Grading and Ranking Ted Thompson's Drafts as GM of the Packers

Ted Thompson’s 13-year run as general manager of the Packers came to an end last week when the team announced that he would be transitioning to a senior advisor role. For better or worse, Thompson’s tenure and legacy in Green Bay will be defined by the “draft-and-develop” philosophy he so stubbornly stuck to. Here’s a look at how all of his drafts stacked up:

2005

1.24       Aaron Rodgers, QB

2.19       Nick Collins, S

2.26       Terrence Murphy, WR

4.14       Marviel Underwood, S

4.24       Brady Poppinga, LB

5.07       Junius Coston, G

5.31       Michael Hawkins, CB

6.06       Mike Montgomery, DE

6.21       Craig Bragg, WR

7.31       Kurt Campbell, LB

7.32       William Whitticker, G

The good: Does Thompson’s first pick need to be talked about? What a bust that guy turned out to be! He followed up the Rodgers selection by taking Nick Collins in the second round. Collins was a Pro Bowl safety with HOF potential who helped lead the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XLV. Unfortunately, his career was cut short when he suffered a neck injury in 2011. Poppinga started 44 games for the Packers and proved to be a value pick in the fourth round. Montgomery was a decent role player throughout his short Packers career.

The bad: Murphy played in just three games before suffering a career-ending spine injury. No player aside from Rodgers, Collins, Poppinga and Montgomery appeared in more than 16 games with Green Bay.

Grade: A+

2006

1.05       A.J. Hawk, LB

2.15       Daryn Colledge, T

2.20       Greg Jennings, WR

3.03       Abdul Hodge, LB 

3.11       Jason Spitz, G

4.07       Cory Rodgers, WR           

4.18       Will Blackmon, CB

5.15       Ingle Martin, QB

5.32       Tony Moll, T

6.14       Johnny Jolly, DT

6.16       Tyrone Culver, S

7.45       Dave Tollefson, DE

The good: Jennings was the cream of this crop. The two-time Pro Bowler had great chemistry with both Rodgers and Favre and was instrumental in the Packers Super Bowl run in 2010. Jolly was an ascending player before legal troubles derailed his career.

The bad: While Hawk missed just two games in nine seasons with the Packers, he was just an average player. Average is not what you are looking for with the fifth overall pick in the draft. Colledge started right out of the gate for the Packers, but he too was just average (at best). Spitz started 45 games for the Packers, though that speaks more to the state of their offensive line at the time.

Grade: C+

2007

1.16       Justin Harrell, DT

2.31       Brandon Jackson, RB

3.14       James Jones, WR

3.25       Aaron Rouse, CB

4.20       Allen Barbre, T

5.20       David Clowney, WR         

6.17       Korey Hall, RB

6.18       Desmond Bishop, LB

6.19       Mason Crosby, K 

7.18       DeShawn Wynn , RB

7.33       Clark Harris, TE

The good: Crosby and Bishop saved this draft class from being a total disaster. Crosby has been a model of consistency for most of his career with the Packers, and has yet to miss a game. Bishop spent six seasons in Green Bay and was the starting linebacker when they won the Super Bowl in 2010. James Jones was a solid, yet unspectacular receiver - though he did lead the league in touchdown receptions in 2012.

The bad: Harrell was arguably the biggest whiff of Thompson’s career. The defensive tackle from Tennessee was considered to be a risky player due to his questionable health and attitude, and he proved to be a costly miss at 16. Jackson did contribute during the Packers Super Bowl season, but he never lived up to his second round price tag. This draft class as a whole was very disappointing.

Grade: D-

2008

2.05       Jordy Nelson, WR

2.25       Brian Brohm, QB

2.29       Patrick Lee, CB   

3.28       Jermichael Finley, TE 

4.03       Jeremy Thompson, LB    

4.36       Josh Sitton, G

5.15       Breno Giacomini, T

7.02       Matt Flynn, QB

7.10       Brett Swain, WR

The good: This draft turned out to be a Ted Thompson masterpiece. Nelson will go down as one of the all-time great Packer receivers. Sitton was quite possibly the best guard in the league during his time in Green Bay. Though his production did not always match his talent, Finley was a great pick and added an element to the offense that made them nearly unstoppable when he was on the field. Flynn was a more than adequate backup who very much exceeded his draft position.

The bad: The Packers got almost nothing from the rest of this class, including the other two second round picks.

Grade: A-

2009

1.09       B.J. Raji, NT 

1.26       Clay Matthews, OLB

4.09       T.J. Lang, G 

5.09       Quinn Johnson, RB           

5.26       Jamon Meredith, T

6.09       Jarius Wynn, DE               

6.14       Brandon Underwood, DB

7.09       Brad Jones, LB

The good: The Packers would not have won Super Bowl XLV without this draft class. Raji and Matthews were crucial to Dom Capers' second ranked defense, with Matthews continuing on as one of the better pass rushers in franchise history. Lang started 94 games at guard for the Packers. He and Sitton formed the league's best guard duo until they left the Packers. Jones and Wynn were useful at times, though Jones was a liability for a majority of his starts in a Packers uniform.

The bad: Raji's career took a nosedive after his first couple of NFL seasons, which is not ideal from a ninth overall pick. Other than that, this was a top-notch draft class.

Grade: A

2010

1.23       Bryan Bulaga, T

2.24       Mike Neal, DE 

3.07       Morgan Burnett, S

5.23       Andrew Quarless, TE 

5.38       Marshall Newhouse, T

6.24       James Starks, RB              

7.23       C.J. Wilson, DT

The good: Every member of this draft class contributed for the Packers at one point or another. Bulaga has been one of the premier right tackles in the league when healthy. Neal was never truly a fit for the 3-4 front, but he still had his moments. Burnett developed into an ultra-versatile quarterback for the defense. Quarless served as the team’s backup tight end for five seasons. Though he wasn’t very good, Newhouse did start 31 games at both tackle spots for Green Bay. Starks ran for 315 yards during the Packers Super Bowl run and served as the backup for a good part of the following six seasons. Wilson proved to be excellent value as a seventh round pick. Undrafted free agent Sam Shields was the team’s top corner for a few seasons before a concussion ended his career in Green Bay in 2016. He made it to the Pro Bowl after an excellent 2014 season.

The bad: The only knock on this class is that it didn’t produce any stars.

Grade: A-

2011

1.32       Derek Sherrod, T

2.32       Randall Cobb, WR           

3.32       Alex Green, RB 

4.34       Davon House, CB

5.10       D.J. Williams, TE

6.14       Caleb Schlauderaff, G

6.21       D.J. Smith, LB

6.32       Ricky Elmore, LB              

7.15       Ryan Taylor, TE

7.30       Lawrence Guy, DT

The good: Randall Cobb. That’s it.

The bad: Every player aside from Cobb and House were either backups, special teamers, or completely useless. One decent player in a class of ten is flat out awful. This draft set the Packers back, and they never entirely recovered. To make matters worse, Thompson also failed to sign a single outside free agent.

Grade: F

2012

1.28       Nick Perry, OLB 

2.19       Jerel Worthy, DT

2.31       Casey Hayward, CB

4.37       Mike Daniels, DT

4.38       Jerron McMillian, S

5.28       Terrell Manning, LB

7.34       Andrew Datko, T

7.36       B.J. Coleman, QB

The good: It’s possible that this would be one of Thompson’s top draft hauls if they had someone other than Dom Capers running the defense. Perry was a workout warrior who didn’t really put it all together until the 2016 season. Hayward’s talent was evident from the start, as he intercepted six passes as a rookie and was one of the league’s five best slot corners. He’d have gone down as one of Ted’s top five picks if the coaches had figured out how to best utilize his skills. Daniels was the prize of this class and has been the most consistent Green Bay defender since 2013.

The bad: Much like he did in college, Perry tends to disappear for long stretches in the NFL. His motor matches what was seen on tape. Worthy and all of the players drafted after Daniels were busts almost immediately.

Grade: C+

2013

1.26       Datone Jones, DE 

2.31       Eddie Lacy, RB

4.12       David Bakhtiari, T

4.25       J.C. Tretter, OL 

4.28       Johnathan Franklin, RB

5.26       Micah Hyde, CB/S            

5.34       Josh Boyd, DE

6.25       Nate Palmer, LB               

7.10       Charles Johnson, WR

7.18       Kevin Dorsey, WR

7.26       Sam Barrington, LB

The good: Despite being a fourth round pick, David Bakhtiari not only started right out of the gate, but is also currently one of the premier blind side protectors in the NFL. Eddie Lacy proved to be an instant fix for Green Bay’s running game woes. You can hardly blame Thompson for his downfall. Tretter started 10 games at center for the Packers and looked good doing so. Injuries and excellent depth at the position kept him from fulfilling his potential in Titletown. Hyde was one of the best late round picks in the 2013 draft, though the pick would look even better had the Packers not needed him to fill in at the cornerback position.

The bad: I don’t know when Thompson fell in love with selecting combine stars with questionable tape, but that type of evaluation cost him dearly in the first round of this draft. Aside from having just average tape, Jones never really seemed like a fit for the 3-4 front. He never got a second contract in Green Bay and was a free agent for most of the 2017 season. Franklin flashed some talent before a neck injury ended his career. The Packers got some contributions from Nate Palmer and Sam Barrington, though they were nothing more than stopgaps at a position deficient of talent.

Grade: B-

2014

1.21       Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S        

2.21       Davante Adams, WR       

3.21       Khyri Thornton, DL          

3.34       Richard Rodgers, TE

4.21       Carl Bradford, LB             

5.21       Corey Linsley, C  

5.36       Jared Abbrederis, WR

6.21       Demetri Goodson, CB 

7.21       Jeff Janis, WR

The good: The Packers had a massive need at safety (largely due to Thompson ignoring the position) and they filled it with the best player available. That was a good pick. Adams started off slow but leads the league in touchdown receptions over the last two seasons. Low snaps aside, Linsley has turned into a reliable starting center for the Pack. Thompson topped it off by selecting the G.O.A.T (sorry, Jerry Rice) in the seventh round.

The bad: To this day, the three picks after Adams make no sense. Thornton, Rodgers and Bradford all looked like late draft picks (at best) on tape, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why Thompson took them so early.

Grade: B

2015

1.30       Damarious Randall, CB

2.30       Quinten Rollins, CB         

3.30       Ty Montgomery, RB        

4.30       Jake Ryan, LB     

5.11       Brett Hundley, QB

6.30       Aaron Ripkowski, FB       

6.34       Christian Ringo, DE

6.37       Kennard Backman, TE

Summary: Thompson shocked a lot of people by taking Arizona State free safety Damarious Randall with the 30th pick in the first round. Randall looked like the real deal in his rookie season but struggled mightily as a sophomore. After getting benched in week 4 of the 2017 season, Randall responded by having the best ten game stretch of his young career. Rollins was not expected to last until the 62nd pick of the draft, and after a promising rookie season it looked as if the Packers had gotten a steal. Injuries slowed him down significantly in 2016 and 2017, thus making it too early to label him a bust. The book is still out on Montgomery, who has had his moments since being converted to running back. Ryan was a nice value pick in the fourth round, but he is not the long term answer at the second inside linebacker spot. Despite showing flashes of his immense potential, Hundley failed to prove that he can be an effective backup for Rodgers.

Tentative grade: C

2016

1.27       Kenny Clark, DT               

2.17       Jason Spriggs, T

3.25       Kyler Fackrell, OLB           

4.33       Blake Martinez, ILB

4.39       Dean Lowry, DE

5.26       Trevor Davis, WR             

6.25       Kyle Murphy, OL

Summary: Clark and Martinez look like they are going to be studs for a long time. Lowry and Murphy have shown flashes. The Packers traded up for Spriggs but he has looked overmatched when healthy. Fackrell and Davis are both one-trick ponies who likely won’t be on the team much longer.

Tentative grade: B-

2017

2.01       Kevin King, CB

2.29       Josh Jones, S/LB 

3.29       Montravius Adams, DT  

4.01       Vince Biegel, LB

4.28       Jamaal Williams, RB        

5.32       DeAngelo Yancey, WR

5.39       Aaron Jones, RB

6.29       Kofi Amichia, T 

7.20       Devante Mays, RB

7.29       Malachi Dupre, WR

Summary: King, Biegel, Williams and both Joneses appear to have the potential to be difference makers for the Packers. It's still too early to tell with Adams, Amichia and Mays. The Yancey pick never made much sense as the Packers likely could have gotten him in the seventh round or as an undrafted free agent.

Tentative grade: N/A

Ranking the drafts

1) 2005, A+

Rodgers alone is enough to give this draft the top spot – the Collins pick cemented it.

2) 2009, A

Matthews, Lang and Raji are quite the trio of picks. This one would have given the 2005 class a run for its money if Raji had not flamed out.

3) 2008, A-

The group of Nelson, Finley, Sitton and Flynn is an impressive haul. This could have been inside the top-2 if not for the two second round busts.

4) 2010, A-

While there were no stars, contributions from the entire class makes this one a solid draft.

5) 2014, B

The Packers got three starters and Janis out of this draft. The grade would have been much better if not for the questionable picks in the middle rounds.

6) 2016, B- (tentative)

Clark and Martinez are the pillars of this class. The grade is lowered a bit by the selections of Spriggs and Fackrell in the second and third rounds. It is subject to change.

7) 2013, B-

Thompson essentially swung and missed on seven of eleven picks, including first round pick Datone Jones. That being said, his success in the middle rounds (Bakhtiari, Tretter and Hyde) cannot be ignored.

8) 2012, C+

Daniels was one of the best picks of this draft, while Perry has only recently started to live up to his first round price tag. Hayward was another good pick who wasn’t properly utilized in Green Bay.

9) 2006, C

The Packers got just an average player with the fifth overall pick in Hawk. Colledge started a bunch of games for them but he was never more than average either. Jennings is the one who kept this class afloat.

10) 2015, C (tentative)

As of now, it looks like Randall might be the only one of this class with the potential to be an above average starter in the NFL. Things can change quickly though.

11) 2007, D-

It's a big problem when the best player of your draft is a kicker.

12) 2011, F

When you have 10 picks and you come away with just one player who can be described as even remotely decent, you deserve an F.

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Comments (81)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
jeremyjjbrown's picture

January 10, 2018 at 03:18 pm

Nice breakdown.

In my opinion Thompson has drafted pretty poorly overall since 2010. That is more than half his tenure as GM.

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KenEllis's picture

January 10, 2018 at 08:36 pm

Would be nice to see a similar breakdown of Thompson's FREE AGENT SIGNINGS and TRADES, especially since 2010.

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NickPerry's picture

January 11, 2018 at 04:05 am

What FA signings and Trades. Now THAT would make for a pretty damn short story wouldn't it? Hell most of my comments are longer than that story would be.

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zoellner25's picture

January 10, 2018 at 03:34 pm

Ouch. Brian Brohm in Rnd 2. Justin Harrell. Ugh. Jerel Worthy. Yuck.

Good thing for this draft, lots of good defensive players and we pick early enough to get one.

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Handsback's picture

January 10, 2018 at 03:38 pm

I often wonder in his first draft TT took two players that flashed as immediate starters and one became an All Pro before a neck injury and Murphy was a camp sensation before his back/neck took him out.

Rodgers/Collins/Murphy could have been three very special players. One did, one came close and the third never got out of the starting block.

One other thing, Hawk made the pro bowl one year and while he never did play to his pick....he was a solid starter and all pro player even if it was for only one year.

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zoellner25's picture

January 10, 2018 at 03:46 pm

I'd also add the neck injury to Jermichael too. What could've been......

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mrtundra's picture

January 10, 2018 at 03:58 pm

College tape of Hawk, that I saw, showed a fast, powerful LB. Pro tape of Hawk never showed him being fast. Tackling players 6 yards past the LOS isn't anything to hang one's hat on.

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Arthur Jackson's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:21 pm

The tackling 6 yards downfield is a fallacy. Just like Barnett most of Hawk's tackles were at or near the LOS. One of only 25 players since the AFL?NFL merger to equal or exceed 600 tackles, 20 sacks and and 9 interceptions and 30 passes defense.

http://pfref.com/tiny/VkGQ3

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WKUPackFan's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:25 pm

Sshhh! Don't confuse the haters with facts!

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Coldworld's picture

January 10, 2018 at 07:06 pm

I agree. We got a lot out of Hawk. Absent Bishop’s brief peak he was hampered by weak colleagues and I accept that he never became an all decade player by any means, but a lot of top 5 picks never even become decent.

I also point out that judging a draft with players who had their careers blighted or ended by injury early requires that they be exempted. Sherrod/Franklin/Murphy are imposdible to rate because we will never know the player as drafted.

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KenEllis's picture

January 10, 2018 at 08:42 pm

Vernon Davis still making plays 7 years after the corpse of Hawk stopped being able to track down even slow-footed, 1 legged TEs.

Hawk never made a big play. You don't draft a guy #5 overall and pay him like the next coming of Ray Lewis (at Thompson did on Hawk's second regrettable contract) for Hawk level production.

Paris Lenon made a lot of tackles over his career as did Joe Schobert for Cleveland this season. Doesn't make them great players.

Wonder why all of AJ's college speed, strength, explosiveness disappeared once he started getting tested in the pros.

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Coldworld's picture

January 10, 2018 at 07:00 pm

Collins took 3 years to click. Folk were very down on him early on. After that he was great and his loss a calamity I agree. But neither Rodgers or Collins were immediate impact players

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ElishaTwerski's picture

January 11, 2018 at 05:47 pm

Immediate impact or not, they were both great picks.

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Rebecca's picture

January 10, 2018 at 09:46 pm

But AJ’s helmet flew off his head quicker than he ever moved and with more personality.

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4thand1's picture

January 10, 2018 at 03:57 pm

The biggest thing is injuries to a lot of picks. Some were just dumb reaches, why were they even on their board? 2011 WTF,WTF,WTF!???!!!!

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Packer_Fan's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:00 pm

Starting with 2011, the best grade was B. Along with only 30% of the picks being worthwhile. Means more like average talent. Which is what we are seeing.

I wonder what the outgoing scout guys think. Dorsey, Wolf and Highsmith. We will probably never know.

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Coldworld's picture

January 10, 2018 at 07:11 pm

You could ask how they would explain their role in that. Alternatively perhaps some of the younger leaders were not as good as the ones who left to become GMs. Perhaps TT over promoted. If you believe the rumors it could also be Ball was playing a larger role and Ted a gradually lesser one.

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croatpackfan's picture

January 11, 2018 at 03:49 am

As I see, Packers picks from 2005 - 2010 were 24th, 5th, 16th, 30th, 9th, 23rd...
From 2011 - 2017 picks were 32nd, 28th, 26th, 21st, 30th, 27th, 29th...

Average draft pick position from 2005-2010 was 17.8, or 18th, and from 2011-2017 was 27.57 or 26th...

So difference between average draft position is 8 position (26-18), but difference in grade is just 3 (B for first 6 years and C for second 6 years).

I calculated difference in grade as B B-, C+ than C which gives me 3 grades lower...

Total grade difference is 17 (from A+ to F-)...

Make your own conclusion which part (before SB and after SB win) of drafts were better...

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

January 11, 2018 at 04:22 am

That is a very valid point. Nice research. The result is in TT's first 6 drafts the author gave TT four A grades, one C+ and a D-. In his last 6 graded drafts, the author gave TT three B grades, two C grades, and an F. The last draft in 2017 was too early for the author to grade.

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Razer's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:03 pm

Great breakdown Elisha. I took your legwork and reduced it to the top two picks in each draft. If the most talent is available early then I would expect that we get our stars and best picks from these top picks. To my eye, Ted Thompson is 50/50 when it comes to mining the top players coming out of college. Too many misses and/or guys who flamed have kept the Packers short of play makers.

2005
1.24 Aaron Rodgers, QB
2.19 Nick Collins, S

2006
1.05 A.J. Hawk, LB
2.15 Daryn Colledge, T

2007
1.16 Justin Harrell, DT
2.31 Brandon Jackson, RB

2008
2.05 Jordy Nelson, WR
2.25 Brian Brohm, QB

2009
1.09 B.J. Raji, NT
1.26 Clay Matthews, OLB

2010
1.23 Bryan Bulaga, T
2.24 Mike Neal, DE

2011
1.32 Derek Sherrod, T
2.32 Randall Cobb, WR

2012
1.28 Nick Perry, OLB
2.19 Jerel Worthy, DT

2013
1.26 Datone Jones, DE
2.31 Eddie Lacy, RB

2014
1.21 Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S
2.21 Davante Adams, WR

2015
1.30 Damarious Randall, CB
2.30 Quinten Rollins, CB

2016
1.27 Kenny Clark, DT
2.17 Jason Spriggs, T

2017
2.01 Kevin King, CB
2.29 Josh Jones, S/LB

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ScaryGary's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:22 pm

my eye sees 60/40. not bad for picking in twentys almost every year

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WKUPackFan's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:35 pm

Gosh Razer, it is amazing that people could not simply have referred back to Elisha's list to evaluate your 50/50 comment without you regurgitating the first two picks. However, nice cut and paste job! Much better than your analysis.

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Coldworld's picture

January 10, 2018 at 07:13 pm

Actually it gave me a little different perspective. It might have been better for us all if it had given you a little more humility though.

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Razer's picture

January 11, 2018 at 01:21 pm

Thank you Coldwater. Well said.

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Razer's picture

January 11, 2018 at 01:21 pm

Sorry I confused you WKUPackFan.

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mrtundra's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:02 pm

We'll see how Gutekunst does in his first draft. Philban and Pettine, I'm sure, will be sending him their wish lists so, we will see how they jibe with Gutekunst's competitive team building approach.

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Chris Vachio's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:06 pm

People are too hard on Hawk. Yeah, he didn't live up to being the #5 pick, but finding a solid player for nearly a decade at any point in the draft is good. It's also not like anyone in the first round after him is a first ballot hall of famer or anything. Can anyone reasonably say our fortunes would have been dramatically different if we'd picked player X at #5 instead of Hawk?

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zoellner25's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:12 pm

A #5 overall pick should be a pro bowler. For hardly any missed time due to injury, Hawk never came close

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4thand1's picture

January 10, 2018 at 07:39 pm

Are you saying he should gotten hurt?

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zoellner25's picture

January 11, 2018 at 08:41 am

No, just saying he hardly ever got injured so couldn't use the plagued by injuries excuse during career. Was just never better than average

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UmpireMark's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:07 pm

I'd like to make one comment on the Aaron Rodgers pick. As I believe he will one day pass Starr and Favre in records he has not attained yet (minus consecutive starts), picking him at #24 was not a stroke of genius. Adding, that there isn't an NFL quarterback I would want to lead this team, he fell 24 spots to us. Had Ted passed on that no-brain pick, Teddy's tenure in Green Bay would have lasted one year. The Rodgers pick was more of a gift than a genius pick.

My opinion. That said, Ted's evaluation of talent, much less need, regressed horribly with each successive year in charge.

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Handsback's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:55 pm

Other QBs were selected before Rodgers. I remember the Auburn QB that Joe Gibbs traded up to get. Aaron Rodgers wasn't automatic so TT had Favre and here was his first pick and he's taking his replacement? Not so clean cut if you ask me, but then again you didn't ask me. So what do I know?

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WKUPackFan's picture

January 10, 2018 at 05:09 pm

Well, you do know more than the guy you replied to, so you have that going for you.

One wonders if AR was such a no-brainer pick why 23 GMs did not select him before TT did.

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rdent's picture

January 10, 2018 at 05:15 pm

If you think you know so much why don't you tell us why AR fell to 24? I'm sure there are a few people who are just on the edge of their seats waiting to hear your infinite wisdom.

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WKUPackFan's picture

January 10, 2018 at 05:40 pm

That question would be better posed to the 23 GMs who picked before TT.

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zeke's picture

January 10, 2018 at 07:24 pm

Rodgers was a no-brainer at 24 the same way that Joe Montana was a no-brainer in the third round and Tom Brady was a no-brainer in the sixth.

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TKWorldWide's picture

January 10, 2018 at 08:01 pm

Nailed it again, z.

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dobber's picture

January 10, 2018 at 09:02 pm

zeke gets a cookie!

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TKWorldWide's picture

January 10, 2018 at 09:06 pm

He’s really good. Clever and succinct.

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shystr's picture

January 11, 2018 at 02:55 am

And the Minnesota Vikings had TWO picks among those 23... !

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rdent's picture

January 10, 2018 at 05:10 pm

Umpire, I agree, Rogers fell from heaven into TT's lap. Alex Smith and AR were projected to go 1st and 2nd pick in that draft but for some reason (maybe devine intervention from Lombardi) he fell to 24th and despite Favre still there Ted had to take him. I remember reading a piece back then about how TT called Ron Wolf and said "I had to take Rodgers" and Wolf told him he would have been foolish not to. So ya, that pick would have been a no brainer for anyone and I shutter at the thought of what that team would have been like without AR.

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Coldworld's picture

January 10, 2018 at 07:19 pm

Was considered quite a ballsy pick at the time since we had Favre. TT got a lot of flack for wasting that pick. As noted 13 GMs still passed after Rodgers dropped out of the top 10 and many needed QBs.

TT may not have planned it but he had the courage to do something others did not and many were irate about. Thank goodness he did that.

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sonomaca's picture

January 11, 2018 at 12:43 am

Rodgers was a project. Took three years to get him ready. Probably would have been a bust had he been selected by most teams.

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CAG123's picture

January 11, 2018 at 03:36 am

He wasn’t a project it just took them 3 years to stop playing hot potato retirement with Favre when he made that decision in 2008 they weren’t going to go back this time so he was traded to the Jets and the rest was history.

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Coldworld's picture

January 11, 2018 at 06:54 am

Ah Tractor watch. That used to be the annual Wisconsin off season sport.

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ShanghaiKid's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:13 pm

Look at the list of actual drafted CB’s and Safeties (Shields, Tramon, were UDFA but obviously they were good) It’s no wonder the secondary struggled. Dom was horrid, but my god TT couldn’t draft secondary players to save his life.

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Coldworld's picture

January 10, 2018 at 07:29 pm

Apart from Patrick Lee in round 3 they were all low picks. Lee was a bust. Rouse was not ever a CB really anyway. He was supposed to be a hybrid cover linebacker of some sort.

Can argue that we did not take enough CBS in early rounds, but Williams and Shields, perhaps the best to play in the McCarthy years being undrafted perhaps factored in. Personally, if I had a gripe I would lament the tendency to draft safeties and play them at corner (Hyde and Rollins). But is that TT or Capers. If we had kept him, Hayward would now be listed amongst the stellar drafts.

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Finwiz's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:15 pm

I'm pretty sure this guy always was an arrogant jerk, with no communication skills, but he had an eye for talent and worked hard. Add in the fact he's likely queer as a 3 dollar bill, and that doesn't play well in a testosterone dominated, macho-man working environment. I'll bet he was shunned by various people in the organization knowing what he was, and he became more and more jaded over time.

Why it took Murphy so long to realize there was poor communication between the coach and GM is a mystery. I doubt this guy ever works again as a GM. Who'd hire him knowing the bad relationships he left behind, and the lack of skill he illustrated dealing with the press.

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jeremyjjbrown's picture

January 10, 2018 at 04:53 pm

Why does it even occur to you say this stuff?

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rdent's picture

January 10, 2018 at 05:20 pm

Tourette syndrome in text?

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WKUPackFan's picture

January 10, 2018 at 05:11 pm

When did it become acceptable to post slurs regarding sexual orientation on this site?

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TKWorldWide's picture

January 10, 2018 at 09:04 pm

Embarrassing.

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Fountaintown's picture

January 11, 2018 at 07:46 am

Yes, i'm sure his peers looked down on him. That's why he was executive of the year twice

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stockholder's picture

January 10, 2018 at 05:26 pm

That was really a fair breakdown. Don't agree on Hawk. They moved him. Ferguson at LT, was the other option that high. We needed Hawk. Quote. TT prayed he'd be there. You have to believe MM knows what to do with the offense. The 2009 Draft is exactly what Gunte needs to do. Defense wins championships.

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TKWorldWide's picture

January 10, 2018 at 09:04 pm

Vernon Davis went one pick after Hawk.

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sonomaca's picture

January 11, 2018 at 12:46 am

Davis never lived up to the hype.

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TKWorldWide's picture

January 11, 2018 at 03:44 am

That’s debatable, and I thought only GB players failed to live up to the hype. ~~~

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Tundraboy's picture

January 10, 2018 at 08:18 pm

Well that was depressing. Thank God we have Rodgers. Proof positive you need to supplement with FAs, especially when you lose stars to career ending injuries.

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Coldworld's picture

January 10, 2018 at 07:39 pm

I think this is really not a bad record overall compared with other GMs of good standing.

It was declining in the 5 years before that and it seems to be increasingly hinted that TT was delegating more for what ever reason.

However, the roster problems have perhaps more to do with the fact that the drafting was not stellar enough to obviate the need to supplement it by other means through more than low level acquisitions.

In the first half of TT’s time you also had Pickett and Woodson and (briefly but importantly) Howard Greene. In the latter half there was no similar FA impact. We also lost Finley and Collins horribly early at close to the mid point.

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RCPackerFan's picture

January 10, 2018 at 09:08 pm

What is crazy is when you look at just the players drafted and look at their careers. Thompson really has drafted some good players. While not all the players stayed in GB a lot of players had long NFL careers. (Long as in 5 years or more)

2005 - Rodgers, Collins Hall of fame level unfortunately Collins was cut short.
2006 - Hawk, Colledge, Jennings, Spitz, Blackmon, Jolly
2007 - Jones, Barbre, Crosby
2008 - Nelson, Finley, Sitton, Giacomini, Flynn.
2009 - Raji, Mathews, Lang, Meredith
2010 - Bulaga, Burnett, Newhouse, Starks, Wilson
2011 - Cobb, House, Guy
2012 - Perry, Hayward, Daniels, Worthy has bounced around.

30+ players drafted from 2005-2012 have played in the league for 5+ years. While different circumstances led them to leave GB, I think acknowledging that these players were drafted by Thompson shows that at the time of the draft he spotted some good talent. Its a credit to him IMO. And some players who knows how long they would have been in the league had it not been for injuries.
Players like Terrence Murphy, Bishop Finley, Thompson, Sherrod, Green were injured and either couldn't come back to play or weren't the same player afterwards.

Overall I have to say Thompson did a good job. It would have been nice to have hit on some more of his picks but overall he did a good job. And I agree that he did better in his first half then his 2nd half.

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stockholder's picture

January 10, 2018 at 10:21 pm

I liked the 2013. I would have graded it Higher than 2014. All - pro LT in Bahk. . Thats a #1 in any draft . Jones was Rajis replacement. Rated High and a need for the 3-4-4 . ( Another guy that had foot problems and had to switch to OLB. Bah!) He Traded back to get Lacy, the #1 back in the draft.(Lacy was suppose to be a steal. ) Trettor was the best sub any year, (C,G, even T. ) Franklin had a neck injury but was coming on. Micah Hyde now All-pro. Josh Boyd found playing time. The strength of the draft was Offensive Lineman. Still TT got an A+ from many experts.

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jeremyjjbrown's picture

January 11, 2018 at 10:03 am

I like this perspective. I still have a big problem swallowing 2011...

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SpudRapids's picture

January 11, 2018 at 01:10 pm

It's hard to fault Thompson when a player has a freak injury that ends their career or has a perverse effect on their development e.g. Derrick Sherrod...

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OldTimer's picture

January 10, 2018 at 11:53 pm

I know this is about the draft, but the GM has to taken as a whole. I think he was a vast upgrade over Mike Sherman as GM. He also ended Shermans coaching career in Green Bay, which really needed to happen. I think the Rodgers pick took a lot of courage at the time considering Favre was practically a god in Green Bay. Call it luck or whatever, that was not a popular pick at the time with the fans, but it was the right pick. He kept the team competitive and financially solid for a long time. His time was up, but I for one am glad he was here, and wish him well.

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Coldworld's picture

January 11, 2018 at 07:00 am

Streets ahead of Sherman who was terrible as a GM. We had cap nightmares and could not cull over the hill players or keep the good ones. Team was a mess much greater than we currently face after only a few years of that.

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sonomaca's picture

January 11, 2018 at 12:56 am

I think the exercise would be more complete if we looked at who TT could have taken, good or bad, at various spots.

Example: 2013 Datone Jones. Next five were Hopkins, Sylvester Williams,
C. Patterson, Ogletree, T. Frederick. Safe to say, they were all better than Jones.

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Coldworld's picture

January 11, 2018 at 07:01 am

So pick a couple of individual drafts that miss. What about the ones that hit? Cherry picking either way doesn’t tell one anything of value.

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WKUPackFan's picture

January 11, 2018 at 08:27 am

So correct Coldworld. Also that next five listed are not all anywhere close to great players. Cordelle Patterson? He's barely seen the field in his career.

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dobber's picture

January 11, 2018 at 08:34 am

DeAndre Hopkins is pretty good...but you're right: we could cherry-pick in a redraft scenario 'til we're blue in the face. My proposal to the NFL to put a "3-year-redraft exemption" in for the Packers was soundly defeated in committee...

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sonomaca's picture

January 11, 2018 at 01:10 am

Wonder if Gute will be as impressed with PAC-12 players as TT. Most of Ted’s best picks were from the West, namely Rodgers, Matthews, Perry, and Clark. Jury still out on Randall, Murphy, and Montgomery. Datone Jones, Richard Rodgers, Hundley and Davis are underperformers.

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sonomaca's picture

January 11, 2018 at 01:12 am

Oh, forgot Kevin King. Another PAC 12er. Why was Ted so in love with that conference?

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4thand1's picture

January 11, 2018 at 09:11 am

Is it because the Pac 12 is so pass happy.

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CAG123's picture

January 11, 2018 at 02:45 am

I think it’s safe to say that TT totally sucked at drafting ILBs I counted 16 picks with Desmond Bishop and Blake being the only ones worth a hoot (Vince Biegel is still an unknown) so is it safe to say that the Packers haven’t had quality play at that position since Nick Barnett? Isn’t it time they put some talent into the position? I don’t know where this notion came from that the position isn’t as important anymore especially with teams like the Seahawks, Jags, Vikings, Ravens, and 49ers showing the results of great ILB play.

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Coldworld's picture

January 11, 2018 at 07:06 am

Biegel is an OLB. Actually, many analysts rated our other ILB Ryan higher than Martinez this season, though he got less playing time it is true.

If you look at where we drafted ILBs, or didn’t, it may explain why. Fact is the mantra was “this isn’t a value position” in the Capers scheme for ages. That might be a source of criticism.

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dobber's picture

January 11, 2018 at 08:35 am

The question is whether those positions (like ILB) were devalued in consultation with the coaches, or just as a matter of TTs philosophy...

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zoellner25's picture

January 11, 2018 at 08:43 am

What analysts ?? ".... many analysts rated our other ILB Ryan higher than Martinez this season, though he got less playing time it is true."

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Thegreatreynoldo's picture

January 11, 2018 at 10:18 am

IIRC, Zach Kruse wrote good things about Ryan. Our own Andy Herman at least in his grading of the tape (-2.2 for Ryan vs. -2.25 season grade for Martinez) had Ryan better graded cumulatively, but worse per snap. We should remember that Martinez played a lot more snaps so his grade per snap is better, and also that GB limited Ryan for large parts of the season, presumably to situations that fit his skills better, such that Ryan's grades started to get more negative the more he played.

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CAG123's picture

January 11, 2018 at 12:21 pm

It couldn’t have been that invaluable because they moved CM3 there for a season and a half I’m sorry but that many linebackers chosen and still haven’t fully gotten the position correct is inexcusable. No scheme should devalue a position they should want the best players on the field they don’t have to be necessarily HOFers but at least good the Packers have settled for mediocrity long enough. Even with picking from the 4th round on back for ILBs you’re telling me TT couldn’t hit once especially when he picked multiple is some drafts? I can appreciate his ability to find quality lineman and receivers but ILBs definitely weren’t his thing.

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Ustabeayooper's picture

January 11, 2018 at 04:38 am

you can only pick who is available to you. This is a result of having a successful team. The real assessment of TT management is the record. There has been a consistency of SB contention over the past 13 years. Other than NE (who plays in the weakest division and conference ) GB has been incredibly successful. You can go to every GM's draft and second guess the picks. Hindsight is always 20/20. Grading drafts is a futile exercise because there are too many variables. Bring on Mcshay and Kiper to tell everyone their teams draft grades. I bet the Browns get an A. Let's win the draft and go 1 and 31 for the next two years!

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ILPackerBacker's picture

March 01, 2019 at 12:51 pm

yea....
it's a real crime the patriots don't have to draft at the end
year by year outside a couple of outliers guess who drafted better?
guess who benefited from free agents?

how many draft choices were the packers awarded v NE?
did GB EVER lose draft choices for cheating?

One gm bought into the bs about draft and develop
one GM wanted to win

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Coldworld's picture

January 11, 2018 at 07:07 am

If the Browns don’t get an A this year will our recently departed last long?

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