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2015 NFL Mock Draft: Green Bay Packers Select ILB Eric Kendricks at No. 30

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

With the No. 30 pick in the DBN 2015 NFL Mock Draft, the Green Bay Packers select...

Eric Kendricks, ILB, UCLA

The selection and write-up were made by syndrome:

Early in free agency, the Packers had 3 real needs: the middle of the defensive line, an inside linebacker, and corner. They would also like to add a pass catching tight end, so Rodgers could have more toys. On the line, they kicked the can down the road a bit by re-signing Raji and Guion, albeit to 1-year deals. However, they absolutely would love to move Matthews back outside, and they lost corners House and Williams to free agency.

Ask any Packers fan what they want to do with this pick, and the answer probably is, "trade back for more picks." Well, that's not an option. The question here is what can they get here where value matches need? Believe me, as this pick got closer, I was almost salivating that I could grab Jalen Collins, but alas, he's off the board. So, with the 30th pick, the Packers select Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA.

Kendricks combines good instincts, a high football IQ, explosiveness and speed. He has a nose for the ball and is a good tackler. He is probably the most ready ILB candidate to step in early, allowing Matthews to move back outside. The biggest knock on him? His size. Yeah, I remember an undersized linebacker out of OSU that played in the league for quite a few years, and pretty darn effectively. I'm not saying Kendricks is going to be like Chris Spielman, but he possesses many of the same qualities that made people realize size doesn't matter.

This pick makes sense. Like the team before them (Indianapolis), the Packers are built well enough offensively that they need to focus these types of picks on players who can develop into key long-term starters on defense.

The New Orleans Saints are up next, led by pt_999.

2015 DBN Community Mock Draft Results (so far)

Pick Team Player Position School Username
1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jameis Winston QB Florida State BuenosAires_Dawg
2 Tennessee Titans Marcus Mariota
QB
Oregon
scott tizzle
3 Jacksonville Jaguars Vic Beasley
DE/OLB
Clemson
Legoman0721
4 Oakland Raiders Amari Cooper
WR
Alabama
makeaplay59
5 Washington Redskins Leonard Williams
DE
USC
michael.hamper
6 New York Jets Dante Fowler
OLB
Florida
aszabo1
7 Chicago Bears Kevin White
WR
West Virginia
Barnestorm
8 Atlanta Falcons Melvin Gordon
RB
Wisconsin
OhioCityBrownsBeliever
9 New York Giants Randy Gregory
DE
Nebraska
Bizono
10 St. Louis Rams DeVante Parker
WR
Louisville
Ted Washington's Belly
11 Minnesota Vikings Trae Waynes
CB
Michigan St.
MConley17
12 Cleveland Browns Bud Dupree
OLB
Kentucky
Adam Rice
13 New Orleans Saints Shane Ray
DE/OLB
Missouri
TuckJob
14 Miami Dolphins Arik Armstead
DT
Oregon
Brocolis154033
15 San Francisco 49ers Brandon Scherff
OL
Iowa
Manly and Loving It
16 Houston Texans Brett Hundley
QB
UCLA
troy145
17 San Diego Chargers Malcom Brown
DT
Texas
Crawford_T
18 Kansas City Chiefs Ereck Flowers
OT
Miami
JamesPowell
19 Cleveland Browns Danny Shelton
NT
Washington
Royce Groff
20 Philadelphia Eagles La'el Collins
OT
LSU
Matt Wood
21 Cincinnati Bengals Dorial Green-Beckham
WR
Missouri
styrofoamboots
22 Pittsburgh Steelers Landon Collins
SS
Alabama
Marquess of Rockingham
23 Detroit Lions Andrus Peat
OT
Stanford
tmptplayer
24 Arizona Cardinals Shaq Thompson
OLB
Washington
a2342432a
25 Carolina Panthers Jaelen Strong
WR
Arizona State
PaduaDSP
26 Baltimore Ravens Todd Gurley
RB
Georgia
unoservix
27 Dallas Cowboys Jalen Collins
CB
LSU
Twilightcall06
28 Denver Broncos Cameron Erving
OL
Florida State
Maverick Hunter X
29 Indianapolis Colts Eddie Goldman
DL
Florida State
Mudville
30 Green Bay Packers Eric Kendricks
ILB
UCLA
syndrome
31 New Orleans Saints


pt_999
32 New England Patriots


stravaille