FBG Board Consensus 2010 Mock NFL Draft (1 Viewer)

[Faust]

1.01 St. Louis Rams select QB Sam Bradford (83% of the vote)

1.02 Detroit Lions select DT Ndamukong Suh (59% of the vote)

1.03 Tampa Bay Buccaneers select DT Gerald McCoy (85% of the vote)

1.04 Washington Redskins select OT Russell Okung (73% of the vote)

1.05 Kansas City Chiefs select S Eric Berry (41% of the vote)

1.06 Seattle Seahawks select OT Trent Williams (41% of the vote)

1.07 Cleveland Browns select QB Jimmy Clausen (28% of the vote)

1.08 Oakland Raiders select OT Bryan Bulaga (23% of the vote)

1.09 Buffalo Bills select OT Anthony Davis (61% of the vote)

1.10 Jacksonville Jaguars select ILB Rolando McClain (30% of the vote)

1.11 Denver Broncos select DT Dan Williams (38% of the vote)

1.12 Miami Dolphins select WR Dez Bryant (47% of the vote)

1.13 San Francisco 49ers select CB Joe Haden (52% of the vote)

1.14 Seattle Seahawks select RB C.J. Spiller (45% of the vote)

1.15 New York Giants select OLB Sean Weatherspoon (37% of the vote)

1.16 Tennessee Titans select DE Derrick Morgan (46% of the vote)

1.17 San Francisco 49ers select CB/S Earl Thomas (26% of the vote)

1.18 Pittsburgh Steelers select G-OT Mike Iupati (40% of the vote)

1.19 Atlanta Falcons select DE-OLB Jason Pierre-Paul (42% of the vote)

1.20 Houston Texans select RB Ryan Matthews (49% of the vote)

1.21 Cincinnati Bengals select S Taylor Mays (38% of the vote)

1.22 New England Patriots select DE-OLB Sergio Kindle (29% of the vote)

Green Bay Packers

Positions of Need (as per NFL.com)

CB, OL, S, RB, LB

Needs Analysis: The Packers live and die with the draft. They rarely use free agency to build their roster. This year is no exception. Green Bay did re-sign both ots its aging offensive tackles (Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher) in hopes they have a few years left. That said, the Packers may draft a young tackle early so as not to get caught again like they did last season. The corners are good, but aging, and it's possible the position could get addressed quickly in the draft. General manager Ted Thompson hit a home run last year with outside linebacker Clay Matthews in the first round, and another outside linebacker for the opposite side could finish the conversion to a 3-4 defense. Look for them to pick a safety before the draft is over.

 

[Faust]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/...iD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

Packers enter draft needing OT, CB

By CHRIS JENKINS , Associated Press

MILWAUKEE - For a team that has gone into each of the past four seasons with the NFL's youngest roster, the Green Bay Packers are getting noticeably gray at a couple of key positions.

That's probably fine for now, but the Packers need to come away from this year's draft with clear-cut successors at offensive tackle and cornerback. Adding an outside linebacker wouldn't hurt, either.

Still, Packers general manager Ted Thompson swears he'll stick to taking the best player available regardless of need.

"I honestly and truly believe that if you get caught up trying to reach for need at all, that's when you make your mistakes," Thompson said. "And I feel like our core team is strong enough that we don't have to search out like that. I know it's what I always say, but I really mean it."

That said, offensive tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher and cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris all are in their 30s. Harris is coming off a season-ending knee injury and his availability for the beginning of training camp is unclear. And Packers coach Mike McCarthy has made it clear that having a backup plan behind Clifton is a top priority.

Promising second-year lineman T.J. Lang might be the Packers' right tackle of the future — or a guard — but McCarthy acknowledged the team might have to put off Lang's long-term development to make him Plan B at left tackle.

"History will tell you that Chad Clifton is not going to play 16 games," McCarthy said recently. "You have to make sure the next guy is ready. That's where the challenge is. Do you line up and make sure T.J. gets all those reps or do you give him a chance to go compete for a job at right tackle?"

But if the Packers picked up a left tackle understudy with the No. 23 overall pick, McCarthy has more options.

The team went into last season hoping that Allen Barbre, a fourth-round pick in 2007, could take over at right tackle. But Barbre wasn't up to the task, Rodgers was being sacked at an alarming rate, and the team had to turn back to Tauscher, who was out of football after a season-ending knee injury in 2009.

The Packers also tried to grab a sleeper future starter, Jamon Meredith, in the fifth round last year. They tried to stash him on the practice squad, but he was signed away by the Buffalo Bills.

Still, Thompson says the Packers aren't under pressure to find a future left tackle in this draft.

"I think our core is building up to where we can have a little more flexibility," Thompson said. "But at the same time, it is what it is. If there's someone available we think can do that, certainly that's going to be a consideration. But we're not going to reach on something."

Green Bay's first-round options at tackle could include Rutgers' Anthony Davis or Maryland's Bruce Campbell.

Then there's cornerback, where Woodson was the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year and is showing no signs of slowing down at age 33. There are more questions about Harris, who is 35 and coming off that knee injury.

McCarthy said he "wouldn't bet against" Harris being ready for the start of the season, but also acknowledged Harris' injury was "significant."

Tramon Williams is a good No. 3 cornerback, but there isn't much depth behind him, a fact made painfully apparent at the end of last season, when the Packers' defense was shredded by multiple-receiver formations.

Two of the Packers' most promising options behind Williams, Will Blackmon and Pat Lee, both are coming off season-ending knee injuries as well.

First-round options at cornerback for the Packers could include Rutgers' Devin McCourty, Boise State's Kyle Wilson or Alabama's Kareem Jackson.

Then there's outside linebacker, where 2009 seventh-round pick Brad Jones did an admirable job filling in after a season-ending knee injury to Aaron Kampman. Now Kampman is gone through free agency, and Jones and Brady Poppinga could be options to start opposite Clay Matthews III. But the Packers could be tempted by Michigan's Brandon Graham or Texas' Sergio Kindle in the first round.

 

[Faust]

http://www.uwmpost.com/2010/04/19/packers-draft-predictions/

Packers draft predictions

Posted on 19 April 2010.

By Tim Bryce

Well as everyone knows, it’s time for the NFL draft again, which for Packer fans is usually the place to see the front office try to improve their team during the off-season and this year will be no different. However, Packer fans can take comfort in the fact that for the last several decades the Packers have been one of the better teams across the NFL when it comes to drafting.

As many Packer fans know, General Manager Ted Thompson’s calling card in the draft has always been to trade down and acquire quantity. This drafting style has resulted in the Packers having globs of decent players at many positions so that drafting for volume is no longer a concern for them. Now it’s time to focus on targeting specific needs, which is why we may actually see Thompson start to trade up instead of trade down.

Top Priorities:

Offensive Tackle ­– The trend across the NFL the last few years has been “ye who generates a pass rush with four players or less wins.” The NFC North has decided they are going to interpret this literally. The Vikings already have Jared Allen, and if the right guy falls into their lap in the first few rounds of the draft, they will take a defensive end to line up opposite of Allen. The Bears have signed Julius Peppers to form a frightening pass rushing tandem with rising star Mark Anderson.

The Lions signed Veteran pass rusher Kyle Vanden Bosch and they are looking to take another defensive end in the draft, probably Georgia Tech’s Derrick Morgan. Morgan is considered to be the most NFL ready pass rushing prospect in almost a decade. This all says the Packers need a pass blocking specialist to put on the backside of Aaron Rodgers to keep him on his feet. The candidates right now are Iowa’s Brian Buluga and Maryland’s Bruce Campbell. If Thompson decides to trade up, and depending on how far up he wants to go, then Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung could come into play.

Runningback – Yes the Packers have a back-to-back 1,000 yard rusher in Ryan Grant. However, the trend lately in the NFL has been to have a two-back system. Another problem with the Packers right now is they have nothing but finesse-type players at every skill position on offense. What they need is someone who plays with an attitude. They need a player who thinks about running over a defender instead of going around him. If they use a first round pick on this it will be Georgia Tech’s Jonathan Dwyer. If the choose to wait until round two there are a bunch of running backs there that fit this description such as Toby Gerhart out of Stanford and Charles Scott out of LSU.

Cornerback – The Packers might have the best cornerback tandem in the NFL in Al Harris and Charles Woodson. The problem is neither one of them are getting any younger so it would be a good idea for the Packers to add some young legs to this position whom they can develop to eventually take over as starters in a couple of years. The good news is this draft is deep at this position, so Thompson can wait until the middle rounds to fill this need. Possible fits include Vanderbilt’s Myron Lewis, Joshua Moore out of Kansas State and Brandon Ghee out of Wake Forest.

Punter – This is a small need and they certainly should not spend a high draft pick on one, but it is time for Thompson to suck it up, stop fooling around, and spend a draft pick on a punter.

Here is how I see the Packers draft going:

1st Round – Bruce Campbell/OT/Maryland

2nd Round – Toby Gerhart/RB/Stanford

3rd Round – Myron Lewis/CB/Vanderbilt

4th Round – Rennie Curran/OLB/Georgia

5th Round #1 – Colin Peek/TE/Alabama

5th Round #2 – Chris Campbell/T/Eastern Illinois

6th Round – A.J. Jefferson/CB/Fresno State

7th Round ­– Scott Ravanesi/P/Southern Illinois

One more thing to consider – This draft may be thin at the top as far as the QB position is considered, but it may be a good idea for the Packers to spend a late pick on a QB because I believe there are a few gems at the bottom of this draft. If the Packers get one and they can fix whatever is wrong with him, they could turn him into a high draft pick in a couple of years. The Falcons did this a few years ago with Matt Schaub. They took Schaub in the 6th round and got a first rounder for him a couple of years later.

 

[Faust]

http://host.madison.com/sports/football/pr...1cc4c002e0.html

Packers must tackle line issues in draft

By TOM OATES

The Packers need to use their first-round pick to land Chad Clifton's heir apparent.

It seems that Ted Thompson feels a lot better about the state of the Green Bay Packers' offensive line than the rest of us do.

At least that's what the Packers general manager said in his pre-NFL draft press conference.

We can only hope that's just a draft-week smokescreen and not what Thompson really believes. Either that or Thompson has forgotten the first nine games of the 2009 season, when the Packers allowed their franchise quarterback to be sacked 41 times mostly because long-time stalwarts Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher were largely unavailable at tackle due to injury. Clifton and Tauscher have been re-signed and will enter their 11th season as the team's bookend tackles. But given their age and injury history, Thompson simply can't afford to go into another season without a functional backup plan at tackle.

Fortunately, this week's draft should provide Thompson with an opportunity to guarantee quarterback Aaron Rodgers the protection he needs this fall and find a left tackle for the future - all in one move.

The draft is extremely strong at tackle, with up to seven of them drawing first-round grades from at least some teams. Indeed, this tackle class has been compared to the 2008 group that yielded eight first-round picks, including two - Jake Long and Ryan Clady - who have already made the Pro Bowl.

Although the Packers also need a pass-rushing linebacker and a cornerback from this draft, the uncommon depth of the tackle pool and the draft history at the position should make Thompson's goal with the Packers' first-round pick - No. 23 overall - perfectly clear. He needs to find the team's future left tackle in Thursday's first round.

How strong is this draft at tackle?

Four tackles - Oklahoma State's Russell Okung, Oklahoma's Trent Williams, Iowa's Bryan Bulaga and Rutgers' Anthony Davis -could be gone after the 14th pick and definitely will be gone by the time the Packers select. Three more - USC's late-blooming Charles Brown, Maryland workout warrior Bruce Campbell and Indiana's fast-rising Rodger Saffold - could also go in the first round. Some teams even project Idaho's Mike Iupati, the top guard prospect, as a tackle.

If one of those players appeals to the Packers following their exhaustive search-and-screen process, Thompson needs to pull the trigger with the 23rd pick because these opportunities don't come along every year.

First of all, when picking late in the first round or early in the second, it is usually advisable to pick from the deepest positions because you can find players there who would have had been earlier picks had they come out in a weaker draft.

That's how the Packers got Clifton in the second round - the 44th pick overall - in 2000. Clifton was the fifth tackle taken that year in a class that included future Pro Bowlers Chris Samuels and Marvel Smith plus the University of Wisconsin's Chris McIntosh, whose career was derailed by injury.

Second, when looking for a left tackle in the draft, you can't take some developmental prospect in the middle rounds. You have to use a premium pick to go and get your man.

Thompson is fond of saying that God only made so many guys who can play left tackle in the NFL, a notion that is supported by history. Of the 29 tackles who have been voted into or played in the Pro Bowl the last 10 years, all but four were drafted in the first and second rounds. Of those four, two played right tackle exclusively in the NFL and the other two came in as right-side players before eventually moving to the left side.

A deeper look at the recent Pro Bowlers shows that great tackles, especially left tackles, aren't manufactured, they're born. Eighteen of the 29 were taken in the first round. Twenty-five of the 29 were selected in the top 50 picks, which is roughly the first round and the top half of the second round.

Twenty-five of the 29 were taken among the top five tackles in their draft class.

Since the Packers' second-round pick this year is No. 56 overall, they need to use their first-round pick on a left tackle to give themselves a decent chance of securing that position for the future and, depending on Clifton's health, even the present. Thompson says he doesn't draft for need, but this year it looks like need and value have merged to give the Packers an opportunity they can't afford to pass on.

 

[jurrassic]

If Graham were still on the board and the Packers didn't draft him, I don't think I would be a very happy Packers fan.

 

[nlgb1]

If Graham were still on the board and the Packers didn't draft him, I don't think I would be a very happy Packers fan.

me either. olb is this teams biggest need, contrary to what lots of people are saying. brad jones did NOT do well filling in last year, and it is a spot we desperately need to fill. i think thompson will suprise some people and take a WR early in this draft

 

[Faust]

Close race right now between 2 choices!

 

[kevzilla]

I voted for Charles Brown, though I agree they would jump on Graham if he was there. No way that happens.

I would be perfectly OK with Wilson, as well. Not that Ted cares what the SP thinks.

 

[Faust]

With the 1.23 pick in the FBG Consensus Draft, the Green Bay Packers select CB Kyle Wilson

 

[CletiusMaximus]

If Graham were still on the board and the Packers didn't draft him, I don't think I would be a very happy Packers fan.

me either. olb is this teams biggest need, contrary to what lots of people are saying. brad jones did NOT do well filling in last year, and it is a spot we desperately need to fill. i think thompson will suprise some people and take a WR early in this draft

The only real surprise for me in the first few rounds would be a quarterback (excluding crazy picks like a kicker or a center). DL, WR, ILB or TE would be a mild surprise, but I certainly would not be shocked if he went with one of those positions. Otherwise, I would give essentially equal likelihood to any DB, OLB/pass rusher, Tackle or Guard, RB, WR or a trade down. As of Saturday morning, I think any position is fair game for Ted.

 

[sho nuff]

If Graham were still on the board and the Packers didn't draft him, I don't think I would be a very happy Packers fan.

me either. olb is this teams biggest need, contrary to what lots of people are saying. brad jones did NOT do well filling in last year, and it is a spot we desperately need to fill. i think thompson will suprise some people and take a WR early in this draft

It is a need...but Id take Wilson and be happy with that. Id like Graham...but Kyle Wilson is a future stud.And yes...Jones actually did pretty well...he was not great, but he was hardly bad...especially for a 7th round rookie.

 

[nlgb1]

If Graham were still on the board and the Packers didn't draft him, I don't think I would be a very happy Packers fan.

me either. olb is this teams biggest need, contrary to what lots of people are saying. brad jones did NOT do well filling in last year, and it is a spot we desperately need to fill. i think thompson will suprise some people and take a WR early in this draft

It is a need...but Id take Wilson and be happy with that. Id like Graham...but Kyle Wilson is a future stud.And yes...Jones actually did pretty well...he was not great, but he was hardly bad...especially for a 7th round rookie.

i woulda rather them played with 10 guys than have jones on the field

 

[kevzilla]

Who voted for Tebow? Explain yourself.

Drafting Tebow would have one benefit; it would make Mel Kiper's hair look like Don King's.

 

[sho nuff]

If Graham were still on the board and the Packers didn't draft him, I don't think I would be a very happy Packers fan.

me either. olb is this teams biggest need, contrary to what lots of people are saying. brad jones did NOT do well filling in last year, and it is a spot we desperately need to fill. i think thompson will suprise some people and take a WR early in this draft

It is a need...but Id take Wilson and be happy with that. Id like Graham...but Kyle Wilson is a future stud.And yes...Jones actually did pretty well...he was not great, but he was hardly bad...especially for a 7th round rookie.

i woulda rather them played with 10 guys than have jones on the field

I will just have to disagree...nothing I have seen from him showed that he should be held in such an opinion, and not one single coach seems to agree...hell, not even sure McGinn has a scout that would agree with your assessment.

 

[scrumptrulescent]

Sorry I missed this. Horrible choice in my opinion passing on Graham. Horrible.

 

[sho nuff]

I like Graham and all...but calling the decision to draft a guy like Wilson a horrible decision seems odd to me.

Its not as if he is some reach like Harrell. Talented, fits 2 needs right away.

Though, I highly doubt either of them are even available when GB picks.