Packers Got Great Value In Sherrod
Some franchise left tackles make over $10 million per season. The Packers should get Sherrod for a little over $2 million per season to start out.
General manager Ted Thompson said it right off the bat.
In response to the very first question during his press conference last night immediately after the selection of first-round draft choice Derek Sherrod, Thompson said, "I'm happy about it. We think it's really good value to get a big man that late in the first round that we feel he can come in and help us.
"Where he's going to play, I don't know. But I know this: You can never have enough big men. The more run blockers, the more pass blockers we have, the better off we'll do."
Where Sherrod will play in 2011 with Chad Clifton still around in unknown. But make no bones about it, the rookie from Mississippi State is the ideal left tackle of the the post-Clifton era, whenever that will be.
Some teams spend an outrageous amount of money for the stability of a franchise left tackle.
The Cleveland Browns spent the third overall selection in the 2007 Draft to take Joe Thomas. They signed him to a five-year deal worth $42.5 million that is actually a six-year contract that includes a clause that allows him to void the sixth year.
The following year the Miami Dolphins took Jake Long with the first overall pick in the Draft and signed him to a five-year $57.75 million deal.
Sherrod will very likely sign a contract comparable to what cornerback Patrick Robinson signed with the New Orleans Saints last season when he was the 32nd pick in the first round of the 2010 Draft.
Robinson inked a contract paying him $12 million over five years.
There may very well be a new rookie wage scale that will make the money given to the top 15 or so players drafted a little more manageable before they even play a down in the NFL as part of a new collective bargaining agreement.
But for the time being, the Packers will have gotten a tremendous value in Sherrod as long as he lives up to the first-round billing.
There's a lot of projection made with any rookie in the NFL, but the hope in Green Bay is that Sherrod will be the heir apparent to Clifton protecting Aaron Rodgers' backside for the next decade.
If Sherrod becomes what the Packers hope he'll be, there's no doubt he'll be in line for a big pay raise when his rookie contract is up.
Until then, the Packers can only hope they got a steal.
Comments (7)
April 29, 2011 at 10:27 am
Good pick, looking forward to seeing him on the O-line next season. Does anyone think we might get Asomougah once free agency starts?
April 29, 2011 at 11:22 am
I think Asomougah would cost too much -- more than TWilliams, which could cause problems. Plus, GB needs to reward Shields.
April 29, 2011 at 10:54 am
In Ted I Trust
April 29, 2011 at 11:32 am
I checked out offensive tackle evaluations on nationalfootballpost.com...
Sherrod was ranked no. 3 (Smith was 1, Carimi 2, but Castanzo was 5, Solder 6, and Carpenter 8). As I read about the top-ranked players I saw that all had strengths, but all had areas that needed considerable development.
Sherrod seems a natural for the postion, with requisite balance, quickness, fluidity -- I just hope he can get a little stronger.
April 29, 2011 at 01:51 pm
Those rankings are really meaningless.
Carimi is a better prospect for old-school teams like the Steelers.
It's all about scheme fit.
Tyron Smith and Sherrod are ZBS tackles.
Carimi and Carpenter are man-blocking scheme tackle.
It's like comparing a 1 gap DT with a NT...
April 29, 2011 at 02:34 pm
Brian, you make it sound like the Packers are shopping a K-Mart. Attention shoppers our blue light special today is in th Offensive Line department...
This was not a particularly flashy pick, in fact kind of boring. TT is staying true to form in his belief that you can't have enough good, big men on the team. Where I have doubted him in the past, I have learned to trust in the Ted. I wish that I could get more excited about this pick, I believe he had made the right choice.
Kudos to Jersey Al for correctly predicting the selection.
April 29, 2011 at 09:41 pm
Dude... GET EXCITED ABOUT THIS PICK. The more quality dudes in front of 12 means the less likely he is to have to end his career prematurely because he got his noggin scrambled too many times (see Aikman, Young). I love the pick, our O-line has a chance to be downright filthy for years to come... only good can come of it.
GBP 4 LIFE