No surprise here with their top pick, Green Bay picks up B.J. Raji from Boston College. As we have discussed, Ryan Pickett was absent for most of last year and the need for a massive stuffer at nose tackle is absolutely necessary in the 3-4. Raji fits the bill. The most surprising part of this pick was not the fact that Raji was chosen, but that Thompson didn’t move down in the draft when there were surely offers to trade since Michael Crabtree was still available at this pick. More on this later. I love this pick and believe our defensive front is going to be a force to be reckoned with.
Clay Matthews wasn’t an overly surprising pick either except with the how and where. Ted Thompson made a shocking move to go UP in the draft for Matthews and paid a hefty price to get him. I wasn’t sure we weren’t looking at AJ Hawk with the hair and physique and maybe Ted wants to confuse offenses even more with the Hawk look-a-like. Who knows.
Walking away from this draft tells me something that I haven’t felt since the Ron Wolf era: we are ready to win NOW. The aggressiveness of the picks, the hiring of Capers and the apparent choice to say “we don’t need those rebuilding draft picks in rounds 2 and 3″ tells a lot to Packer fans. The Packers were 2 pieces away from being a superbowl contender.
Let’s hope this is true. Of course, the other thing TT is depending in is Justin Harrell….
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Maybe not. They did draft Jarius Wynn and I see that as a bit of a hedge on Harrell. In general, I think fans give up on players faster than coaches and GMs do. Especially in what I call “Post High Draft Pick Depression”. I’m hoping the new strength coach is getting everyone ready to play for the long-haul next season. I even think Al Harris will surprise people.
Greetings from the capitol of the free world (despite those who wish to diminish our influence). I’m excited about this draft too. So when can we expect to have a podcast posted about it. An anxious, (in a good way) and excited Le Mark de Triomphe (Jordan)
I was astounded that Thompson didn’t trade down in this draft. We’ve gotten so used to him doing so that I just expected that some other team would be drafting at position #9. But what a selection. Raji can really move.
If we can get Jennings back under contract (and I think we will) and get Grant going strong out of the gates instead of waiting until the middle of the season to find his rhythm, I think we’ll go places.
Mark, (and anyone else who is wondering, and reading this post) Ross and I are going to be recording our draft review/early season preview show on 5/6/09. If you have anything you’d like us to discuss, let us know.