Member » With three of APC’s favorite prospects gone

Jimmy Graham Color Rush Jersey , APC still finds a top pass-rusher for the Packers." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteAcme Packing Companya Green Bay Packers communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsPackersOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections The APC PodcastPackers Film RoomFantasy Football AdviceCDTShareTweetShareShareMontez Sweat is Packers’ pick at #12 in the 2019 SB Nation Mock DraftPhoto by Joe Robbins/Getty ImagesThe 2019 SB Nation Writer’s Mock Draft is underway, and we at Acme Packing Company are representing the Green Bay Packers once again in this annual tradition. This year, we have a pair of first-round picks, sitting at 12 and 30 overall. Today, we reveal our first pick for the Packers in this year’s draft.In this scenario, a few of APC’s favorite targets for the Packers have already come off the board. Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver was gone early, landing with the Buccaneers at the 5th pick. Florida State pass-rusher Brian Burns ended up in Detroit with the eighth pick while T.J. Hockenson, the Iowa tight end, went one pick later to Buffalo at nine.A quarterback, Drew Lock, went off the board at 10, however, followed by Michigan linebacker Devin Bush at 11. So, with the 12th overall pick in the 2019 SB Nation Writers’ Mock Draft, Acme Packing Company has selected:Montez Sweat, outside linebacker, Mississippi StateThe Packers would be ecstatic to find one of the pass rushers in the draft’s top tiers available with the 12th pick in this scenario and, given the other players who have come off the board https://www.thepackersfanshop.com/Muhammad-Wilkerson-Jersey , they should sprint to the podium faster than Montez Sweat’s 4.41-second 40-yard dash. Yes, the team bolstered its pass rush in free agency with the additions of Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, drastically lessening the need to land one of the top edge rushers in the draft. In fact, these signings plus the adds of Adrian Amos and Billy Turner free up the Packers to truly stick to their best value available strategy. Interestingly, Sweat is taking his official visit to Green Bay today.However, on this board, Sweat is absolutely that guy — plus, you can never have too many pass-rushers. Adding a tremendous athlete like Sweat to this rotation will allow all of these players to stay a bit more fresh as a long season wears on, while hopefully sacrificing little if anything in terms of talent when one of the Smiths needs a breather. He has experience rushing both standing up and with a hand in the dirt, and he may well be asked to do both in Green Bay. Plus, Za’Darius Smith is already expected to rush from the interior on passing downs, so that provides a great pathway to getting all three acquisitions on the field at once. Sweat’s ridiculous athletic ability and production just make him too good to pass up here.Green Bay still has needs on offense and at safety, but the board — and the fact that the Packers have an extra first-round pick at 30 — set up to to fill those holes later on. When you can draft a true impact player who can make life difficult for opposing quarterbacks, you do it.APC broke down the pick on a mini-episode of The APC Podcast this week, where you can hear Tex Western discussing the board and the selection with Zach Rapport:Click here to follow along with the SB Nation Mock as it continues on, and check back in next week to see what happens with pick number 30. Maryland star Darnell Savage says he models his game after Bears standout Eddie Jackson. With his speed, versatility and playmaking, he might just be right." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteAcme Packing Companya Green Bay Packers communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsPackersOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections The APC PodcastPackers Film RoomFantasy Football AdviceCDTShareTweetShareShareDarnell Savage brings shades of Adrian Amos’ Chicago running mate to the PackersDarnell Savage is the perfect blend of athleticism and attitude to pair with Adrian Amos. Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY SportsThe perfect complement to new Green Bay Packers safety Adrian Amos would have speed DeShone Kizer Jersey , playmaking, and coverage ability, including some slot work. Eddie Jackson ticked all those boxes in Chicago, allowing Amos to play steady, assignment football while Jackson created splash plays. On day one of the 2019 NFL Draft, Green Bay traded up from the 30th pick to number 21, nabbing a guy who has a chance to check all of those same boxes. Maryland safety Darnell Savage lives up to his name, a heat-seeking missile who flies around with bad intentions despite a lean 5-foot-11, 198-pound frame. But his reckless abandon creates plays around him. Put him in the slot, deep, in the box, in zone coverage, or in man — Savage can play anywhere with 4.36 speed and swagger to spare. He may not have the deep-middle instincts of Jackson, but Mike Pettine likely won’t ask him to play single-high safety on a regular basis given his propensity to go big nickel. Amos, on the field with Savage and Josh Jones, gives Green Bay two über athletes and a Steady Eddie in Amos.From a fit standpoint, there wasn’t a safety in this draft with more appeal for the Packers coming into the draft. Clearly, Brian Gutekunst and his staff agreed Tramon Williams Color Rush Jersey , giving up their pair of fourth-round picks to move up for Savage. More than that, Pettine’s defense has no intuitive long-term starter next to Amos, with repeated insistence from the team that Tramon Williams would preferably be a corner for the team. Safety was perhaps the only position the Packers could foreseeably start a rookie barring injury. In terms of impact, that means Savage could come in and play 60, 70, 80% of snaps or more if he can pick up the defense quickly. It’s hard to imagine another player at any position coming in and immediately giving them that. Such immediate impact may have lead to the decision to take Savage over some highly rated offensive linemen like Jawaan Taylor, Dalton Risner, and Andre Dillard. One explanation would be the Packers view Billy Turner, who was ostensibly overpaid as a right guard, as the heir apparent to Bryan Bulaga at right tackle. As a result, Gutekunst and Co. wouldn’t see the value of taking a future right guard in the first round. If that was the calculation, there’s an easy road to making the case a safety they love would be the most impactful player on the board. Savage must have been S1 on the Packers’ board and viewed as clearly better than other options like Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Juan Thornhill, Nasir Adderley, and others. Could they have waited to take Savage until 30 and not given up the picks? Perhaps, but just a few selections later, the Raiders tabbed Johnathan Abram. If Savage had been there could he have been the pick? It’s possible, and the value Green Bay got in the trade up https://www.thepackersfanshop.com/Marcedes-Lewis-Jersey , via whatever trade value chart one wants to use, favors the Packers. Gutekunst moved up to get his guy with solid value. That guy happens to be the perfect fit for one of Gutekunst’s other guys, a free agent priority and a steadying force in the secondary. Savage can play out of control at times. He’ll gamble in zone coverage in particular. But when a team has a player as consistently assignment-sound as Amos, that’s a risk worth taking for the splash plays. Rashan Gary’s selection left plenty of Packers fans scratching their heads. There should be no questions about how Darnell Savage fits into this defense, particularly next to Amos. This defense is faster, more athletic, more relentless, and a little bit scarier than it was yesterday. Will it be better? It’s April, so we’ll see, but Savage possesses the skillset to slot in next to Amos and shine. It’s not fair to put the kind of All-Pro expectations of Eddie Jackson on Savage yet, but the shades are there, the traits hinting at how this pairing could work. If nothing else, Amos should feel right at home next to a speedy playmaker who plays the game with attitude. Smash and Savage are coming to an NFC North receiver group near you.