Packers Morning Buzz: Morgan Burnett ready for free agency

Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers and the NFL from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a strong cup of coffee and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers as they head into the offseason.

We’ll start with Pete Dougherty’s look at the NFL’s decision to share player-tracking data from games and what it means for the Packers.

From Pete:

Starting in April the league will provide all data from the last two years, and starting this season will make available new data from every game, every week.

“It holds the potential to be a game changer,” said Mike Eayrs, the Packers’ former director of research and development, and one of the first great analytics experts in league history. “This is like building the Grand Cooley Dam of football.”

By that, he means this is an enormous project for NFL teams. We’re talking an overwhelming amount of data here. To make it of any use to coaches and scouts, teams will have to amp up their computing power and storage, and hire more analysts. (The Packers already have four people in their football technology analyst department: director Mark Halbach, analysts Ryan Feder and Connor Lewis and assistant Chris Gaines.)

The potential implications of this data dump are profound, though it will take several years, if not longer, for teams to figure out how best to mine all this new information. But one way or another, it should save teams time and manpower in game planning, help scout players for free agency and eventually the draft, and aid monitoring their own players for fatigue over the course of a game and susceptibility to injuries.

I chatted with readers late Tuesday afternoon:

The great Fred Carr has passed away:

Elsewhere, Rob Demovsky writes on the need at tight end:

ESPN’s Mel Kiper has the Packers taking edge rusher Marcus Davenport in his latest mock:

From Kiper:

Davenport was my pick for Green Bay in Mock Draft 1.0, and I don't see a reason to change. There really aren't many top-tier edge rushers in this class for the second half of the first round, and there's a drop-off after Davenport. He had an OK week at the Senior Bowl but didn't dominate. That was expected, however, as he's a raw, quick-twitch athlete with a 6-6 frame and who lacks pass-rushing moves. Those should come in time, and he would get to learn the craft from Clay Matthews in Green Bay.

Morgan Burnett spoke with SiriusXM NFL Radio about his upcoming market in free agency:

Locked On Packers talked about a possible reunion with Josh Sitton:

Shawn Wagner looks into his crystal ball:

The Packers Wire thinks free agency could get interesting:

Is Mike McCarthy coaching for his job in 2018?