2006 Draft - The Aftermath

[Partial]

I think the Packers had some pretty good selections. I am skepticle on a few of the no namers when they could have taken proven players like Greg Eslinger in the 5th round(would be an immediate starter), but overall I am pleased.

I think the most telling thing about the draft was the fact the Steelers didn't stand pat and get Chad Jackson. That says to me many teams though he was overrated. I am glad we took Jennings over him. At least he produced.

Discuss.

[packrulz]

TT turning the Walker trade into 5 picks was Ron Wolfish. Walker is good but a pain in the ass. TT drafted high character guys who've played in cold weather & fit what the Pack wants to do. The o-lineman can zone block, the WR's & Blackmon can return kicks, the WR's can get the yards after the catch, & getting both Hawk & Hodge will finally give them a solid LB core. I am a little concerned about the RB's holding up healthwise & the pass rush from the DE's but it was a solid draft overall. It will be refreshing in training camp to see guys fighting for a starting spot and the pads will be popping.

[Tarlam!]

Posted May 01, 2006


With 2006 draft history, Thompson now hands off team to McCarthy
The Green Bay Packers’ baton now is in Mike McCarthy’s hands. Though there’s still three months until the start of training camp, the major moves for the Packers’ 2006 roster probably are finished with Sunday’s conclusion of the NFL draft.

General Manager Ted Thompson turned seven draft picks into 12 new players this weekend as he remakes the roster he inherited when team president Bob Harlan hired him in January 2005. That makes 23 picks in two drafts as Thompson assembles a group of his own players who for better or worse will form the core of the Packers a year or two down the road.

As for the immediate future, Thompson has put his most valuable assets this offseason into a defense that has been mediocre or worse for nearly a decade. He spent his premium No. 5 draft pick overall on Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk, who will be one of at least four new starters on that rebuilt defense, along with free-agent cornerback Charles Woodson, free-agent defensive tackle Ryan Pickett and free-agent safety Marquand Manuel.

Thompson also hands McCarthy, his rookie head coach, a team that’s potentially offensively challenged after the seemingly unavoidable trade of receiver Javon Walker to Denver for a second-round draft pick Saturday.

In all, Thompson drafted six players each on offense and defense. History suggests all but Hawk and perhaps one of the three offensive linemen selected probably won’t play significant roles in 2006, and now it’s up to McCarthy and his staff to develop this team that’s made a slow but significant turn from offense to defense this offseason.

“I think we’re starting to come around,” Thompson said Sunday afternoon in his press conference to wrap up the draft. “I think our defense is better today than it was at the start of free agency. I think adding the guys we added and keeping the guys we kept, I think we have the chance to have a pretty good defense. I think these young guys are going to infuse a little something into it.”

McCarthy takes control of his new team for his first minicamp as a head coach this weekend. He undoubtedly is relieved he has quarterback Brett Favre to fall back on, though scoring points could be a problem for an offense that:

• Probably will have three new starters in the middle of its offensive line.

• Lacks a proven dynamic weapon opposite dependable Donald Driver at receiver;

• Has its fingers crossed that halfback Ahman Green can come back to good form from a serious injury (torn quadriceps tendon) that has hastened the end of a several NFL players’ careers.

This draft might yield one immediate starter on the offensive line — Boise State’s Daryn Colledge, a second-rounder, has the best shot of three draft picks to win one of two jobs at guard, competing against veterans Kevin Barry and Junius Coston. Guard-center Jason Spitz (third round, Louisville) and tackle-guard Tony Moll (fifth round, Nevada) will get a look as well but most likely are for the team’s longer-term future.

Receivers Greg Jennings (second round, Western Michigan) and Cory Rodgers (fourth round, Texas Christian) play a position where even first-round rookies generally don’t contribute much. So McCarthy, a former offensive coordinator, has a daunting project on his hands to upgrade an offense that last year finished 18th in the NFL in yards and 22nd in points in an injury-ruined season.

“We have the most experienced quarterback in the league,” McCarthy said. “We have two tackles (i.e., Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher) that have battled a lot. We have uncertainty in the middle of the offensive line, no question about that. But that’s opportunity, we think we’ve helped that with the influx of rookies we’ve drafted. We have experience at the receiver position, a very good tight end group, and the running back group is experienced too, (though) we have some injuries we have to overcome.”

In fact, the draft pick with the best chance of helping this offense might be Rodgers (fourth round), who was one of seven or eight noteworthy prospects in an unusually strong draft class of return specialists.

The Packers’ return game has been a wash at best for the past five years, but Rodgers (6-feet, 1/2 inches and 197 pounds) might be their best chance to win field position on punts and kickoffs for the first time in years. He averaged 24.6 yards on 71 kickoff returns and 12.0 yards on 71 punt returns in his three-year college career. He’s not a home-run hitter (only two touchdown returns in his career), but the Packers liked both his elusiveness and strength. Thompson, in fact, said he rejected several attractive offers to trade out of the No. 104 selection so he could select Rodgers

Jennings and cornerback Will Blackmon (fourth-round, Boston College) also will get looks as returners, but Rodgers is the most likely candidate.

“We earmarked the draft to take care of these needs,” said Mike Stock, the Packers’ special teams coach.

Thompson’s draft-weekend trading gave him a shot at 12 prospects, and he loaded up with seven players at three positions of need: Linebacker with Hawk and Iowa’s Abdul Hodge (third round); offensive line, with Colledge, Spitz and Moll; and receiver with Jennings and Rodgers.

He also selected a developmental quarterback in Division I-AA prospect Ingle Martin of Furman. McCarthy, whose background is as a quarterbacks coach, included his strong recommendation for Martin as a second-day prospect because of his arm strength — he had the strongest arm of this year’s quarterbacks, as measured by the radar gun, at the NFL scouting combine — and ability to make plays on the move.

“I kind of wondered why you didn’t hear more about him,” McCarthy said.

Thompson pointed to fifth-rounder Moll (6-4, 300), who wasn’t invited to the NFL scouting combine, as an especially intriguing long-term prospect as a right tackle and guard because he converted from tight end to tackle only last year.

And Thompson selected longer-shot defensive prospects with his final three picks: Defensive tackle Johnny Jolly of Texas A&M and safety Tyrone Culver of Fresno State in the sixth round, and defensive end Dave Tollefson of Northwest Missouri State (21 sacks in two seasons) with the team’s compensatory pick in the seventh.

“The draft is a long-term look at your organization and you try to add as many core players as you can,” Thompson said. “You don’t look at it on a short-term basis.”

One position that Thompson didn’t draft was running back, where Green and Najeh Davenport (broken ankle) are coming back from significant injuries.

“I’m not just putting on a show. I think (the draft) went pretty darn good,” Thompson said. “There was a position or two we’d like to have taken a guy, and that guy got taken. But there were also a number of places where guys that we never dreamed would be there, were still there to take. I feel pretty good.”