Welcome, everyone, to the ELEVENTH edition of the CHEESEHEADTV PRO
FOOTBALL DRAFT GUIDE!
I started out last year’s letter by stating there had never been an NFL draft season like the one we were experiencing, and it’s safe to say the same thing again this year. The Covid crisis affected the NFL in a big way last season, with the NFL draft taking place completely remotely. Personally, I loved it. I enjoyed seeing the players, coaches, and GMs in their home environments, with kids and pets sometimes stealing the show. It brought a warm feeling of humanity and comfort knowing that even these professionals who are often just faces on our screens and idolized by many were just fellow humans going through the same things we were. Then came the season, with the majority of games being played with no fans in the stadiums. What a strange feeling it must have been for the players with just some fake canned crowd noise and no hyped-up fans to get them juiced and cheer their successes on the field. But the games went on, and slowly, especially come playoffs, limited numbers of fans were allowed. Now, here we are in another draft season and we still find ourselves battling to get out from under the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have vaccines and, in general, things are moving in the right direction, but it still affects our everyday lives in some way. The NFL has decided to cancel its
CHEESEHEADTV.COM 2021 PRO FOOTBALL DRAFT GUIDE
traditional combine, with just a series of daily pro days held at university facilities across the country. I used to think compiling NFL combine results was a pain in the neck, but after trying to track down pro day results from all these different sources, I’ll never complain again. Even with fantastic help from volunteer contributor Andrew Czech, we still had to sift through conflicting data from various sources and determine which were the “most accurate.” But, despite all the obstacles, our dedication to this Draft Guide project remains steadfast. The term “labor of love” might be a bit overused, but there’s just no better way to describe why we do this. It certainly isn’t for fame and fortune. The feature articles in this year’s guide are as good as ever. First, the Fangio/ Staley/Barry defensive scheme is explained and examined as to how it might or might not fit the current personnel and affect the Packers’ draft day decisions. The best and worst Packers draft picks of the Super Bowl era are examined on a round-by-round basis. A new feature is our “Brazen Blogger vs. Frustrated Fan” debate with the topic being the controversial selection of Jordan Love last year. Finally, we once again bring you the “Small School Hidden Gems” you should keep an eye out for.
Our excellent designer, James Zachman, returns and, as he always seems to do, has blown us away with this year’s design. The copy editors on this project are Michel le Br uton and Matt Hendershott, without whom this project could not have been completed on time. Most of our analysts return this year with a sprinkling of new faces bringing some added “juice” to the guide. Of course, none of this would be possible without two close friends who decided to create a Packers blog more than a decade ago, Corey Behnke and Aaron Nagler. As Editor-in-Chief of this amazing endeavor, I just want to express my sincere thanks to you, the reader, for supporting all involved by purchasing this guide and frequenting CheeseheadTV. com. Without you, CheeseheadTV would not exist and be thriving. Our annual draft guide is one of the few things we require you to pay for and, frankly, our only financial goal is to be able to pay the people who put in the hours of hard work. So if you’re here reading this, our staff thanks you. If you like the guide, please tell your friends about it. Our eleventh edition is the best CHTV Draft Guide yet, and I’m proud to present it to the greatest fan base of the greatest franchise in the NFL. Enjoy it and Go Pack Go!
As always, we study and rank more than 200 draft prospects, look at the Packers’ roster by position group, examine their primary draft needs, and even spend a little time on the Packers’ NFC North rivals.
“JERSEY AL” BRACCO Editor-in-Chief
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