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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 |