Green Bay Packers: 3 High-Risk, High-Reward Prospects in 2020 NFL Draft
Building a team is all about managing the risk-reward ratio, but the Green Bay Packers should consider these three players in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Every NFL prospect carries a certain amount of risk to go along with their potential. The Green Bay Packers’ job, and every other team, is to figure out when each player crosses a certain threshold. If the risk is far too high, that’s when you’ll see players start to drop in the NFL Draft. If someone feels it can be neutralized, well, that’s when there are surprise picks.
The Packers are going to have to take some calculated risks in the upcoming draft to ensure their spot among the elites in the NFC. After an underwhelming free agency that saw them replace long-time starters Bryan Bulaga and Blake Middleton with Ricky Wagner and Christian Kirksey respectively–two guys with big question marks about their game–Green Bay has some work to do.
If general manager Brian Gutekunst tries to strike gold, he could do so by targeting any of these three players early in the draft.
Antoine Winfield Jr., S, Minnesota
The tape says it all about Winfield Jr.’s ability on the football field. He’s a versatile defender who can play safety or cornerback, near the line of scrimmage or away from it. He’s supremely instinctual and reads plays before they even happen. Just don’t look at paper where you’ll see he’s undersized and doesn’t possess great speed for an NFL guy, nonetheless a potential first round pick. He’s also suffered multiple season-ending injuries that raise questions about his durability.
Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma
Jalen Hurts is one of the bigger quarterback names in this year’s draft despite not being a Day 1 prospect. He had a successful collegiate career, first at Alabama and then for one season at Oklahoma. He’s a dual-threat quarterback with potentially budding accuracy on medium and deep balls. However, he trusts his feet a lot more than he should and tends to bail on the pocket too early. If the Packers feel they can develop him and help him continue to make strides as he showed at Oklahoma last season, this could be a developmental project for them to pursue on Day 2.
Next. Packers: 3 Sleepers in 2020 NFL Draft. dark
Laviska Shenault Jr., WR, Colorado
Opposite Winfield Jr., Shenault Jr. has all the physical tools you could desire in a wide receiver. He has good size at 6-foot-1 and uses his strength to box cornerbacks out of throws–giving them no chance to make a play on the ball. He can also stretch the field vertically by using his great leaping ability to high-point the ball. However, it’s all the coaching stuff that he struggles with–facets like route-running and best fit on a football field. If a staff trusts their ability to build him up and use him correctly, he could be a home run pick.