The NFL season has officially come to an end and it’s time for the Packers to start preparing for some important decisions this offseason.
Bleacher Report just released their latest NFL Mock Draft, “B/R NFL Scouting Dept.’s Post-Super Bowl Picks” .The Packers select 25th in the NFL Draft this year and the team at Bleacher Report had the Packers selecting a much needed position with their selection:
Offensive Tackle, Kingsley Suamataia, BYU
Kingsley Suamataia is an athletic offensive lineman who has seen time at both left and right tackle in his college career at BYU. Given the uncertainty for the Packers with David Bakhtiari’s health and contract, its never a bad idea to invest in more help up front to help protect Jordan Love. Suamataia would have to seemingly battle with Rasheed Walker, who showed a lot of promise stepping in for Bakhtiari most of this season.
Scouting Report
Here is some more insight on Suamataia’s scouting report provided by Bleacher’s report NFL scouting department:
Positives:
— Thick, strapping build with evenly dispersed weight throughout his frame, good arm length and big hands.
— Shows very good overall burst and quickness to get to his landmarks on combo blocks and climbs with the mass and force to uproot and wall off defenders.
— Easy mover on climbs and pulls to intersect and seal off second-level targets.
— Has the necessary range and redirect ability to stay at tackle and play on an island.
— Primarily uses his inside hand to initiate contact in pass protection with a light, effective outside hand to circle punch, bait and disrupt the timing of rushers.
Negatives:
— Upright playing style with inconsistent hand placement creates easy access into his frame and/or being late to pinch off defenders working across his face.
— Hit-or-miss processing skills with an unrefined grasp of depth, spacing and body positioning leads to drifting against wide rush alignments and losing levels on stunts.
— Has a loose, reckless element to his approach that leads to attempted kill shots and whiffs against slippery defenders.”
Bleacher Report’s Scouting Department does a phenomenal job with their insight on NFL Draft prospects! For even more in-depth discussion on Kingsley Suamataia click this link here.
Also for the full NFL Mock Draft from Bleacher Report, click here.
Is the right selection for the Packers?
Now after hearing more about Suamataia provided from Bleacher Report’s Scouting Department, the BYU captain would fit in nicely in the packers offensive lineman room. Even with a lot of room to grow it seems like a typical smart Packers selection. But, is it right position to address in the first round? Given the success the Packers’ GM, Brian Gutekunst has found with selecting offensive lineman in the later rounds of drafts, I’d rather see the Packers stick with that route and provide some depth behind Rasheed Walker later in the draft, given they let go of David Bakhtiari as well.
Get Versatile on Defense
The route I think the Packers should go instead in the first round is selecting secondary help where the team struggled quite a bit this season at. A player like Cooper DeJean out of Iowa or even Kool-Aid McKinstry out of Alabama would be some great prospects to consider. Both players were first team All-American cornerbacks this past season and could provide a much needed spark to Jeff Hafley’s new defense.
An Exciting Offseason
The Packers have a lot of time to perfect what they plan to do come April’s draft and they will have NFL free agency in March to deal with before that as well. The Packers have an overall great roster where it currently stands and there are only a few holes needed to address if the team has the end goal of what the Kansas City Chiefs just accomplished Sunday night.
