The Green Bay Packers Select: Jamon Meredith (OT-South Carolina)
There comes a point when the player loses all risk to his selection. When the cost of a player just goes by the wayside. Jamon Meredith has hit that zone. If he was selected in the second round and missed due to a lack of strength or desire or what have you? It would be a bad pick.
But at this point? Getting a potential heir apparent at left tackle with the skill set that Meredith has shown? It's spectacular value. Because some of his weaknesses can be coached out. And he has shown he can be a ZBS guard. He'll either be out of football in 2012 or he will be a Pro Bowler by 2014.
But as a speculative play? Gold, Jerry! Gold!
It comes from a random fan, but it really shows his boom or bust potential. For a 5th rounder, he has way more upside than anyone else around his pick.
# CAREER NOTES
Meredith started 38 games at South Carolina, including eight at right guard, eleven at right tackle and 19 at left tackle
# In his final two seasons, the lineman delivered 123 knock-downs, 17 touchdown-resulting blocks and six down field blocks
# During that span, he was penalized nine times (seven false starts, two holding calls)
# Allowed seven quarterback pressures and seven sacks on 753 pass plays
# Also recorded four solo tackles and recovered one fumble.
Some stuff from the Packers site. Some impressive numbers and obviously he's very versatile. If he doesn't pan out at LT, we can get him to play RT, if he doesn't pan out there, we can put him at guard.
Recipient of the Harold White Grade Point Average Award (3.7 gpa)
A very smart kid. I really love smart guys, especially along the O-line.
He's pushing around that two-numbered speed rusher quite easily. In a division like ours, you need to be able to both move quickly and push them off their routes with a lot of strength.
Five Guys Still On the Board That Shouldn't Be
# Michael Johnson, Georgia Tech, DE (19th overall in 7 Round Mock Draft)
# Jarron Gilbert, San Jose State, DE (31st overall in 7 Round Mock Draft)
# Jamon Meredith, South Carolina, OT (37th overall in 7 Round Mock Draft)
# Jared Cook, South Carolina, TE (42nd overall in 7 Round Mock Draft)
# Mike Mickens, Cincinnati, CB (49th overall in 7 Round Mock Draft)
This is from a Fox article. They had him going at the 37th overall pick. That's higher than Beatty went in most drafts. That's really impressive.
Analysis
Positives: Good height with long arms and an athletic build, typical of top-tier left tackles. Adequate punch, and will extend his arms and get his hands on the numbers to keep defenders at bay. Gets to linebackers at the second level very well and hits the moving target. Able to adjust to oncoming defenders in space. Positions himself to seal the edge using quick feet and good hand placement. Can cut-block ends on his side to give the quarterback a lane on quick throws.
Positives from his NFL.com draft card. Very smart, very athletic. Things he doesn't do right now, will be easy to learn to him. Quick cut blocks will kill Mr. Allen's rushing game.
A scout for another AFC team said some of the Gamecocks' coaches described Meredith as "a locker-room lawyer."
This doesn't have to be a bad thing. We need someone to stand up in the locker room. With his smarts, he'll be
the guy to do something like this.
If a reporter heard what the South Carolina staff had been saying, it's a safe bet that the Packers did, too. But general manager Ted Thompson insisted that no one from the school told him Meredith had been a problem and he had never heard that from any of his scouts.
"No, they were very supportive," Thompson said, referring to Spurrier and his assistants. "They talked about how smart he was and how talented he was. Nobody from there ever mentioned anything like that to us."
Apparently, Ted Thompson has trust in him. Now, of course, Ted Thompson isn't always right, but he's one hell of a drafter in the later rounds.
PS. I found it really hard to write such an optimistic post. I usually prefer to make my posts more even keeled. Anyway, it was pretty fun. Bring on the next person!