woodbuck27
04-20-2007, 01:30 PM
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=593829
Packers know there are tricks to draft trades
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 19, 2007
If Ted Thompson was paying attention during the years he served under former Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf, then he knows there are times when you have to come to the college draft ready to go all in.
Ron Wolf, said he tried to move up in the first round of the 2000 NFL draft so he could select Brian Urlacher, who went to the Bears. The Packers instead selected Bubba Franks, left, with the 14th overall pick.
In his seven years in charge of draft operations, five as vice president of football operations in Seattle and two as Packers general manager, Thompson has sat at the table but hasn't made the draft equivalent of a big play: trading up in hopes of a rich reward.
Of the 13 draft-day trades he has been involved in the past seven years, all have been to the rear with Thompson giving up his pick for multiple picks later in the draft.
Wolf, his mentor, also mostly traded down - 10 of his 16 trades moved that way during his 10 years in charge of the Packers draft room - but he took his shots, too.
"I don't think it hurts to have volume, especially today," Wolf said in a phone interview Thursday.
"Those guys have to make your team. If you have two chances to be right rather than one, then volume helps you. But I don't think there's any risk in trying to move up."
Such was the case in 2000, when Wolf desperately tried to move ahead of the Chicago Bears in the first round so he could select linebacker Brian Urlacher. Nobody would play ball with him and so he was stuck at No. 14, where he took tight end Bubba Franks.
Wolf did trade up three times in the first round during his tenure:
in 1993, giving up two second-round picks for the 29th pick, which he used to select safety George Teague;
in '94, giving up a first and a third for Miami's pick at No. 16, which he used to select offensive guard Aaron Taylor;
and in '98, giving up a first and a second for Miami's pick at No. 19, which he used to select defensive end Vonnie Holliday.
Both moves netted the Packers a solid starter, but they weren't franchise-changing selections, leaving Wolf open for criticism.
"I never really worried about that," he said. "What I worried about was getting the individual I wanted. If I gave up too much, then I gave up too much."
Thompson, heading into his third draft as Packers GM, said the same thing when it came to discussing his philosophy about moving up. He said he tried to move up several times in Seattle, but couldn't find a trading partner.
He said if the right player were available, he wouldn't hesitate to give up more than what the draft value chart - a universally accepted tool for determining the worth of each slot in the draft - indicates is a fair deal.
"If we feel like there is a player that can add significantly to our team and the value doesn't add up on paper, you go with what you think the value is more than you do with some chart," Thompson said.
"It depends on how you value that player."
During his first two years in Green Bay, Thompson went mostly for volume, trading down seven times to acquire a total of 23 picks. Sixteen of those players are on the roster, in addition to several free agents who were signed after the draft, so the team is full of youth and developing players.
With nine selections overall this year - one each in the first six rounds and three in the seventh - Thompson probably doesn't have enough ammunition to move up into the top 10 where he might covet Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson or Louisiana State safety LaRon Landry. But he could move up a few spots if there's a player he desperately wants.
More likely is a move down because there is depth in this draft at some positions and he might be able to get a talented player at Nos. 20-23 and still get a much-needed running back in the second round.
Thompson said a move down becomes a thought when his draft board has several players of equal value lined up and moving back wouldn't affect the quality he has to choose from.
"It all goes back to following the board," Thompson said, a lesson he learned from Wolf.
"If the board thins out and you need to trade up and get higher quality, you do that. If the board is looking good then you know you can trade back and get a similar player."
Wolf said the Packers became known during his tenure as a team that was willing to trade and so teams were constantly calling to make a deal. Thompson said nothing had changed because he has showed the same willingness to trade, even if it isn't upward.
"We're always glad to get phone calls," Thompson said.
"Even though last year we made a lot of trades, we probably tried to, or people tried to with us, trade more times than we actually did. Ninety percent of the time the other team says no."
Packers know there are tricks to draft trades
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 19, 2007
If Ted Thompson was paying attention during the years he served under former Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf, then he knows there are times when you have to come to the college draft ready to go all in.
Ron Wolf, said he tried to move up in the first round of the 2000 NFL draft so he could select Brian Urlacher, who went to the Bears. The Packers instead selected Bubba Franks, left, with the 14th overall pick.
In his seven years in charge of draft operations, five as vice president of football operations in Seattle and two as Packers general manager, Thompson has sat at the table but hasn't made the draft equivalent of a big play: trading up in hopes of a rich reward.
Of the 13 draft-day trades he has been involved in the past seven years, all have been to the rear with Thompson giving up his pick for multiple picks later in the draft.
Wolf, his mentor, also mostly traded down - 10 of his 16 trades moved that way during his 10 years in charge of the Packers draft room - but he took his shots, too.
"I don't think it hurts to have volume, especially today," Wolf said in a phone interview Thursday.
"Those guys have to make your team. If you have two chances to be right rather than one, then volume helps you. But I don't think there's any risk in trying to move up."
Such was the case in 2000, when Wolf desperately tried to move ahead of the Chicago Bears in the first round so he could select linebacker Brian Urlacher. Nobody would play ball with him and so he was stuck at No. 14, where he took tight end Bubba Franks.
Wolf did trade up three times in the first round during his tenure:
in 1993, giving up two second-round picks for the 29th pick, which he used to select safety George Teague;
in '94, giving up a first and a third for Miami's pick at No. 16, which he used to select offensive guard Aaron Taylor;
and in '98, giving up a first and a second for Miami's pick at No. 19, which he used to select defensive end Vonnie Holliday.
Both moves netted the Packers a solid starter, but they weren't franchise-changing selections, leaving Wolf open for criticism.
"I never really worried about that," he said. "What I worried about was getting the individual I wanted. If I gave up too much, then I gave up too much."
Thompson, heading into his third draft as Packers GM, said the same thing when it came to discussing his philosophy about moving up. He said he tried to move up several times in Seattle, but couldn't find a trading partner.
He said if the right player were available, he wouldn't hesitate to give up more than what the draft value chart - a universally accepted tool for determining the worth of each slot in the draft - indicates is a fair deal.
"If we feel like there is a player that can add significantly to our team and the value doesn't add up on paper, you go with what you think the value is more than you do with some chart," Thompson said.
"It depends on how you value that player."
During his first two years in Green Bay, Thompson went mostly for volume, trading down seven times to acquire a total of 23 picks. Sixteen of those players are on the roster, in addition to several free agents who were signed after the draft, so the team is full of youth and developing players.
With nine selections overall this year - one each in the first six rounds and three in the seventh - Thompson probably doesn't have enough ammunition to move up into the top 10 where he might covet Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson or Louisiana State safety LaRon Landry. But he could move up a few spots if there's a player he desperately wants.
More likely is a move down because there is depth in this draft at some positions and he might be able to get a talented player at Nos. 20-23 and still get a much-needed running back in the second round.
Thompson said a move down becomes a thought when his draft board has several players of equal value lined up and moving back wouldn't affect the quality he has to choose from.
"It all goes back to following the board," Thompson said, a lesson he learned from Wolf.
"If the board thins out and you need to trade up and get higher quality, you do that. If the board is looking good then you know you can trade back and get a similar player."
Wolf said the Packers became known during his tenure as a team that was willing to trade and so teams were constantly calling to make a deal. Thompson said nothing had changed because he has showed the same willingness to trade, even if it isn't upward.
"We're always glad to get phone calls," Thompson said.
"Even though last year we made a lot of trades, we probably tried to, or people tried to with us, trade more times than we actually did. Ninety percent of the time the other team says no."