Expect a fascinating battle at wide receiver for Packers’ final spots

[Da-news-now]

Competition at receiver for the Packers' final spots figures to be intense and exhilarating.

Continue reading...

 

[Cheesedog]

This is the part of camp I like. Where we get to see who wants it, and who thinks a spot will be given to them because of draft position and/or because they've been there a few years.

 

[TW]

It's a difficult time for guys not drafted. They usually lose the battle between guys who were picked late, and themselves. It isn't always because they aren't as good as those low picks, but because those who chose hate to admit they made a mistake in who they picked.

Of course that's not always the case. But ties go to the draft pick.

I have a hunch we're going to have a few guys from last year who don't make this year's team, and at least one of those guys in that WR group will definitely end up on the practice squad.

 

[eyecatcher]

Yancey’s 40-yard dash time is a so-so 4.53, and if he’s going to win a job, his best chance to contribute early will likely come on special teams.

Then this...

Dupre has a chance to become a seventh-round steal for the Packers. Dupre was a five-star recruit coming out of high school and was compared in many circles to former New York Giants standout Hakeem Nicks.
Dupre never lived up to the hype at LSU, in part due to pedestrian quarterback play. Dupre then slipped to the seventh round because he struggled against press coverage and making contested catches while at LSU.
If Dupre can get stronger, his athleticism and speed in the 40 (4.52) could help him find a home in Green Bay.

So 4.53 speed is so-so but 4.52 is speed that could help a underachieving college player make an NFL team?

 

[57packer]

It is going to be interesting because they drafted a couple of guys to an already crowded position group and then added a couple of intriguing UDFAs in McCaffrey and Clark. This is one position group where we might see a surprise or two and almost certainly, two of them (Clark and someone else) will likely end up on the PS.

Nice post "eye", I got a chuckle out of that. I'm sure that extra few inches over the course of 40 yds will make a difference for Dupree. Yikes . . . do these guys even read what they write.

 

[TW]

Reading these articles reminded me of the "burst" comments made about certain receivers. If two guys run the 40 in 4.50 seconds, and one has a better "burst," the writer is inadvertently indicating the guy is actually slower in the 40, because the other guy may come off slower in the first ten, but is faster in the next 30, to make up for that slight difference at the point of explosion.

The 40 times are important, but it doesn't evaluate how quickly a guy comes out of cuts, and how crisp the cut was. A slower guy, off the blocks, can often be quicker off a crisp cut than the speedy guy at the start.

To those who have watched tight ends who excel at their jobs, and guys like Raymond Berry, and several other HOF players, their 40 speed was horrible, but what they did when they were running made all the difference.

You can pretty well chalk up comments like those made for both of those guys as pretty much two-dimensional. Not really the whole truth about either man.

 

[TundraJoe]

WR will be in interesting position to watch. Adams in his contract year. Jordy and Cobb each have 2 years left and will each make about $12 million in 2018. You can't pay 3 WR's big money. One of them, Adams, Cobb, Jordy won't be here next year.

 

[rpiotr01]

Games will be everything for these guys. Looking forward to who gets open and who gets targeted this Thursday. Also interested in seeing how games are called. Last year MM ran the ball like crazy in preseason, where the QBs were constantly throwing on 2nd and 3rd and long. Not a great way to evaluate when they're always behind the 8 ball. Maybe this year he'll try to get the QBs in rhythm early, which will benefit the WR.

Also, I think Cobb gets the Sitton treatment this year. Really do.

 

[endaround]

We seem to be stacked at WR. Gotta wonder if we have some trade possibilities for a guy like Janis. We'll see how WR injuries around the league play out this preseason.

 

[Happytime Harley]

With Janis being basically a special teams guy at this point, I don't think other teams will offer a ton in a trade. Plus, he's only got one year left on his deal.

Regarding the comment about not wanting to pay 3 WRs big $, I could see Ted doing the early extension on Adams and saving a bit of the cap hit if Adams so chooses. Regardless, you've basically got 2018 with Cobb and Jordy and I'm not sure I'd want either of them beyond that, I'm probably OK doing that for one year.
The 2018 free agency crop is possibly the worst we've had outside of Adams.
Assuming nothing changes, I'd probably keep Adams at his high cost and Burnett, while valuable, might be getting old enough and expendable with Jones in the mix.

Beyond that it's a bunch of wild cards. Some may be worth keeping but most are likely replacement-level guys. House, Janis, Taylor, DickRod, Linsley, Allison (I do like him), Evans, Lane Taylor, Gunter.
We'll have to keep some of those guys most likely given that we'll need some retention from the interior of the OL, but long story short is that Adams may be one of the few guys I'd keep. Clay finally becomes $0 guaranteed and could be chopped if he's not cutting it.