The day is finally here. A day in which most football fans denote as a second holiday to only Opening Kickoff in September and for us football fanatics, there is only one place we'd like to be this evening, April 22, 2010. "Some place warm, a place where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano." Ok, so maybe Lloyd Christmas was a little off in Dumb and Dumber, and it's difficult to compare Aspen to Radio City Music Hall in New York City for the 2010 NFL Draft. Nevertheless, football fans will be flocking to their televisions to catch the latest draft day trades and selections by their favorite teams.
Since Ted Thompson became the GM of the Green Bay Packers in 2005, he has made 51 picks. Yet, the more important statistic of Thompson's brief drafting history with the Packers is the number of picks he has acquired by trading down. Notorious for building teams through the draft, Thompson has traded down twelve times to acquire more picks, even increasing the Packers Draft selections in 2007 from 6 picks to 11. While Thompson has acquired of number of key cogs to the Packers roster by trading down in the draft to select players such as Greg Jennings, Daryn Colledge, Jordy Nelson, and Johnny Jolly, 2009 was the first time with the Packers in which Thompson did not trade down and only the second time ever in his brief tenure in which he traded up in the draft. As most Packers fans recall, Thompson traded up last year to acquire USC's OLB Clay Matthews, who led the Packers with 10 sacks and also played in the Pro Bowl as a rookie. Thompson's only other draft day trade to move up came in 2008, when the Packers traded the #113 pick and the #162 pick to move up and select defensive end/linebacker Jeremy Thompson out of Wake Forest. So whereas Ted Thompson had been terribly predictable in his draft day history, he has made many Packer fans curious as to what moves the Packers will make in the 2010 NFL Draft after abandoning his trade down strategy last season. One thing is for certain, Thompson will aim to stick to his "drafting the best player available" philosophy. Yet, whether that includes trading down or up in the draft remains to be seen but should add plenty of intrigue for Packers fans for this year's draft.
As most football fans are aware, the draft doesn't end after the 1st round. In fact, I'm certain most GMs would agree that the last 6 rounds are where teams try to acquire roster depth and build their franchise for the future. Sometimes teams even acquire a superstar such as in the case of Tom Brady, a 3-time Super Bowl Champion and 2-time Super Bowl and MVP, as well as a 6th round selection at #199 overall for the New England Patriots. In the Packers case, they found their franchise's second leading receiver in terms of yardage and the receiver with the most receptions in franchise history with their 7th round selection in 1999, Donald Driver out of Alcorn State.
After a long digression of the Packers recent draft history, they will seek to fill a couple of need areas in the draft, most notably in the offensive line, cornerback, and outside linebacker. They may also look to draft another running back as a change of pace back to Ryan Grant, who can come out of the backfield on third down and be a reliable receiver. While the draft is fairly deep at the cornerback position, I expect the Packers to target an offensive linemen with their 23rd overall selection. The short list of offensive linemen that should be available when the Packers are on the clock include Mike Iupati, G, Idaho. Iupati could relieve the Packers at both the tackle or guard position and figures to be a long term starter in the NFL. Another possibility may be Maurkice Pouncey, C, Florida. Many have Pouncey rising on their draft boards, but he could fall to the Packers at #23 and fill in at the guard position. One more option would be Charles Brown, OT, USC. Many scouts believe this would be a little high for Brown to go and I agree, but he is most likely the highest rated tackle prospect remaining when the Packers are on the clock.
Another option for the Packers in the first round but much less likely would be to go for an outside linebacker to bookend Clay Matthews. One player that may fit well in the Packers 3-4 scheme, yet might not be available would be DE-OLB Sergio Kindle out of Texas. Kindle is slated to be an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense and has above average edge-rushing schedules.
Now for the later rounds, Thompson will have some flexibility to make some deals to acquire more picks. I would say there are a couple players on Thompson's radar that he may trade up for if they were to drop such as DE Jerry Hughes out of TCU or CB Devin McCourty out of Rutgers. Both players are slated as late 1st rounders or early 2nd rounders and could entice Thompson enough to trade up. Otherwise, the Packers could target Patrick Robinson, a CB out of Florida St. The cornerback position is much deeper than the offensive line position so it seems logical the Packers would target the cornerback position later in the draft to add youth to Al Harris (35) and Charles Woodson (33). The Packers could also target RB Dexter McCluster out of Ole Miss, tabbed as a speed back with return capabilities in the 3rd round. Needless to say, there will be plenty of surprises once the draft gets underway, but hopefully, the Packers can address their needs and add some young, talented depth to their roster for next year.
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