What positions are the safest to draft?

ivo610

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What positions are the safest to draft in the 1st round? It's discussed among pundits that WR in the 1st is such a crap shoot. Some people say tackles are but I remember my share of them being flops. What do you guys think?
 

thisisnate

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Well, with this team, I'd argue that WR is the *least* likely to bust. Take a 1st caliber talent and pair him with Rodgers and he's going to be a superstar.
 

TJV

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Yes, for Thompson it's definitely WRs, but I hope he finds value at another position on the other side of the ball.
 

Jordyruns

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Thompson has found plenty of value on the other side of the ball, just look at CB. Hayward, Hyde, House could be worse for a 4th rounder and Shields and Williams while UDFA were still found by Thompson. Unfortunately he cannot find a replacement for Collins or lately any other player with talent, not named Matthews, on defense.
 

FrankRizzo

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Thompson has found plenty of value on the other side of the ball, just look at CB. Hayward, Hyde, House could be worse for a 4th rounder .....
The only problem with mentioning HOUSE there is that Richard Sherman was also available at that spot in the draft, but Thompson elected to go with the guy from the small school again instead of the big Stanford player Sherman.

That was a very bad error in judgment that has had repercussions, obviously. Seattle took Sherman shortly after Teddy chose the rail-thin, finesse House.
 

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As I previously posted: Sherman was selected with the 154th pick in that draft. If any team had any idea he would turn out to be one of the best CBs in the league where would he have been drafted? So even Seattle didn’t fully recognize his talent. In fact they had four picks before taking Sherman. With their pick #107 they took WR Durham who they IR’d that season and waived before the 2012 season. He was claimed by the Lions and has caught 46 passes and scored 3 TDs for them. How could the Seahawks have missed so badly on Durham when Sherman was available? 47 picks would occur before they had a chance to get Sherman! Because every team in the league failed to recognize Sherman’s talent.

Cardinals, Giants, Ravens, Patriots, Bills (2), Chargers (2), Texans (2), 49ers, Raiders (2), Saints, Eagles, Steelers (2), Panthers, Chiefs, Packers, Browns, Vikings, Cowboys, Jaguars. That’s a list of the teams who picked 24 players listed as CBs before Sherman was picked. Some teams with very well regarded front offices regarding personnel acquisition picked CBs ahead of Sherman, including the Ravens, 49ers and the Steelers who, like four other teams, picked two CBs before pick #154.

I leave it to another poster to research how many of the 24 CBs taken before Sherman were from small schools. :rolleyes:
 
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As I previously posted: Sherman was selected with the 154th pick in that draft. If any team had any idea he would turn out to be one of the best CBs in the league where would he have been drafted? So even Seattle didn’t fully recognize his talent. In fact they had four picks before taking Sherman. With their pick #107 they took WR Durham who they IR’d that season and waived before the 2012 season. He was claimed by the Lions and has caught 46 passes and scored 3 TDs for them. How could the Seahawks have missed so badly on Durham when Sherman was available? 47 picks would occur before they had a chance to get Sherman! Because every team in the league failed to recognize Sherman’s talent.

Cardinals, Giants, Ravens, Patriots, Bills (2), Chargers (2), Texans (2), 49ers, Raiders (2), Saints, Eagles, Steelers (2), Panthers, Chiefs, Packers, Browns, Vikings, Cowboys, Jaguars. That’s a list of the teams who picked 24 players listed as CBs before Sherman was picked. Some teams with very well regarded front offices regarding personnel acquisition picked CBs ahead of Sherman, including the Ravens, 49ers and the Steelers who, like four other teams, picked two CBs before pick #154.

I leave it to another poster to research how many of the 24 CBs taken before Sherman were from small schools. :rolleyes:

In addition what you've already mentioned another four teams selected CBs after the Packers took House and before the Seahawks drafted Sherman.

So the Packers weren't the only team not having him ranked as the best corner at the time they drafted House.
 

FrankRizzo

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In addition what you've already mentioned another four teams selected CBs after the Packers took House and before the Seahawks drafted Sherman.

So the Packers weren't the only team not having him ranked as the best corner at the time they drafted House.
This is correct.

What I think it illustrates is Teddy is fantastic at drafting WR's, not so much DB's. He's just another guy as a GM drafting DB's. And DL.

I just had a Viking fan send me this:
http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/256552821.html

Vikings GM Rick Spielman has drafted more Pro Bowl players than Packers GM Ted Thompson

The Minnesota Vikings have selected 61 players since Rick Spielman took over their draft room in 2006. Eight of the 61 have earned Pro Bowl honors. The Green Bay Packers have drafted 87 players since Ted Thompson became their general manager in 2005. Seven of the 87 have become Pro Bowlers. That's 13 percent for Spielman and 8 percent for Thompson.

Just thought that was interesting, and I think when we lost Rodgers last year, and saw how HORRRRRIBLE we were as a TEAM without him (Lions outgained us about 540-80 yards at one point), it was evidence that our overall team, talent withOUT Rodgers was not very good.
 
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Dylan Hoppe

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I don't like 1st round corners. Well, I guess it depends. I think corners should be rated mostly on how much they played against pro caliber quarterbacks. Someone in this years draft who had performed well against people like bridgewater and or bortles has a good chance of being a great NFL corner. I think it all depends on who they performed well against for most positions actually. I live 10 minutes from Missouri western where michael hill went to school. He dominated and was literally one of the strongest performers I've ever seen at running back. But what has he done in the pros? Next to nothing. There are a lot of exceptions to this rule and he's just an example but that's one way to give a good guess to who will bust out or who will be good.


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Vikings GM Rick Spielman has drafted more Pro Bowl players than Packers GM Ted Thompson

Just thought that was interesting, and I think when we lost Rodgers last year, and saw how HORRRRRIBLE we were as a TEAM without him (Lions outgained us about 540-80 yards at one point), it was evidence that our overall team, talent withOUT Rodgers was not very good.

I agree the team was horrible at times without Rodgers, but I really don´t care about Pro Bowl players. Bottom line is the Vikings have only made the playoffs three times since 2005 and have only a playoff win over that period.
 

Dylan Hoppe

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Thompson has found plenty of value on the other side of the ball, just look at CB. Hayward, Hyde, House could be worse for a 4th rounder and Shields and Williams while UDFA were still found by Thompson. Unfortunately he cannot find a replacement for Collins or lately any other player with talent, not named Matthews, on defense.

Mike Daniels anyone? Josh Boyd also showed some talent... I would also like to point out that mike neal hasn't necessarily disappointed.


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Dylan Hoppe

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I agree the team was horrible at times without Rodgers, but I really don´t care about Pro Bowl players. Bottom line is the Vikings have only made the playoffs three times since 2005 and have only a playoff win over that period.

True^^^

The pro bowl is a very bad indicator. Look at Jordy Nelson.. Definitely should have went last year. I thought James jones should have went the year he led the league in TD receptions.


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This is correct.

What I think it illustrates is Teddy is fantastic at drafting WR's, not so much DB's. He's just another guy as a GM drafting DB's. And DL.

I just had a Viking fan send me this:
http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/256552821.html





Just thought that was interesting, and I think when we lost Rodgers last year, and saw how HORRRRRIBLE we were as a TEAM without him (Lions outgained us about 540-80 yards at one point), it was evidence that our overall team, talent withOUT Rodgers was not very good.

Good enough to rally back after the half against Dallas never-say-die, and overtake the Lions and Bears for the NFC North title. Nobody gave us anything either-that argument doesn't hold any merit. We earned everything we got. In a league where the stars of the team are always the difference-Enough Said.
 

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The team struggled to put up enough points initially without Rodgers-as just about any other team would. Not so easy to play catch up when its become a league that embraces scoring-and we didn't have a QB that could put up points right away. Doesn't mean we don't have talent (although you can always get more), rather it means the QB POSITION has a trickle down effect on the whole team. TT admitted it was poor planning on his part to not have a better situation initially at the backup QB spot. Lesson learned.
 
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The team struggled to put up enough points initially without Rodgers-as just about any other team would. Not so easy to play catch up when its become a league that embraces scoring-and we didn't have a QB that could put up points right away. Doesn't mean we don't have talent (although you can always get more), rather it means the QB POSITION has a trickle down effect on the whole team. TT admitted it was poor planning on his part to not have a better situation initially at the backup QB spot. Lesson learned.

The Packers went 2-5-1 without Rodgers while only playing a single team which made the playoffs. Having the best player in the league covers up for the fact that the overall talent level on the team isn´t that great. There are teams in the NFL capable of winnig without an elite QB, the Packers aren´t one of them.
 

FrankRizzo

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The Packers went 2-5-1 without Rodgers while only playing a single team which made the playoffs. Having the best player in the league covers up for the fact that the overall talent level on the team isn´t that great. There are teams in the NFL capable of winning without an elite QB, the Packers aren´t one of them.
A clearer or more accurate simple statement has not been made on these boards all year.
 

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Mike Daniels anyone? Josh Boyd also showed some talent... I would also like to point out that mike neal hasn't necessarily disappointed.


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Ok, Jerel Worthy (not quite fair because of the injury), Raji, Jones has not looked too good yet but it has only been one season. There have been some recent misses, or at least not home runs for where they were drafted, all first or second round picks, except boyd.
 

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I'd have to say OL and strangely enough, TE. These two positions are usually a "what you see is what you get" with a rare exception here and there. TE's are the one position where the player actually ends up being better in the pros than he was in College too. I think that tends to put them into the "safe pick" category where the 1st round is concerned.

This is why I wouldnt gripe any if we drafted Ebron in the first round. I think hes a safe pick with tons of upside and potential. If nothing else, he'll be an above average TE for sure that will be serviceable for years.
 

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Ok, Jerel Worthy (not quite fair because of the injury), Raji, Jones has not looked too good yet but it has only been one season. There have been some recent misses, or at least not home runs for where they were drafted, all first or second round picks, except boyd.

Wasn't Daniels picked later too? I'm not sure on that but I think he was


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Wasn't Daniels picked later too? I'm not sure on that but I think he was


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Yes he was, I missed him, thank you for pointing that out. I still stand by belief that Ted's recent D-Line choices have been less than optimal considering where they were drafted, even with Daniels.
 
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Ok, Jerel Worthy (not quite fair because of the injury), Raji, Jones has not looked too good yet but it has only been one season. There have been some recent misses, or at least not home runs for where they were drafted, all first or second round picks, except boyd.

Thompson hasn´t been great drafting DL. During his tenure he has drafted 14 guys with only Raji and Jolly becoming regular starters and Daniels having an impact as a situational pass rusher. IMO it´s still too early to make fair evaluations of Jones, Boyd and Worthy, but his track record hasn´t been great.
 

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The Packers went 2-5-1 without Rodgers while only playing a single team which made the playoffs. Having the best player in the league covers up for the fact that the overall talent level on the team isn´t that great. There are teams in the NFL capable of winnig without an elite QB, the Packers aren´t one of them.

I agree to disagree on this one. Having the best player in the league at the most important position-QB- lost due to injury for almost all of the season without a QUALITY backup will mess any team up-especially when that team (like the Packers) have been built around passing the football. This is a pass happy league that now favors points scored. Your defense is pretty much in a hole to start if you can't put up at least 20 points a game. The Packers weren't prepared to have Rodgers go down and not be able to muster points. Doesn't mean they don't have any talent, simply means you need to score some points to win in the NFL. Without a consistent way to score points-no Quality backup QB-I don't care who you're playing-you're chances of winning are slim.
 

packfan1

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Thompson hasn´t been great drafting DL. During his tenure he has drafted 14 guys with only Raji and Jolly becoming regular starters and Daniels having an impact as a situational pass rusher. IMO it´s still too early to make fair evaluations of Jones, Boyd and Worthy, but his track record hasn´t been great.

I agree, the DL selections haven't been stellar...but not horrible either IMO. I think if you are basing your judgement simply off of stats, then I think the scheme needs to be taken into consideration as well. The Packers DL are expected to tie up blockers so the LB's or the safety in the box gets the tackles. If the DL makes the tackle or can rush the passer it's a bonus. That's my impression of the DL roles. I think the Packers are finding out though that they can't place most of the pass rush responsibilities on just the OLB. We miss a player like Cullen Jenkins who could hold his own in the run game, but also offered a lot with his pass rush. The opposing offense then isn't able to scheme around the strengths/weaknesses of the DL.
 
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ivo610

ivo610

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I agree to disagree on this one. Having the best player in the league at the most important position-QB- lost due to injury for almost all of the season without a QUALITY backup will mess any team up-especially when that team (like the Packers) have been built around passing the football. This is a pass happy league that now favors points scored. Your defense is pretty much in a hole to start if you can't put up at least 20 points a game. The Packers weren't prepared to have Rodgers go down and not be able to muster points. Doesn't mean they don't have any talent, simply means you need to score some points to win in the NFL. Without a consistent way to score points-no Quality backup QB-I don't care who you're playing-you're chances of winning are slim.

you mean 3rd string QB, our back up QB went down in the 1st series in his 1st start with a season ending injury.

People act like Rodgers was our only injury last season. smh
 

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