Assessing the Draft

Draft weekend is over and another Ted Thompson draft class will join the Green Bay Packers for their upcoming mini-camps in the near future. Before the draft I didn't think any starters could be drafted since we went 13-3 last season with legitimate starters on both sides of the ball. This draft provided us with depth at several positions which is the best we could have hoped for. There weren't many sexy picks but we got some good football players, which is what is important to Thompson.

2nd Round
WR Jordy Nelson was a 1st team All-American at WR last year for Kansas State with 122 receptions for 1,606 yards (13.2 avg) and eleven touchdowns. All I gotta say is he is good after the catch and gives us more options for our Big 5 set and is another weapon for Rodgers to utilize as he picks apart defenses in the mid-to-short range this year. We now have 6 legitimate WR's so Ruvell Martin might be on his way out.

QB Brian Brohm was considered a mid-to-high 1st rounder going into the fall and still has great skills and intangibles. His only weakness is his arm strength but fits the West Coast offense very well and was brought in as an insurance policy for Rodgers in case he gets hurt. If Rodgers falters or gets hurt during these next two years as he tries to become our next franchise QB then we can fall back on Brohm, and you can never have too much talent at QB.

CB Patrick Lee from Auburn was a starter this last year and made 2nd team All-SEC and most improved at his position in the SEC. He is a physical corner who should come in and challenge for the nickel job in training camp. He Has good size at 6'0 200lbs and ran a 4.41 forty at the combine so he is not deficient in the athleticism area and with a couple seasons backing up Woodson/Harris should be able to start with some experience as a reserve.

3rd Round
TE Jermichael Finley was a target for the Packers since the combine at Teddy T got his man. He is an athletic underclassman who made 1st team All Big 12 last season with 45 receptions for 575 yards. Didn't run that fast with a late 4.7 forty time but plays fast. He will come in as a quality backup to Donald Lee and let Mike McCarthy utilize a two-TE formation this season successfully. Could be a possible starter after Lee in a couple seasons.

Rest of Draft
DE Jeremy Thompson gives us more depth at DE and if he is good enough could play on 3rd downs with Jenkins moving into tackle. OG Josh Sitton is said to possibly push for playing time this year and seems to be another guard to look at. OT Breno Giacomini joins Brohm from Louisville and provides some talent behind Tauscher and Clifton. QB Matt Flynn won the title this past year with LSU but is a longshot to make the roster as a 2nd rookie QB. WR Brett Swain made plays at SDSU but is best suited for the practice squat along with Flynn.

OVERALL
We obviously won't know the true value of these players for another 3 to 4 years but it looks as thought Thompson added quality depth with this class and looked for football players and not pure athletes with potential. I wouldnt be surprised to see the first 7 picks make the opening day roster and most contribute this season.

Biggest Impacts this Year
CB Lee and TE Finley seem poised to contribute the most this year with WR Nelson probably catching at least 20 passes and maybe returning some kicks. Brohm won't play this year unless two QB's go down and Thompson will be a marginal backup that gets rotated in a couple times a game.