2009 Acquisitions

A. Nevermind - Shaffer's a Bear.
B. C/G: Duke Preston (6'5" - 325 lbs.) Buffalo Bills
C. OLB: Jason Babin (6'3" - 267 lbs.) Kansas City Chiefs
D. WR: Reggie Williams (6'4" - 210 lbs.) Jacksonville Jaguars

2009 Green Bay Packers draft

***The Green Bay Packers trade their 1st and 3rd round picks (#09 & #83), plus a 2010 3rd round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals for their 1st and 5th round picks (#06 & #142) .***

***The Green Bay Packers trade their 4th round pick (#109) to the Philadelphia Eagles for their 4th and 5th round picks (#121 & #157).***

1st Round (#06) - NT: B. J. Raji (6'1" - 335 lbs.) Boston College

2nd Round (#41) - DE: Jarron Gilbert (6'6" - 285 lbs.) San Jose State

3rd Round (#73) - RB: Rashad Jennings (6'1" - 230 lbs.) Liberty

4th Round (#121) - T/G: T. J. Lang (6'4" - 310 lbs.) Eastern Michigan

5th Round (#142) - NT: Sammie Lee Hill (6'4" - 330 lbs.) Stillman

5th Round (#145) - ILB: Frantz Joseph (6'3" - 235 lbs.) Florida Atlantic

5th Round (#157) - CB: Bradley Fletcher (6'0" - 200 lbs.) Iowa

6th Round (#182)- OG: Ray Feinga (6'4" - 335 lbs.) Brigham Young

6th Round (#187) - P: Thomas Morstead (6'4" - 225 lbs.) Southern Methodist

7th Round (#218) - TE: Darius Hill (6'6" - 235 lbs.) Ball State

My overall thought process. . .

Free Agency

* Duke Preston is a big, young guy with starting experience. I can see him getting a shot at the RT spot or backing up any (or all three) of the interior line spots. I'd still look to add an OT somewhere.
* Jason Babin was drafted by Capers as a rush backer in Houston and has bounced around since Dom was fired. He settled in with Kansas City late last year and had 31 tackles and two sacks in about half a season with them.
* Reggie Williams is a big, physical possession receiver who fell out of favor in Jacksonville and now nobody seems to want. I think that he's a heck of a player who just needs a change of scenery and would be an excellent red-zone target for the Packers.

The 2009 Draft

* First, most people have Raji to the Packers as being a good fit, but most people expect any of Cincinnati, Oakland or Jacksonville to take him. I'd just like to see TT be proactive in getting the top NT prospect. There's the possibility that he'll drop to #9, but it's not likely. Last year the Saints and Patriots made a similar deal so that the Saints could move up and get Sedrick Ellis. My trade scenario is pretty close to that in value, with the Packers needing to give up a bit more because of the difference between the 7 and 10 picks vs. the 6 and 9 picks (but getting back a better pick than the Saints did last year). While TT has only made one trade up since he came to Green Bay, that doesn't mean that he won't if he gets good value and is able to get a guy that he really, really wants. I'm projecting that the Bengals end up with Andre Smith at #9 and use the extra 3rd round pick to move back up into the 1st round to draft Alex Mack.
* B. J. Raji would seem to be a perfect fit for NT in our new 3-4 defense and can be a rock to build the rest of it around. He can tie up blockers, collapse the pocket and get to the QB. If the Packers get him, I think that he'll end up being for them what Wilfork is for the Patriots.
* Jarron Gilbert gives the team a long-term 5 technique RDE to develop that has the physical ability to do a lot of different things. He reminds me of Darnell Dockett without the character concerns.
* Rashad Jennings is a great physical specimen and with McCarthy wanting to get bigger and tougher on offense, he seemed to be a nice fit to compliment Grant and Jackson. He'd fill the Jerome Bettis short-yardage and grind-it-out role that is really lacking in McCarthy's offense.
* T. J. Lang has a lot of versatility and can play all over the place. I think that he'll start out at OT and then move inside to either Guard or Center once Wells leaves.
* I really, really liked my 5th round.
* Sammie Lee Hill is my second favorite NT prospect behind Raji. He has a ton of physical ability, is humble, coachable and seems to want to prove himself. His level of competition and the inability to get off of double teams consistently push him down a bit.
* Frantz Joseph is a violent, nasty football player. He reminds me a lot of Bart Scott when he first got to the Ravens. Joseph's lack of speed is the only reason he doesn't go earlier, but his intangibles and productivity (285 tackles in the past two seasons) makes him a perfect TT pick. He could end up being what Abdul Hodge was supposed to be. . . an enforcer and leader in the middle of the defense.
* Bradley Fletcher has great physical ability, but is a late bloomer. He only has one year of starting experience, but he has prototypical size and speed and I really love how he sticks to his man.
* Ray Fienga is a mountain of a man. Great size and strength and enough mobility to get by. Reminds me a lot of former Ute and current Steeler Chris Kemoeatu. Classic road-grader for the right guard spot who was a 3 year starter for the pass happy Cougars.
* Thomas Morstead is a big guy with a really big leg. He needs some coaching, but he really reminds me of a bigger, stronger, faster and more athletic version of Michael Koenen. Was the team's punter, kicker and kickoff specialist.
* Darius Hill is a tall, lanky tight end prospect. He needs to bulk up and isn't much of a blocker, but he can find the hole in a defense and has excellent hands. He's also a very good red-zone target. Reminds me a lot of Ben Patrick.

Feel free to comment. Thanks.

I believe Kevin Shaffer just signed a three-year deal with the Bears.
I don't like the trade with Cincinnati because I think Green Bay is giving up too much. The trade with Philadelphia, however, is very good.
You selections are fine although some of them may be a bit early. Also, the Packers may not need to select a RB as early as the 3rd round. I think they will be okay with Grant, Jackson, Wynn, and Lumpkin.

Ellis thats an interesting mock draft senario . its original and well thought out . TT would have to really love Raji to move up and get him . The second thing is can Schaffer step in at right tackle and start? The third question I have is what would we do with Pickett if we drafted two nose tackles ? Would we keep him and play Pickett or Raji at DE( could either one man the end position or Hill for that matter) Or would we trade Pickett ?It does address the D-line very well thats for sure . The only pick I question is a RB with # 3 as I feel we have some decent backs already and I would prefer to see a OT at that pick to groom behind Clifton.

TommMixx.

A. Thanks for the heads up on Kevin Shaffer to the Bears. That happened while I was writing it up. It's too bad, because I think that he would have been an excellent option to replace Tauscher at RT. I'll be interested in seeing how much they paid him.

B. The trade with Cincinnati actually grades out in the Packers favor point wise. I don't like having to give up anything to get Raji, but overall, the cost of two (hopefully) late 3rd round picks, plus getting back an early 5th round pick seemed worth the price of moving up a bit and securing an elite NT to anchor the new defense.

C. Just out of curiosity, who do you think that I'm taking too early?

D. While RB may not be a huge need, I do still think that it's a need. Lumpkin is coming off of an injury and Wynn hasn't shown that he can be counted on. Jackson looked good last year and should get some more touches, but Grant had a down year after his holdout. I think that Jennings can give the team a physical presence running the ball that none of the guys currently on the roster can offer. I had him as my BPA at that spot.


Nimrod

A. I see Pickett and Raji teaming up together to man that spot while the team sorts out it's DE situation. Pickett remains the starter, but Raji sees significant time immediately. Limiting the amount of time that either guy has to be on the field should help cut down on injuries and improve their effectiveness by helping them to not get worn down. It's all about the rotation. Keeping these big guys fresh helps the whole defense to stay effective. Gilbert backs up Jenkins and we let Trogvak and Capers whip these young guys into shape. Hill will need a lot of development before he's ready to contribute. As it is, I see Jolly and Harrell at the LDE spot, Pickett, Raji and Hill at NT and Jenkins, Gilbert and Montgomery at the RDE spot. This should leave open the possibility that Bledsoe, Malone or another DL prospect can come in and make the team as well.

B. I understand the concern over taking a RB so high, but I have Jennings rated very highly and consider him very good value in the 3rd round. They don't have a player like him on the roster right now. He reminds me of a poor man's Michael Turner (with a little less explosiveness at this point). I think that if he'd stayed at Pitt he'd be a first round pick for sure. The only reason he's available at #73 is because he transferred to Liberty. I think that the team could really use a true bruising tailback that runs people over and can get those short yardage gains.

C. OT was definitely a concern, and I tried to address it in the 4th round with T. J. Lang. While he may not be a sexy pick, I really like his potential to come in and surprise people. I think that either Colledge or Barbre will be the players that get the first shot at replacing Clifton in the near future. By the 3rd round, there were no LT prospects that I was really high on, but I did consider Lydon Murtha in the 5th round as a guy who could potentially play LT in the NFL.
Thanks for the comments.

Well I think in a 3-4 defense GB will only be able to keep 7 dline at the most and keeping more than 2 NT that cant play DE is probably not going to happen . Bledsoe and Hill could go to the practice squad but if either one does decent in the preseason it will be hard to keep them on the practice squad as DT/NT size players are very valuble. I am not ripping on your mock and I am happy that defensive line is addressed , just thinking out loud .

Big, strong meaty mofo's in this draft.


I love it.

Thanks Heat. What this team needs is an increase in physical presence. Offense needs bigger, meaner linemen, a TE that can block the crap out of people and a RB who can punish would-be-tacklers. Defense needs some true nose-tackles, some big 5 technique DEs to develop and some bigger LBs that can take on blocks. I'm just so sick and tired of finesse football that I want to see this team transformed into a team that resembles the Pittsburgh Steelers under Bill Cowher. Big, nasty linemen on both sides of the ball. Jerome Bettis. Lloyd, Greene, Kirkland and Brown. . . nuff said. I wish that I could have addressed LB as well as the line, but my feeling was that if we fix the defensive line first it will make the linebackers that we have more effective. I love Kampman and Hawk in this defense and I'm optimistic that Barnett can be effective as well. . . but we've got to keep the blockers off of them.

I am biased, but not enough trading down.

Yeah I saw yours, so I kind of figured that. I just saw everyone saying "trade down, trade down, trade down. . . but if Raji is there then you take him". So I figured what the heck. I want to see the defense transformed and it makes sense to me to move up to get Raji if he's available and then address DE or LB in the 2nd round. I did trade down a bit later, and it's pretty good value. Maybe in my next one I'll try to incorporate more trades. Thanks for the feedback.

I will only comment that with the lack of defensive "beef" in this draft, that Sammie Lee Hill has little chance of making it to the 5th. He's one of the few true bigs in the draft and he seems pretty athletic. I suspect you might need to use a late 3rd or 4th to get him. Too many teams need his kind of size. I don't really mind taking both Raji and Hill, but it seems like now you have to play one of them at DE or you really are over-loaded at the NT position. I would say Raji and Gilbert are enough for the moment. Perhaps skipping the trade-up and just going with Gilbert and Hill would get the job done and the #9 could be used on either an OT like Oher or an OLB like Brown or Maybin.

The rest of the draft is pretty nice. I agree that Jennings has the tools to be a special back, and the 3rd round is not too high to take him. You can only do so much in each draft and this one meets a lot of needs. I especially think you've hit the nail on the head with Fletcher. If I were doing a mock trying to guess at what TT would do, this guy would be on my list. He meets TT's physical qualitifiations and that spot in the draft is probably where he would go for a CB.