GREEN BAY, Wis. – Free agency, it would appear, is mostly over for the Green Bay Packers, yet they still have as many as four starting spots that might need to be filled from the outside, which raises the question: Can general manager Ted Thompson fill all of them through the draft?
That might be a difficult task.
Last year’s draft produced one opening day starter: inside linebacker Blake Martinez. However, the Packers didn’t have as many holes in their starting lineup.
Even though Thompson was more active than usual in free agency this year, signing four players from other teams – tight ends Martellus Bennett and Lance Kendricks plus defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois and cornerback Davon House – he lost more players than usual, including presumptive starting running back Eddie Lacy and Pro Bowl right guard T.J. Lang.
Those aren’t the only holes to fill. Here’s a look at the starting spots that might need to be filled through the draft:
Cornerback: There’s no position with more uncertainty than this one. House’s one-year, $2.8 million contract to return to Green Bay after two years with the Jaguars is hardly indicative that the Packers are convinced he’s a No. 1 cornerback. That job was supposed to fall to Sam Shields, who would have been in the final year of a four-year, $39 million contract had concussions not ruined his career and forced the Packers to cut him earlier this offseason. Who among the trio of third-year players Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins and LaDarius Gunter is a surefire starter? Randall, the 30th pick in the 2015 draft, has the best pedigree, but he struggled with injuries and performance last season. The same goes for Rollins, the 62nd pick in that same year. Gunter, an undrafted free agent in 2015, played the most snaps among them last season, but his lack of speed will always be a limitation. It wouldn’t be out of the question for at least one of the Packers’ opening-day starting cornerbacks not to be on the roster at this point.
Inside linebacker: Perhaps the two starters are already on the roster. If so, one of them could be Clay Matthews, who moved back outside last season. Coach Mike McCarthy has been noncommittal about which position will be Matthews’ primary spot this season, saying only that his former Pro Bowler will play both outside and inside. Martinez was inconsistent – and injured – as a rookie. So was Jake Ryan in Year 2. Martinez, Ryan and Joe Thomas handled the bulk of the snaps inside last season, but the Packers may be looking to upgrade that spot.
Running back: Thompson hasn’t given any reason to think he’s still entertaining the idea of a veteran like Adrian Peterson, who has made several free-agent visits but not one to Green Bay. All the GM will say is that he still plans to add players to this group. Ty Montgomery may be the opening day starter, but he’s far from a proven workhorse after making the switch from receiver during last season. He will no doubt benefit from an offseason’s worth of work with running backs coach Ben Sirmans but keep in mind that he carried more than 11 times only once last season. Christine Michael is back on a one-year deal but there’s so little guaranteed money ($25,000) that his spot is tenuous. The only other back on the roster is Don Jackson, who was an undrafted free agent last year.
Right guard: All indications are the Packers have no plans to move one of their tackles inside to replace Lang, who signed with the Lions. McCarthy does not want to move right tackle Bryan Bulaga inside, and he wants to keep Jason Spriggs as the No. 3 tackle behind Bulaga and left tackle David Bakhtiari. That means the right guard job is as wide open as any on the roster. The starter could be anyone from the returning group of Don Barclay, Kyle Murphy and Lucas Patrick, or it could be a player they draft later this month.