Cynical Packers fans likely went into Thursday night expecting to not see anyone added to the team. Many probably thought GM Ted Thompson would simply trade out of the first round and draft the best player available a few picks later. Maybe we’d end up with another try-hard wide receiver or linebacker. Instead, Thompson showed signs that he feels the team might be done simply turning over the roster and ready to build for something. While there are little arguments that Bryan Bulaga was the best player at pick 23, he also fit a glaring need for the team. It doesn’t matter if he isn’t ready to be an NFL left tackle this season. He can play on the right side or at left guard, and the Packers need help in both spots. We now have a legitimate offensive line prospect to develop for the future, but who can also help the team immediately. In the 2nd round, Thompson addressed a position of concern with the defensive line. Jolly and Jenkins are potentially gone after this season (and Jolly’s legal situation is an ongoing concern), so getting another big body who can play the 5-technique is a very smart move. Neal can find his way into the rotation immediately but is under no pressure to start this season. Finally, Thompson surprised people a bit by trading up in the 3rd round for Georgia Tech safety Morgan Burnett. Burnett is a prototypical Thompson player, with more athleticism than football acumen, but he definitely addresses a need. Hopefully he can start alongside Nick Collins and offer a bit more security in the deep secondary and against the run than the team got from Atari Bigby over the past few seasons.
While there aren’t a lot of quality corners left, I would expect that to be one of the next positions Thompson targets. Dominique Franks could be a good pickup for that position. Another concern might be running back, where there is no quality depth behind Ryan Grant. Joe McKnight and Jonathan Dwyer are still on the board and either one would make a quality back. McKnight would likely be the better fit as he’s a speedy guy who can catch passes.
Green Bay Packers Draft History
| 2009 | |||
| Rnd | Name | College | Note |
| 1 | B.J. Raji | Boston College | |
| 1 | Clay Matthews | Southern Cal | |
| 4 | T.J. Lang | Eastern Michigan | |
| 5 | Quinn Johnson | LSU | |
| 5 | Jamon Meredith | South Carolina | |
| 6 | Jarius Wynn | Georgia | |
| 6 | Brandon Underwood | Cincinnati | |
| 7 | Brad Jones | Colorado | |
| 2008 | |||
| Rnd | Name | College | Note |
| 2 | Jordy Nelson | Kansas State | |
| 2 | Brian Brohm | Louisville | |
| 2 | Patrick Lee | Auburn | |
| 3 | Jermichael Finley | Texas | |
| 4 | Jeremy Thompson | Wake Forest | |
| 4 | Josh Sitton | Central Florida | |
| 5 | Breno Giacomini | Louisville | |
| 7 | Matt Flynn | Louisiana State | |
| 7 | Brett Swain | ||
| 2007 | |||
| Rnd | Name | College | Note |
| 1 | Justin Harrell | Tennessee | |
| 2 | Brandon Jackson | Nebraska | |
| 3 | James Jones | San Jose State | |
| 3 | Aaron Rouse | Virginia Tech | |
| 4 | Allen Barbre | Missouri Southern State | |
| 5 | David Clowney | Virginia Tech | |
| 6 | Korey Hall | Boise State | |
| 6 | Desmond Bishop | California | |
| 6 | Mason Crosby | Colorado | |
| 7 | DeShawn Wynn | Florida | |
| 7 | Clark Harris | Rutgers | |
| 2006 | |||
| Rnd | Name | College | Note |
| 1 | A.J. Hawk | Ohio State | |
| 2 | Daryn Colledge | Boise State | |
| 2 | Greg Jennings | Western Michigan | |
| 3 | Abdul Hodge | Iowa | |
| 3 | Jason Spitz | Louisville | |
| 4 | Cory Rodgers | Texas Christian | |
| 4 | Will Blackmon | Boston College | |
| 5 | Ingle Martin | Furman | |
| 5 | Tony Moll | Nevada | |
| 6 | Johnny Jolly | Texas A&M | |
| 6 | Tyrone Culver | Fresno State | |
| 7 | Dave Tollefson | Northwest Missouri State | |
| 2005 | |||
| Rnd | Name | College | Note |
| 1 | Aaron Rodgers | California | |
| 2 | Nick Collins | Bethune-Cookman | |
| 2 | Terrence Murphy | Texas A&M | |
| 4 | Marviel Underwood | San Diego State | |
| 4 | Brady Poppinga | Brigham Young | |
| 5 | Junius Coston | North Carolina A&T | |
| 5 | Michael Hawkins | Oklahoma | |
| 6 | Mike Montgomery | Texas A&M | |
| 6 | Craig Bragg | UCLA | |
| 7 | Kurt Campbell | Albany (NY) | |
| 7 | William Whitticker | Michigan State | |
We had 34 draft picks in the first 3 years of Thompson as a GM. The current starters from that pool are:
- Aaron Rodgers, QB
- Nick Collins, FS
- AJ Hawk, ILB (who might not be starting right now if not for injuries)
- Greg Jennings, WR
- Daryn Colledge, OG
Jason Spitz was our starting center this year, so he should count at #6, but unfortunately he went on IR this week. Allen Babre was starting at RT, but he was so bad we had to re-sign Tauscher.
For a team that believes in building through the draft, we’ve done a miserable job of it. Here’s a look at our Week 9 starters and where they come from:
Offense
QB: Aaron Rodgers – TT Draft Pick
HB: Ryan Gran – Trade
FB: John Kuhn – Waivers
WR: Greg Jennings – TT Draft Pick
WR: Donald Driver – Pre-TT
LT: Chad Clifton – Pre-TT
LG: Daryn Colledge – TT Draft Pick
C: Scott Wells – Pre-TT
RG: Josh Sitton – TT Draft Pick
RT: Mark Tauscher – Pre-TT
Defense
LE: Johnny Jolly – TT Draft Pick
DT: Ryan Pickett – Free Agent
RE: Cullen Jenkins – Pre-TT
LOLB: Aaron Kampman – Pre-TT
ILB: Nick Barnett – Pre-TT
ILB: AJ Hawk – TT Draft Pick
ROLB: Clay Matthews – TT Draft Pick
CB: Charles Woodson – Free Agent
CB: Al Harris – Pre-TT
FS: Nick Collins – TT Draft Pick
SS: Atari Bigby – Free Agent
By my count, that’s 8/22 starters that Thompson has drafted. He’s drafted 51 total players in that time frame. That makes his success rate for drafting starters just over 15%. That doesn’t mean the other players that are starting are all bad. We have a lot of talented players that were either here when Thompson arrived or that were acquired outside the draft. The problem is, with so many poor draft picks (23 draft picks – 45% – are not on the team), we’re really lacking in depth and have clearly over-valued at numerous positions. It’s bad. Top it off with McCarthy stinking the joint up and we’re heading the wrong direction.
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2008 – Green Bay Packers
Rd Sel # Player Position School
2 36 Jordy Nelson WR Kansas State – Playing well for a rookie
2 56 Brian Brohm QB Louisville – Horrible performance in pre-season, 3rd string QB.
2 60 Patrick Lee CB Auburn – On IR
3 91 Jermichael Finley TE Texas – Has been the #3 tight end and cannot get on the field.
4 102 Jeremy Thompson DE Wake Forest – Shown some energy but has been hurt
4 135 Josh Sitton T Central Florida – Gotten some playing time as fill-in, project
5 150 Breno Giacomini T Louisville – Project player
7 209 Matt Flynn QB Louisiana State – Played decently in pre-season
7 217 Brett Swain WR San Diego State – Practice squad
2007 – Green Bay Packers
Rd Sel # Player Position School
1 16 Justin Harrell DT Tennessee – No surprise, has been injured a lot
2 63 Brandon Jackson RB Nebraska – Has played well in spurts, fumble liability
3 78 James Jones WR San Jose State – Played well early as a rookie, has slumped this year
3 89 Aaron Rouse SAF Virginia Tech – Has filled in for injuries, often out of position
4 119 Allen Barbre G Missouri Southern State – Still a project
5 157 David Clowney WR Virginia Tech – Gone
6 191 Korey Hall FB Boise State – Has played well enough
6 192 Desmond Bishop LB California – Made some big plays vs Houston, doesn’t look like a starter
6 193 Mason Crosby K Colorado – Has been very solid
7 228 DeShawn Wynn RB Florida – Was cut, but re-signed because of injuries
7 243 Clark Harris TE Rutgers – Gone
2006 – Green Bay Packers
Rd Sel # Player Position School
1 5 A.J. Hawk OLB Ohio State – Hasn’t been the impact player expected, but a solid linebacker
2 47 Daryn Colledge G Boise State – Cannot sustain blocks, gets beat by power and speed
2 52 Greg Jennings WR Western Michigan – Looks like a star, gets lost in some games
3 67 Abdul Hodge LB Iowa – Gone
3 75 Jason Spitz G Louisville – Plays okay in fill-in roles, not a starter
4 104 Cory Rodgers WR Texas Christian – Gone
4 115 Will Blackmon CB Boston College – Pick play ability on special teams, goes sideways too often
5 148 Ingle Martin QB Furman – Gone
5 165 Tony Moll G Nevada-Reno – Backup player
6 183 Johnny Jolly DT Texas A&M – Good enough, especially considering where he was picked
6 185 Tyrone Culver DB Fresno State – Gone
7 253 Dave Tollefson DE Northwest Missouri State – Gone
2005 – Green Bay Packers
Rd Sel # Player Position School
1 24 Aaron Rodgers QB California – Looks like a solid QB
2 51 Nick Collins FS Bethune-Cookman – Out of position way too often
2 58 Terrence Murphy WR Texas A&M – Out of NFL: Injury
4 115 Marviel Underwood DB San Diego State – Gone
4 125 Brady Poppinga LB Brigham Young – Decent vs run, can’t cover
5 143 Junius Coston C North Carolina A&T – Gone
5 167 Mike Hawkins DB Oklahoma – Gone
6 180 Mike Montgomery DT Texas A&M – Playing okay as a fill-in
6 195 Craig Bragg WR UCLA – Gone
7 245 Kurt Campbell CB Albany State (NY) – Gone
7 246 Will Whitticker G Michigan State – Gone
If you haven’t seen, ESPN.com lets fans vote on the job their coach is doing. Mike McCarthy received a 32% approval rating for week 5. Not good, but well deserved. The bad thing, is the logic many fans and reporters are using for the poor performance of the Packers. Whenever I read articles about the team, the “F” word always comes up. So many people seem to think that Brett would do a better job run blocking. They feel he would stuff the middle of the line on defense or get penetration on the end. Apparently Favre would do a far better job covering the tight end or stopping a running back from turning the corner. Favre would also be able to punt more consistently and get flagged less often for holding.
Blame Mike for not putting a well prepared team on the field. Blame Thompson for not filling the roster with quality depth on both lines. Don’t expect that Favre would fix any of the problems we are seeing right now.
