What I Want In Round 2

Well, round 1 was quite an adventure, but there’s more fun to be had!

What to do in round 2?

I was pretty adamant that I didn’t want to trade up from 14. I was however, willing to move back up into the bottom of the first, which means I’d be more than willing to move to the top of the second if there was someone worth taking.

There is.

Harold Landry.

I know some people want to knock his injuries. I’m not that concerned. He played in 12 games in his sophomore and junior seasons and looked like a top 10 pick if he had come out early. He came back for his senior year and got hurt. I don’t downgrade him for that.

Some people cite his size as a negative. Landry is 6’3″ 250. That’s the same height and 5 pounds lighter than Clay Matthews. Call it undersized if you will, but he plays with the same freakish agility and edge bend that CM3 uses. It’s deadly. And I want it.

In some ways, you could compare Landry to Jaire Alexander: they are both physical phenoms who’s only real shortcoming is being a bit under-sized (and in Landry’s case, getting hurt his senior year).

In his junior year, he 16 1/2 sacks. That’s a lot over a 16 game NFL season, but he did it over a 12 game college season – plus he had 22 tackles for a loss. The stats aren’t the big draw, though – it’s the highlights were he turns the corner and collapses offensive tackles like Wal Mart folding chairs.

Go get him, Gutey!

I love having more swings in the mid to late rounds for hidden gems, but Landry is a blue chip talent that fell considerably. This isn’t trading from 14 to 10 for a king’s ransom – this is trading up on day 2 in exchange for some picks on day 3. It’s a lot less risk.

To move up from 45 to 33, the Packers (according to the trade value chart at www.drafttek.com) would have to give up the first picks in the 4th and the 5th – the ones they got from… the Browns.

Here’s the thing: the Browns have the first pick in the second round. Hey, Schnieder, you want those picks back, ol’ buddy? I doubt it, the Browns could really use Harold Landry.

But is he their guy?

I’m hoping the Browns go for Derrius Guice. I would like to imagine that they wanted Barkley really bad at number 4 and now want to grab Guice as a consolation prize.

That would give the Packers a chance to trade with Giants for the second pick in the round. However, the Giants love pass rushers and may not want to take Landry as well.

But maybe, just maybe, the Giants think they need a corner more than a pass rusher and they go with Josh Jackson.

Now we’re trying to get the third pick in the round. Who has that? Cleveland!? F#ck! They can’t pass on Landry twice, can they?

After that, Indianapolis has back to back picks, then Tampa, Chicago, Denver, Oakland… whatever.

I can’t see Landry falling that far. If the Packers don’t get one of the first three picks here, there’s no way they’re getting Landry.

If they don’t land Landry, welp. Stay put and see who falls. There’s a lot of quality players, but please don’t take Will Hernandez. I know he’s really good, but I don’t want to take a guard in the 2nd when we don’t have a 3rd.

Josh Jackson would be a good guy to take and double up at corner, giving the Packers super depth and more matchup options for teams like Atlanta that have multiple big receivers. Isaiah Oliver is another talented corner with decent size, but average speed. Jackson and Oliver were both listed as potential first rounders on my defensive tiers board.

Josh Sweat could be a nice edge rusher (he’s the only non-corner left that I thought could make the first round as a defender) as could Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (who brings limitless potential for awesome nicknames). Maurice Hust is a nice penetrating defensive lineman. I could also live with a receive like Anthony Miller or James Washington, but I’d prefer a defensive selection.

Especially if it’s Harold Landry.

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