NFL Draft eve...who's it gonna be???

'Twas the night before the NFL Draft, and visions of new Green Bay Packers dance fore and aft...

OK, OK, enough with the poetry, such as it is.

The question all Packer fans want to know as we go to sleep tonight is: who will the Packers pick with the 32nd selection? As followers of any of the myriad of mock drafts -- some so bold, or with way too much time on their hands, as to do all seven rounds -- will be aware, the answer is...anybody's guess.

I've tried here and there to give some idea via compilations of what several of the more prominent "mockers" are saying. And if there's been an intriguing pick that seems out of the norm -- such as Monday's post about Alabama RB and 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram possibly being available when the Packers make their pick -- I've tried to make note of that.

But really, who knows? I like the idea of Ingram falling into the Pack's lap unexpectedly just as Rodgers did in 2005. But that's not likely. What's more likely, I think, given the run on defensive linemen and linebackers that is expected early, as well as the number of teams needing quarterback help and the number of potentially decent QB prospects available in the first and later rounds, is that Packers GM Ted Thompson will revert to his historical pattern and trade down out of the pick. I'm not sure how many slots he'd be willing to drop. But if the hot targets are off the board when number 32 comes around, and a team who needs a quarterback soon is willing to deal the packers an extra pick this and/or next year for dropping down, I think Thompson would do so.

We all know the Packers' wish list. And that's what it is. With the depth across the board on the Packers' roster, there are no desperate needs to fill. The Packers can really take the best player possible. They will want players on the offensive and defensive lines, at outside linebacker, and at defensive back, particularly cornerback. If there is a player that is a D-back or wide receiver and who also has some return skills, that would be a nice pick up as well, especially in the middle rounds.

We'll have to wait until roughly 10:30 Central time Thursday night to see what the Packers decide to do. If things go as I expect they might, and Thompson trades down, Packer fans won't have any action to either get excited or complain about until Friday night.

Settle in, Packer fans. It's going to be a long wait. But it's one of the privileges of being the Super Bowl Champions.

Go Pack Go!!!