Raji??????

what are you guy's thoughts... i kinda wanted him and imediately thought of justin harrell... looks like we wasted another first rounder

i don't think it's a wasted first rounder....he addresses some concerns on defense, especially against the run and he should fit in with our new scheme

yea if he doesnt turn out to be justin... i think he'll do good and i want him to do good but i cant help to hate this pick

Best guy on the board ....comparing him to Harrell is like comparing Night and Day.

Raji is the easy pick, and now we got Clay matthews, all we need is a RT and I feel a lot better about this year. Anyone know what we gave up for matthews?

This guy is incredible along the defensive line. He has a strong base and isn't movable. If you like Cullen Jenkins then you'll love BJ Raji who played on one of the best defensive lines in college along with Ron Brace in probably one of the best conferences. Just look at the number of 1st Rd picks out of the ACC. Anyway, remember a few years ago when Texas had Shaun Rogers and Casey Hampton at DT. They also had one of the better run defenses in college football and both players turned out to be pretty good pros.

The crazy part of my brain, the kind that likes sexy picks, was kind of excited to see Crabtree still on the board, but the sane part of my brain kicked in and realized that Raji is a fantastic pick. Versatile, can play end and NT, can rush the passer, fantastic stuff. Pair him with Matthews and i'll put our draft up against any other team's draft for the right to call it the best so far.

The Packers gave up their 2nd (41st), and two 3rds (73 and 81).
The Packers received a 1st (26) and a 5th (can't remember).

Picked Clay Matthews (instead of a backup). arty:

He is a 330# NT that will eat up the middle and is perfect for a 3-4. I cant see any negatives at all to this pick.

All i can say is we got an A on the draft completion from mel kiper jr who is the maste of drafting and todd mcshay is a lil wannabee kiper which he can never become. So if he says we had a good draft we had a good draft.

Ron brace nt

The bottom line is that we needed someone to pack in the middle and eat up a couple blockers to free up our linebackers in our new 3 - 4 defense. This was a no brainer pick. The guy has Jamal Williams potential, and will make a big difference this season.

i thought the raji pick was good, it adressed one of our biggest needs and it definetely helps our run d which was pitiful last year

Personally I think Raji was a smart pick. He's a good strong guy who fills the need for a nose tackle in the 3-4. He also has decent speed for a guy his size.

How can you compare them? Raji was a top 5 pick. Harrell was a second round injury prone prospect.

I think Harrell's biggest problem was the fact he was injury prone, and he was selected way(!) to high. I liked him in college though and showed some good strengths his junior year, he would've been a good late 2nd or early 3rd.

raji is faster than harrel

If he stays healthy for a change Harrell could still make Ted Thompson look good. But he was a controversial first round pick when he was selected. Not so Raji. B.J. is exactly the guy the Packers needed to implement the 3-4 defense and still would have been even for a 4-3 given the disaster that was our run defense last season.
Of course, it all has to prove itself on the field but imagine what the Packers will have with Raji, if Harrell & Jolly blossom, Pickett can give us a couple more good years, Jenkins comes back to what he was and Kampman. Will be the best front group in Green Bay since Reggie, Jones, Dotson and the Gravedigger.

Harrell was a bad 1st round pick no matter how he plays this year. a 1st round pick that can't play for 2 years is a bad pick. That's not to say he's a bust. That "title" he can still dismiss. And that's not to say that TT's management has been a bad one. NO GM scores 100% in the Draft. IF you take a look at Wolf's 1st round choices, it was mostly bad decisions. But in FA and later rounds he was just a MASTER. TT's been good at the whole draft for the most part, and been Ok in FA (Woodson, Pickett and Grant). A Good GM must excell in 3 out of 4 in Early Draft picks, Later rounds, FA and Cap Management, IMO. TT's been fine. Not Wolf, HoF fine, but fine enough not to be replaced.

He is a bad 1st round pick because, you could've probably picked him up in a later round.

I don't see it like that. Hawk could've been picked later than 5 overall. But he wasn't a bad pick IMO. He's played well and often for as long as he's been here. There were guys that outplayed him in that draft. He hasn't been playing like a top 5 pick. But he's solid. There's no way a team can hit homeruns everytime. I think if you hit a couple and most your picks are solid, you're doing good.

I didn't mean that it was solely that purpose, If Harrell performed as well as Hawk did, he would be a decent pick. He has to make some plays to be a good pick as well.

Yeah, but I think he already lost too many games to be considered a good PICK. He can be a good PLAYER if he can start playing well and often though...