Who is the best draft pick in Packers history?

ivo610

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Who do you guys think is the best draft pick in Packers history?

Aaron Rodgers?
Bart Starr?
Tony Canadeo?
Ray Nitschke?
The Majik man?
Donald Driver?

I guess I put a little more weight into picks that arent in the top 10. Driver is particularly high in my eyes as one of the best draft picks of packers history but I have to go with Starr since we got so much out of him.
 

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There are a lot of factors, sure Starr fits the bill for games played, as would Nitschke, then there are later round picks that turned out to be great like Aaron Kampman (156th overall) or KGB (149th overall) but didn't play for as many seasons of course but gave the club great years, I believe KGB is still our clubs all time sack leader?? (I can look this up later)
Not to mention to stay tuned to #12 and #52 who could turn that list on its head in the coming years.
 

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Most Sacks, Career (1982-2009)
74.5 Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, 2000-08
68.5 Reggie White, 1993-98
55.0 Tim Harris, 1986-90
54.0 Aaron Kampman, 2002-09

Ahhh imagine if we had of drafted Reggie... would there be a name at #1 on this list that wasn't his?? doubt it.
 

PackersRS

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Yeah, to me too it's Starr.

The guy was a 12417356134th round pick, for crying out loud, and is the best QB ever!
(17th round pick, 199th overall)
 

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To me, the answer lies on who was the most valuable and who helped the team achieve success. Without that player, could the team still had success? With my five guesses, I wonder if he was gone - or when he was gone - did the Packers win without him - using Taylor, Pitts, and even Tom Moore.

IMO, the Packers would not have achieved the success they did without Bart Starr running Lombardi's offense...
 

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time will tell if Rodgers can rank up with #15 - as far as overall success; but with 32 teams (instead of 12 or 14), free agency, and a salary cap, it is highly unlikely.
 

VersusTheMoose

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Has to be Starr but Rodgers doesn't have to win as many to be as great in my view. I am not one who just counts rings though.
 

PackersRS

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Barry Sanders. Oh, that's right we drafted Tony Mandarich instead. That worked out well.
If Sanders was the drafter player, Infante would probably still be the coach. So, no Holmgren, no Favre, no 96' SB...

Everything happens for a reason...

(It was the Packers' worst pick ever, though)
 

GWheels

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If Sanders was the drafter player, Infante would probably still be the coach. So, no Holmgren, no Favre, no 96' SB...

Everything happens for a reason...

(It was the Packers' worst pick ever, though)
I just like to rant about that every 5 years or so.
 

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Were there rings for NFL Championships? I'd like to know how they look like...

These are the rings he had donated to the Packers HOF.
 

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ivo610

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I dont know... Justin Harrell might have had less impact on the team than the great bulk. More of an epic failure though just based on the expectations.

Oh and Russell was more of a bust than Leaf
 
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ivo610

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If Sanders was the drafter player, Infante would probably still be the coach. So, no Holmgren, no Favre, no 96' SB...

Everything happens for a reason...

(It was the Packers' worst pick ever, though)

we would have been the lions basically.
 

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Bart Starr #1

then a sizeable gap, then

Donald Driver, Bryce Paup, Tauscher, Nick Collins, Rodgers, Clay, and Greg Jennings, would all be in the mix for the next 20 or so. If I sat down I would come up with another dozen in the pre wolf days.
 

Helmets

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Didn't the Packers draft Bruce Clark in the first round - and he went off and played in the CFL. He was picked in the top 5 overall and never played a down for the Packers. I would call that a bigger bust than Reynolds, Mandarich, and Harrell.
 

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Barry Sanders. Oh, that's right we drafted Tony Mandarich instead. That worked out well.

Am I the only one who thinks Barry Sanders wasn't a great player? In my opinion, he was like a batter always swinging for the HR. He struck out a lot, but would occasionally hit the long ball.

Many of his games he would have like 24 carries, 4 where for losses, and 10 for 1 or 2 yards. 10 where for 3-8 yards, and 2 would be for 20+ yards. The long ones always make sportscenter highlights, but the Lions would score only 17 pts.

Even though he would have 120 yards, he would kill a lot of drives because he would dance around, trying to break the big one.

Instead, I would much rather have an Eric ****erson, Peyton, or Emmitt Smith, a guy who would always get some yardage. These guys were more likely to keep the chains moving, and thus - score more points.
 

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Didn't the Packers draft Bruce Clark in the first round - and he went off and played in the CFL. He was picked in the top 5 overall and never played a down for the Packers. I would call that a bigger bust than Reynolds, Mandarich, and Harrell.

That is one way to look at it. I think that was a dumb pick. The Packers dumbest pick, was QB Rich Campbell. I will always remember Zeke Bratkowski's comments. He said "I was so excited when we picked him. When he arrived and threw his first pass, my hear sunk. I knew, with that throwing motion, he would never be successful in the NFL."

Now, when the OC thinks you are going to fail, what chance do you have? Also, why didn't he pay attention to his throwing motion when they scouted him? I mean, what the hell? I'm sure Campbell didn't change his throwing style as soon as he joined the Packers.

As far as Mandrich goes, you have to have been there to understand. There have been 3 uber hyped players in the last 40 years. Elway, Bo Jackson and Mandrich. He was supposed to change the NFL. He is the only college player to make the 'All Madden Team'. They invented the term 'Pancake Block' because of him (at least 1 version of the story). ESPN would run highlights of him after every game - isolating an OL on every play! They showed every devestating block. He would on occassion take out 3 or 4 defenders on a single play. When he was drafted the announcer said he was a shoe-in for Canton. He stopped with the steroids, started drinking heavily, and he wasn't good enough to even start for a very pathetic Packer team. Although he played, he was dominated by even a below average DL.

To me, bust is defined as the degree by which you fail to live up to expectations. The distance by which Mandrich missed his expectations is greater than any player in history. In my opinion, that makes him the biggest bust in NFL history.
 

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