GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Two years ago, the Green Bay Packers hoped one of the top-two inside linebackers would fall to them in the draft but before their turn came at No. 21, both Ryan Shazier and C.J. Mosley were gone.
This year, they might have a crack at the best inside linebacker in the draft even though they’re picking at No. 27.
ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay has the Packers taking Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland in his latest mock draft released on Wednesday.
It’s a key position for the Packers considering they are steadfast in their desire to move Clay Matthews back to his natural outside linebacker position. It was their inability to land either Shazier (who went No. 15 to Pittsburgh) or Mosley (17th to Baltimore) that forced the Packers to move Matthews to the inside halfway through the 2014 season.
To be sure, the Packers ended up just fine taking safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in the the first round of that draft, but their hole at inside linebacker remains.
McShay rated Ragland as the 14th best player -- and the No. 1 inside linebacker -- on his draft board.
McShay’s previous pick for the Packers in last month’s mock draft, Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry, was not in the first round of this mock draft. McShay rated him as the next-best prospect remaining after his latest first round.
