draft, or didn't take one at all, I'd bring Matthews in as a backup who can bring some thump between the tackles.

The Eagles were also shopping Mychal Kendricks at one point. But his release would cost more than it would save. Maybe if they designated him a post June 1 cut they might do it.

 

[XPack]

What am I expecting to Happen?

• Packers draft some surprise position with their first pick (like S, QB, DL, OT)
• Address their most concerning needs with the remaining draft picks (DB, G, RB, LB)
• Pickup a ton of UDFA's in positions of concerning needs (DB, G, RB, LB)
• Sign a few (one) "Bargain" veteran/practice squad-ish FA's (like a Robert Turbin or Khiry Robinson)
• Slow start to reg season
• Make playoffs
• Lose in playoffs
• Adams, Lane Taylor, Linsley, Janis all not extended or unsigned in 2018
• Rodgers says again, "we have to go all in every year"

• Someone creates a thread blaming TT and wanting to sell Cobb and Clay.

#historyrepeats

 

[Deleted member 6794]

The Eagles were also shopping Mychal Kendricks at one point. But his release would cost more than it would save. Maybe if they designated him a post June 1 cut they might do it.

Actually the Eagles would save $1.8 million of cap space by either trading or releasing Kendricks before June 1.

 

[PikeBadger]

Actually the Eagles would save $1.8 million of cap space by either trading or releasing Kendricks before June 1.

The Eagles salary structure is an absolute mess. They've been travelling a bad road. I think the Raven's are headed for a major rebuild soon as well.

 

[Dantés]

Actually the Eagles would save $1.8 million of cap space by either trading or releasing Kendricks before June 1.

Is that right? I'm looking at their cap table on Spotrac. It indicates that he would save them 6.6M in space, but the dead cap money incurred would be 9.15M for a net loss.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Is that right? I'm looking at their cap table on Spotrac. It indicates that he would save them 6.6M in space, but the dead cap money incurred would be 9.15M for a net loss.

According to Over The Cap the Eagles would take a $4.8 million cap hit by releasing Kendricks. Taking a look at his contract details I don't know how Spotrac comes up with that number.

 

[Dantés]

According to Over The Cap the Eagles would take a $4.8 million cal hit by releasing Kendricks. Taking a look at his contract details I don't know how Spotrac comes up with that number.

Weird. Pick your source I guess. If he really will save them significant space to cut, I think he's gone.

 

[Dirty Sanchez]

I`m just curious here, but why give AR a nice raise ? He gets paid well enough as it is.

Hey, he's looking for a new girlfriend, right? An da ladies like dem da coin!!!

 

[elcid]

So question now is, would you add Kendricks against a 6.6M cap hit in exchange for a 4th rounder? For me, it'd be a no brainer. Would add to the athleticiscm of our LB core hugely plus we'd still be able to roll over a good 10M of our cap to next year for extensions (while i know that in that case it would be tricky to get deals done for all three of Adams, Burnett and HCD). Positions of need can still be adequately addressed in the early rounds (with a deep draft of RB/EDGE/CB) and valuepicking (plus a G) can be snatched in the latter rounds.

EDIT: Plus I'd see Kendricks willing to move here so he can destroy his brother twice a year^^

I personally hope TT can work something out for either this guy or McCourty.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

So question now is, would you add Kendricks against a 6.6M cap hit in exchange for a 4th rounder? For me, it'd be a no brainer. Would add to the athleticiscm of our LB core hugely plus we'd still be able to roll over a good 10M of our cap to next year for extensions.

Kendricks would only count $5 million towards the Packers cap if they acquired him. I don't see the need to spend that kind of money on an inside linebacker though.

 

[Dantés]

Kendricks would have to play Jake Ryan's position, and they're not going to bench a 25 years old player entering his 3rd season who showed real progress in year 2. I like Kendricks, but I just can't see it happening. I wouldn't trade a mid round pick for him, and if he's cut then I would guess that a team with a hole in the starting lineup would sign him.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I would prefer seeing the Packers go after either Blount or McCourty with that kind of money. Address 2 positions considered to be thin or in need of upgrading and take a bit of pressure off finding them in the draft. If they are worried about Martinez, Ryan and Thomas, go after an ILB mid to late rounds.

 

[elcid]

Kendricks would only count $5 million towards the Packers cap if they acquired him. I don't see the need to spend that kind of money on an inside linebacker though.

Only 5M? Peanuts, sign this guy up and throw in an extra party hat! The guy can play sideline to sideline and can keep up with the better TE's. If he flukes, he is only under contract for 2 more years. If the concern is giving up the late draft pick, trading back to the beginning of the second round could solve that with such a deep draft in RB/EDGE/CB