After the NFL Draft, Packers get ready to welcome rookies

As Packer Fans United, we know that the 2016 NFL Draft finished up its three-day extravaganza on Saturday evening. The Green Bay Packers went big. Head coach Mike McCarthy had said in comments long before the draft that he liked big guys. Check. What he didn't say, but that also apparently was part of the criteria this time around, was also get big smart guys. To that end, two of the Pack's seven picks are from Stanford and one is from Northwestern; both schools have a reputation for nurturing brainiacs. In his comments after the draft, General Manager Ted Thompson said, essentially, that big guys are great but big smart guys are even better. Check.


The 2016 Packers Draft Picks

By way of a quick recap, here are the Pack's picks...


NT Kenny Clark (left); OT Jason Spriggs, OLB Kyler Fackrell and ILB Blake Martinez (top row, left to right); DE Dean Lowry, WR Trevor Davis and OL Kyle Murphy (bottom row, left to right).
Photo from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

• 1st Round (#27): NT Kenny Clark, UCLA
• 2nd Round (#48): OT Jason Spriggs, Indiana
• 3rd Round (#88): OLB Kyler Fackrell, Utah State
• 4th Round (#131): ILB Blake Martinez, Stanford
• 4th Round (#137): OT Dean Lowry, Northwestern
• 5th Round (#163): WR Trevor Davis, California
• 6th Round (#200): OL Kyle Murphy, Stanford

Of course, acquisitions don't stop there. Reportedly, the Packers have the following undrafted free agent signings:

• QB Joe Callahan, Wesley College
• P Peter Mortell, Minnesota
• ILB Manoa Pikula, BYU
• RB Brandon Burks, Troy
• OLB Reggie Gilbert, Arizona
• RB Don Jackson, Nevada
• CB Josh Hawkins, East Carolina
• WR Geronimo Allison, Illinois
• S Demond Smith, Georgia Tech
• CB Brandon Gatewood, Alcorn State
• CB Randall Jette, UMass
• S Kentrell Brice, Louisiana Tech
• ILB Beniquez Brown, Mississippi State
• CB Makinton Dorleant, Northern Iowa
• WR Dennis Parks, Rice
• WR Devonte Robinson, Utah State
• OT Josh James, Carroll (MT) College
• WR Herb Waters, Miami (FL)
• TE David Grinnage, North Carolina State
• DL Brian Price, UT-San Antonio
• DL Tyler Kuder, Idaho State

A number of players have also been invited in for tryouts. Perhaps most intriguing among that list is WR Patrick Donahue from the German Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. While you probably haven't heard of Donahue, you had to have heard of his teammate, Moritz Boehringer. MoBo generated a lot of pre-draft interest because of his story as well as his speed and apparent skills as a receiver. He wound up being the first player to be drafted from Europe -- and not an American college -- as the Minnesota Vikings selected him in the sixth round of the draft.

There could be other additions or deletions, of course. This is a period of time in which things are greatly in flux.

Rookie minicamp, by the way, will be held May 8-9. It will be a make or break time for some of these young men looking for their shot at a career in the NFL. Good luck, gentlemen.

Packers Shareholder Meeting Scheduled

Yes, we know you are more interested in the OTA and minicamp schedules -- May 23, 24, 26 (with open practice on May 24), June 1-3 (open practice June 2), June 6-9 (open practice June 6), and minicamp on June 14-16 (open practice every day) -- but we wanted to alert you to the Annual Shareholders Meeting scheduled for July 21 beginning at 11 a.m. In Green Bay, of course.

Now's the time when we can start to once again feel the juices flowing, eh Packer fans? Ohhh yeah.

Go Pack Go!!!

What can we count on, Packers fans?

One of the things you can count on in the NFL offseason is that there really isn't much to count on. Oh, sure, there are draftee signings, undrafted free agent signings, veteran free agents moving from team to team, and so on. Even some rookie camps and OTAs. But aside from that...?

After all, who could have counted on the Packers braintrust deciding to flip-flop the offensive line? (Even though the consensus, it seems, among many Packer fans is that this is certainly worth trying in order to keep Mr. Rodgers a bit more upright than in past seasons.) Or that the Packers would be heading into this season without the veteran leadership provided by Donald Driver, Charles Woodson and Greg Jennings? What about the possibility of having an actual rushing attack for the first time in what seems like a generation...anyone here see that one coming? And yet, two big draft picks -- Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin -- may fill that void in a way not seen in Green Bay in ages. What about the defense? Did anyone here count on DE Mike Neal being tried out at outside linebacker? Who'da thunk it?!

But we can count on one more OTA from June 11-14, which is interestingly preceded by mandatory minicamp June 4-6. Packers players will report for the start of training camp July 25, with the first practice on Friday, July 26. Then, we can almost taste the football in the air. (Wait...that doesn't sound so appetizing, does it? Well, you know what I meant...I hope...)

Football will be with us in less than 100 days from now. So stay tuned. As long-time readers of PackerFansUnited.com know, as we get closer to the start of stuff that matters we begin to ramp up our coverage. Until then, for those who need their daily fantasy sports, you'll just have to find other ways to keep entertained.

Please keep checking back with us. Follow us on Twitter (@packfansunited). We appreciate you stopping by and spending a few moments of your valuable time with us. We hope to make it worth your while more often than not.

Go Pack Go!!!