It’s Day 1 of Packer rookie camp, the first time we get to see these guys step into the pro game.
Since it’s in Wisconsin, and Vince Biegel went to the University of Wisconsin, and Vince Biegel went to high school in Wisconsin, and Vince Biegel was born in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin in case you haven’t heard Wisconsin, Vince Biegel has been talked about more than Barry Badrinath.
Hey, I’m happy we got him, I even wanted him, but I don’t want to get too carried away over a third day draft pick. I know some scouts thought he was a better long-term prospect than his far more ballyhooed teammate, TJ Watt, but I’m just going to hope for the best.
The draftniks that rated Biegel higher than Watt were definitely in the minority. A small subset of that minority has gone so far as to as compare Biegel to Clay Matthews III.
That’s a notion I find preposterous.
Sure, they have some things in common, like they both play linebacker and have similar pigmentation, but Clay is a premium pedigree third generation NFL star who, when healthy (don’t forget that part), rates among the best in the game. Vince looks like he could be a really good player, maybe even a sack specialist a la Kabeer Gbaja Biamila, but even KGB, the current all-time Packers sack leader, at his best, was a pass rush specialist who was not in CM3’s league.
I won’t get all hot-take and proclaim in all caps that Vince Biegel will never be Clay Matthews and seven exclamation points, but I do find it highly unlikely.
However, today, on the first day of rookie camp, Biegel added a third common quality between the two linebackers. Remember when I said CM3 was great when healthy? Well he’s not always healthy and now it seems Vince may share his injury proclivity! Yes, on day one, Vince left early with an injury.
First reports were shin-ankle, then a jammed hand. Reading all the information, it sounds like he actually got hurt twice. That would certainly liken him to CM3 (even if he hasn’t hurt his hamstring yet). The injuries weren’t deemed serious – just like Clay’s never are.
Kyler Fackrell, who JuMosq (whose word I tend to take on most things) doesn’t view as having a high ceiling, sits with Jayrone Elliott (who has shown flashes, but not enough to feel good about being a full-timer) on the depth chart behind Matthews and Perry (both of whom are highly paid and neither of whom have shown the ability to stay healthy for long stretches).
Given this, Biegel could be in line for a healthy number of snaps as a rookie. Let’s hope this injury isn’t a sign of things to come for the 4th round pick, who never played all the games in any of his four college seasons and had a screw put in his foot last year.