6 Free Agents the Packers Should Sign Before Mandatory Minicamp

4. Carl Lawson, EDGE

At some point, some team is going to make the really smart move to take a risk on Carl Lawson for somewhere between $3-5 million on a one-year flyer.

Why would this be a "really smart" move?

Over the course of his first five NFL seasons, Lawson had a whopping 107 quarterback hits. When he's fully healthy and on, Lawson is incredibly difficult to block consistently. In today's NFL, if you don't have the ability to bring pass rush in waves, you can just as well kiss goodbye your chances of competing deep into January.

The Packers have invested a lot off the edge, but someone like Carl Lawson could come in and provide them with a 4th or 5th player in the pass rush department to add some much-needed depth behind guys like Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, and second-year player Lukas Van Ness.

You never know when injuries are going to happen. You always need to have good pass-rush help. Think of this like having a great three-point shooter off the bench for very little cost to your payroll.

Again, if the price is right, I don't know how you could not make this move as an NFL general manager. Some team is going to take a shot on Lawson -- who is still just 28 years old -- and reap the benefits of it all throughout the season when he's coming in and providing an effective pass rush on limited snaps.