Proving the uselessness of immediately judging a draft

[Fritz]

Ouch on that Reggie Nelson video. Ouch.

On the plus side, Yakety Sax makes nearly everything funny.

And Nelson did look like Benny Hill trying to play safety...

[Patler]

Even "regrading" 3 years later can prove to be too early. From a "D" in 2005: to a "B-" in 2008, to two Pro-Bowl players in 2009, with one being one of the leagues better QBs for hopefully the next 10 years. Not a deep draft, with Poppinga the only other one still in GB, but when you get a franchise QB and a safety like Collins, a "B-" seems low.

Grade given on 5/1/05: D
Grade given on 6/3/08: B-
Good Moves: The Packers had a tough choice to make in the first round: draft a talented successor to Brett Favre, or improve their woeful defense. They chose the latter. Green Bay has a bright future, but their present is bleak. Center Junius Coston and WR Craig Bragg were excellent choices in the fifth- and sixth-rounds, respectively.

Bad Moves: Green Bay did not address their woeful front seven until the fourth round. Cornerback Nick Collins and wide receiver Terrence Murphy, both taken in the second round, were fourth-round prospects, at best. None of Green Bay's other picks made any sense. If they passed up on Rodgers in the first round, the Packers would have an F.

June 3, 2008 Update: My biggest gripe with Green Bay's draft is that they basically said "screw you" to the present when they drafted Aaron Rodgers. They had to do it though; Rodgers was way too much value to pass up at No. 24 overall. Rodgers' outstanding performance against the Cowboys in late November should have Green Bay fans optimistic about the future and a bit puzzled as to why GM Ted Thompson drafted Brian Brohm in April. If Rodgers doesn't pan out for whatever reason, Green Bay's best pick in this class was the second-rounder it used on Nick Collins, who played extremely well at free safety last season. However, the same can't be said about many of the team's other choices, though Junius Coston (5th round) played pretty well at left guard before getting hurt.

The Packers' other second-round choice, receiver Terrence Murphy, is no longer in the league ... In addition to Murphy, Marviel Underwood (4th round), Mike Hawkins (5th round), Craig Bragg (6th round) and Will Whitticker (7th round) are currently unemployed ... Brady Poppinga (4th round) was considered the weakest link of Green Bay's linebacking corps, but he actually performed admirably in the playoffs. The Packers didn't think so, however, as they signed Brandon Chillar this offseason ... Michael Montgomery (6th round) is still on Green Bay's roster, though he's buried on the depth chart. Kurt Campbell (7th round) is on Tennessee's scout team.

Murphy and Collins were bad picks, Coston and Bragg were good picks in his evaluation after the draft.

[Fritz]

Junius Coston played well? Huh?

And no acknowledgement that Murphy looked awfully promising before he got hurt, as did, to a lesser extent, Marviel Underwood.

Even the re-grade comments make no sense.

[channtheman]

Junius Coston played well? Huh?

And no acknowledgement that Murphy looked awfully promising before he got hurt, as did, to a lesser extent, Marviel Underwood.

Even the re-grade comments make no sense.

Yeah kinda sad actually that there was no mention of Murphy's injury.

And I don't get his biggest gripe. Who would he rather the Packers take that would have led them to the Super Bowl in 2007? I suppose we'd have to look at the draft but I don't remember anyone at 24 that was so good and above Rodgers and at a position of need. And besides, we said "screw" the present but now look at our present. If Rodgers stays healthy, we're pretty much set for the next 10 years.

[cheesner]

We spend hours following this forum discussing various prospects

We buy draft guides and read them cove to cover

We watch NFLN and ESPN for any tidbits on the draft

We watch highlight youtube videos of college players

We sit in front of the tube and watch hours of video of all the players running drills in indianapolis.

We search the various internet sites hoping to find out any bio info we can.

We discuss the packers defensive scheme and how player X's skillset will fit into the system.

We fill out mock drafts matching team needs to player skill and potential impact

We go to live web chats with professional scouts where we ask them the most detailed questions regarding the potential of this plaer or that.


We argue for 20 posts back and forth on ranking one prospect over another based on if his arms are too short causing him to be suseptible to a counter swim move by a speedrush DT in the 5 technique and the other guy appears to not have the proper ball skills to track a ball in the air because he doesn't swivel his hips in a fluid manner and his. . . . .

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And then the draft occurs and we sit there looking at each other and say "huh. We have to wait three years because ther is no way to know if these players are any good or not"