GRADE TED THOMPSON'S FIRST DRAFT AS PACKER GM

[NDPackerFan]

This has been discussed already but now with almost a full training camp under the rookies' belts, I'd like to review it again.

 

[PWT36]

It is way too soon to make an intelligent assessment of Ted Thompson's first draft as Packer's GM. Ask the question in two or three years, by that time all the rookies who have potential will have realized their full potential. Example Javon Walker who took two NFL season to have his breakout year in '04. It took Bart Starr four years to become a starting QB for Vince Lombardi's Great teams of the 60's. You just never know when a NFL draft will be judged a success,average, or a bust. if Aaron Rodgers develops into a good quarterback for the Packers and era of having a new QB Rodgers instead of Favre goes smoothly. This a lone would make '05 draft a good draft and one of the highlites of GM Ted Thompson career. It has not been easy for Cowboys, Dolphins, Broncos, the 49ers replacing their old star QBs and none of those teams has done it as yet. We should all hope that Packers choice is successful, many teams in NFL in last 5 years or so haven't been.

 

[NDPackerFan]

PWT36,

Your point is well taken and I agree with you but since we all have opinions on how the season is going to go or how individual players will turn out, we probably could at least take a stab at an "educated guess" with this draft, don't you think?

BTW, that's why I put the description for Grade "C" on my poll.

 

[wpr]

I am willing to wait a bit before we assign a "real" grade to this class.
Most of the draftees really haven't shown us too much in TC but hey they are rookies. Do 10% of all rookies make a significant impact in their 1st year? It sure isn't 33% or more.

 

[Philtration]

It is way too soon to make an intelligent assessment of Ted Thompson's first draft as Packer's GM. Ask the question in two or three years, by that time all the rookies who have potential will have realized their full potential. Example Javon Walker who took two NFL season to have his breakout year in '04. It took Bart Starr four years to become a starting QB for Vince Lombardi's Great teams of the 60's. You just never know when a NFL draft will be judged a success,average, or a bust. if Aaron Rodgers develops into a good quarterback for the Packers and era of having a new QB Rodgers instead of Favre goes smoothly. This a lone would make '05 draft a good draft and one of the highlites of GM Ted Thompson career. It has not been easy for Cowboys, Dolphins, Broncos, the 49ers replacing their old star QBs and none of those teams has done it as yet. We should all hope that Packers choice is successful, many teams in NFL in last 5 years or so haven't been.

I totally agree. It is far too early to tell but if you can replace a hall of fame QB with the 24th pick and it works out then that alone will make it a good draft. What ever you do you will have to cut this kid some slack. He does not have to be a hall of famer or go to the pro bowl every year for him to be a success. I saw Neil Anderson follow Walter Payton and all I wanted him to be was a very good Neil Anderson and he did just that.

 

[ORRELSE]

I voted for "let's wait and see".
Its too early to tell, but it sure looks like we got some gems.
I still wish TT would have addressed the D-line a bit more but clearly he is more concerned with rebuilding the franchise than winning now.

 

[HatestheEagles084]

not sure, wait and see, but as of right now i'm doubtful of this draft class

I liked the pick of Rodgers, but at the same time I didn't...perhaps Orton, Frye could've been picked in a later round...I question Rodgers ability (though I liked him better than Alex Smith), generally I go with the philosophy of value over need, but when you have needs like our defense did (and still does) draft need...

"Reach" Collins had better produce at safety, or that will go down as one of the worst picks I've ever witnessed, we could've traded up for Matt Roth who somehow slipped to #47, Dan Cody, Justin Tuck

Now that the Javon Walker controversy is over, we now have a strong fourth reciever in Terrence Murphy...even though there were plenty of recievers available in the later rounds, and even though there were quality corners (McFadden, Webster), Justin Tuck still out there,

Marviel Underwood was an alright pick, but I dont know why we're stocking up the safety position,

Mike Montgomery--could be?

Bragg was a waste

on the plus side, Will Whitticker, why he was ranked so low I dont know, an all big ten player, he's already experienced playing in front of 100K-plus people, Mike Hawkins has good intangibles, could be a great steal...Brady Poppinga, speed off the edge, could be of use

what annoyed me was, we had glaring needs at defensive line but instead we had jim bates boost everyone's ego "oh, colin cole and company will save the day"...we should've added at least one big body, they were out there...late...attiyah ellison, cj moseley, antaaj hawthorne...we came away wth mike montgomery, a DE-DT hybrid, more of a project than anything, he's only 270-280 lbs...if Grady goes down, which, well, yeah, we're gonna be screwed in terms of depth, same with defensive end it's just KGB and Kampman, true luck was released, there's nobody...

but i picked "C" because we shall see in time...

 

[E Unit]

i give him a B

 

[PackerTraxx]

As anyone knows it takes a number of years to be confident that a draft was good or bad. Then it is not even 100%. You could have 1 or 2 players have serious injuries and never reach their potential, like Eddie Lee Ivory or Tim Lewis. Then a draft that could have been considered good, turns bad.

Early indications are that this was a good draft for TT. But alot can change in a couple of years, good or bad. The best we can hope for is that all the rooks stay/get healthy and reach their potential. I believe we have a tremendous amount of raw talent.