Packers Select Bailey, Garoppolo in Third Round of #MockOne Draft

As part of our annual mock draft exercise, the Packers took the safety out of USC and the quarterback from Eastern Illinois in the third round.

The Green Bay Packers finally selected a safety with 21st selection in the third round, 85th overall, by taking USC safety Dion Bailey in the #MockOne draft.

Bailey is an athletic specimen and playmaker, coming up with five interceptions and 6.5 tackles for a loss his junior season along with four interceptions and eight TFLs his sophomore year.

At the NFL Combine, Bailey also put up some of the best times among players at his position in the change of direction drills such as the shuttles and three-cone drill.

Then with their compensatory draft choice in the third round, 98th overall, the Packers took sliding Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, considered by some to be a second-round talent.

Known for his quick release and decision-making skills, Garoppolo would come to Green Bay to compete with Matt Flynn for the backup job to starter Aaron Rodgers.

The Packers found out the hard way the value of a backup quarterback last season as they experimented with Graham Harrell, B.J. Coleman, Vince Young and Seneca Wallace before settling on Flynn at midseason while Rodgers was injured.

Although Flynn returns to Green Bay in 2013, the Packers have not committed to him long-term, signing him to just a one-year contract.

For a third consecutive selection, I was out out-voted by members of our war room in selecting Bailey, who played linebacker his first two seasons at USC and was a glorified linebacker his junior year.

Bailey has minimal experience as a deep safety making him a difficult projection for a team in need of a starting-caliber player on their defense.

If Bailey would still be on the board in the fifth round or later, his athleticism makes him a player worth developing. But as far as a guy being depended upon to play deep safety immediately in his career, Round 3 is too early.

Bailey was utilized as a nickel safety during his time at USC, and he could easily translate to that position in professional football, but the Packers already have two of those types of players on their roster in Casey Hayward and Micah Hyde. Green Bay is in need of a roaming safety.

Had it been solely my decision, I would have taken Jimmy Garoppolo with the 85th overall selection and followed that up with LSU safety Craig Loston with the 98th pick.

Follow along with the draft in real time at MockOne.net or the #MockOne hashtag on Twitter.

Packers #MockOne 2014 Draft Class

1.21 Alabama inside linebacker C.J. Mosley

2.21 (53) Texas Tech tight end Jace Amaro

3.21 (85) USC safety Dion Bailey

3.34 (98) Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo

Brian's Preferred Draft Class

1.21 Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier

2.21 (53) Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins

3.21 (85) Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo

3.34 (98) LSU safety Craig Loston

Photo: Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo by Brian Carriveau.

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Comments (16)

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jh9's picture

May 05, 2014 at 11:05 am

I understand the first two picks, but IMO these 3rd round picks aren't the best picks for the Packers this year. This year the Packers need: ILB, S, TE, DT, WR, CB, C.

I agree with you, Brian, Bailey is not a good choice. If we can't get Dix, Pryor, Ward, or Bucannon, we should develop Micah Hyde into our S and not waste a pick on one.

And drafting a quarterback in the 3rd round..? What a waste. The Packers have so many more pressing needs this year that drafting a QB in the 3rd round is a luxury pick. I color it foolish.

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Evan's picture

May 05, 2014 at 11:15 am

Totally agree.

The 3rd round is way too early to draft a QB.

I'm not sure who else was still on the board, but I have to think there were many players who would have a far bigger impact than a backup QB.

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Bear's picture

May 05, 2014 at 12:30 pm

Agree with you Stroh.....

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DrealynWilliams's picture

May 05, 2014 at 01:14 pm

I like the 3rd round selection of a QB.I don't know much about the QB,but I like the idea of targeting a QB earlier than usual.

I'm tired of hearing/reading "the Pack have 'this many' needs..." and so on. No they don't. The Pack has 2 immediate needs (Safety and ILB) and the rest of the picks will be for depth.

Come on,people. We weren't even thinking about Flynn at the beginning of last season! We have to stop settling for mediocre at the backup QB spot. We now know what life would be like without Rodgers and it's worrisome. Let's stop depending on MM's QB School (or whatever) to develop a fine backup. Luckily,we never really needed one until late last season.

The Pack can afford to take a fly on a higher ranked QB earlier than usual since the team is already talented (just gotta keep 'em healthy). This team wins on offense. Not like the 'Hawks and 49ers. They could care less about their backup situation(s).

Pay attention to the first 2-3 picks. Although,I don't like the TE pick,the weakness of the defense was addressed. Isn't this similar to the Franklin pick? He fell and the Pack,already having drafted Lacy and having Starks on the roster,decided to add Franklin.

Let's debate!

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Evan's picture

May 05, 2014 at 01:36 pm

I feel like we've already had this debate.

Anyway, I just feel like even in the 3rd round, you should be looking at guys who can and will contribute relatively soon.

While it obviously depends how the board falls (and assuming they address S and ILB with their first two picks - not a given), I think the Packers should be looking to bolster TE, WR, CB, OG/C, OT before back-up QB.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

May 05, 2014 at 01:47 pm

I agree,if the Pack doesn't address S and ILB with the first 2 picks then a QB that high would be a bad pick. But I just don't see the harm in drafting a highly rated QB in a round that you have 2 picks in.

All of those positions you listed can be the first or second of the 2 picks in the 3rd. What's the problem?

I can argue that TE should be ranked lower than QB. Us fans actually like Quarless,Bostick,Stoneburner or even Taylor. The ONLY positive we give Flynn,"he knows the system...". I don't know. Maybe the injury to Rodgers didn't scare you enough.

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Evan's picture

May 05, 2014 at 01:59 pm

"All of those positions you listed can be the first or second of the 2 picks in the 3rd. What's the problem?"

You can't address all those positions with 1 pick...that's the problem.

Regarding TE, I don't know what you mean by "us fans" but I, too, like Quarless and Bostick. They're not all-pros, but I think they'll be an average to above-average TE combo in 2014. Stoneburner, who knows. And Taylor - I think by now Taylor has shown all he's going to, which isn't much of anything. I certainly think that group could use another body. I'd much rather have a CJ Fiedorowicz in the 3rd round than a back-up QB.

As for Flynn - at least that's one more positive than any of these mid-round QBs would have coming in. I think Flynn has shown he can run the Packers offense and give the team a chance to win. That's all I really need out of a back-up QB. Could they upgrade from him? Of course. I would just rather use these valuable draft picks on more impactful positions.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

May 05, 2014 at 02:12 pm

I wasn't excluding you as a fan. Sorry if it came off that way.

I meant we all like at least 1 or 2 of our TEs and they are still growing. The same can't be said about Flynn. He's so limited and I really do believe the playbook shrinks with him being on the field.

I like CJ as well. You all (should) know how I feel about drafting a TE. He just might be available in the 4th.

Ok,who would pick up in the 3rd? Two picks.

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Evan's picture

May 05, 2014 at 02:22 pm

"Ok, who would pick up in the 3rd? Two picks."

I can't really answer that. It obviously depends on who's available when they pick, what positions they addressed in the 1st and 2nd, who's falling, etc...and the fact that I just haven't studied the players that much.

My point isn't about Garoppolo or any player in particular, though. I'm just talking about positions of need and return on investment. To me, a back-up QB is low on both.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

May 05, 2014 at 02:45 pm

In my scenario,the positions of need are only 2 and they're addressed within the first 3 picks.

1st. ILB or S
2nd. S or ILB
3rd. BPA
(2nd)3rd. A highly ranked QB that fell.

If a highly ranked QB is not there then I would like if the Pack went with another position.

That's a great scenario to me.

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Evan's picture

May 06, 2014 at 09:35 am

I'd add one last thing about back-up QB.

If you want the Packers to upgrade at back-up QB, a veteran would be my preferred method. (Admittedly, it's probably too late for that.)

Any mid-to-late round QB taken this year is not going to be better than Flynn or Tolzien, at least not in 2014.

And as Reynaldo said, unless said QB has a terrible pre-season, TT will be forced to keep him on the roster to keep other teams from signing him and a 3rd QB is a wasted roster space.

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jh9's picture

May 05, 2014 at 05:58 pm

I did this mock draft on the Fanspeak website. I know Bucannon probably won't be available in the 2nd round, but there is a method to my madness in terms of the strength of this draft and the order I picked them:
21
ILB C.J. MOSLEY
ALABAMA
53
S DEONE BUCANNON
WASHINGTON STATE
85
TE C.J. FIEDOROWICZ
IOWA
98
DT DAQUAN JONES
PENN STATE
121
WR CODY LATIMER
INDIANA
161
CB WALT AIKENS
LIBERTY
176
C GABE IKARD
OKLAHOMA
197
OLB CARLOS FIELDS JR.
WINSTON SALEM
236
WR/Return Specialist JEREMY GALLON
MICHIGAN

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jh9's picture

May 05, 2014 at 11:32 pm

Ha! How did I know you would say that..? You get a like!

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

May 06, 2014 at 03:36 am

Taking Garoppolo in the 3rd would be largely a wasted pick. He'd take a roster spot, so GB would have to carry 3 QBs on the roster. And there are a lot of prospects at #85 or #98 who will see the field immediately and contribute significantly. The most likely scenario is Garoppola sits until GB trades him for a draft pick a few years later.

I like JH9's picks, but would also substitute Brooks for Bucannon. I particularly like Daquan Jones in the 4th: that would be beautiful if he were still there. I hope TT is on top of his game. If Mosley/Dix are off the board, it would be great if TT could trade down to 26 with Cleveland and still land Shazier or Pryor at 26, picking up Cleveland's 4th rd (#106) in the process. I have seen Shazier mocked to NO at #27 a few times. Brooks at #53 seems a little high for him too. However, I did a couple of mocks and got too greedy trading down expecting to still be able to get one of the players I had targeted only to find that they were all no longer available. I am sure TT will be able to gauge other teams draft tendencies much better than I did, but he needs to come away with Dix, Mosley, Shazier or Pryor (assuming no top 12 talent drops), and it would be nice to add Ward or Brooks later. Hope TT nails this draft!

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HankScorpio's picture

May 06, 2014 at 05:31 am

I'm not offering an opinion on the worth of Jimmy Garroppolo in round 3. But I see no reason to bypass a chance to grab a QB that can play in that round if a QB tops the Packers draft board when it comes time for them to pick.

The Packers have been on (arguably) the most amazing run at QB in NFL history. In 20+ years, they still have not reached double digits in starts by their backup. Their two primary starters in that time both seem destined for the HoF.

But we saw last year that run can go up in smoke over even the most harmless looking hit. That they had gotten careless in paying attention to backup QB really hurt them. I'd love for the draft to lead them in another direction for the 3rd round, a premium pick in a very deep draft. But you have to go where the draft leads you. Letting your roster dictate the draft is ultimately a self-defeating strategy.

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DrealynWilliams's picture

May 06, 2014 at 12:44 pm

Thank you!!

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