After repetitive shortcomings in pass defense with painful playoff exiting performances in recent seasons, Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst is investing heavily in the defensive backfield again in this, his first draft.
With the 45th overall choice in round 2, Gutekunst selected Josh Jackson from the University of Iowa making it 1-2 with corners at the top of the draft for the second time in just four years.
In 2015, the Packers drafted Damarious Randall in the first round and Quinten Rollins in the second. Randall showed flashes but the team gave up on him by trading him to Cleveland in the off-season and Rollins wound up on injured reserve last season and has yet to make an impact.
So here we go again. The Packers took Louisville corner Jaire Alexander with the 18th choice in round one Thursday night and have added another corner hoping this pair, along with last year’s twin second round picks Kevin King and Josh Jones can finally stop the back end bleeding.
Jackson was a one year starter for the Hawkeyes but led the nation with eight interceptions as a redshirt junior including a pair of pick sixes against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium last fall.
He’s slightly bigger than Alexander at 6-1 and 192 pounds, plays a more physical game but isn’t as fast.
Packer scout Alonzo Dotson says Jackson is a very smart, instinctive player and his physical play jumps off the film. He believes he can handle both the outside and slot positions in the secondary.
Jackson is from Corinth, Texas and began his Iowa career as a wide receiver but moved to the defense in 2015. He played in 12 games as a sophomore with one start before making a huge splash in his 2017 season, earning conensus first team All-America acolades.
Newly elected Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Kramer announced the pick in Dallas and he couldn’t resist an Ice Bowl dig for the partisan Cowboy fans.
Judging from the first two choices in the tenure of Gutekunst, the chilling play of the Green Bay pass defense over the past several seasons needed addressing.
Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst wasn’t about to let the third round get away empty handed.
He pulled off his third trade of the NFL draft late Friday night by climbing back into the third round to take a rangy, hybrid linebacker, Oren Burks of Vanderbilt with the 88th overall choice.
Gutekunst gave the Carolina Panthers the first pick in the 4th round on Saturday, along with 147th overall pick in round number five, to climb up 13 spots for Burks.
The 23 year old has handled several position during his career with the Commodores, arriving as a safety, moving to a hybrid, safety-linebacker role in 2016 and finishing his redshirt senior season as strictly an inside linebacker where he piled up 82 tackles to rank 15th overall in the competitive Southeastern Conference. He’s listed at 6-3 and 230 pounds.
Gutekunst met reporters at the conclusion of the third round and said he wasn’t planning on making a deal to get into the third round at the start of the day but as players came off the board, he decided to go up and get the athletic linebacker.
Gutekunst said the team has acquired three athletic football players in first rounder Jaire Alexander, Josh Jackson and Burks and while the first two days of the draft netted only defensive players for the second year in a row, it just worked out that way.
Offensive skill position players or linemen should still be available on the final day of the draft Saturday, where the Packers will have eight picks in hand. They have one in the 4th round, three in the fifth, a single choice in the sixth and three more picks in the seventh round.
______________________________
Mark Daniels reporting from Lambeau Field
