When I look back at The Teddy Drafts, one thing is easy to deduce: Mr. Thompson is an all-or-nothing kind of guy in the First Round. Let's take a look, shall we:
2005: Aaron Rodgers. Completely useless for three years (why doesn't anyone else cry havoc on this point?) but irreplaceable now. No one is upset we have him - just that there was a void for 3 years... and we completely cut ties with the face of the franchise because he was waiting in the wings.
2006: A.J. Hawk. Gah! Total bomb. Your argument is invalid if you argue otherwise. Linebackers picked in the top five need to be Junior Seau or Derrick Thomas. They cannot be Mike Walter.
2007: Justin Harrell. That was fun.
2008: /slices wrists
2009: B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews. Well, I gotta say, those two talked me off a ledge. Raji looks like he will be an above-average NT for a long, long time. And as the banner indicates, I'm in love with Matthews.
So what's the final tally? 2 perrenial Pro Bowlers (Rodgers and Matthews), one above-average NT (Raji), and 2 completely worthless bodies (Hawk, Harrell). Feels like I should give Mr. Thompson the benefit of the doubt.
The newest Packer, Bryan Bulaga, fit a need. He may also have the chops to be our LT for 10 years. We needed a LT of the future (TJ Lang wasn't the answer). But this pick might be a little too much like the Rodgers pick in 05: we've got someone at the position who is more than adequate now, and could be for another 2-3 years. WHICH MEANS! Mr. Bulaga might not give this team anything for awhile. That's the part I don't like. And that's why I didn't want Charlie Brown, either.
On the other hand, no less than the Great Peter King of Sports Illustrated thought Mr. Bulaga would be the 5th overall pick. As Kiper would say, "Great Value There!" The jury is out, but after last year, I don't have any basis to get all worked up over what a horrible pick this is. Let's leave it at that...
The best news of the night? The Vikings traded out of the first round, passing up Sergio Kindle and Taylor Mays (I don't want to live in a world where we'd have to face Purple Jesus AND Purple Mays... /cues Jimmy Hendrix). They've got the 2nd pick in the 2nd round, probably choosing the slight trade-down to ask God what he wants them to do.
In other good news: the Bears still haven't taken anyone (no pick until round 3) and the Lions took Suh and Best. Packers fans, bare with me here: yes, Suh and Best will be good. And they'll be fun to watch. But they went to the best possible team: THE LIONS... We aren't losing to the Lions anytime soon - so at no risk of getting an "L", we get to see two of the top 5 most exciting prospects in this years' draft, twice a year for the foreseeable future. Not too shabby...
One last note: Mays, as stated above, is still on the board. Please Mr. Thompson, give up a 3 and do what you need to do to acquire this fine young man. Packers fans need us some stealth mode...
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