By: Marques Eversoll
It’s no secret the Green Bay Packers need help at inside linebacker. The crutch they’re leaning on right now is Sam Barrington, who has just nine career starts under his belt. Clay Matthews can kick inside, but beyond he and Barrington, it’s a bunch of Carl Bradfords, Joe Thomases and Josh Francises.
While the first round saw five defensive backs among the first 32 picks, only Clemson’s Stephone Anthony and Washington’s Shaq Thompson represented the group of off-the-ball linebackers. The Packers knocked out one of their top two needs by grabbing Arizona State safety-turned-cornerback Damarious Randall at No. 30, but a gaping hole remains at inside linebacker.
With Anthony off the board, four of the clear-cut top five linebackers remain: Eric Kendricks of UCLA, Benardrick McKinney of Mississippi State, Paul Dawson of TCU and Denzel Perryman of Miami. Any of the four of them could step in the doors at 1265 Lombardi Ave. and immediately improve the position group.
But perhaps none would give the Packers something new quite like Perryman. For every question about Perryman’s size (5-11, 236) or coverage skills (4.78 in the 40), there’s a clip of him de-cleating a running back or throwing a shoulder into a receiver and sending him three yards back. The guy can hit. He loves to hit.
“I’m smart, I’m physical, I’m a downhill, hard-nosed dog,” Perryman said at February’s NFL Scouting Combine.
Some mock drafts (Peter King’s) had the Packers taking Perryman at 30 at the end of the first round. Other mock drafts (mine) had the Packers moving back from 30, and taking Perryman in the early second round (42). Some rankings have Perryman projected as a late second or even third-round pick. But one thing is for sure – the Titans will make the 33rd pick tomorrow, and Perryman will still be on the board. Meaning, the Packers still have a chance.
It’s not often that Packers general manager Ted Thompson trades up in the draft, but he’s shown he’s not afraid to do so for a guy he covets. He did it for Clay Matthews and it worked. He did it for Morgan Burnett and it worked. Maybe Trader Ted will reverse course and move up from No. 62 to ensure a difference-maker in Perryman.
Whether you think cornerback or linebacker was the Packers’ biggest need headed in to the draft, those were the top two. Thompson took care of cornerback, and now it’s time to put a check mark next to the linebacker. And Denzel Perryman would look good next to Sam Barrington.
Marques Eversoll is on-air on SportsLine every weekday afternoon from 4:00-6:00 PM on The Fan, and he hosts the Saturday Morning Showcase every weekend 8:00-10:00 AM. Follow him on Twitter @MarquesEversoll.
