packers11
10-24-2007, 07:57 PM
The Harrell pick, from Denver's perspective
Here's something to consider, especially for everyone who criticized Packers General Manager Ted Thompson for taking defensive tackle Justin Harrell with the 16th overall pick in April's draft:
The Denver Broncos probably would have taken Harrell with the very next selection. With Harrell off the board, the Broncos took Florida defensive end Jarvis Moss at No. 17.
"We were trying to decide with direction we were going to go," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said today during a conference call with reporters who cover the Packers. "We had Harrell, and we had Jarvis. We were kind of split, but we liked Harrell a lot."
So the Packers weren't the only team unafraid of Harrell's injury history after playing only three games during his final season at Tennessee due to a torn biceps tendon.
"He was a man amongst boys," Shanahan said. "He had everything you look for a in defensive tackle."
Harrell was inactive the first four games this season in large part because he was a non-factor during the preseason and was probably the fifth-best defensive tackle on the Packers' roster. He got his first shot to play on Oct. 7 against Chicago after Colin Cole sustained a concussion in practice that week and was inactive. In the two games in which he has dressed, Harrell has played 20 total snaps.
"Anytime you don't go through a full offseason program, especially as a young guy, and you don't get the reps, I think you judge a guy like that next year," Shanahan said. "It's really hard to judge a player that doesn't go through the OTAs and doesn't get a full dose of what it's about.
"We had Trevor Pryce, and his first year he hardly played for us and ended up being a Pro-Bowl player. I think those defensive linemen, if you get them to play the first year, it's a bonus. Usually the second year, you find out if you've got something or not."
-- Rob Demovsky, rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com
posted by PackersNews.com at 5:21 PM | 0 Comments
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Here's something to consider, especially for everyone who criticized Packers General Manager Ted Thompson for taking defensive tackle Justin Harrell with the 16th overall pick in April's draft:
The Denver Broncos probably would have taken Harrell with the very next selection. With Harrell off the board, the Broncos took Florida defensive end Jarvis Moss at No. 17.
"We were trying to decide with direction we were going to go," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said today during a conference call with reporters who cover the Packers. "We had Harrell, and we had Jarvis. We were kind of split, but we liked Harrell a lot."
So the Packers weren't the only team unafraid of Harrell's injury history after playing only three games during his final season at Tennessee due to a torn biceps tendon.
"He was a man amongst boys," Shanahan said. "He had everything you look for a in defensive tackle."
Harrell was inactive the first four games this season in large part because he was a non-factor during the preseason and was probably the fifth-best defensive tackle on the Packers' roster. He got his first shot to play on Oct. 7 against Chicago after Colin Cole sustained a concussion in practice that week and was inactive. In the two games in which he has dressed, Harrell has played 20 total snaps.
"Anytime you don't go through a full offseason program, especially as a young guy, and you don't get the reps, I think you judge a guy like that next year," Shanahan said. "It's really hard to judge a player that doesn't go through the OTAs and doesn't get a full dose of what it's about.
"We had Trevor Pryce, and his first year he hardly played for us and ended up being a Pro-Bowl player. I think those defensive linemen, if you get them to play the first year, it's a bonus. Usually the second year, you find out if you've got something or not."
-- Rob Demovsky, rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com
posted by PackersNews.com at 5:21 PM | 0 Comments
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