After Rodgers and Matthews sign their extensions...

[Scourge]

CB right now is probably the deepest position on the team as we have 4 who are more than capable of starting.  House, our #4 right now was the best last training camp until he hurt his shoulder(at least according to McCarthy).
But Tramon had that GREAT year, got hurt in 2011 and was a little up and down last year.  He's still a #1, but a soft #1.
Heyward is a stud and should stick around for a while.  Picks up a lot of the slack Woodson left behind in the slot.
House is young, big, physical, but CB, IMO is the 3rd most important position in the NFL right now after QB and LT.  At least tied for 4th with pass rushers, be it OLB'ers or DE's. 

Shields is young, he's insanely athletic, he's actually pretty well built and a better tackler than given credit for and can make the big play for you at the crucial moment.

The salary cap is going to jump way up in 2015, so if we signed him to a long term deal now, we could probably get him cheap.  If he has a big breakout year like I personally believe will happen, next year he'll be an unrestricted free agent and I doubt we'll franchise him.  And on top of that, Tramon Williams might not be back with a cap number near 10 million.

So he's my pick.  I think he's going to be a lockdown corner for the next 5-6 years.  He certainly has the size and speed for it, and having been an un-drafted Free Agent, he may be willing to take a under market contract right now at...for arguments sake, 5 years and 30 million with 10 guaranteed. 

EDS-A big physical center, looked really good after they put him in for Saturday and McCarthy raved about him since he got here, so he's a valid option, but I think they can afford to sign him later on. 

BJ Raji-He's one of the most underrated guys on the team IMO because his job is simply to occupy two blockers to the guard/center can't get out and get on the LB'ers.  He does a good job of this, and with Pickett getting into his mid 30's, he's obviously pretty important.  Though that might depend on what the Packers do in this draft.  DL is the deepest position in this draft, so maybe the Packers find a replacement.  Still, I'd prefer they keep Raji and add another big wide body so the LB'er don't have to deal with the big OL on them in the run game.

James Jones/Jordy Nelson

Jones signed in 2011 for 3 years and roughly 9 million.
Nelson signed the following year for 3 years and roughly 13.5 million.  So next year Jones will be a FA and the following year Nelson will be one.  With the very realistic possibility that Finley will be gone after next year, that'll mean we'll have lost Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, JerMichael Finley and James Jones from the 2010 Super Bowl team(I know Finley was hurt) and Nelson will be a FA the following year. 

In the NFL, the sooner you sign a guy, obviously the cheaper it'll cost you.  And we have so many needs on defense right now, and at RB, that it'd be tough to draft a WR in the 1st or even 2nd round and it's a weak WR draft as it stands. 


JerMichael Finley-I'd let this year play out.  If he has a huge year, franchise him..which would be cheaper than he's making now(though I'm not clear on the franchise rules) if he was franchised as a TE.  If we can't sign him, trade him if he has that big year. 




Just based on value though, I think Shields is the best bet.  He's the youngest, I believe he's got the talent to be a great cover corner in what is obviously a predominately passing league and I think he will continue to get better. 

Re-sign Raji shouldn't hurt the cap too much because he's already counting for almost 6 million against it.  It'd likely be another 2-3 million a year he'd get paid. 

Though obviously you can't lose every receiver from a group that was widely considered the best receiving core just two years ago.




Good thing the Packers are publicly owned and have MASSIVE cash reserves on hand for signing bonuses as I think the Packers are going to have to take a little bit of a cue from teams like the Cowboys, Skins, Raiders and sign some guys to backloaded deals to keep together this nucleus during Rodgers prime. 

Thoughts?