Thursday, April 22, 2010
Thirsty For A Draft...
We finally rolled round to NFL Draft Day One... and with the NFL making big changes to the schedule this year, the Draft is now a Prime-Time event. Starting at 7pm EST and only covering the 1st round tonight and then we Packers fans get to wait a few hours before the Packers get their pick at #23. Unless GM Ted Thompson and Head Coach Mike McCarthy have plans to trade up... something never previously considered until what happened last year when the Packers moved back up into the 1st round. So we've pulled out the beer-stained and cheese-encrusted Crystal Ball for another go around as the 7th Annual Pre-Draft Prediction Extravaganza begins.  What the Packers should do: Sit tight at pick no. 23 and take the top rated OLB/DE in the draft. That could be Sergio Kindle of Texas, or Jerry Hughes of TCU. The Aaron Kampman experiment didn't live up to expectations and his late season replacement OLB Brad Jones did OK, but the Packers are in dire need of a another pass-rushing OLB to complement OLB Clay Matthews on the other side. What the Packers could do: Draft the Best Player Available on their board. However unlikely, that could be any of top 4 tackles who might slide down to the Packers at 23. It could be C/G Mike Iupati from Idaho, mock draft favorite OT Charles Brown from USC is a bit of reach at this position or the Packers could address another team need, defensive secondary help in either CB Kyle Wilson of Boise State or big-hitting S Taylor Mays from USC. What the Packers could also do: Trade down to gather extra picks for Friday's Draft Day Two covering the 2nd and 3rd rounds. With a night to think it over, maybe GM Ted Thompson believes he can take advantage of the new format. In 2008 Thompson trading down to get WR Jordy Nelson, and the used the extra pick to trade up to get OLB Jeremy Thompson. He'd have to do better than that for a trade-down to be acceptable. What the Packers won't do: The Packers will neither draft QB Jimmy Clausen (if an unlikely draft day slide occurs) nor trade up into middle of the 1st round. Thompson surprised us last year by trading back up into the 1st round to grab Clay Matthews, but can you really expect him to do something similar this year. Rumors tie the Packers to the Seahawks 14th pick, but chances are the Packers won't be the team trading for that position. So all in all, it's much harder to guess on what the Green Bay Packers may do with their 23rd pick in tonight's draft and all indicators are pointing to the defensive side of the ball, either a DB or OLB to help out. The early positioning might have gone to OLB Sergio Kindle, the late rumors go to OLB Jerry Hughes being the better fit in Green Bay. It just depends which one is still on the board, if both, I'd lean towards OLB Jerry Hughes of Texas Christian. Go Pack Go! BeerKid - Always Pack 4 Life! |
