The Green Bay Packers traded up nine spots in the second round of the National Football League draft.
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The move up cost Green Bay the first of their three, fourth round picks (125 overall) and their seventh round choice (248).
With Matthews expected to play primarily at outside linebacker after spending much of the last two seasons inside, Thompson could target inside linebacker on Day 3 of the draft.
They’ll join first-rounder Kenny Clark, a tackle from UCLA, and third-rounder Kyler Fackrell, an outside linebacker from Utah State, among general manager Ted Thompson’s defensive selections.
Overall, Auburn had three players taken in the draft as offensive lineman Shon Coleman was selected Friday by Cleveland in the third round.
The Green Bay Packers gave him that hope in the 6th round that year.
It was a certainty that the Packers would look into offensive line prospects with Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang and David Bakhtiari all set to become unrestricted free agents after the 2016 season. He led USU with 15 tackles for a loss and 12 quarterback hurries (a school record). At that point, LSU’s Deion Jones and Southern Cal’s Su’a Cravens, perhaps the only remaining linebackers who could satisfy the Packers’ need for elite speed at the position, were still available. Jack and Ragland went in the first 10 picks of the second round, so neither one would have been a reach. End Mike Daniels and nose tackle Letroy Guion are quality starters, but Raji’s unexpected retirement and Mike Pennel’s four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy left the Packers woefully thin along the front. “We’re all looking for them at every level”.
Sixth-round pick Kyle Murphy, like the Spriggs pick earlier, is all about the future.
On Thursday night in Chicago, another former University of California quarterback, Jared Goff, won’t have to wait almost as long to hear his name as Rodgers waited in New York City in 2005. The Packers were lucky that they were able to land him at No. 48 overall. “He’s a pretty versatile guy”, Wolf said.
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If Smith does fall all the way to the second round for the Packers, they would have to take him. Martinez wasn’t as productive as Arizona’s Scooby Wright and Missouri’s Kentrell Brothers, but he is faster and received the top coverage grade among this year’s linebacker class by Pro Football Focus. Lacy struggled with injuries and weight issues in 2015, allowing James Starks to have a breakout season with 601 yards and two touchdowns rushing and 392 yards and three touchdowns receiving. Thanks to the fact that rookie contracts are now slotted, we know that Clark will sign a four-year deal worth a maximum of roughly $9.4 million. Spriggs ran a 4.87 second 40-yard dash, a 7.57 second 3-cone drill, and had a 35 inch vertical.
