NFL Draft Capsule: Green Bay Packers

Green Bay had a surprising 2007 regular season where they went 13-3. Their success continued with a win in the NFC Divisional Playoffs, but they fell to the eventual Super Bowl Champion New York Giants in the NFC Championship. General Manager Ted Thompson has done a great job assembling this team through the draft over the years, so the Packers do not have a lot of glaring needs.

Long-time cheesehead hero Brett Favre hung up the cleats this offseason, leaving the inexperienced and unproven Aaron Rodgers as the starter. His success will be measured by wins and losses, but Rodgers will have a lot of help from his teammates. The Packers have a solid line, good running game, and a plethora of pass catchers. The offense is virtually built, and the only downfall is that some of the players are starting to age. Green Bay most certainly will add some offensive talent during the draft, but it is not much of a need. Look for the Packers to primarily draft defensively, instead. The unit was underrated last year, but they definitely could still use more depth on the front line and in the secondary.

Offense

Green Bay’s offseason starts and ends with Favre’s retirement. The QB’s durability over his career hasn’t left Green Bay with much of a need to have a solid backup. They drafted Aaron Rodgers in 2005, and he’s patiently been waiting his turn. In limited action, Rodgers has looked like the real deal. He won’t make anybody forget about Favre, but he is an adequate starter, and he has a plethora of weapons around him.

Ryan Grant emerged as a pro-bowl caliber running back last season, showing exceptional power and burst through the hole. The Packers lack ideal depth behind Grant, but Vernand Morency provides solid help, and DeShawn Wynn and Brandon Jackson should improve upon their rookie seasons. They run behind a great offensive line, which is incredibly young on the interior. Starting tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher, are both entering their ninth seasons, so it might be time to starting looking to add youth to the depth chart there.

In the passing game, Rodgers inherits three great options in wide receivers Donald Driver and Greg Jennings and tight end Donald Lee. The Pack let Bubba Franks leave via free agency this offseason, so they need another body at tight end. Favre’s gunslinger mentality got Green Bay’s third, fourth, and fifth wide receivers (James Jones, Ruvell Martin, and Koren Robinson) involved in the offense. Those three probably won’t have as big of an impact next season, but wide receiver depth definitely is not an issue for this team.

Defense

This unit has been very underrated the past couple of years. Looking across the board it’s hard to find a lot of weaknesses. Up front, the Packers have a great sack tandem in Aaron Kampman (12.0 sacks last season) and Kabeer Baja-Biamila (9.5). Cullen Jenkins provides them with a solid three man rotation. In the middle, they are anchored by Ryan Pickett. They traded Corey Williams to the Cleveland Browns this offseason, so last year’s first round pick Justin Harrell needs to step up.

The linebackers are solid, but outside of A.J. Hawk, unspectacular. Green Bay signed Brandon Chillar this offseason to compete with Brian Poppinga for the starting spot opposite Nick Barnett.

Charles Woodson and Al Harris are almost the quintessential cornerback tandem for this system. They play aggressive bump and run coverage, and, although sometimes they get beat deep, typically can cover wide outs without much safety help. Atari Bigby came up big during the playoffs last season and had a solid year. Nick Collins mans the other starting safety spot. Overall, the starters in the secondary are very good, but this unit lacks depth. Using nickel and dime sets is risky as their third and fourth corners are adequate at best.

Special Teams

Ryan Longwell left for Minnesota last offseason, but it looks like the Packers found their kicker of the present and the future last year when they drafted Mason Crosby out of Colorado. Crosby hit nearly 80 percent of his attempts last season, and should easily improve upon that stat next year.

Koren Robinson and Will Blackmon handle most of the return duties. Blackmon returned one punt for a touchdown, but, other than that, Green Bay’s return game was not special. Typically, teams don’t look for returners in the draft, but if a corner can assist in the return game, look for the Pack to jump on him.

Draft

Green Bay’s biggest need is definitely in their secondary, more so at cornerback than safety. They also need to add depth at tackle, tight end, and quarterback (they only have two on the roster right now). The Packers pick 30th in the first round. ESPN’s Todd McShay and Mel Kiper, Jr. agree that Green Bay’s biggest need is in the secondary and have them selecting CB Brandon Flowers (5’10”, 190 lbs, Virginia Tech). Flowers grades out as a first rounder, so he would be a good value pick there. Picking so low in the round, Green Bay probably won’t be able to target a single player.

They do have two second round picks (they acquired one from Cleveland in the Corey Williams trade), so they could move up in the first if they fall in love with a prospect. If they keep the picks, Green Bay would love to see someone like CB Mike Jenkins (5’10”, 197 lbs, South Florida) or CB Aqib Talib (6’1”, 202 lbs, Kansas) fall to them in the first, as both prospects were previously projected in the top ten of the draft. A more likely scenario, though, has Flowers sitting at their pick.

In the second round they could look specifically at tackles - Carl Nicks (6’5”, 341 lbs, Nebraska) – could be available, or take the BPA (best player available) approach. Green Bay does not have a lot of glaring weaknesses, so they can afford to draft without paying much attention to need. It is also gives them the flexibility to move around in the draft by packaging picks to move up or acquiring picks in next year’s draft to move down.

Tomorrow: Seattle Seahawks