The 2018 NFL regular season has concluded, and the draft order for non-playoff teams has been set. The Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers have secured the top two picks while the Denver Broncos round out the top 10.
Bleacher Report's Matt Miller claims the 2019 draft class is "Truly a 2-Man Class" as he reiterates what an unnamed scout told him in September.
"This class sucks," he said. "You got the two guys at the top, and then everybody else. And everybody else isn't very good."
The two men being referred to are Ohio State's Nick Bosa (brother of Chargers' Joey Bosa) and Houston's Ed Oliver. Other than Bosa and Houston, the 2019 draft class is one of the weaker classes in recent memory meaning the value of a higher pick has skyrocketed.
The Packers were once going to be picking inside the top ten, but Aaron Rodgers cost Green Bay once again. Earlier in December, the Packers fired Mike McCarthy and by week 15 fell out of the playoff race completely.
Week 16 meant nothing for Green Bay as pride was the only thing on the line-Aaron Rodgers decided to play anyway.
Quoting the famous Proverb, "Pride comes before the fall" sums up the final two weeks of the Packers' season.
Green Bay defeated the Jets in week 16 securing their sixth win of the season. Rodgers was showered with praise as he threw for 422 yards, two touchdowns and totaling a 103.8 passer rating. Through his phenomenal play, Rodgers' pride cost the Packers four spots in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Without Rodgers, the Packers chances of losing to the Jets increases and the game likely looks closer to their 31-0 loss to the Lions in week 17. Green Bay finished the 2018 season with 6-9-1 record. If the week 16 victory is reverse and Rodgers does not play, the Packers would have concluded 2018 with a 5-10-1 record, and Rodgers would not have suffered the third concussion of his NFL career in week 17.
Rodgers electing to play in week 16 meant the Packers fell to the 12th overall pick. Had Rodgers sat, Green Bay would have secured the eighth pick and gave the Packers a better chance of drafting a premier edge rusher to replace the declining Clay Matthews.
The Packers have many draft needs including pass rusher, safety and finding a number two receiver. Possessing the number eight pick opens up multiple possibilities the Packers now do not have.
Green Bay could have struck a trade with possible teams that need a quarterback and added more picks to add depth 18th ranked defense. Instead, they will be picking behind them giving Green Bay little round one draft day leverage.
The 2019 draft has no projected top ten safeties or receivers meaning Green Bay will be forced to take a pass rusher and with Matt Miller's comments in mind, the only two game changers will be long gone by the 12th pick.
The 2018 Packers were projected to be a playoff team. Instead, they sit at the uncomfortable spot of a middle of the road .500 team in a division only getting better.
For Aaron Rodgers, 2018 started on a high note defeating the eventual number three seeded Chicago Bears with a fourth-quarter comeback in week one. The subsequent weeks turned in to a total nightmare.
Rodgers was blamed, and partially responsible, for Mike McCarthy's firing, he finished under .500 for the second straight season, cost the Packers draft capital and become one of the six $100 million quarterbacks to miss the playoffs.
The Green Bay Packers 2018 NFL season can be summed up in the words of Rodgers himself.
"It takes a career, a lifetime, to build up a reputation, and only one misstep for it all to crumble away."
2018 looks to be the beginning of that misstep. Hopefully 2019 is a different story for Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
*Preview photo credited to Wall Street Journal
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