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Vikings first-round draft pick Shariff Floyd.

The Packers used the 2013 NFL Draft to finally address the running back position and add a much-needed player on the defensive line. What were the Packers division opponents up to in the draft?

Well, two of them used fifth-round selections to take punters and another drafted an offensive lineman in the first round that most analysts pegged as a second or third rounder.

Those were a few of the moves that made people scratch their heads. But it wasn’t all bad in Vikings/Lions/Bears land. Let’s take a trip around the NFC North to see how the Packers’ rivals used the draft to (maybe) close the gap and challenge Green Bay for a division title in 2013.

Minnesota Vikings

The Picks:

1 — Sharrif Floyd, DT Florida
1 — Xaveir Rhodes, CB Florida State
1 — Cordarelle Patterson, WR Tennessee
4 — Gerald Hodges, LB Penn State
5 — Jeff Locke, P UCLA
6 — Jeff Baca, G UCLA
7 — Michael Mauti, LB Penn State
7 — Travis Bond, OG North Carolina
7 — Everett Dawkins, DT Floriday State

The Breakdown:

Just when it looked like the Vikings might be on the right track, they draft a punter in the fifth round. A punter! In the fifth round!

Ok, a fifth-round pick isn’t going to make or break a draft, but c’mon. A punter! In the fifth round!  Read more... (1291 words + 1 image, estimated 5:10 mins reading time)

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With their final pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the Packers took South Florida OLB Sam Barrington.

With their final pick in the seventh round (232nd overall) in the 2013 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers select Sam Barrington, OLB, South Florida.

PLAYER DETAILS: 
Sam Barrington
OLB
South Florida
6’1″/246lbs

CAREER NOTES: From CBSSports:

2012 SEASON  Read more... (1167 words + 1 image, estimated 4:40 mins reading time)

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Packers sixth round pick in the 2013 NFL draft, Nate Palmer, OLB, Illinois St.

With their sixth round pick (193rd overall) in the 2013 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers select Nate Palmer, outside linebackers, Illinois State.

PLAYER DETAILS: 
Nate Palmer
OLB
Illinoise State
6’3″/240 lbs

Career Notes: Injury issues throughout his career. Broke his ankle as a junior in high school and played just four games. Broke his foot after getting knocked off a motor scooter by a woman in his car during his third and final season at the University of Illinois. Eventually transferred to Illinois State.

Palmer visited the Packers before the draft. Here is a story on Palmer from the Chicago Tribune.

From CBSSports.com.

2012 SEASON  Read more... (671 words + 1 image, estimated 2:41 mins reading time)

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The Packers selected Mississippi St. DT Josh Boyd in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.

With their second fifth round pick (167th overall) in the 2013 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers selected Josh Boyd, defensive tackle, Mississippi State.

PLAYER DETAILS:
Josh Boyd
DT
Mississippi St.
6’3″/310lbs

CAREER NOTES: 

From CBSSports.com: Played in 51 career games, tied for third among active players in the FBS… Including 41 starts, has amassed 125 tackles, 18.0 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, a fumble recovery and field goal block … Made an immediate impact on the field as a true freshman and has continued it into his senior campaign … Led all MSU defensive linemen in tackles in the 2011 season by recording 51 in 13 games … Came to Mississippi State following a standout prep career at nearby Philadelphia High School.

COMBINE:
5.14 40 yard dash, 32 bench, 26.5″ vertical, 104.0″ broad, 7.16 3 cone, 4.64 shuttle

SCOUTING REPORT: (from CBS Sports)

Considering how much press linemate Fletcher Cox received a year ago, it is surprising how little Boyd received. After all, he signed with the Bulldogs as a similarly highly regarded prep prospect (turning down the likes of Alabama, LSU, Florida State and Miami among many others), was starting for the third consecutive season and finished last year with just five fewer tackles than the eventual No. 12 overall pick of the 2012 draft.  Read more... (484 words + 1 image, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)

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Packers fourth round pick, T J.C. Tretter out of Cornell.

With their second pick in the fourth round (122nd overall) in the 2013 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers select J.C. Tretter, Tackle, Cornell.

PLAYER DETAILS:

J.C. Tretter
Tackle
Cornell
6’4″/307

COMBINE: 

5.09 40 yard dash, 29 bench, 29.5″ vertical, 109.0″ broad, 7.48 3 cone, 4.69 shuttle

CAREER NOTES:

When Tretter arrived at Cornell in 2009, he lined up at tight end. The 238-pound freshman appeared in all but the Harvard clash, catching his only pass for the year vs. Columbia, good for 18 yards. The following season, he played in all ten games, as the now 250-pound tight end generated 62 yards with a touchdown on four catches, returned a kickoff 14 yards and recorded four tackles.

Tretter bulked up during the offseason and when he returned to school at 276 pounds, the coaches shifted him to left offensive tackle for the 2011 campaign. Tretter embraced the move and excelled on the field. He posted ten touchdown-resulting blocks while helping the Big Red lead the Ivy League and finish fourth in the nation with an average of 341.5 yards per game passing.

SCOUTING REPORT:
 Read more... (482 words + 1 image, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)

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Trader Ted was in trade-down mode Friday night in the NFL draft.

Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson traded out of the third round on Friday during the second night of the NFL draft.

Thompson initially traded the 88th overall pick to San Francisco for the 93rd pick and the 49ers’ seventh-round selection. Thompson then moved the 93rd pick to the Dolphins for their fourth-rounder (No. 109 overall) and Miami’s fifth- and seventh-round picks.

Confused? So am I. You are probably eating Fruity Pebbles and watching Saturday morning cartoons right now and would rather not have to think too hard about this kind of stuff. So, to make it easy for you, here is where the Packers will be picking on Saturday:

• Round 4, pick 12, 109 overall
• Round 4, pick 25, 122 overall
• Round 5, pick 13, 146 overall
• Round 5, pick 26, 159 overall
• Round 5, pick 34, 167 overall
• Round 6, pick 5, 173 overall
• Round 6, pick 25, 193 overall
• Round 7, pick 10, 216 overall
• Round 7, pick 18, 226 overall
• Round 7, pick 26, 232 overall

All of this wheeling and dealing happened after Thompson traded down in the second round — once again with NFC rival San Francisco, this time for an extra seventh-rounder — and selected Alabama running back Eddie Lacy. Packers fans were also still digesting the news of Aaron Rodgers’ five-year, $110 million contract extension.  Read more... (328 words + 1 image, estimated 1:19 mins reading time)

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Desmond Bishop is one player the Packers have drafted and developed.

An interesting discussion about the Packers draft and develop philosophy broke out in the comments section of this post the other day.

The basic question that came out of the discussion was this: What does draft and develop mean to you?

Draft and develop might mean different things to different people. The various meanings appear to include:

• Having players on the roster who can immediately and adequately fill in when a starter is injured.
• When an upper-echelon player leaves the team (for whatever reason), there’s another player on the roster than can immediately play at a similar level of the departed star.
• Accumulating as much young talent as possible.

There is no right answer to the question, but if I had to select one of the above, I’d select the third option. However, that answer is a little broad. There isn’t a team in the league that doesn’t want to accumulate as much young talent as possible. That franchise goal isn’t unique to the Packers.

Perhaps I need to add a fourth option: Accumulating as much young talent as possible and having the patience to stick with that philosophy and actually make it work.

Draft and develop has paid off for the Packers because they didn’t ditch it at the first sign of trouble. It’s also worked because the front office appears to be on the same page as the coaching staff, which is a lot more rare than we think. (It’s also worked because the Packers have Aaron Rodgers.)  Read more... (481 words + 1 image, estimated 1:55 mins reading time)

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