Packers Podcast: Ryan Shazier to the Packers in the First Round

Brian Carriveau joins 107.5 The Fan in Green Bay to discuss the upcoming NFL Draft and predicts the Packers first round draft choice.

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to join former Packers fullback and coach Harry Sydney, Marques Eversoll and Chris Havel on 107.5 The Fan in Green Bay to discuss the upcoming NFL Draft. We were able to touch on a lot of topics and players, such as Northern Illinois safety Jimmie Ward, Florida State linebacker Christian Jones and Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but one of the more interesting discussions was on Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier, who I predict could be the first round draft pick of the Packers come May.

Listen in...

Streaming audio - Press play

Download Versions: Download Audio Podcast

Free Subscription Option

0 points
 

Comments (31)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
RCPackerFan's picture

April 10, 2014 at 09:03 am

I definitely think Shazier could be the Packers choice.

One thing they have said is they want more team speed especially on defense.
Shazier definitely provides that.

I don't know if they will go ILB in the first round but I think in the first 3 rounds they will draft one.

I think there are a lot of good choices for ILB this year. CJ Mosley, Ryan Shazier, Chris Borland, Shane Skov, Christian Jones, Jordan Zumwalt, & Christian Kirksey all figure to go in the first 4 rounds.

2 guys I would say keep an eye on if the Packers don't draft an ILB in the first round. Zumwalt and Kirksey. Thompson has liked Iowa guys for a while and last year he seemed to find some love for UCLA guys.

0 points
0
0
4thand1's picture

April 10, 2014 at 05:06 pm

That story got more holes in it than the Packers safeties.

0 points
0
0
Evan's picture

April 10, 2014 at 09:43 am

I still feel like safety is a much bigger need, but I wouldn't be too upset with Shazier.

Are people thinking Bucannon will last to the 2nd? CBS has him as the #2 SS (#82 overall) and a 2-3 rounder.

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

April 10, 2014 at 11:28 am

I agree that Safety is a much bigger need. Only problem is there are 2 that are thought to be considered 1st round picks, and a lot of projections have them going ahead of where the Packers are picking.

I have seen Bucannon in the 2nd-3rd round area on most mocks and rankings.
I think there is a decent chance that he will be available to the Packers with their 2nd round pick, with what I have been seeing lately.

I would absolutely love it, if they came away with Mosley or Shazier in round 1 and Bucannon in round 2.

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

April 11, 2014 at 07:23 am

Yeah, honestly I wouldn't have a problem with your selection either.

Brooks is a player that I'm really starting to like more and more. He wouldn't bring the physicality like Bucannon, but he would bring a lot of speed. He is more of a Nick Collins, Earl Thomas type of player.

Yeah, I would be very happy if they could get Shazier, Moncrief and Brooks.
If they couldn't get Moncrief in the 2nd and Austin Sefran-Jenkins is available. I would be happy with him. They could use a Big TE and ASJ would provide that.

0 points
0
0
4thand1's picture

April 10, 2014 at 05:07 pm

Hyde is the safety.

0 points
0
0
4thand1's picture

April 10, 2014 at 10:07 pm

A good sign

0 points
0
0
Evan's picture

April 11, 2014 at 09:53 am

For some posts, a simple thumbs down doesn't nearly suffice. Can we get a "face palm" button?

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

April 11, 2014 at 10:03 am

Some Emoticons would be great as well...

0 points
0
0
zeke's picture

April 11, 2014 at 10:18 am

Because moving from corner to safety and moving from WR to CB (or LB to TE) are EXACTLY THE SAME THING.

0 points
0
0
Evan's picture

April 11, 2014 at 10:34 am

The sheer idiocy of your second comment notwithstanding, I partially agree with your original sentiment.

I have no idea how Hyde will fare at safety (my gut says at the very least he'd be fine and an upgrade over the McMillian/Jennings disaster), but I'll be very uncomfortable if they go into this season with him penciled in as the starter without adding a guy on day 1 or 2 of the draft.

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

April 11, 2014 at 10:48 am

Yeah, I agree with Hyde moving to Safety. We think he will be good there but we have no idea how he actually will be.
I really hope they add a S within the first 3 rounds of the draft. Bucannon, Ward, Brooks are all in the mix for 2nd round area.

I really think Moving Hyde to safety could be good in certain roles. I like his ability to be able to drop down and cover WR's/TE's from the safety spot. What that does is it allows them to stay more in base formations. They wouldn't have to bring in a CB for a LB or DL as much.

More/less I just like the flexibility and versatility that Hyde could bring to the defense if he moved into a safety spot.

0 points
0
0
JimTaylor31's picture

April 10, 2014 at 09:42 am

I'm kinda concerend about Shazier's size. I think he can make some plays but I also think he may get tied up and buried at times. He's listed at 237 lbs. now but I think he played at around 225 or so at OSU. If he can play as fast at 237 lbs. as he did at the lighter weight he may be OK.

0 points
0
0
Evan's picture

April 10, 2014 at 09:44 am

Yeah, if he can maintain the 237 throughout the season (far from a guarantee), he should be fine.

0 points
0
0
ben's picture

April 10, 2014 at 08:41 pm

He won't play much in base "run defense" packages with Matthews moving inside to ILB and Peppers, Neal, & Perry outside. When he is use in run situations, it probably will be as an "in the box" Okie Safety freeing up Hyde to rotate up as a sure tackling cover corner.

As both a Nickel LB & Okie Safety he's virtually an every down player.

Possibly the perfect fit

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

April 11, 2014 at 07:26 am

Yeah, I agree with you. I think Shazier might not be the ideal fit as run defender on every down, but they have enough flexibility in the scheme that they could find enough spots for him.

Where he would really be an asset is in the nickel-dime packages which they play 60% of the time. His speed would allow him to cover a lot of ground.

0 points
0
0
JimTaylor31's picture

April 11, 2014 at 10:31 am

Agree. Dreaming up defensive alignments with ILBs playing safety, safties playing LB, and OLBs playing ILB etc., etc. is a waste of time.

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

April 11, 2014 at 10:59 am

I disagree a bit with you guys on this. When the Packers had Brandon Chiller they used him in a similar role. He was essentially a S in some sub packages. I think it was called the Big Oakie.

We are just talking about different packages. It wouldn't be a full time thing.
Mathews as an ILB would be great in some sub packages. Not full time but in some packages.

When I see the talk about Shazier in a S role, I see it as a sub package thing only. He would be the starting ILB.
I like the fact that Shazier could provide that flexibility to play in a tweener role.

I don't see it as a waste of time because I see it as providing some flexibility, and versatility to our defense. It could create some confusion for the opposing offenses if we are able to line up with different looks on defense.

0 points
0
0
JimTaylor31's picture

April 11, 2014 at 11:32 am

Given the complexity of Capers' scheme I can it creating a lot of confusion to the defense too.

0 points
0
0
YGB69's picture

April 10, 2014 at 12:16 pm

Shazier is a good one ... quick and mean. We could also trade back a few picks & get Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech ... a big asset to our offense + an upgrade pick.

0 points
0
0
ben's picture

April 10, 2014 at 02:41 pm

The Perfect Draft: (the year of the badger)

1/21 ILB: Shazier
2/21 CB: Jason Verrett
3/21 OT/C: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
3/34 CB: Phillip Gaines
4/21 WR: Abbrederis
5/21 NT/DT: Zach Kerr
pick acquired by trade ( 5/?? QB: Conner Shaw )
pick acquired by trade ( 5/?? S: Dezmen Southward )
5/36 LB: Carlos Field JR.
6/21 TE: Blake Annen
7/21 NT/DT: Beau Allen
Undrafted FA- FB: Karl Williams

0 points
0
0
Jordan's picture

April 10, 2014 at 04:12 pm

I like your thinking on CB in the 2nd. I've been thinking the same thing. I've just start looking at CBs. I wouldn't be shocked at all if Packers took Abbrederis. I've also been thinking the same thing on that too.

I think the Packers will draft OT as a Newhouse replacement, but unlikely TT will use a third rounder on a center since Tretter is there and I think they want him starting this year. Center is the mostly logical spot for Tretter.

I will be shocked if Packers don't take Shazier. The mobile QB seems to be the Packers' Achilles heal. Even if they would have beat the 49ers, Russell Wilson would have given them fits last year. Shazier should be able to put a clamp on running QBs.

0 points
0
0
ben's picture

April 11, 2014 at 01:50 am

Yea Shazier might be the ultimate Kaprenik/Wilson Spy and free Matthews up to do what he does best and I just happen to have torn my achilles.

Tretter is a poor man's Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.
TT is drooling over this guy & Tretters injury-prone, ain't never done nothin's ass has got to earn it. (not that I'm not a JC Tretter FAN like everybody else who's never seen him play)

Start looking at CB's with Jason Verrett. I couldn't be more sure this guy is thee best cover Dback in the draft. Undersized but plays 6ft tall. He is All OVER WR's(w/o penalty), is a decent-Solid tackler, and has a real knack for blitzing the QB and in run support.

Deone Bucannon is my favorite safety(Cow), but Verrett could be my favorite player in the entire draft and to me is a "sure thing."

Watch any game of his from the last 2 years, he dominates every one.

http://draftbreakdown.com/video/jason-verrett-vs-texas-tech-2012/
http://www.stlouisrams.com/media-center/videos/NFLCombine-TCU-CB-Jason-V...
http://draftbreakdown.com/video/jason-verrett-vs-baylor-2013/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqLiAVGkVXo
http://draftbreakdown.com/video/jason-verrett-vs-oklahoma-state-2013/
http://draftbreakdown.com/video/jason-verrett-vs-texas-2013/

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

April 11, 2014 at 07:30 am

I would be fine if they drafted Verrett in the 2nd. I honestly don't see him lasting till the 2nd though, at least not where the Packers pick.

CBS ranks him as the 31st best player. So if they were to get him they would probably have to use their first pick on him.

0 points
0
0
Clay Zombo's picture

April 10, 2014 at 04:10 pm

Give me Shazier, CJ Mosley , Clinton-Dix, Pryor or Nix somewhere in the 1st round and Jimmy Ward, Deone Buchanon, Kyle Van Noy or Stephon Tuitt in the 2nd and I would be one happy camper.

To land highly talented players at our weakest defensive positions would be great at 21 and 53 but if we can move back in the first round and still land a guy like Nix I would be ok with that too.

0 points
0
0
ben's picture

April 11, 2014 at 02:13 am

I'd much much rather take Brooks in the 3rd than Pryor or Dix in the 1st. I'd much rather take Brooks in the 2nd than Pryor or Dix in the 1st. I might just rather take Brooks in the 1st than Pryor or Dix in the 1st.

I like Hageman too, but am hoping we don't take him in the 1st.

I seriously wouldn't take Nix in 4th round. No Joke.

0 points
0
0
RCPackerFan's picture

April 11, 2014 at 07:36 am

Yeah, my ideal draft is very similar.

Only thing I would add is a Return specialist in the 4th-7th round area.

Probably a WR. One guy to keep an eye on who could be that is John Brown from Pittsburg State. He could definitely be the return specialist they have been needing. He is very fast. 4.34 - 40. Could add some juice to the return game.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/2028404/john-brown

CBS projects him as a 6-7th round pick. He could be a really good fit for the Packers around there.

0 points
0
0
4thand1's picture

April 10, 2014 at 08:52 pm

Shazier is kinda small, hope Lacy doesn't break him in two in the 1st padded practice.

0 points
0
0
Kurt Huber's picture

April 10, 2014 at 09:28 pm

I like it Stroh. But I really think we need to find a nt prospect somewhere in the mid rounds..

0 points
0
0
jh9's picture

April 10, 2014 at 09:37 pm

This is one of the Mock Drafts I ran:
21
ILB C.J. MOSLEY
ALABAMA
53
S DEONE BUCANNON
WASHINGTON
85
TE AUSTIN SEREFIN-JENKINS
WASHINGTON
98
DT STEPHON TUITT
NOTRE DAME
121
WR DONTE MONCRIEF
OLE MISS
161
CB MARCUS ROBERSON
FLORIDA
176
C MARCUS MARTIN
USC
197
OLB PRINCE SHEMBO
NOTRE DAME
236
WR JOHN BROWN / return specialist
PITTSBURG STATE

0 points
0
0
Amanofthenorth's picture

April 11, 2014 at 01:00 am

Shazier rhymes with beer... a good thing.
Moncrief is a name that brings back some good old days... a good thing.
And for that matter throw in a Bucannon...the sound is the same...and that's good enough for me.

0 points
0
0