Packers Fans Should Root for Chaos In the First Round
The Packers only have one obstacle to overcome in the draft: 28 players are going to be off the board before they have a chance to pick.
At the most basic level, that’s truly the only disadvantage the Packers have. In every other facet of the draft, be it scouting or in person visits or combine interviews, every NFL team is equal.
So how can the Packers get the best possible player at 29? It’s simple: root for chaos.
Draft analyst and Acme Packing Company writer Owen Riese accurately summarized how this works for the Packers and their fans:
In short, everyone supporting the Packers needs to hope that a bunch of teams talk themselves into a quarterback, thereby pushing more prospects down the board to the Packers.
If other teams are taking quarterbacks (or other positions that the Packers don’t really need to target in the first round, like offensive line or even running back), more players will be available at positions the Packers do need, like edge rusher or cornerback.
The problem with hoping for this situation is that it’s not clear how many first round-worthy quarterbacks are in this particular draft class. It could be as many as four, but you could also argue that as few as one is worth taking in the first round.
The silver lining is that teams will regularly overdraft quarterbacks in hopes of finding a franchise savior. The 2011 draft is a great example of this phenomenon. Four quarterbacks came off the board in the first twelve picks that day: Cam Newton went first overall, Jake Locker went eighth, Blaine Gabbert went 10th, and Christian Ponder went 12th. Of those four, only Newton and Gabbert have thrown passes in the last two seasons and only Newton is with his original team.
If something similar plays out tonight, the Packers will be in much better position to select an elite defensive player.
Root for chaos tonight. It will only help the Packers.