UPDATE: I added S, and DE to the list.

feel free to dispute my ramblings, or toss up prospects you like more!

TE:
draft: Tyler Eifert, Zach Ertz,Joseph Fauria.
free agency: Fred Davis, Jared Cook
reasoning: MM's offense is all figured out, and we havent had a consistant running attack since Ahman Green. I propose we follow the steps of Bill and Brady and adopt a scheme that involves the TEs much more. IF you can get 2 stud TEs, who can block and act as recievers, you have an instant schematic nightmare for opposing D-coordinators. in these TE sets, we would (ideally) have the ability to run or pass effectivly without having to swap sets. MM and AR LOVE using the no-huddle, this style of offense would fit PERFECTLY to that. And it gives us essencially 2 extra chip-blockers to help our tackles in protection.

RB:
Draft: Le'Veon Bell, Montee Ball,Stepfan Taylor
free agency: Steven Jackson
reasoning: Da'Juan Harris has some burst, that is for sure. Bur as a starter, he diddn't really do anything to give him an iron grip on the job. The backs I listed can probably be had mid 2nd or later. Alot of draft people have Lacey as the #1 back, I just dont trust any RB running behind that monster line of Alabama.

S:
Draft: T.J. McDonald, D.J. Swearinger (late)
Free Agency: Jairus Byrd.
Reasoning: Assuming Chuck and his 10mil cap hit are gone these are the guys I like. Byrd will probably command top-dollar. so he is extremely unlikley, but the man is worth it. I picked these two safeties becasue of their willingnes to tackle, something we despratly neeed. Swearinger reminds me alot of Bob Sanders (not the coach) could he be an injury risk? maybe. I think he's worth the gamble with a leter pick (3rd+). McDonald will probably be a 2nd rounder, and IMO a prime trade-back pick. There are also a bunch of 6-3+ safties worth a look in the later rounds.. would not be a bad idea in a division with Calvin and Marshall, Kam Chancellor has been a good template for showing that bigger SS's can be effective.

DE:
Draft: William Gholston, Margus Hunt
Free Agency: Chris Canty (only if cheap)
Reasoning: This draft is loaded on the DL, and there are a ton of good prospects. What I am looking for most at DE is strength and size, the rest is up to the coaches. As everyone has noticed over the last few years, our DL is usually on the losing end at the LoS.. Ted had done an AWFUL job of finding players who fit this scheme. Wynn, Wilson, Neal and Raji (to an extent) have been failures. The jury is still out on Worthy's knee, and we still have Pickett at DE. The group gets no push in pass rush and seem pretty easy to run on by teams that are any good. Hunt has a frame similar to JJ Watt, but for whatever reason, Hunt (source Clayton) has not been able to add size to get closer to that 290-300-esh area that he needs to be at. Gholston is as physically gifted as they come, much like his cousin Vernon, although seemingly much better on the field.

ILB:
WR:
C:
LT:

---

Makes sense. But I'm a firm believer in BPA so it depends on how the draft shapes up. We can use upgrades at nearly every position except QB and possibly OLB if Perry comes through. I would take any of the top 12-15 players if they fell to us.

Edit: I should say if the Packer are confident Perry will be an impact player.

---

One move I would like is to upgrade the MLB position with a more physical presence. One possible solution to this is to cut AJ Hawk and use that money on Baltimore FA Dannell Ellerbe. IMO he has had the most impact of any of their LB. Although an argument could be made that Paul Kruger has had the most impact, another potential FA.

---

A couple of thoughts on this post.

1) Hawk remaining signing bonus chews up most of his cap savings by cutting his base salary.. we would still owe.

2) Bishop and Smith will be back next season.. Bishop especially brings the wood. Smith is a very good young developing player. Depth is not an issue in terms of ILB.

Could we use a blue chip head knocking Backer.. absolutely.. but we have a head knocker coming back next season. Lacks blue chip speed.. but can lay the wood.

---

1. Good point about the signing bonus. I'm not very cap savvy and wasn't aware of the structure of his contract structure.

2. Yes Bishop and Smith are coming back, but Ellerbe's pass coverage skills are by far better than either of them. If you pair Bishop and Ellerbe, the Packers would have a poor man's version of the 49ers inside linebackers Willis and Bowman. That could do a lot for this defense.

I am fully aware that Thompson chooses to stay away from the bigger names in FA and build through the draft and "bargain" FA, but this is a scenario I would love to happen.

---

See.. and I thought for a second year player, Smith was giving us that boost as a coverage backer. Personally, I am really high on the rotation of Hawk, Bishop and Smith. I think with a bit more seasoning, Smith may become that an excellent player for this team and scheme.

---

I think Ted Thompson will spend the money in FA is he feels it's worth it but he won't reach. He did with Woodson. However, there aren't many FA's like that and he now has less cap room to work with.

---

My wish for the draft would be for a blue chip player to fall to us at any position except QB or OLB(I still have high hopes for Perry). Even if it was a receiver which most would say we don't need. Of course, this is assuming the rest of the draft goes normal or better for TT.

---

I believe he can be a good player too. My only issue is that he is a bit undersized for the position, which seems to be an issue for a lot of our players.

---

I'm not sold on Ellerbe, I think he looks better than he actually is because of the players surrounding him. Playing between Suggs, lewis, Ngata and Reed will make many plays look good. I also don't like his size. I want to see our MLBers run 255-260 with speed. Like Clay in the middle.

---