Position Analysis

POSITION ANALYSIS
The Draft is less than a month away and the Packers are looking over their roster and potential players to take to upgrade the team. With not much done in Free Agency Ted Thompson is again looking for players to mold to help build a winning team. I am going to look over all the Packers positions with my next two Blogs: Starting with the offense today and Defense/Special Teams on my next one. I will offer Draft prospects the Packers may be looking at and when they will be targeting certain positions. Ted Thompson is a big believer in value so that will weigh heavily when the Packers are Drafting.

OFFENSE

QB: With Brett Favre retiring Aaron Rodgers is now the starter with the team looking for a West Coast knowledgable veteran to back him up in case he gets injured, and to help him continue to learn how to run the West Coast offense efficiently. But the Packers must have a plan B in case Rodgers doesn't pan out or becomes injury-prone as a starter. The team will most likely not use a draft choice on a QB before the 3rd or 4th Round of the Draft. Potential draftees include

• John David Booty (USC) - Already knows the West Coast and comes from a QB factory in USC, but is not an elite prospect due to consistency issues and not the biggest arm. Would be nice in the 3rd round.
• Andre Woodson (UK) - Once seen as a first-rounder, stock is plummeting. Would be worth a 4th/5th round pick
• Kevin O Connell (SD State) - A good physical developmental prospect that would be taken in the 6th or 7th round as a third stringer if we acquire a solid veteran before the draft. High potential if he pans out, but very raw and played aginst lesser competition

RB: Ryan Grant was second in the NFL in rushing yardage the last 8 games of the season behind LT and saved the Packers running game. Grant is the starter and looks like a gem found by Thompson. Last year's 2nd rounder Brandon Jackson was injured and didn't show much while playing despite running behind zone-blocking at Nebraska. DeShawn Wynn looked nice before getting injured. Vernan Morency was a OK 3rd down back but is nothing special, but a solid contributor as a backup. I don't see us drafting a RB besides maybe at the end due to last year's picks and Ryan Grant's emergence as the starter.

WR: Donald Driver made the Pro-Bowl and Greg Jennings caught 12 TD's with rookie James Jones being an awesome 3rd WR besides for the first Bears game. Koren Robinson found a niche in the Big 5 formation as a slot receiver and Ruvell Martin might be the best 5th receiver in the league. I only see the packers drafting a WR if they can return, which isn't a huge need either.

TE: Donald Lee emerged as a quality starter at TE with 12 yards/rec and 6 TD's. He's can stretch the field better than Bubba but needs to improbe his blocking. There is no quality backup so I expect us to take one and possibly fairly high. Potentials include:

• Fred Davis (USC) - could slip to us in the 2nd round and provide a nice complement to Lee. Finished with 62 receptions for 881 yards (14.2 average) and eight touchdowns, not bad at all. If we got Booty also they already would have a connection to work off.
• Jermichael Finley (Tex) - Emerged during his senior year as a good-pass catcher with good potential. Would provide nice value in the 3rd or4th round.

OT: Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher again formed one of the better bookend tackle tandems in the league, but both are at least 30. Tackles in the NFL seem to be able to play at a high level past 30 more than most positions so I don't see a huge need here. Tony Moll is a solid backup but probably not a starter, Allen Barbe has good potential and could become a starter down the road. Not great depth here, possibilities include:

• Sam Baker (USC) - another USC product that could help us in the second round, was once seen as a bonafide 1st rounder but stock's slipped recently. Played in over 50 games at USC but not an ideal zone-blocker due to weakness in leverage. Probably will be gone.
• Carl Nicks (Neb) - Zone-blocking system at Nebraska would help if GB drafted him, but has issues on and off the field Thompson would probably see as a big negative, since he's high on charecter. Possible second day pick is value is there.
• Anthony Collins (Kan) - AP 1st team All-American last year that is a developmental prospect that Packers could look at with their second 2nd round pick or in the 3rd.

OG: Mike McCarthy rotated several gaurds at both starting positions last year with Daryn Colledge and Jason Spitz getting most of the starts. Their play was up and down but got better towards the end of the season with Ryan Grant's emergence. Both are entering contract years and their futures in Green Bay both will probably go past next season, but some talent behind them jsut in case wouldn't be a bad idea after the 4th round, but not a real need with 4 young and talented guards on the roster.
OC: Scott Wells is the starter with Jason Spitz as his backup in case of injury. Wells is a talented young center that looks to be a Pro-bowl caliber player within a year or two due to work ethic and skill set. I don't see a Center on the Packer's draft board unless they play guard also.

As you can see there are only several positions the Packers will most likely be looking at on offense going towards the draft. In my next blog I will go over the defense, where I see more attention being paid to during the draft as several positions could use some youth or increase in competition.