Packers "Stock Report" for Week Three | Ticket King Green Bay

The Packers almost covered the spread against the Broncos on Sunday, earning a 27-16 victory in the rain and the slog. Vince Lombardi would have been proud. The win puts the Packers at a very surprising 3-0 to begin the season. Let’s review the game in “Stock Market Report” form.

Blue Chip Stocks

Preston Smith/OLB- One of the big free agent signings of the offseason, Preston Smith had himself a monster of a game, finishing with three sacks, two tackles for a loss, and three more quarterback hits on top of that.

Za’Darius Smith/OLB- The other of the Smiths had himself a huge game as well, finishing the day with two sacks, two tackles for a loss, and three quarterback hits of his own. The Smith’s now have more sacks combined than the Packers starting rush linebackers did all of last season TOTAL.

Jaire Alexander/CB- Cornerback’s games don’t show up on the stat sheet, but Alexander is becoming one of the best corners in the league. He had another great game yesterday.

Darnell Savage/S- The Packers moved up to take Savage in the first round this year, and so far, they have gotten more than their investment back in return. Savage has graded out as the eighth-best safety in the league so far this season.

J.K. Scott/P- J.K. Scott has been the Packers best player so far this season, and at the rate he is going, he could very well be the first punter in history to end up on the MVP ballot.

Solid Investments

Marquez Valdes-Scantling/WR- MVS had himself a good game, catching six passes for 99 yards, including the first “Aaron Rodgers $14.95 three-course special- free play, deep pass, and a touchdown” of the season in the first quarter.

Jamal Williams/RB- He bulldozed his way through the mud all game, picking up important first downs and getting that tough yardage all game.

Blake Martinez/ILB- Another game, another solid performance for the All-Pro, finishing the game with 12 tackles.

Junk Bonds
Aaron Rodgers/QB- Rodgers and Matt LaFleur need to get on the same page, and soon.

Aaron Jones- He scored two touchdowns today but those were both in shorter yardage situations, and Jones only had 19 yards rushing in this one.

Buy/Sell

Buy: The Packers defense is for real- So far this season, this Packers defense has surrendered the second-fewest points in the league. The pass rush is clicking, and this defense is the real deal.

Sell: They can rely on the defense like this from this point forward- The defense may be for real now, but they can’t ask the defense to just completely shut down opponents every week like this. The offense has got to be better.

Buy: The offense has room for improvement- The offense has been bad, but the potential is there.

Did the First Gutenkunst Draft Generate Solid Prospects?

The 2019 NFL Draft has come and gone, so let’s jump right in and review the Packers draft. It is safe to say that this was not exactly the most hoped for draft for Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.

Round 1A: Rashan Gary/DE/Michigan-  Of all the options on the table for Gutekunst here, and with no overly pressing need, he elects to go with a player who looks good on paper, but has never played up to his potential? Noah Fant was available, Brian Burns was available, Martez Sweat was available, the best wide receivers were still on the board. Gutekunst could have even traded down. We’ll see if this pick works for the Packers, and there is time, seeing that free agency pick ups will be the first line of defense, literally.  

Round 1B: This one was better, and Gutekunst actually traded up, which was something Ted Thompson would have never done, to select Maryland safety Darnell Savage. Savage was a high riser leading up to the draft, and has speed and ball-hawking skills NFL teams drool over. Expect Savage to start from day one.

Round 2: Elgton Jenkins/OG/Mississippi State- Broncos director of football operations John Elway traded up two spots in front of the Packers to select Lock, so Gutekunst went back to the board and filled a need. The selection of Jenkins and the return of last year’s fourth round selection Cole Madison means that Lane Taylor is pretty much finished in Green Bay.

Round 3: Jace Sternberger/TE/Texas A&M- The Packers could not leave this draft without adding to their tight end position, and Gutekunst added a tremendous athlete with high potential here. Sternberger could grow into an elite player in Gutekunst’s offense.

Round 5: Kinglsey Keke/DT/Texas A&M- Gutekunst went back to College Station and grabbed Keke, a big body who will be a nice rotational piece in Mike Pettine’s version of the 3-4.

Round 6: Dexter Williams/RB/Notre Dame- The Packers needed to add a third running back, specifically for third downs, and they did just that with Williams.

Round 7: Ty Summers/ILB/TCU- With the departure of Clay Matthews, the Packers needed to add depth late in this draft to their inside linebacker position. Summers will probably end up on the practice squad in year one, but this is a long term project.