2013 NFL mock draft: Packers select Travis Frederick

With the 55th pick in Pride Of Detroit's 2013 NFL mock draft, the Green Bay Packers select Wisconsin center Travis Frederick. Jettero2112 is serving as the Packers' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.

The Packers have several needs, including RB, safety, TE and O-line. I went D-line with the Packers' first pick, and if one of the top TEs were still on the board, I would have probably gone in that direction, giving Aaron Rodgers another weapon in his arsenal. That being the case, I believe that the best available player still on the board that fits their needs at No. 55 is Travis Frederick, a center out of Wisconsin. Travis will compete right away with Evan Dietrich-Smith for the starting center job. The Packers don't have a lot of depth on the line, and Frederick is a great option to help them out, even in their zone blocking scheme.

Travis is a big interior lineman who has experience at both guard and center. He has excellent upper body strength and is able to get his hands up quickly after the snap, keeping the defender inside. His fundamentals are outstanding, and he is among the best in the game at consistently staying low to fight against the bull rush, being able to stand defenders up at the line. He excels at run blocking and can create holes up the middle. He will do well in the NFC North, as the Lions, Vikings and Bears have solid defensive lines. He is reliable at shotgun snaps and does so with good velocity.

The only issue I see is his limited lateral mobility, as an interior pass rusher sometimes has room to move around him. He doesn't have the speed to get to the second level on a consistent basis and will not handle the more athletic linebackers in space as well as he should. He does have good technique at identifying and slowing down the second level rush but does not excel at it.

While Frederick may not be one of the most athletic centers in the NFL, I believe he will become one of the more dominant ones physically. Overall, I think this will be a good fit for Green Bay, as it fills a need and is a great pick-up at No. 55.

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Check out the 2013 Pride Of Detroit Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.