A closer look at the positions the Green Bay Packers could target at the NFL combine in Indianapolis:

Positions of need: Cornerback. Linebacker. Pass-rusher. Running back. How can a team that was one game away from the Super Bowl have so many holes? Part of it will depend on how many of the Packers’ free agents they re-sign before or during free agency. And part of it depends on whether they think guys such as Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins will bounce back from disappointing seasons. But most of the holes on this team come on defense, where GM Ted Thompson has devoted so many resources (mostly in the form of high draft picks), yet has seen little results. If the Packers don’t re-sign Nick Perry, they’ll need to replace an outside linebacker who had 11 sacks lat season. If they don’t re-sign Eddie Lacy, they’ll need to find a workhorse running back who can complement converted receiver Ty Montgomery. As usual, Thompson will say need has little to do with whom he selects, but it will serve as a significant tiebreaker, especially in the first round. That was evident again last year when he picked defensive tackle Kenny Clark after B.J. Raji decided to walk away from the game.

TARGETS

T.J. Watt, OLB, Wisconsin: If Perry walks and Julius Peppers isn’t asked to come back, the Packers would lose 18.5 sacks off last year’s team. Watt, the brother of Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, moved from tight end to outside linebacker and became a bona fide threat to get to the quarterback. He might be a reach in the first round.

Adoree' Jackson, CB, USC: The Packers love versatile players, and Jackson did just about everything in college. In addition to his cornerback duties, he also returned kicks and played some on offense as a receiver. Mel Kiper Jr., in his latest mock, projected six cornerbacks would come off the board before the Packers’ pick at No. 29, but it’s a deep draft at cornerback, with players like Jackson just outside the top group.

Alvin Kamara, RB Tennessee; Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford: Thompson has never picked a back in the first round, and the Packers haven’t taken one there since 1990, but he will have to consider one early in the draft if Lacy leaves in free agency. While Leonard Fournette and Dalvin Cook will be long gone by the time the Packers pick, they could be in position to take Tennessee’s Alvin Kamara, Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, Texas’ D'Onta Foreman or Clemson’s Wayne Gallman in the first or second round.