Ted Thompson's draft philosophy

[Brando19]

http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080405/PKR07/80405052/1989

Like a good poker player, Green Bay Packers General Manager Ted Thompson never will show his hand.


If you want insight into which players the Packers will select in this year’s draft, don’t expect to pick up any hints from Thompson. His face is stoic and his cards are held tightly to his vest.

Thompson huddled with key advisors this weekend to formulate a position-by-position draft board. When that task is completed by the end of the week, team scouts will convene to compare notes. By April 24, two days before the draft, Thompson and his personnel assistants will have completed their preparation.

All draft information discussed inside the walls of 1265 Lombardi Ave. is top secret. You’d have better luck uncovering highly classified CIA documents.

While we won’t learn where the Packers stand on specific players, we know the general blueprint for Thompson’s draft strategy. He has a solid reputation, earned in Seattle and Green Bay, and his approach is worth studying.



Thompson always brings plenty of ammunition, and this year will be no different. He has accumulated six draft choices among the top 135 picks, which is significant considering only once in the past 37 years — in 2006 — have the Packers possessed more selections that early.

In addition to the Packers’ own picks in the first four rounds, Thompson obtained a second-rounder from the Cleveland Browns for Corey Williams, which was a steal. The Packers also were awarded a fourth-round compensatory pick.

Thompson’s first three drafts in Green Bay produced 17 overall choices in the top 135, and 14 remain with the team.


Thompson takes the best player on the board, regardless of position, and is uncompromising in this view.

“A draft is an investment in the future,” Thompson said. “Obviously, you would like to get dividends in that investment in the first year. But what you’re doing is building over the long term, so to take a lesser player at a position of perceived need, as opposed to a better player at a position where maybe you don’t need somebody right this second, doesn’t make any sense to us.”


There’s no magic formula for projecting NFL success, and thus Thompson tries not to make the process too complicated.

“Every player is different, every situation is different,” he said. “You’re trying to predict how a 21- or 22-year-old kid is going to do when you uproot him from a school or family he’s been with for the last four, five years.

“At the end of the day, we always try to revert back to the football thing. Is the guy a good football player? We just try to keep it simple: who’s a good player, who’s not a good player; who’s a good guy, who’s a bad guy.”


Thompson has learned to stick to his convictions, no matter how loud the critics howl. He was booed last year after selecting Justin Harrell in the first round, yet remained unfazed.

Thompson said: “You can’t gnash your teeth over every pick and say, ‘I wonder what the pundits are going to say or I wonder what the fans are going to say when I walk out there on the stage.’”

Thompson has no interest in winning a popularity contest.

“I would like for Packer fans to all think their organization is being run well and people like me know what we’re doing,” he said. “But that’s not as important as doing the right thing.”

[RashanGary]

Wow, good article. It pretty much hits most of what Ted Thompson stands for right on the head. There is no pot stirring. No exaggerating. Just straight quotes from Thompson conveyed in the context they were spoken in. I acctually remember every one of those quotes. This is Thompson. This is what he's trying to do and why. It's simple, but broad. In one word I've always said Ted Thompson is opportunisic. He wants to take advantage of whatever falls in his lap on draft day by taking the best player there.

Bob McGinn should take notes. The garbage he has been writing lately belongs in a tabloid magazine.

[Bretsky]

Wow, good article. It pretty much hits most of what Ted Thompson stands for right on the head. There is no pot stirring. No exaggerating. Just straight quotes from Thompson quoted in proper context.

Bob McGinn should take notes. The garbage he has been writing lately belongs in a tabloid magazine.


Solid article, but truth be told was it really all that informative to a Packer football fan ? I'd agree with the article completely. I don't need to think that information was obvious when I read something. For a a guy who follows TT it was as exciting as watching paint dry.

Like him or not, McGinn gives a jaded view and his writing is interesting....controversial......wrong........rig ht......add your adjective.

But he's not boring

[RashanGary]

I don't respect a writer who has to exaggerate and twist reality to sell papers. The GBPG is a little bit boring, but I acctually trust their news.


When I first moved to GB I really liked the Press Gazette. Then I started switching over to JS because it was more exciting and I really liked Christl. Now, I don't need the writer to spice up my news. Just give me the news. I'll weigh it as I see it. I'm back to using the press gazette as my #1 form of packer news again.

[RashanGary]

I guess I just always had a standard from the news paper. Now I know with JS that it's not news. It's tabloid like exaggeration.

The press gazette is a little boring but you can trust it. If you want to get a feel for what McCarthy or Thompson really said at a press conference don't read JS. Go to packersnews.com or take the time to listen to it. If you want an opinion piece that is based in $ seeking lies then go to the JS version. It's all what you want to read. I want reality and I can form opinions on it as I see fit. I also like when a paper does a good job framing an opinion as an opinion rather than hiding it in what was supposed to be a summary of a press conference. Bedard is OK though. Silverstein too. It's really just the one guy, but he seems to be a big part of what they do.

[texaspackerbacker]

The article was a lot of generalities that we Packer fans are pretty well aware of. There probably are a lot of people around the country, however, that don't know much about Thompson and could benefit.

I disagree that he automatically takes the best player available. Doing that would not have gotten us Harrell. Rather, Thompson considers certain positions at each point in the draft and then taking the guy he thinks has the most potential--not necessarily the best based on performance. And doing it that way has worked pretty well.

It also seems very true that Thompson really doesn't give a damn about any snap analysis of his picks. Long term result, yes, but nobody has had anything bad to say that way.

[Fritz]

Since I am reading names like Flowers, Cason, and Rivers - and Brohm - all we can say for sure is that, historically (outside of AJ Hawk) this means none of the names most-mentioned will be chosen by TT.

I'm antsy for the draft. Go Ted! I also have a sense as others seem to that Barbre might challenge for a guard spot. I'd love to see him be able to take over the left side, so McCarthy can move Colledge to backup left tackle. That would be great.

I would not be surprised to see Ol' Ted draft a defensive tackle or end with that first pick. I wouldn't mind that, either.

[Bretsky]

I don't respect a writer who has to exaggerate and twist reality to sell papers. The GBPG is a little bit boring, but I acctually trust their news.


When I first moved to GB I really liked the Press Gazette. Then I started switching over to JS because it was more exciting and I really liked Christl. Now, I don't need the writer to spice up my news. Just give me the news. I'll weigh it as I see it. I'm back to using the press gazette as my #1 form of packer news again.

I understand where you are coming from. But keep in mind part of McGinn's role as a Packer Insider is to promote a product that others don't offer. I pay to read the PI stuff of McGinn and Silverstein. I don't want to read stuff I already know. I could have written the above article off the top of my head. It was general and obvious to any fan of GB.

McGinn also has inside information that many writers don't have as he has more access to the Green Bay organization as well as several NFL scouts. His only focus is on Green Bay. If my memory serves me right in the past you had given Bob some praise when he backed TT and MM on some things. Not that we can't all change our minds; gosh I have on plenty of things. But I don't think the antics of McGinn have changed at all.

McGinn is consistent; he always has a viewpoint to offer and he uses facts he gathers to support that view. He's been doing it for years and I don't think he's any better or worse now than he was three years ago.

If you want to argue that lately he has not been fair to TT; I'd agree with you 100%.

But IMO he's still an effective writer for what he is trying to accomplish. Sometimes I agree with him and sometimes I don't........but I do think he is effective.....and interesting.

[Bretsky]

Since I am reading names like Flowers, Cason, and Rivers - and Brohm - all we can say for sure is that, historically (outside of AJ Hawk) this means none of the names most-mentioned will be chosen by TT.

I'm antsy for the draft. Go Ted! I also have a sense as others seem to that Barbre might challenge for a guard spot. I'd love to see him be able to take over the left side, so McCarthy can move Colledge to backup left tackle. That would be great.

I would not be surprised to see Ol' Ted draft a defensive tackle or end with that first pick. I wouldn't mind that, either.


Maybe we should collective pick a player for me to endorse as out first round draft pick so I can ruin his career ! :lol:

I think we're going CB in round one.........which means we probably will not.
That position is deep and there are several 1st round caliber players there.

I really like Cromartie, Talib, and Cason. I thought Flowers are around 5 9" or so and if that's the case I'd like somebody bigger.

So whose career should I ruin ?

[texaspackerbacker]

For years, I've had a personal dislike for McGinn. He seems like the ultimate anti-homer--something a lot of people might go for, but kind of irritates me.

All that "a scout for such and such team says this and that" about the Packers, and we're supposed to believe that over our own views.

Personally, I would take the word of most anybody here--most any Packer fan in general--over "a scout from another team" when it comes to analyzing Packer players or Packer chances.

Give me somebody who dishes out good objective information, but with an "us versus them" edge to it, and I'll take that over anti-homerism any day.

[RashanGary]

Personally, I would take the word of most anybody here--most any Packer fan in general--over "a scout from another team" when it comes to analyzing Packer players or Packer chances.


HH, I mean Tex, this isn't what anyone is trying to say. The problem with McGinn is that he has a problem with distorting the truth to sell papers. The scout info is good. That's his strong point.

[Deputy Nutz]

For years, I've had a personal dislike for McGinn. He seems like the ultimate anti-homer--something a lot of people might go for, but kind of irritates me.

All that "a scout for such and such team says this and that" about the Packers, and we're supposed to believe that over our own views.

Personally, I would take the word of most anybody here--most any Packer fan in general--over "a scout from another team" when it comes to analyzing Packer players or Packer chances.

Give me somebody who dishes out good objective information, but with an "us versus them" edge to it, and I'll take that over anti-homerism any day.

Agree 100%

[Fritz]

Since I am reading names like Flowers, Cason, and Rivers - and Brohm - all we can say for sure is that, historically (outside of AJ Hawk) this means none of the names most-mentioned will be chosen by TT.

I'm antsy for the draft. Go Ted! I also have a sense as others seem to that Barbre might challenge for a guard spot. I'd love to see him be able to take over the left side, so McCarthy can move Colledge to backup left tackle. That would be great.

I would not be surprised to see Ol' Ted draft a defensive tackle or end with that first pick. I wouldn't mind that, either.


Maybe we should collective pick a player for me to endorse as out first round draft pick so I can ruin his career ! :lol:

I think we're going CB in round one.........which means we probably will not.
That position is deep and there are several 1st round caliber players there.

I really like Cromartie, Talib, and Cason. I thought Flowers are around 5 9" or so and if that's the case I'd like somebody bigger.

So whose career should I ruin ?

Well, Bretsky, I think I share the credit/blkame with you (Odell Thurman, baby!) so I say we curse Brandon Flowers. Dude's too short for my taste, and what a crummy last name.

[falco]

what happens when you bozos actually pick the player we take that year? then we have an automatic first round bust - the guy won't even have a shot.

I think its safer for everyone is you just be objective bystanders this year.

[Zool]

what happens when you bozos actually pick the player we take that year? then we have an automatic first round bust - the guy won't even have a shot.

I think its safer for everyone is you just be objective bystanders this year.

Pay the man.

[Fritz]

We Bozos have a long track record of liking guys the Packers never take. And when you factor in the truth that TT usually takes people no one on the forum could even imagine him taking, there is no danger in our exercise.

Brandon Flowers - he's a killer!

[texaspackerbacker]

I'd never claim that "we bozos" know more than Ted Thompson--just that we are smarter than the media fools when it comes to Packer prospects and needs.

[Deputy Nutz]

Hell I predicted the Daryn Colledge pick. What does that make me?

If all I had to do was sit in a dark room with a dvd player and break down film for 65 hours a week I would have a pretty good understanding of all the prospects.

Really it doesn't take a whole hell of a lot to become a decent talent evaluator in football, sure it takes time, but more than anything it is just commitment and repetition.

[woodbuck27]

what happens when you bozos actually pick the player we take that year? then we have an automatic first round bust - the guy won't even have a shot.

I think its safer for everyone is you just be objective bystanders this year.

That's where I've landed. Any speculation and TT is far too hard on the head. :D

Packers Forever!