Alternate Draft 2021
Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch via Imagn Content Services, LLC
It’s easy to look back at drafts past and say “Damn! We could have gotten that Pro-Bowler, but instead we got this dope.” Until you go on the clock with the GM and make a decision, you don’t really know how hard it is to pick winners. I should also say, it’s very easy to just make picks and disregard the work that went into the trades to get those picks. All the credit in the world goes to Joe and his team to get those trades in. This experiment will center around the picks made. Going back about 6 or 7 years, I have been making my picks before our GM turns in their cards. I am sure a lot of you do the same. This is a fun long-term experiment. Make those picks, and then follow their progress 3 to 4 years down the line. You start to get a look at what a team drafted by you would actually look like. Did you guys make picks right alongside Joe Douglas? Let’s see how you guys did when you
GREEN BAY, Wis. If Aaron Rodgers is as dug in as it sounds and dead set on never playing for the Green Bay Packers again, then nothing the team could have done in this past weekend’s NFL draft would change that.
But if Rodgers were willing to consider it, the draft at least took a step toward giving Rodgers another Super Bowl shot with this team if he is willing to take it.
A team that already brought back its core from the group that had back-to-back 13-3 seasons, both of which ended in the NFC Championship Game, made some additions in the draft that could provide an immediate impact. To be sure, a draft is designed to pay dividends over several years and not necessarily help right away especially when it begins with the 29th overall pick but consider the ways it could help immediately in Green Bay.
Round 1 Pick 29 Eric Stokes CB Georgia
Stokes is a 6-1, 190 pound, extremely fast defensive back who more than held his own in the competitive Southeastern Conference. He went up against top flight receivers from LSU’s Justin Jefferson who lit up a rookie season with the Vikings to his LSU counterpart Ja’Mar Chase, the first receiver off the board this weekend. Throw in Alabama’s tandem of Heisman winner DeVontae Smith and Jaylen Waddle, also top 10 picks, and Stokes is ready for what the NFL has to offer. He has a very good chance to be on the field a lot this fall for the Packers by either supplanting the injury prone and inconsistent Kevin King or finding a full time spot in nickel and dime sub-packages.
2021/05/02 09:23 Images of Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes are displayed on stage after he was chosen with by the Green Bay Packers with the 29th pick in the NFL footba. Images of Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes are displayed on stage after he was chosen with by the Green Bay Packers with the 29th pick in the NFL football draft Thursday April 29, 2021, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) FILE - In this Nov. 7, 2020, file photo, Ohio State offensive lineman Josh Myers blocks against Rutgers during an NCAA college football game in Columb. FILE - In this Nov. 7, 2020, file photo, Ohio State offensive lineman Josh Myers blocks against Rutgers during an NCAA college football game in Columbus, Ohio. The Green Bay Packers selected Myers in the second round of the NFL draft Friday, April 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)