Well, TT went out and got the personal to run a 3-4. I do have this feeling though we may see much more of the 4-3 then expected. Throw in Capers with that flexibility and you may have a real good defense this year. Besides Capers, I would think that Mark Tauscher is smiling tonight. He's probably going to get that contract offer if he hasn't already!

What an exciting draft day for the Packers! When's the last time you could say that?

I think you said this in one of your twitters but let's see who goes in the 3rd before we think it was too much. We have two guys now who should have immediate impact on the team next year (for Matthews if not on defense then certainly special teams ) . Thompsons got to get credit for that.

"movemp"? :D

We got Clay Mathews all we need is his brother Bruce to play right tackle then we are on to something.

This was a good first day.

Clay Matthews has go to turn out to be a great linebacker,his father is a bourder line hall of famer and he going to be coached by Kevin Green and Dom Capers.

I must have posted this a hundred times last season, and I'll say it again. The Pack's biggest shortcomings on defense were twofold:
1- They lacked an impact player in the trenches, someone who can hold/move back the line of scrimmage. I am on record as not being the biggest Kampman fan, but he is a solid player, just not a game changing one, IMO. He needs help, and he got it from Raji. Now, the double teams should be focused B.J.'s way, and from what a H.S. buddy of mine who is also a B.C. alum tells me, Raji has the potential to be a stud.

2- The defense lacked toughness. The only game all season where they went toe to toe with a more physical team was the Titans game. Other than that, they got their butts whupped every time they played a physical team. Well, in addition to Raji, Matthews will bring plenty of toughness. Matthews walked on at freaking USC as a skinny beanpole and worked his tail off to eventually become a starter and now first round pick. He has great genes (the Matthews' are noted for their durability and toughness) and he has a great motor. At the least, he should be a standout ST monster. However, I expect him to bring an edge to our LB corps, and I wouldn't be surprised to see his aggressiveness rub off on Barnett and Hawk. I know the latter two have it in them, and I would love to see our LBs flying to the ball and hitting people. Does anyone else remember Urlacher's story? Dude was a short, skinny WR recruit for NM State and eventually grew into a monster MLB. Not saying Clay will become Urlacher, but never count out a guy who works that hard.

I remember Urlacher's story. It was well documented in this gripping short documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNUCsUUaevk

I feel that the price for Mathews was a bit steep, I thought maybe a 2nd and 3rd....maybe with a 5 tossed in would have done it. With that said....How bout that TT. I told you that you never can guess what he's going to do come draft day.
Day 1 objective: shoring up the Defense-check
Day 2 objective: Protecting Aaron Rodgers...

Cool site. IMO, this looks like a Dom Capers draft. But I like it.
TT is showing Capers some love.

I think the drop-off in talent at the tackle position is so steep in this draft that there may not be many guys worth spending the pick on in day 2. Would like to see some of those trademark TT late-rounders, maybe pick up perhaps another running back who could stay healthy and compete, a few decent linebackers and some defensive backs.

Also like to say thanks to you guys for having the live blog running and assembling such a cool group of people to post info to it. Turned out to be a fun and useful chat to have running while you watched the draft, plus having other Pack fans around added that extra bit of excitement when we were on the clock. Great work.

Nice work Aaron, Corey and associates. I enjoyed the chat very much. Like others have said, I think the price for Matthews was a little high, but I LOVE these two picks. Both will see playing time and should impact the team in a big way in 2009. Exactly what was needed with Round 1 selections

Just wanted to point something out. At first blush a 2nd and two 3rds look like a lot, but as Mike Lombardi has pointed out, the way you should look at a deal such as this is that the Pack dealt two 3rd round picks to move swap a 2nd for a 1st round pick.

Now, I know some (*cough cough* Aaron) would say that this is a lot and that you are essentially passing up 2 potential starters/contributors (b/c 3rd round picks are still pretty decent quality). However, the Packers are not the Lions. IMO, they have good depth and a solid roster of complementary players. What this defense needs is impact players. Hopefully Barnett will be healthy again and can return to being an impact player. I am on record as blaming conditioning for Hawk not living up to his draft slot. I think a change in the workout paradigm should make him more explosive and give him more stamina. I also think most will agree that Raji has the talent to be an impact player at the nose. The key is Matthews. If Thompson thinks Matthews can be an impact player on ST and coming off the edge, then this was a great move.

Nice draft day work. Aaron and Corey, you deserve a lot of praise for a very, very professional presentation. Outstanding!

TT, you deserve credit for creative and, what will be, impactful moves. I have been pleasently surprised by the first day moves. To get Mathews and Raji the Pack had only to give up a third rounder, in reality. As probably the biggest TT critic on the blog, my hat is off to TT. Great job!

Aaron, I agree that the three picks for one move means that Thompson doesn't see a ton of holes anymore, and that does indeed jive with the earlier McGinn piece, where he had an opposing scout consider the team's needs. But I also think it might say something about how the team views the quality of players in this draft. I'm sure, like me, you've seen lots of reports talking about how this year's class is quite weak, both in depth and in "blue" players. I specifically remember Bill Polian talking about how he thought it was one of the worst draft classes he could remember. This move seems to demonstrate that Thompson felt that way as well. Sort of a "why waste money and roster space on marginal guys when we can go get one of the few guys we really like" approach. Although I'm a bit skeptical of Matthews, if they do think this draft is a bit weak, then I feel better about the move.

The move made by TT was bold and should satisfy all the TT haters. He made a big splash, and personally i like this pick because TT realized were young enough. We didn't need the extra picks in the 3 and 2nd round to get a player we think we could develop. Instead we got a player who can contribute to this defense right away. A great move by TT, keep the faith strong. GO PACK GO

It's interesting that Everett Brown slipped past #41. Some were projecting him at #9 for the Packers. Almost every mock had him in the first round. Ted could have drafted Raji and Brown without giving up both 3rd rounders also. Do you take Matthews or Brown and two 3rd round picks? Hindsight is 20/20 as TT had no way on knowing that Brown would fall to him at #41 but an interesting way to look at the trade.

Keith,

Urlacher went to University of New Mexico, not NM State, and was primarily a safety, though he did play WR and special teams as well.