draft day!

[Coltonvik]

With Draft Day approching how will the packers improve their team. Will there be any draft day trades?

[J_rob_the_ Baller]

Maybe.

If Turner is still a charger on draft day, and Lynch is gone before the packers pick, i wouldnt be suprised to see a trade that sends turner to GB. ONLY if Lynch is not there at #16

There is still the chance of a randy moss trade, which would also probably be a draft day trade if it happens.

They need a RB, Safety is probably their next biggest need. Then, a WR would be nice, and some DLine help. Their O line isnt looking to bad, but they could use some depth and/or competition there.

[mrblitz]

No way, Lynch last till the 16th overall pick. Hopefully you guys can land Turner.

[The Lung]

From Fanball: http://www.fanball.com/buzz/article.cfm?id=9640

By Jon Lopuch, Associate Editor

Full Nelson

I am a Packers fan working for a Minneapolis-based fantasy football company, which I imagine is kind of like being a Republican in the Kennedy house. Not that the other guys in the office are insufferable homers or anything, but the fact remains I am on an island when it comes to cheering for my favorite football team. One thing I enjoy about this arrangement, though, is that I have a strong voice in who goes to the Packers in our mock drafts ( all of which can be found here ) and, as you can see, I have been adamant that we don't act like sheep and give the Pack a running back with the their first-round selection. It is not a desire to be unique that is fueling this, rather a firm belief that the Green and Gold's biggest need resides on defense and general manager Ted Thompson won't reach for a running back if he can get an impact player on defensive side of the ball.

Ideally, the Packers would trade up to grab LaRon Landry, the clear-cut top safety in this year's class and one of the best playmakers in the secondary to come out in quite a few years. Reggie Nelson isn't Landry, but he has the potential to be a game-changing talent. After a disappointing Scouting Combine, his stock returned to its previous heights when he ran a sub-4.4 40 at the Florida Pro Day last month. Nelson picked off six passes and blocked two kicks for the national champion Gators last season and is considered a center-field type safety that will makes a perfect match to team with Nick Collins. Green Bay tried to address this problem in free agency a year ago, but Marquand Manuel proved not to be the answer and is best suited to be a backup on most teams. The Packers defense allowed 23 points per games last season, placing them in the bottom quarter of the league, and their Achilles' heel was their secondary, which suffered often from miscommunication and poor play from their safeties. Cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson (during the parts of the game when he was healthy) form a solid tandem, but there is little hope of the Green Bay defense returning to past glory unless they make a significant upgrade at safety.

Speaking of the glory days, this may be Brett Favre's last season (yes, insert joke here, but it really may be) and the best chance for him to go out with a playoff run is to improve the defense. However, the popular choice for the Packers in the mock draft community seems to be Marshawn Lynch, the running back out of California. In fact, the pick seems a little too trendy for my taste. Heck, Todd McShay over at ESPN hasn't even changed the copy for the Packers pick of his mock draft in months, and no, I'm not kidding. While I certainly understand the logic of choosing a back now that Ahman Green is running behind the Maginot Line that is the Texans offensive front five, it is important to remember that non-elite running backs tend to fall on draft day, sometime going a dozen or so spots lower than their talent would suggest they should; just look at guys like DeAngelo Williams and Steven Jackson, both of whom dropped to the end of the first round in recent years despite excellent college careers. That's because most teams don't see running backs as a great value early, which is more bad news for those hoping Lynch ends up with the Pack because Thompson has proven again and again that value is his top concern on draft day.

This is, of course, assuming that Thompson doesn't go for one of the free agents still available on the market. Now don't get me wrong, Chris Brown and Corey Dillon don't do much for me, but let's not forget how ordinary Green was last season, either. He missed two games because of an injury, averaged a mere 4.0 yards per carry, and scored only five rushing touchdowns, fewer than Kevan Barlow or Chester Taylor. Vernand Morency averaged 4.6 yards on 91 carries and went for at least 99 yards in both games he got double-digit carries. He's clearly best suited to be a No. 2 back, but the running back situation isn't so dire that the Packers need to spend a first-round pick there. They could get good value in the second round with guys like Kenny Irons, Antonio Pittman, or even Tony Hunt. The value at safety will drop much quicker during the first few rounds.

In the end, I feel the ideal scenario for the Packers would be to land restricted free agent Michael Turner via a trade with the Chargers in exchange for a second- or third-round pick. Turner is the talented, young back Green Bay is looking for and is a better prospect than they could land in either of those rounds. Plus, it still allows them to address their need at safety with Nelson in the first round. However, ideal situations rarely present themselves in the NFL, so my main hope is that the Packers ignore the majority of the draft gurus and go with the safe pick at safety.

[skibrett15]

wow that was a pretty annoyingly long blurb supporting a safety pick. The pack will pick the BPA in the first, whether it's a DE or a DT or a QB.

[dgan]

Yeah...that's weird. He's making the argument that the Pack won't "reach" for Lynch, when it's entirely possible he'll be selected by Buffalo at #12, thus not even fall to us.

[dgan]

Yeah...that's weird. He's making the argument that the Pack won't "reach" for Lynch, when it's entirely possible he'll be selected by Buffalo at #12, thus not even fall to us.

As predicted...

Wow, was this a disaster. We did get a RB and Safety, but I'm not sure either is going to be an improvement over what we already had. Both were underachievers in college. Plus there is no way we took "best player available" in the first round. TT is an idiot. Gotta find a way to trade down if that's they guy you want...could have easily taken him 10 picks later.

[CC]

Yeah...that's weird. He's making the argument that the Pack won't "reach" for Lynch, when it's entirely possible he'll be selected by Buffalo at #12, thus not even fall to us.

As predicted...

Wow, was this a disaster. We did get a RB and Safety, but I'm not sure either is going to be an improvement over what we already had. Both were underachievers in college. Plus there is no way we took "best player available" in the first round. TT is an idiot. Gotta find a way to trade down if that's they guy you want...could have easily taken him 10 picks later.

I agree, TT is a dumbass. I like the Rouse pick, and while Brandon Jackson is decent, there were better backs on the board.

Harrell was a borderline 1st round pick, a major reach.

[skibrett15]

I like the Brandon Jackson pick, and while Justin Harrell isn't that exciting because he's a DT, he should be a great player. It's rare that a DT can get pressure on the QB and I think Harrell should be able to. We will have quite a good D-line with him in there. Jackson didn't have a ton of success in college, but he is a guy that fits in well with our ZBS I think. Deshawn Wynn is a solid guy to add to the rotation and compete in camp.

I think we were looking at either Sidney Rice or Dwayne Jarrett at 47 and when neither were there we traded down.

Also, NFL network interviewed Shanahan and he said Harrell was who the Broncos were targeting. After we picked him they had to trade up to get their second option Jarvis Moss. So if you don't trust TT (I don't completely) trust Shanahan on the Harrell pick.

My biggest beef is with the James Jones pick in the 3rd. San Jose state WR. If the pack was high on him, wait until the 2nd day. 2nd day you draft the lesser known small school guys who might produce big time. I like the Clowney pick though, we need a real speedy deep threat like him. 6-0 and blazing fast, he is small at 184, but could be a Kevin Curtis type.

Final note: I love the Mason Crosby. Man has a catapult attatched to his hip. 60 yarder into the wind. If he doesn't win the job, we might carry him for kickoffs.

[Teck]

I'm not really too happy with this draft. While I like the Brandon Jackson pick, I don't really like too much else. While Harrell probably will be a good pick, we could have switched down, as we had more pressing needs I felt. Did we really address our safety? We got rouse, but I don't really know how he is. (I'm big on pro, not too much on the college level) When we traded down in the 2nd, I wish we wouldn't have and taken steve smith, or god forbid, trade UP instead of down. Also, Why the 2 LBs in the 6th? We're already set there.

So much for favre's last run at a superbowl, we didn't do anything to help him out. Unless ALL of these rookies are immediate impact rookies I don't see us going 8-8 again this year.