GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The best value for the Green Bay Packers if they stay at No. 27 in the first round of next week’s draft appears to be on the defensive line.
The bigger debate, however, is which defensive lineman to take.
Even ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay appears to be wavering.
In his latest mock draft released on Thursday, McShay has the Packers taking Andrew Billings, a prototypical 3-4 nose tackle from Baylor. That’s a change from his previous mock draft, when he had the Packers taking a different defensive lineman: Louisiana Tech’s Vernon Butler.
The most interesting aspect of McShay’s flip-flop is that he had the choice of either Billings or Butler for the Packers at No. 27. He did not have Butler in his first round this time around but listed as No. 2 among the five best remaining players after his first round was complete.
In his previous mock draft, McShay had Billings at No. 21 to the Redskins.
Although the Packers probably have a greater need at inside linebacker, it does appear the value will be there for general manager Ted Thompson in the first round, so don’t be surprised if McShay is right about him taking defensive lineman even if he gets the player wrong.
As Thompson said on Wednesday during his annual pre-draft press conference, he prefers not to draft for need but admitted there is some wiggle room in his philosophy if all other factors are equal or close to equal.
