2016 Packer Free Agents: What it Means for Next Season and the NFL Draft

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The college football season is about halfway through and it is a good time to start looking ahead to the 2016 NFL Draft. Packers scouts and Ted Thompson are already waist-deep in player evaluations and are surveing the NFL draft lanscape.

Thompson and company first need to figure out where the holes on their current team are going to be and what positions can be upgraded. In this article we’ll look at the 2016 Packer Free Agents and get a good idea where the team will focus its attention this offseason.

Here’s a list of the 2016 Packer Free Agents (courtesy of www.sportrac.com)



As you can see it’s quite a list of potential free agents the Packers need to decide on. Let’s break these down by position to examine some real possibilities and try to predict who they’ll want to re-sign and who could be options in the draft.

Defensive Line:

As you can see the Packers have three defensive linemen who are set to become free agents. Priority number one is to re-sign Mike Daniels. Daniels is one of the best 3-4 defensive ends in the league and is still emerging. Reports were that the Packers and Daniels were far off on contract talks before the year began with Daniels wanting something close to 10M/yr.

With the recent contracts given out to other 3-4 defensive ends on Daniels’ level it isn’t unrealistic to imagine him getting paid in this neighborhood by Green Bay or another team. One thing to remember is that the NFL salary cap is likely increasing to 160 million dollars in 2016.

B.J. Raji has played really well for the Packers this year. The run defense has improved immensely with him plugging up the middle. Before Raji signed his back-to-back one year “prove it” deals, he was in talks for big money.

With his recent injury history and past few years of subpar play I don’t think the Packers should necessarily break the bank for Raji. If he continues his solid play this year he will certainly be someone the Packers want to bring back, but at a reasonable price.

Letroy Guion is the third defensive lineman set to hit the market at the end of this year. Guion filled in admirably for Raji last season as the teams nose tackle and has been a rotation piece since coming back from a three game suspension. Guion provides flexibility with his ability to play both the Nose and End for the Packers and should be relatively inexpensive. He’s someone I can see the Packers signing if Raji prices himself out of Green Bay.

The bottom line is that it will be nearly impossible to sign all three of these players. It’s more realistic that they only sign one or two, with the hope that Daniels is one of them.

When looking at potential defensive lineman in the draft there are quite a few prospects to be considered in the first three rounds.

Top Tier:

Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss, 6’4 296lbs

DeForest Buckner, Oregon, 6’7, 290lbs



The Rest:

Kenny Clark, UCLA, 6’3, 308lbs



Adolphus Washington, Ohio St., 6’4 290lbs

A’Shawn Robinson, Alabama, 6’3, 312lbs

Andrew Billings, Baylor, 6’1, 300lbs

Shawn Oakman, Baylor, 6’8, 280lbs

Jarran Reed, Alabama, 6’3, 313lbs



Sheldon Day, Notre Dame, 6’1, 285lbs

Montravius Adams, Auburn, 6’3, 296lbs

Adam Gotsis, Georgia Tech, 6’5, 285lbs

Carl Nassib, Penn St., 6’6, 270lbs

Maliek Collins, Nebraska, 6’2 300lbs

Anthony Zettel, Penn St., 6’4, 278lbs



Jonathan Allen, Alabama, 6’3, 283lbs

Jonathan Bullard, Florida, 6’3, 283lbs

Offensive Line:

You’ll notice two reserve lineman on the list, Don Barclay and Lane Taylor. Don Barclay has started 21 games as a Packer primarily at right tackle with mixed success. This season he started three games after recovering from an ACL tear in 2014 and didn’t look healthy.

While he is a solid run blocker, he is a below average pass protector and this year was a liability at times. Mike McCarthy seems to have a soft spot for “Donnie” but the truth is the Packers need to upgrade their backup tackle position. A tackle who could challenge Bakhtiari and have the ability to play both the left and right side would be ideal.

Lane Taylor has been a backup interior lineman for the Packers for three years now but hasn’t done much in the regular season. The fact he’s stuck around for all three years certainly indicates the coaching staff likes him. Re-signing him is insignificant to the team but if they do he would come pretty cheap.

The 2016 draft could shape up to have quite a few options of good tackles in the first few rounds. It would behoove the Packers to explore drafting the position early, if of course value presents itself.

Top Tier:

Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame, 6’6, 315lbs

Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss, 6’5, 305lbs



The Rest:

Jack Conklin, Michigan St., 6’6, 318lbs



Taylor Decker, Ohio St., 6’7, 315lbs

Tyler Johnstone, Oregon, 6’6, 295lbs

Spencer Drango, Baylor, 6’6, 310lbs

Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M, 6’5, 325lbs

Jason Spriggs, Indiana, 6’6, 305lbs

Cody Whitehaire, Kansas St., 6’4, 309lbs



John Theus, Georgia, 6’6, 305lbs

Kyle Murphy, Stanford, 6’7, 298lbs

Outside Linebackers:

You’ll see three outside linebackers who could potentially be hitting the market this offseason including former first round pick, Nick Perry, and a former second round pick Mike Neal. The third is undrafted free agent Andy Mulumba. All three of these players get time on Sundays while working in a rotation to rush the passer.

Nick Perry will be an interesting decision come season’s end. The Packers opted not to pick up Perry’s 5th year option due to his inability to stay healthy and inconsistent play. Perry has only played in 32 of the 48 games in his first three seasons and as of writing this could miss time this season again with a shoulder injury.

When healthy you see flashes that made Perry a first round pick. At times he displays the speed and power to get to the quarterback and has been solid vs the run. At only 25 years old there is still hope that Perry can improve but with his injury history and a body type better suited for a 4-3 defensive end, I can see him and the Packers parting ways.

Mike Neal has been a good rotational player for the Packers. When he was drafted he was brought into play on the defensive line but when injuries affected him and the team, he transformed his body and moved to OLB. Neal isn’t the classic bend the edge type pass rusher but he has good strength and is pretty stout stout in run defense. The Packers will show a lot of interest in re-signing Neal.

Andy Mulumba was brought in as an undrafted free agent in 2013 and earned a spot on the roster and even started a few games. Last year Mulamba tore his ACL and missed most of the season but came back to make the team again this year.

Mulumba has had limited playing time but coaches like his ability when healthy. It obviously depends on if the Packers sign Perry and/or Neal and also if the Packers determine if they want to keep Julius Peppers before they decide to pay Mulumba.

The first three rounds of the 2016 NFL draft don’t jump out at you with potential premier pass rushers, but certainly a few guys who could mature and become decent 3-4 outside linebackers in the league.

Top Tier:

Joey Bosa, Ohio St., 6’5 275lbs



The Rest:

Leonard Floyd, Georgia, 6’3 232lbs

Shilique Calhoun, Michigan St., 6’5 252lbs



Emmanuel Ogbah, Oklahoma St., 6’4 275lbs

Shaq Lawson, Clemson, 6’3 270lbs

Carl Lawson Auburn, 6’2 257lbs

Jordan Jenkins, Georgia, 6’3 253lbs

Joe Schobert, Wisconsin, 6’2 236lbs



Dadi Nicolas, Virginia Tech, 6’3 236lbs

Secondary:

The only Cornerback on the Free Agent list is Casey Hayward and he’s an important part of the defense. He’s graded as a top 20 cornerback according to Pro Football Focus at this point in the season. Hayward is still only 26 years old and fought off the two rookies, Damarious Randall and Quentin Rollins for the starting spot this year.

Having said that, the play of both Randall and Rollins as the season wears on will be significant in how much the Packers feel it necessary to re-sign Hayward. Both of the rookies have flashed this year with Randall earning more and more playing time. Depth is important at the cornerback position with teams using more and more spread offenses with five receiver sets so even if the rookies continue to play well Packers may still decide to want to lock up Hayward. Look for Hayward to seek somewhere in the neighborhood of Davon House’s contract, roughly $6 million per year.

There are two strong safeties on the list, Sean Richardson and Chris Banjo. Richardson unfortunately suffered another neck injury this season and may have to retire from football. Banjo is a core special teams player and has worked his way to see snaps on the defense.

I can’t imagine Banjo would be that expensive to re-sign and I believe the Packers would want to keep someone who still seems to be getting better at the age of 25. With Burnett, Clinton-Dix, Hyde and presumably Banjo around I don’t foresee the Packers looking at safety early in the draft.

Skill Positions on Offense:

The Packers will be looking at quite a few skill position players on offense that will be hitting the market. Second string quarterback Scott Tolzien, second string running back James Starks, second string tight end Andrew Quarless, and two wide receivers James Jones and Jared Abbrederis.

Tolzien will be re-signed if the organization doesn’t think last year’s fifth round pick Brett Hundley will be ready to be the backup QB.

Starks has played so well the last couple of years including early this season that I think they try to bring him back with another two year deal or so. There might be teams interested in signing him but the market for 29 year old running backs usually isn’t very strong.

I’m up in the air on if I think the Packers try to re-sign Quarless. He has had a hard time staying healthy and also a few off the field distractions but as the depth chart currently sits at tight end it would be nice to have him on the field.

The two receivers are also tough to figure out. The Packers liked Abbrederis so much they recently promoted him to the active roster even though he hasn’t played much during his first two training camps. James Jones has been a huge surprise after signing a week before the season. He could be mentioned as the team’s MVP on offense, but it’s hard to say where his spot will be once Jordy Nelson returns healthy next year.

Jones has proven again in a good offense he can be effective so a team may not be as stupid as the Giants next year and actually pay him some money to make the team and contribute.

There are going to be some tough decisions to make on quite a few free agents but for the most part Thompson has done a pretty good job deciding which guys to re-sign and which guys to walk. I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out and the lead up to the draft.

“In Ted We Trust”

Thank you for reading. Cody Bauer is the lead draft writer for Titletown Sound Off. You can follow him on Twitter @CBauerNFLDraft. For even more Packers content, follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.

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