Grade it out...

[Jess]

I know, I know. Rookies take 3 years to pan out, so it's not fair to grade drafts now. To hell with that! We're doing it now!

Grade out each pick individually if you want, or just give us your overall take. I'm going the individual route.

Bryan Bulaga: Home run. We obviously needed O-line help and one of the better tackles from this year's draft fell directly into our laps. Imagine what Aaron could do with time in the pocket. I'm salivating at the thought. Pick Grade: A

Mike Neal: Speaking of people I have never ever heard of. I'm not thrilled with the pick. From what I hear he's a pretty decent guy at opening lanes for the rush, which is good. I still feel like there was better players on the board, though, like Golden Tate, Major Wright, or Morgan Burnett. Wait a minute... (Pick Grade: C- )

Morgan Burnett: Grand slam. Another ballhawk to go with our other 2 ballhawks. I love it. I love his ability to defend the pass, I love his ability to make plays, and I love that he can tackle pretty decently. Pick Grade: A

Andrew Quarless: We didn't need another TE all that badly. Feels like a wasted pick to me given that we'd have been perfectly fine with Finley/Lee/Havner. To me, this is the worst pick of the Draft for us. Pick Grade: D

Marshall Newhouse: I'm not going to sit here and claim to know anything about him. I just know we needed O-line help and he's an o-lineman. Addressing needs with later round picks instead of just taking luxury items will always get you a decent grade. Pick Grade: B-

James Starks: Monster numbers at Buffalo. Looks good on tape, concerned about his injury but if it's healed it's just a shoulder. Not like it's a knee or anything. And giving Brandon Jackson competition for that 3rd down back role is a great idea. Pick Grade: B+

C.J. Wilson: Love it. A dynamic pass rusher in the 7th round. GREAT value there. The perfect pick in the perfect spot. Pick Grade: A

Overall Grade: B-

Boom or bust draft. Some picks I really liked (Bulaga, Burnett, Wilson), some I really don't like (Quarless). There's at least 2 future starters in this draft, though, and you can't ask a heck of a lot more than that.

 

[PackersRS]

Wow. Agree 100% with you, Jess. Just would add if Neal pans out, update that to a B. And if C.J. doesn't, downgrade to a B also...

 

[21dmvp21]

ok here is my grades

1st round bryan bulaga - filled a major need at left tackle, will be a stud in the next year or so. my grade A

2nd round - mike neal - not a major need but it sure does not hurt the line, this kid will prove alot of people wrong, he was shooting up draft boards the past few days. he will be a great pass rusher off the edge imo. pick grade A-

3rd round - morgan burnett - this was a huge need, especially after that playoff game last year when the middle of our defense got tourched all game. this guy covers like a corner and hits like a linebacker, he is not affraid to lay somebody out and he is great in run defense and a great ballhawk. imo our best pick. pick grade A+

5th round - andrew quarless - not a huge need once again but D Lee did drop a few key passes last year and is getting older. this guy reminds me so much of Finley when he was drafted, he is big, has good hands, and is fast so he can stretch the field and is a major miss match for oposing defenses. he also has some maturity issues much like Finley did and is also only 21 like finley was. i think he will take maybe a year or two to develope but i can see A Rod tossing a ball up to Quarless in the corner of the endzone in the near future. my favorite pick of day 3. Pick Grade B+

round 5 - marshall newhouse - gives us an extra body on the o line which does not hurt going into the pre season. i dont know much about him but have heard good things. may not be a starter yet but he may get there in a few years with good coaching. pick grade B

round 6 - james starks - what can i say, im blown away by this kid from the 08 season. its a shame he got injured. im very happy we got him, he ads another pass threat for rodgers to play with out of the backfield. he has good hands. the only things that worry me about him is he likes to fumble and his durabillity. other than that this was a great pick. pick grad B+

round 7 - C.J. wilson - once again i dont know much about this kid but i hear that he was a 3rd/4th round talent taken in the 7th round. so that makes me happy right there. the more big bodies on the d line the better. pick grade A

right now i love this class, i will have to at least see them in training camp and in pre season to really fall in love with them. but this was a great draft. i give it a solid A

 

[PackerfanfromBama]

Agree with you, but i might be showing favorite here but if we were going to get a TE i think it should have been Colin Peek. but i think a better pick would have been someone in the secondary.

 

[TheGiftedApe]

overall grade on the draft would have to be an A- or B+, Packers have needs on O-line and D-line, defensive Secondary and backfield, as well as LB in my opinion. All those needs were met, except LB, and our O-line found 2 potential Tackles in 1 draft, as well as 2 potential 3-4 DE's. The physical specimen of James starks should open up competition in the backfield this year. And I think burnett was one of the only Safeties the packers even considered, Thomas and Berry, are too small to play SS in the NFL in my opinion and would have cost too much for that position, Burnett is a very nice pick-up that has a style of game that is very similar to that of nick collins and charles woodson, I believe burnett might start day 1.

Only questions I have are quarless and neal, these too picks feel like a GAMBLE. The TE pick came out of nowhere too me, even though Havner had his runins with the Law, I thought Finley's emergence as a dominant TE would surely mean we didnt need to waste a pick on a Guy who doesnt play hard and almost got kicked off his college team. Now Neal the 2nd pick, I like the player but He is not the Pass rusher that we needed I dont care what analysts say, his play style and his stats say that he is a clog up the hole guy who doesnt have elite rushing the passer skills, and that was a little high too take him. But if these guys pan out who knows.

 

[NYPacker]

Jess I'm with you on everything. I thought the TE pick was completely useless. If we indeed want yo replace Lee or Havner and still dRaft a TE then why not trade one of them away for a 6th or 7th round pick and grab a CB or LB?

I think Newhouse deserves a solid A- I can't believe he was still on the board. IMO he could be the heir apparent to Tauscher handa down.

 

[profile_removed]

C. Bulaga is an A+++++++++++ pick. Every other pick, there was someone better available in every round that Thompson should have targeted. Bulaga is the only thing keeping this from being another failure of a TT draft.

 

[lancer84]

1st round - Bryan Bulaga - A+ - self explanatory.

2nd round - Mike Neal - B- because of who we couldve drafted... other needs.... He might actually be better than his highlights or lack thereof

3rd round - Morgan Burnett - A- - big need, good player.

5th round - Andrew Quarless - B- - not a huge need, but... he did run a faster 40 time than Finley did I believe? and a good backup to one of the best tight ends in the league... is 5th round worthy in my book

5th round (2) - Marshall Newhouse - C - Why not, you can never have enough olinemen, I mean... who knows, he might be a good backup..

6th round - James Starks - C- - Never heard of, good stats...not a great division.... injury prone...other choices...

7th round - C.J. Wilson - A- - Love the pick! Can't wait to see him in a packers uni.

Overall grade B

 

[Berengaria]

Can see TT's reasoning behind all of his picks and he must have a fair bit of faith in Quarless to take him-can rationalise that pick as BPA. However like a lot of posters was looking for a decent CB as some point. There must be a lot of faith in Underwood and Lee and dare I say it--Bush.

 

[Pat4DaPack]

A- overall

we got some really good value and guys that will help right away.

 

[ivo610]

This is a very hard packer draft for me to grade this early. TT drafted a TE that most of us didnt agree with, but I am thinking he sees alot of promise out of the kid and that pick might be an A. If Buluga becomes only a G then I guess that pick becomes a C. I do think that teams were afraid of getting another Robert Gallery so they stayed away but I think Bryan will turn out to be great player.

Just based on what I felt were our needs I give the draft a B-. Special teams wasnt addressed and no cornerbackers were my two biggest issues.

As far as other teams i think the Browns, Seahawks, Ravens, and Patriots had the best drafts.

 

[supermancc0386]

I've got some mixed feelings about this draft. I loved the fact Bulaga was there at #23. He'll be great. I like the Neal pick more than most probably. Some compare him to Jenkins and I think that's a pretty good comparison. Were there guys I would have rather had still on the board? Yeah probably, but if our scouts liked him enough then so do I. Loved the trade up for Burnett. It was a good need/value pick. If Bigby goes down, I'll feel better now. Quarless was a bit surprising. I thought there were a couple other guys on the board I would have rather had and even a TE or two I thought was better. But the other side of that is this guy can play and has a huge upside. And if he turns out like Finley, I'm plenty happy. A two TE look could be really confusing with these guys. Newhouse was a guy where I saw a lot of people had him rated very differently. Some people thought he was a top 10 OT in this draft. Some people didn't have him in 7 rounds. What I like about him is he's physically capable and the concerns with him are things that can be coached. Starks came at a discount thanks to his injury and I really like the upside of him. And Wilson in the 7th? I could not believe it. I would've been good with this guy after the third. In the 7th I'm just in shock. I think most people thought he was a 3/4 round guy and I know some even had him in the 2nd. I think we got a good group of guys. While they weren't necessarily the ones I would've picked (most rounds except for 1st and 7th, I wanted someone else.)

As for OLB and CB, its too bad we didn't get anything at either spot, but I feel fine about Jones at OLB. The guy still registered 6 sacks and I think has earned his starting spot on the team. It would have been nice to get depth though. At CB, I'm a little more nervous there. Woodson and Williams are great. Harris is too and after watching his rehab videos, I think he comes back 100%, but I'm not sure if it will be in time for the start of the season. Underwood showed some promise and hopefully Lee has something in him. And as bad as Jarret Bush was sometimes, I'm pulling for the guy. After reading an interview with him, he seems to really love GB and seems like he really wants to make a difference for this team.

 

[turbo69]

I do think that teams were afraid of getting another Robert Gallery so they stayed away but I think Bryan will turn out to be great player.

Just based on what I felt were our needs I give the draft a B-. Special teams wasnt addressed and no cornerbackers were my two biggest issues.

As far as other teams i think the Browns, Seahawks, Ravens, and Patriots had the best drafts.

I agree. Everyone was comparing Bulaga to Gallery.........but Gallery was suppose to be the best to come out since.........ummm ... Tony Mandrich......LOL. At least Gallery became a Gaurd though.....while we all know what happended with Mandrich. On a serious note though, I think Bulaga after some pass protection coaching........will be pretty good. The team I think really improved themselves in the draft was the 49ers. Probably since I would have liked to see the Pack get the Offensive lineman........they got. (not taking anything away from Bulaga of course)

 

[PackersRS]

Incredibly, the Raiders had the best draft...

 

[olwig420]

Shouldn't the teams with the worst records and the most needs have the best drafts every year?? I mean you would think. Some how that doesn't always happen.

If my logic is correct that counts us out.

 

[turbo69]

Shouldn't the teams with the worst records and the most needs have the best drafts every year?? I mean you would think. Some how that doesn't always happen.

If my logic is correct that counts us out.

Well..........the Lions have sucked so long.....they should have the best team acoording to that philosophy. But we all know Matt Millen destroyed that team as much as Rick Wagner Destroyed General Motors. You know something was wrong in Detroit since they drafted (according to the so called experts) the best Receivers in I don't know how many years in a row. Then again........look at the Redskins. All the highly toughted free agents and they still suck. They did get Orakpo last year and did some good things in the off season, not to mention hiring a coach with a brain, alot of experience, and took the Broncos to 2 Superbowls. Management and coaching mean alot.

 

[ivo610]

Well..........the Lions have sucked so long.....they should have the best team acoording to that philosophy. But we all know Matt Millen destroyed that team as much as Rick Wagner Destroyed General Motors. You know something was wrong in Detroit since they drafted (according to the so called experts) the best Receivers in I don't know how many years in a row. Then again........look at the Redskins. All the highly toughted free agents and they still suck. They did get Orakpo last year and did some good things in the off season, not to mention hiring a coach with a brain, alot of experience, and took the Broncos to 2 Superbowls. Management and coaching mean alot.

No coach has ever won a Superbowl with 2 different teams. Shannahan wont either, but he will improve them

 

[claybillings]

No coach has ever won a Superbowl with 2 different teams. Shannahan wont either, but he will improve them

Ya but there are men who have been very close (Mike Holmgren comes to mind). And seriously, we all watched that game, the Seahawks got jobbed harder than any team I can remember. I seriously was screaming at the television because it was such bullsh*t.

And trust me, Shanahan is just as good a coach as Holmgren, just in different ways.

 

[aaronqb]

I liked the draft.

Bulaga is a no-brainer. The Packers have a major need at OT and will be lucky to get another year out of Clifton. Good LTs are tough to find and it may be a while before the Packers have another opportunity to select another LT of this caliber. They are lucky he dropped into their lap.

Neal and CJ Wilson. Good picks. Both Jenkins and Jolly may be gone next year via free agency and they now have the depth to be able to handle this. Both of these guys will have the ability to learn before being thrown in.

Burnett. Great pick. Has a good shot to start this year. Great speed and coverage ability.

Quarless. If he is as good as his potential and is not a problem child, I like the pick. Lee dropped off fast last year and teaming Quarless with Finley will give the Packers flexibility.

Shields. It depends on his medical condition. If he's healthy, then he was a steal; if not a wasted 6th round pick is not the end of the world.

Newhouse. Again, the offensive line was the weakest link last year. Added depth will be nice.

I don't think GB needed to draft a CB. They were decimated by innjuries last year and if they have even an average number of injuries in the defensive backfield, they will be fine. They can draft a CB next year.

Another OLB would have been nice. I like Jones, but I don't like the backup situation there (Poppinga). I would like to see Brady get beat out by one of the FA OLBs.

Overall grade B+

 

[PackersRS]

I liked the draft.

Bulaga is a no-brainer. The Packers have a major need at OT and will be lucky to get another year out of Clifton. Good LTs are tough to find and it may be a while before the Packers have another opportunity to select another LT of this caliber. They are lucky he dropped into their lap.

Neal and CJ Wilson. Good picks. Both Jenkins and Jolly may be gone next year via free agency and they now have the depth to be able to handle this. Both of these guys will have the ability to learn before being thrown in.

Burnett. Great pick. Has a good shot to start this year. Great speed and coverage ability.

Quarless. If he is as good as his potential and is not a problem child, I like the pick. Lee dropped off fast last year and teaming Quarless with Finley will give the Packers flexibility.

Shields. It depends on his medical condition. If he's healthy, then he was a steal; if not a wasted 6th round pick is not the end of the world.

Newhouse. Again, the offensive line was the weakest link last year. Added depth will be nice.

I don't think GB needed to draft a CB. They were decimated by innjuries last year and if they have even an average number of injuries in the defensive backfield, they will be fine. They can draft a CB next year.

Another OLB would have been nice. I like Jones, but I don't like the backup situation there (Poppinga). I would like to see Brady get beat out by one of the FA OLBs.

Overall grade B+

I don't think we spent a pick on Shields... I believe our 6th rounder was on Starks...

 

[claybillings]

I don't think we spent a pick on Shields... I believe our 6th rounder was on Starks...

You are correct sir, Shields was an UFA.

 

[Shawnsta3]

I think Newhouse deserves a solid A- I can't believe he was still on the board. IMO he could be the heir apparent to Tauscher handa down.

Just a reminder that we as fans can be sort of stupid sometimes..