There's More to the Draft Than the Draft

One of the areas of the draft that many fans overlook is what happens after the draft. That's when many teams -- perhaps tops among them, the Packers -- really go to work to sign those undrafted gems they've had their eyes on. Naturally, the common thought among fans is that if a player isn't good enough to get drafted he's not good enough period. Not true. Last year, the Indy Colts had 12 players on their squad who came into the league as undrafted players...and didn't they win the Super Bowl or something recently? The Packers, at one time or another last year, had 19 undrafted players on the roster. This is clearly an area that most teams pay more attention to than do fans. And with good reason. It is usually a reflection of how much time and effort a team puts into this type of scouting that may help determine how well a team does during the course of a year. These players can fill out special teams squads, become spot or special situation players, as well as provide needed depth at various positions in case of injuries.

If you want to read an interesting article on this non-draft part of the draft process, check out this article in today's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. It also discusses briefly a few of the players the Packers are hoping this year go undrafted and eventually find themselves in a Packers uniform.