I have 3 complaints about my beloved Packers. In no particular order, they are:

1) The Packers pass on 3rd and 1. They pass if it’s less than 5 yards and goal. If the D knows they would like to run, they have to pass. It’s been a problem since TT broke up the great O line of the Sherman era and it’s about time to fix the problem.

2) To say the D disappointed last year is to put it mildly. The change to the 3-4 should help with the pass rush. We need to add some guys to make it successful.

3) There was nothing special about the special teams. Blackmon is serviceable but injury prone. Until they are on the level of the Hestor and the Bears, they need to keep trying to find their guy.

With that said, here is my draft.

R1 Andre Smith OT Alabama | Height: 6'4" | Weight: 332 | He had some problems at the draft. He’s a little immature and needs a mentor, but the game tape doesn’t lie. At the end of the season when the positioning was determined solely by play on the field, he was everyone’s #1 pick. Getting him at #9 due to off the field is a great situation for the Pack and for Andre as being in GB keeps him away from a lot of bad situations.

R2 William Beatty OT Conneticut | Height: 6'6" | Weight: 307 | The line is now ready to dominate for the next decade after adding one of the most athletic OT’s in the draft.. The only knock on Beatty is that he was a little light at 290 but he is up to 307 now, which is adequate. Profile Link His blocking allowed Brown to become one of the nations leading rushers. He is agile enough to get to the second level when run blocking. Having Beatty at Left Tackle allows Smith to play right and not have to match up against the elite pass rushers. www.draftcountdown.com has him going to the pack in the 2nd so I figure it’s not too unlikely he’s available here. If not, Meredith would be my 2nd choice here. Either way I think we need to draft 2 OT’s with our first two picks to turn this thing around.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2009/profiles/wil...layers-analysis

R3 William Moore S Miss Height: 6-01/8 | Weight: 221 | 40-Time: 4.53 - If he would have came out after his 07 season, he would have been a mid 1st rounder. Other Safeties had better numbers in 08’s and with safeties not starting to come off until the 2nd round, the Pack may get him in the 3rd. His fantastic 07 shows that he’s capable of spectacular play. Profile on Moore Link lists him as having great size, good centerfielder with ball hawking skills, turns INTs into TDs. Goes up and makes plays on the football. All 3-4s need a star safety and Moore has that ability. Might need to move up to get him or move on to the Clemson or Alabama safety.
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/william-moore?id=71405

R3 Travis Beckum TE Wisconsin Height: 6-3 | Weight: 243 | 40-Time: 4.61 - I watched every game the guy played at UW and he can make all the catches. His athleticism reminds me of Tony Gonzales. He was considered undersized but put on 15 lbs while rehabbing a broken fibula and tested out as one of the strongest TE’s in the draft. Being at Wisconsin, he has plenty of experience run blocking and doesn’t get enough credit in that area. Profile says Link If he would’ve been healthy and had a capable QB, he could have been a 1st rounder. As is, he’s a steal in the 3rd.
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/travis-beckum?id=71201

R4 Terrance Taylor DT Michigin Height: 6-0 | Weight: 306 | 40-Time: 5.27 - Strong and Stout at point of attack. Was state power lifting champion sophomore-senior year of HS. Excellent run stuffer and capable of collapsing the pocket. Poor endurance causes some to question his motor. Has proven himself against top competition for 3 years. Profile Link says he has good instincts, and is tough and nasty. Will help make the Packs win the war in the trenches. I think he is underrated as teams didn’t run at him.
http://www.draftcountdown.com/scoutingrepo...ance-Taylor.php

R5 Sammy Lee Hill NT Stillman Height: 6-37/8 | Weight: 329 | 40-Time: 5.15 – The only negative in Hill’s profile Link is that he played at a small school. Tall with muscular overall build and long arms. Displays excellent agility and quickness for his size. Uses a punch and good hand play to discard offensive tackles at the line of scrimmage. Swats chipping running backs away like flies on the outside. Good closing speed and has the length to wrap up in the backfield. Athleticism allowed him to play some DE that limited double teams and allowed him to rack up some nice stats. Could play both 3-4 DE and NT offering versatility. Loads of upside here.
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/sammie-lee-hill?id=79571

R6 Xavior Fulton OT ILL Height: 6-41/4 | Weight: 302 | 40-Time: 5.04 - The best thing about Fulton is that he is only beginning to scratch the surface of his talent after spending the first three years of his career at DT. Has the body to easily put on weight, but will be at his best in a ZBS where athleticism is preferred to size. Fulton’s profile Link raves about things he can do, but notes he is inexperienced and played with a shoulder injury limiting what he could do. He just had surgery to fix the shoulder which is the only reason he is available this late. He’s raw and will need time to develop, but has the athleticism to be a starting LT down the road.
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/xavier-fulton?id=71307

R6 Michael Ray Garvin, CB/KR Florida State (5-8, 174) - Garvin is the next great return man. He has Hester like ability to immediately get to full speed. He’s a world-class sprinter who registered the lowest 40 of the draft season with a time of 4.23. Garvin averaged an amazing 30.1 yards per kick return last year and went over 100 yards in returns three times in 2008, including a season-high 172 yards against Florida. Remember the Desmond Howard or Allen Rossum days where you didn’t dare miss a kickoff. We lost a few games this past year due to special teams. Its time we get a guy that will win us a few games.

R7 Pannel Egboh Stanford Height: 6-53/4 | Weight: 276 | 40-Time: 4.90. - Egboh is one of those guys that only has value for a 3-4 team since he doesn’t have the bulk to play DT and doesn’t have the pass rushing skills to play DE in the 4-3. His size and abilities makes him the perfect late pick for a 3-4 team where his height and ability verse the run are valued. What Egboh’s profile Link says is he got the quickness and strength to play the run, athletic enough to be used in zone blitz schemes, and has the frame to put on some muscle. He only played 1 year of Varsity football, so he is raw and has upside potential. There were some FA’s with similar skills (good against run, not much pass rushing skill) that got paid pretty well this offseason (Canty, Igor, etc).
http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/pannel-egboh?id=71289

The O line is set for the next decade, the D line is stocked with run stuffers and a premier safety, and we have a Hestor like return guy. This is my dream draft.

I purposely didn’t address the linebacker situation. With adding Kampman and Thompson to the LB core, I believe there’s plenty of talent, Dom just needs to get it sorted out in year one of the 3-4. I’m also an advocate of having Hawk move to the right OLB and having Poppinga move inside. We drafted Hawk to be a playmaker then put him in a position where he wasn’t in the action. It’s time to give him a chance to be the Ware/Merriman of our Defense.

So what do people think? Is using the first 2 picks on OTs crazy? Anyone else sick of having a mediocre line and think it's a good idea to do whatever it takes to fix it?

Travis Beckum was not a great blocker at UW. Im the majority of sets he was split wide and also used in motion. Very seldom did he line up as a true TE

To be quite honest, I like the idea of Smith in the first and Beatty in the second. You get two bookend tackles for the next 10 seasons. I could see Smith playing RT this seasona and then shifting to LT next season with Beatty moving in at RT. We then have the makings of an OL that can be together for the next 6-7 seasons.

The sleeper on the mock is Sammie Lee Hill. A huge guy that is surprisingly quick for his size and if given a chancee to develop, he could be a tough one in the middle.

Fulton won't fall to the sixth round (third or fourth I believe) and I don't think Beatty will be there at 41, but I like it all the same.

Fudding-
Agree it is time to fix the O-line. If the Pack goes with A Smith at #1, maybe his teammate, A Caldwell would be a good pick at #3. He is tough, smart, versatile, and mature - could keep Andre on the right track. And safety - well there's R Johnson at #2... Roll Tide! BPF

On Fulton, I had him going in the fourth in a previous mock, but I think it was Neubrew that said his shoulder surgery was so serious that he could be had late, even undrafted. Not saying that is right, that's just my reasoning.

On Beatty, He definitely could go earlier, he's just my first choice at that point with Merideth a close second. I think at least on of them should be there.

Thanks for the feedback.

I was also thinking that Smith would break in at RT, but I was thinking he could stay there and Beatty would eventually take over at LT. My reasoning is that Smith is thought to be a better run blocker than pass blocker, so keep him on the right side and have Beatty protect AR's blind side since he is a little more nimble. Either way, our current tackles aren't getting the job done and the sooner they are replaced, the better IMHO.

Sammie Lee Hill has quite a following on PC. Hope TT feels the same way.

I was very close to taking Jarron Gilbert in the 2nd and Caldwell in the 3rd. I ended up taking the 2 tackles in a row to emphasized my unhappiness with the current tackles.

I mentioned i'd be happy with the Bama safety if Moore is gone, i just think he has more big play capability but Johnson is the safer pick.

On passing situations he was split out wide and put in motion often, but UW is a running team so he was asked to block more than say Chase Coffman. He's far from a great blocker, but that's not why he would be brought in. I really believe if he stays healthy, he'll be a probowler. He has more ability than Owen Daniels who became very good.

I've brought Beckum up a couple times and the board seems very devised on him, either really liking him or thinking he's just a big slow receiver lining up as a TE. Guess we'll have to wait and see.