My take on the Draft

[Merlin]

Draft Player Pos. Hght. Wght. School
------- ---------------- ------- ------ ------- -----------------
1 (5) A.J. Hawk LB 6-1 240 Ohio State
Comments: Taken too high in the draft. 15-32 selection at best. 2-3 year project to sharpen his skills to be a good starter. Will make some big plays this year, but not any more then any other linebacker that starts for us. Short for that dominante middle linebacker we need, although that may only hurt in pass coverage. Unknown if he can cover speedier WR's over the middle, his game isn't vertical. Doesn't fight off the guards well. Good horizontal speed, ball hawk. Will be a good OLB at some point.

2 (47) Daryn Colledge T 6-5 298 Boise State
Comments: Good selection late 2nd early 3rd. Needs to bulk up if he is slated to play guard because he is under weight for that position. Taken too high for a guard project, could have been taken late 2nd, early 3rd.

2 (52) Greg Jennings WR 5-11 191 Western Michigan
Comments: Not the typical WR we were looking for. Tends to craddle the ball into his body and not use his hands. Will get crushed over the middle and not a deep threat. Speedy, but not anything special for a WR. Taken too high when there were better WR prospects on the board. More like a late 3rd rounder. May be a good return man although his ball handling skills need work.

3 (67) Abdul Hodge LB 6-2 234 Iowa
Comments: Could be the steal of the draft. Could have easily gone in the 2nd round. Still short for a middle linebacker and has some good instincts. May be a starter with Barnett and Hawk. This depends on how good Taylor is from the Browns, could see him splitting time with Hawk in different coverage packages. Good against the run, needs work in coverage.

3 (75) Jason Spitz G 6-4 308 Louisville
Comments: A good pick although taken too high. He would have been there in the 5th. Possible backup center material, although he is on the small size for a guard, he isn't quick enough to pull. Rumor is that the Packers will not only run the Zone blocking but also more conventional run blocking. As center he has to improve his pulling techniques for bootlegs and rollouts. He is a 2-3 year project.

4 (104) Cory Rodgers WR 6-1 195 TCU
Comments: Taken too high, would have been there later in the 4th. Better prospects on the board when he was taken.

4 (115) Will Blackmon WR 6-0 202 Boston College
Comments: 5th round selection at best. Plays more like a tight end than a WR. Blocks well, nothing outstanding. Better prospects on the board when selected. Was also a corner back, maybe that's the depth we are looking for here.

5 (148) Ingle Martin IV QB 6-3 224 Furman
Comments: Could have been signed as an undrafted rookie. Lacks dedication to the sport. He will be lucky to be on the practice squad. Not sure why he was picked up. Seems like a good spot for Rodgers, Blackmon or Spitz to be picked. Wasted pick IMO. Defintely not BPA.

5 (165) Tony Moll OT 6-4 300 Nevada
Comments: Good selection for a #5. Former TE and his skills are raw. Will be a major project.

6 (183) Johnny Jolly Jr. DE-DT 6-4 310 Texas A&M
Comments: Worthy of this spot. Quick to the ball and shedding guards/tackles. Isn't conditioned well, wears down quickly. Could be another gem if coached right.

6 (185) Tyrone Culver S 6-1 200 Fresno State
Comments: More like a 7th rounder if that. Could have been picked up as an undrafted rookie. Listed as a bug project although one that can learn quickly. Possible replacement for Woodson in the future since Underwood is nothing special.

7 (253) ? ? ? ? ?
Comments: It doesn't matter much at this point!

Overall Grade: C+

I don't think the draft was a waste. We appear not to have a strategy (BPA, Need). Last year when we picked Collins early a lot of people balked, however the Ravens who picked after us were going to take him as well so that in my mind meant he was someone special. I think in most cases we drafted players too high when the BPA or Need was there. TT must know something and this is the last year I will believe in him unless there turns out to be a few more gems in here. Up front it doesn't look like much accept Hawk who I have my doubts about simply because every skill he has we already have. Deepth is nice, but not worthy of a top 5 pick. There are a lot of projects in here and we still have projects from last year (Poppinga, Manning, Underwood, Montgomery). Chad Lucas could very well make the roster if he keeps performing in NFLE like he has. Maybe TT is banking on that so that's why we took a lot of lesser known WR's. The offensive line got some help although what kind of help will be determined on where Wells lines up. This is his 3rd season with the Packers and he should be the Center as that is his strongest position and he should be sold there. Whittaker should be better at guard which would mean Colledge, Spitz or Coston is going to have to step up for the other guard position.

[Tarlam!]

Well, I can't agree with this take, because you really slam my new hero A.J. But, you put a lot of time into you evaluation, and it is indeed well thought out.

I can only reply with the cliché, the draft is a crap shoot. I think we picked up some interesting players, but the other teams were passing by some of the "name" players you mention. I ask myself, if TT and his scouts were wrongly assessing the value of so many picks, why were the other teams doing the same?

[Merlin]

I think they wrongly assess 75% of the time. That's why out of 10 picks you get 2-3 good ones. Every GM has those handful of attributes that are usually unknown to us. Sorry you didn't like the AJ assessment, but it's accurate. If he turns out to be a Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher that would be great. I just don't see it right now. I think Davis was the better pick at #5. Defense wins games, but offense scores the points and I think Davis would have been the Chumura we have been missing all these years.

[Iron Mike]

Defense wins games, but offense scores the points and I think Davis would have been the Chumura we have been missing all these years.

We haven't been missing Chmura, we've been missing K-Jack!!! :cool:

[Tarlam!]

Time will tell. I think getting our defense "fixed" makes a lot of sense. I would have loved a mauling DE like Mario, but there was only one on the board.

My biggest deal about A.J. is the way he carries himself. The character and stature of the man is far superior to VD. We need that desperately to return to our roots. I think TT picked a series of players that will bring in high character, huge work ethic and instill the pride and team commitment we NEVER had in the Sherman years.

Think back to our infamous loss in Philly. That was a huge indicator that their was no team, just 53 players....

We getting ourselves a TEAM. That's better than a fancy TE.

[Bretsky]

Draft Player Pos. Hght. Wght. School
------- ---------------- ------- ------ ------- -----------------
1 (5) A.J. Hawk LB 6-1 240 Ohio State
Comments: Taken too high in the draft. 15-32 selection at best. 2-3 year project to sharpen his skills to be a good starter. Will make some big plays this year, but not any more then any other linebacker that starts for us. Short for that dominante middle linebacker we need, although that may only hurt in pass coverage. Unknown if he can cover speedier WR's over the middle, his game isn't vertical. Doesn't fight off the guards well. Good horizontal speed, ball hawk. Will be a good OLB at some point.

2 (47) Daryn Colledge T 6-5 298 Boise State
Comments: Good selection late 2nd early 3rd. Needs to bulk up if he is slated to play guard because he is under weight for that position. Taken too high for a guard project, could have been taken late 2nd, early 3rd.

2 (52) Greg Jennings WR 5-11 191 Western Michigan
Comments: Not the typical WR we were looking for. Tends to craddle the ball into his body and not use his hands. Will get crushed over the middle and not a deep threat. Speedy, but not anything special for a WR. Taken too high when there were better WR prospects on the board. More like a late 3rd rounder. May be a good return man although his ball handling skills need work.

3 (67) Abdul Hodge LB 6-2 234 Iowa
Comments: Could be the steal of the draft. Could have easily gone in the 2nd round. Still short for a middle linebacker and has some good instincts. May be a starter with Barnett and Hawk. This depends on how good Taylor is from the Browns, could see him splitting time with Hawk in different coverage packages. Good against the run, needs work in coverage.

3 (75) Jason Spitz G 6-4 308 Louisville
Comments: A good pick although taken too high. He would have been there in the 5th. Possible backup center material, although he is on the small size for a guard, he isn't quick enough to pull. Rumor is that the Packers will not only run the Zone blocking but also more conventional run blocking. As center he has to improve his pulling techniques for bootlegs and rollouts. He is a 2-3 year project.

4 (104) Cory Rodgers WR 6-1 195 TCU
Comments: Taken too high, would have been there later in the 4th. Better prospects on the board when he was taken.

4 (115) Will Blackmon WR 6-0 202 Boston College
Comments: 5th round selection at best. Plays more like a tight end than a WR. Blocks well, nothing outstanding. Better prospects on the board when selected. Was also a corner back, maybe that's the depth we are looking for here.

5 (148) Ingle Martin IV QB 6-3 224 Furman
Comments: Could have been signed as an undrafted rookie. Lacks dedication to the sport. He will be lucky to be on the practice squad. Not sure why he was picked up. Seems like a good spot for Rodgers, Blackmon or Spitz to be picked. Wasted pick IMO. Defintely not BPA.

5 (165) Tony Moll OT 6-4 300 Nevada
Comments: Good selection for a #5. Former TE and his skills are raw. Will be a major project.

6 (183) Johnny Jolly Jr. DE-DT 6-4 310 Texas A&M
Comments: Worthy of this spot. Quick to the ball and shedding guards/tackles. Isn't conditioned well, wears down quickly. Could be another gem if coached right.

6 (185) Tyrone Culver S 6-1 200 Fresno State
Comments: More like a 7th rounder if that. Could have been picked up as an undrafted rookie. Listed as a bug project although one that can learn quickly. Possible replacement for Woodson in the future since Underwood is nothing special.

7 (253) ? ? ? ? ?
Comments: It doesn't matter much at this point!

Overall Grade: C+

I don't think the draft was a waste. We appear not to have a strategy (BPA, Need). Last year when we picked Collins early a lot of people balked, however the Ravens who picked after us were going to take him as well so that in my mind meant he was someone special. I think in most cases we drafted players too high when the BPA or Need was there. TT must know something and this is the last year I will believe in him unless there turns out to be a few more gems in here. Up front it doesn't look like much accept Hawk who I have my doubts about simply because every skill he has we already have. Deepth is nice, but not worthy of a top 5 pick. There are a lot of projects in here and we still have projects from last year (Poppinga, Manning, Underwood, Montgomery). Chad Lucas could very well make the roster if he keeps performing in NFLE like he has. Maybe TT is banking on that so that's why we took a lot of lesser known WR's. The offensive line got some help although what kind of help will be determined on where Wells lines up. This is his 3rd season with the Packers and he should be the Center as that is his strongest position and he should be sold there. Whittaker should be better at guard which would mean Colledge, Spitz or Coston is going to have to step up for the other guard position.


GOOD JOB MERLIN; I agree with most of your evaluations with the exception of AJ Hawk. Time will show you that he was our best pick. We have the leader of our defense for the next 10 years, and we'll witness him making the Pro Bowl. Nice pick on Hodge as well. The rest of the picks are debateable and you did a nice job mapping the reasoning out.

[HarveyWallbangers]

4 (115) Will Blackmon WR 6-0 202 Boston College
Comments: 5th round selection at best. Plays more like a tight end than a WR. Blocks well, nothing outstanding. Better prospects on the board when selected. Was also a corner back, maybe that's the depth we are looking for here.

Plays like TE, what? The dude is a great athlete. He'll be a corner for Green Bay. 5th round selection at best? Every reliable mock that I reference had him going somewhere in the early 3rd round to the middle of the 4th round.

[OS PA]

I highly disagree with your description of Greg Jennings, and view him as a bright spot that nobody really knows about. Through the videos i've seen and all that i've read he does not cradle the ball to his body ever. Most scouts praise his go-get-it mentality for the ball, he extends grabs the ball at the farthest point from his body and reels it in. I view him as an A- pick.

Also I hope Hawk proves you wrong this year =).

My grade of the draft is a B, day 1 was great, day 2 looks really shallow, and poorly drafted. Teddy seems to have placed all his picks two roudns too high today.

[FritzDontBlitz]

I think they wrongly assess 75% of the time. That's why out of 10 picks you get 2-3 good ones. Every GM has those handful of attributes that are usually unknown to us. Sorry you didn't like the AJ assessment, but it's accurate. If he turns out to be a Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher that would be great. I just don't see it right now. I think Davis was the better pick at #5. Defense wins games, but offense scores the points and I think Davis would have been the Chumura we have been missing all these years.

"they" wrongly assess 75% of the time?

i'd say the same logic applies to you....

[Homer Jay]

Well thought out, well described. I disagree with most of it, but thats OK. Thats what we do here is share opinions. The important thing to remember is that is what they are , OPINIONS. There is a reason we are sitting here typing and the GMs are in war rooms making the decisions. They know more than we do. I didn't say they were smarter than we are, just that they have more information than we do.

[HarveyWallbangers]

1 (5) A.J. Hawk LB 6-1 240 Ohio State

Consensus #1 rated OLB. Range was #1 OLB (everybody had him ranked #1). Green Bay took him #1. No problem with this pick. Great selection.

2 (47) Daryn Colledge OT/OG 6-5 298 Boise State

Consensus #5 rated OT (although he'll play OG for the Packers). Range was #4 OT to #6 OT. Green Bay took him #3. Understandable since he's a much better fit for the zone blocking scheme then guys like Marcus McNeill. No problem with this pick. Good selection.

2 (52) Greg Jennings WR 5-11 191 Western Michigan

Consensus #4 rated WR. Range was #3 WR to #9 WR. Green Bay took him #4 at WR. Pretty much where most thought he'd go. Decent selection.

3 (67) Abdul Hodge LB 6-2 234 Iowa

Consensus #2 rated ILB. Range was #1 ILB to #2 ILB. Green Bay took him #2 at ILB. He went where he should as far as positional rank, and grabbed later than he was projected. Great selection.

3 (75) Jason Spitz OG/OC 6-4 308 Louisville

Consensus #7 rated OG. Range was #5 OG to #10 OG. Green Bay took him #4 at OG. I think he was a little bit of a reach. Average selection.

4 (104) Cory Rodgers WR 6-1 195 TCU

Consensus #25 rated WR. Range was #20 WR to #28 WR. Green Bay took him #12 at WR. I know he's a good return man, but I think this was a big-time reach. Bad selection.

4 (115) Will Blackmon CB 6-0 202 Boston College

Consensus #12 rated CB. Range was #11 CB to #17 CB. Green Bay took him #12 at CB. Went right where he should as far as positional rank, and grabbed later than most projected. Good selection.

5 (148) Ingle Martin QB 6-3 224 Furman

Consensus #17 rated QB. Range was #8 QB to #20 QB. Green Bay took him #8 at QB. I think this was a reach, and I would have preferred Reggie McNeal or Bruce Gradkowski, but it was late enough that I'm okay with the flier being taken. Average selection.

5 (165) Tony Moll OT 6-4 300 Nevada

This guy wasn't on many boards. Possibly a major reach. Wonder what the Packers saw in him. Bad selection.

6 (183) Johnny Jolly Jr. DT 6-4 310 Texas A&M

Consensus #17 rated DT. Range was #14 DT to #28 DT. Green Bay took him #17 at DT. Went exactly where projected. Decent selection.

6 (185) Tyrone Culver S 6-1 200 Fresno State

Consensus #26 rated S. Range was #18 S to #28 S. Green Bay took him #19 at S. Went a little ahead of projection, but I think he's intriguing. I kind of like the pick. Decent selection.