Saturday, April 24, 2010

Packers Draft Day 2 Review

With less than an hour to go before the start of the final day of the NFL Draft marathon, rounds 4 through 7, you would do well to read Bob McGinn's (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Packers beat writer) article reviewing the Packers' draft picks so far, along with who they didn't take that was available, what the likelihood of new player impact might be, and some of the thinking that might be operating going into these last rounds.

The Packers enter today with four picks remaining. The Packers traded their lone 4th round pick along with the second of their two 3rd round picks as part of the deal to move up to get S Morgan Burnett. They have two picks in round 5 (#154 and #169), a 6th rounder (#193) and one 7th round pick (#230). In Thompson's comments, as reported by McGinn, he didn't rule out trading into the 4th round if there was a player he wanted. Shouldn't be surprising. Anything in the draft is possible.

GM Ted Thompson is known for being able to find a few gems in late rounds, so let's hope that's the case today. As McGinn points out in his article, 2nd round pick Mike Neal still does not likely fill the pass rusher need which almost everyone -- including the Packers -- said was a need going into the draft. He might develop into that, but right now he is projected to be one of the back ups on the D-line. A pass rushing diamond in the rough would be a plus today. As would a few other players mentioned in my prior post regarding the end of Draft Day 2.

The Packers believe they are very close to getting back to the big game. With a few pieces in the right spots, it's all right there. And keep in mind that there will be a plethora (look it up!) of post-draft street free agent signings as well. Those players typically are long shots. But for a needed spot, such as punter, you might just find a keeper.

Let's see what shakes out of the tree today.