The long-awaited NFL draft has come and gone, but it’s still a fair question to wonder how the Green Bay Packers made out.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy, for one, was pleased with the haul of new talent, saying afterward, “I really like all of our picks.”
This was encouraging.
On the other hand, would any coach ever veer far from the company line? “Nah, not a good draft – we didn’t get who we wanted; I doubt any of these new guys will make the team.”
That would be a post-draft story like no other.
Ask a group of fellow Pack fans and you may get a mixed reaction of optimism and surprise, perhaps questioning the utility of taking a punter and a long snapper. The punter from last year (Justin Vogel) was already pretty good – in fact, he had the best net average per punt in team history.
The long snapper was puzzling, too, at least to the extent that nowhere had it been uttered that the Packers were one good long snapper away from a Super Bowl run.
For a wider perspective, one could also reference the national beat writers and see how they broke down the draft for each team, report-card style.
The judging or grading of hopeful candidates in any endeavor – be they aspiring vocalists, wannabe chefs or rookie pro football players – is a feature in today’s media.
Sports Illustrated magazine gave the Packers an A grade for their picks. The only other teams to receive an A from SI were the New York Giants and Chicago Bears. New England got the only A-plus.
NFL.com also gave the Packers an A, but more than half the teams in the league also got an A or A-minus from them.
Yahoo Sports gave the Packers’ draft an A-minus; New England got a C, and Seattle got an F.
In order to earn the right to see how ESPN graded each team’s draft, you had to join its premium section, so forget them.
By unofficial count, there were exactly zero revelations or insights gained from any of these report cards, which is why I’m giving the whole grading idea a C-minus.
The chances are that none of the picks will break through this year, anyway. As McCarthy pointed out, good young players typically blossom in their second or third seasons.
He also indicated that the roster is far from complete, and that player acquisitions are still ongoing. May they find an undrafted Hall of Famer pass rusher like John Randle between now and July.
However this year’s group of Packer draftees pans out, there is no denying that all of them said the right things in the interviews afterwards – happy for the opportunity to be here, ready to work hard and contribute, etc.
The same can’t be said for Arizona quarterback Josh Rosen, who was selected in the first round with the 10th overall pick, and promptly won the Golden Foot In Mouth Award with his reaction.
“I was (angry),” Rosen said. “I felt like there were nine mistakes made ahead of me.”
You may wonder, why the hissy fit? Well, a No. 10 overall pick will work from a significantly less lucrative starting base for his contract than a No. 1 or 2 pick, so maybe the money part really irked him. Or maybe he had his heart set on playing for the Browns.
Whatever the case, confidence is one thing, and acting like a spoiled child before you’ve proven anything is another. Rosen was touted as one of the most intelligent quarterbacks in the draft, but fractured that notion in one whiny huff.
He tried to later amend his outburst by saying there were not nine, but only three mistakes (quarterbacks) taken ahead of him, as if a reduced passive-aggressive snit is more acceptable.
Too late, big shooter. Your tantrum is public record, you’ve insulted nine teams and nine players, and needlessly put yourself in a position where right off the bat you need to put up or shut up.
Or better yet, just shut up.