With just two days to go until the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, we're starting to get a clearer picture of where teams stand. The Green Bay Packers, for instance, sitting at No. 27 in the back end of the draft's initial stanza, seem to be shuffling back and forth between linebacker and defensive line. Or considering a trade down.
Packers GM Ted Thompson made few moves in NFL free agency, as per his normal operating procedure, so whatever upgrades the team happens to come by outside of re-signing a few defensive pieces - Letroy Guion, Nick Perry, Nate Palmer - and adding tight end Jared Cook, will be via the draft.
And at this point, a report suggests that the Packers and Thompson have a pretty clear leader in the clubhouse - Alabama's Reggie Ragland.
Ragland is a throwback guy, the kind of linebacker who will play downhill on every snap, and though he may come with some coverage deficiencies, will be a welcome addition to the knock-down, drag-out NFC North. Assuming at least a proficient level of play out of the high-character Ragland right from the get, the move would allow the Pack to slide Clay Matthews Jr. back outside full time, shoring up two spots with one selection.
Ragland is likely to still be available at No. 27, as those coverage issues will trouble plenty of teams and limit his overall value (though his improving pass rush moves will be a boon).
But Ragland's not alone up high on the Packer draft board. At this point, it sounds like Clemson safety T.J. Green has turned himself into a "hot candidate" for Green Bay.
Interestingly, the report suggests that the Packers consider Green a potential second-round selection, but the rest of the league seems to be coming around on the big Clemson defender as a first-rounder.
Per a separate report from Tuesday, Green - 6-foot-2, 209-pounds - is now drawing consideration as a late first-round prospect. And while he played solely free safety for the majority of his career at Clemson - he came to the team as a wide receiver - many teams view him as a future corner in the NFL.
Green has all the measurables - he ran a 4.34 40 and managed a 4.41 in the short shuttle - and was productive as a tackler (95 tackles, second on the team in 2015), but his technical tackling approach is actually considered suspect, as are his coverage instincts.
Perhaps the Packers, also rumored to be considering a trade back with a team like the Broncos, view Green as a fallback option should Ragland already be gone.
Either way, it seems the Packers and Thompson are honed in on defensive coordinator Dom Capers' side of the ball when it comes to the early portion of the 2016 NFL Draft.
