Sounds like GB has little to no interest in Neal. Datone in some measure replaces Neal. I do hope the move is because Datone can do well at elephant and not because they have given up on him as a base 3-4 DE (though I think GB has abandoned that) and it saves paying Neal. I would not say that Datone is a anywhere near a bust, but now he has only one year to provide above average play while still on his rookie contract.

Injuries screwed up the transition to the NFL for Datone, Perry and Neal alike. All had promise, all seem a bit misplaced as big outside linebackers, but if ya can't keep 'em all, I understand Ted sticking with the young guys.

Forgive me if I am not terribly excited that they struggle to figure out how to get value out of yet another first round defensive player.

You have to ask the question: if they're serious about moving CMIII back outside full-time, why continue to experiment with Jones on the outside where his snaps will be severely limited with Peppers and Perry also out there?

Yeah. It's good they're trying to get something out of Datone, but it's pretty clear at this point that he is yet another front 7 fail by TT. He'll be an elephant this year. He'll struggle to cover, and I'm not sure he can rush effectively from a 2 point stance either. But at least he won't be a liability in the running game anymore. He should be able to set a stern edge at his weight. I'd expect a mediocre (4-5 sacks and 40 tackles or so) from Datone, along with some embarrassing moments in coverage. And I expect he won't be tendered (thank goodness) and will leave GB after the year is up.

He should have been a 43 DE or a 43 under DT. He never did have the strength to be a 5 Tech DT in the 34. Yet another failed conversion project on the front 7. Harell, Worthy, Perry, Thornton, Neal, Datone. That's a LOT of draft capital at DT and OLB for very little production.

It's sad that this is business as usual. Time to draft another. Hope TT finds a Daniels/CM3 type and not the previously mentioned overdrafted JAGs.

I took the time to see what DAT-ONE ran at the combine. He ran a 4.80 40 which isn't bad. That means he can keep up with let's say Richard Rodgers. Too bad he's his teammate.

My guess is he'll be a decent pass rusher, so-so holding the edge and terrible in coverage. And by the time he starts to get the hang of it - a FA.

He's going to half to drop some pounds and increase his endurance. Good luck with that. But considering the limited amount of contributions in his career so far maybe it's worth a look.

At least GB signed Trey True, I mean Gary Drew, I mean Rod Carew.....Ray Drew, thats it. Now I remember.

Huge and productive off-season for GB. Looks like we'll go 11-5 and lose in the playoffs and waste one more year of #12 in his prime.

Awesome. And no, I don't accept just being "Good".

This really isn't news, since it was clear already last year that the Packers were shifting him outside. I agree with this, although I don't see any reason to get terribly excited about it, either.

Let's face it. Jones never did jack to make anyone excited as a DE. He's too small for a 3-4 DE, and probably doesn't have the frame to easily pack on 30 extra pounds. He was clearly more productive from the elephant position. As for being a liability in coverage, Jones won't be in coverage any more than Peppers or Neal were ... which is somewhere between rarely and never. And they can still shift him inside on passing downs if they want to.

Still pounding square pegs into round holes.
A Packers trademark.

I like the move. I think he will be fine out there. He's actually a pretty decent athlete. He's strong and can run. Let's not get mired in offseason negativity fellas. Lol. The defense was the strength of this team last season FWIW. They will get a big sucker on the DL in the draft. I think Pennel will bea good player. Defense will be fine. Let's get the offense fixed!

I like this move. I think it will put Jones more in a natural spot for him in this defense.

I kind of like the idea of having Peppers and Jones as OLB's, with Daniels and Guion as DT's in a Run based Nickel package. This will provide more strength for stopping the run but also gets good pass rushers on the field.

I think the Packers will need to find more size for the DL in this draft. Losing Raji, and moving Jones more to the Elephant End/OLB spot I think puts more need for the DL.
The good thing is the draft is very deep for the DL.

Maybe Ted should try a new approach like drafting players that actually play the position they were drafted for , enough experiments .

Sounds like Datone is in for a breakout year! I believe.

Yet many still think a true olb is not a need. The moment Matthews needs to go back inside opposing QB will seen aging before our eyes with the time given them by our highly misrepresentation of a pass rush...heck, even with Matthews time is more often than not in their favor. But another 1st rd bust, in regard to his position/reason drafted there, is now an experiment that is a mere repeat of prior failings.

Glad to see Jones is getting started on conditioning now.

Random thought - JJ Watt is coming to Lambeau this season. Anybody think by the time he's a FA (and presumably sick of losing with the Texans), that the Packers could lure him to Green Bay a la Reggie White? Eliot Wolf might be GM by then too.

Every-year we get close to going to the super-bowl. We patch and replace guys with out of position talent. TT has my respect, but Datone Jones was not suppose to be a patch, or Depth. He was a #1 that should have made the pro Bowl. The slower your the elephant, the faster your ILBs have to be. I think TT has worked this job long enough not to be Hans Brinker. It's time to draft 3 down Linebackers.

The packers lead the league in drafting tweener defensive players then switch their position 2-3 years into their career (at least it seems that way)

I think MM/TT are trying to get out in front of a changing league, meaning everything is so damn pass happy that it's imperative that you get guys that are big, fast and could cover a handful of times a game. Those kinds of guys don't grow on trees though...