NFC North-a look back at last year's draft

[Randall]

Green Bay(who cares about the rest?)

Link at bottom

 

While none of the Packers' rookies were sensational, they were a major reason for the team's surprising 13-3 record and run to the NFC Championship Game.

 

Taking Justin Harrell with the first-round pick was a minor gamble as he missed almost all of his senior season with a torn biceps tendon. After allowing him to fully heal and bringing him along slowly, Harrell came alive late in the season.

 

He played extensively in the Packers' final seven games, including the playoffs, and had 18 tackles over that stretch. He played so well, in fact, that the Packers felt comfortable trading veteran Corey Williams to Cleveland in the offseason.

 

Beyond Harrell, the Packers had a trio of other finds in the later rounds. WR James Jones, S Aaron Rouse and K Mason Crosby all had outstanding rookie seasons and were vital cogs in all three phases of the game.

 

Running backs Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn showed promise before struggling with injuries and will likely play important backup roles this season behind starter Ryan Grant.

 

Korey Hall and Desmond Bishop performed well in limited playing time and the rest of the class did not see much action.

 

 

 

http://www.nfl.com/draft/story;jsessionid=...mp;confirm=true

[Chief]

Let's not and say we did.

[alexgaddis]

Very quietly, the Vikings had one of the better 2007 draft classes in the league.

 

Everyone knows about first-rounder Adrian Peterson, who stormed the league in his rookie season and immediately entered the NFL's best running back debate.

 

Prior to suffering a mid-season knee injury that cost him two games and slowed him down the stretch, he was on pace to have one of the best seasons ever for a running back, let alone a rookie.

 

Peterson alone would have made this a successful draft for the Vikings, but what's impressive is how many solid players they got after the precocious rusher.

 

WR Sidney Rice, CB Marcus McCauley, DE Brian Robison and WR Aundrae Allison also had productive seasons. Rice and McCauley could develop into long-term starters for the Vikings, while Robison and Allison showed they are reliable role players at minimum.

 

Should young QB Tarvaris Jackson develop, the Vikings could be cultivating one of the better young offenses in the league with Peterson, Rice, Allison and tackle Ryan Cook.

 

None of the other three players made the team.

[Egret]

......

[Randall]

Very quietly, the Vikings had one of the better 2007 draft classes in the league.

 

 

 

They've made improvements at the top.

[Belushi]

Should young QB Tarvaris Jackson develop, the Vikings could be cultivating one of the better young offenses in the league with Peterson, Rice, Allison and tackle Ryan Cook.

 

There's the problem right there. They'll be looking for a new starting QB at the end of this year.

[Randall]

There's the problem right there. They'll be looking for a new starting QB at the end of this year.

 

 

They re-signed Robert Feguson too.

[Chavez]

Taking Justin Harrell with the first-round pick was a minor gamble as he missed almost all of his senior season with a torn biceps tendon. After allowing him to fully heal and bringing him along slowly, Harrell came alive late in the season.

 

He played extensively in the Packers' final seven games, including the playoffs, and had 18 tackles over that stretch. He played so well, in fact, that the Packers felt comfortable trading veteran Corey Williams to Cleveland in the offseason.

 

Beyond Harrell, the Packers had a trio of other finds in the later rounds. WR James Jones, S Aaron Rouse and K Mason Crosby all had outstanding rookie seasons and were vital cogs in all three phases of the game.

 

Running backs Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn showed promise before struggling with injuries and will likely play important backup roles this season behind starter Ryan Grant.

 

Korey Hall and Desmond Bishop performed well in limited playing time and the rest of the class did not see much action.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/story;jsessionid=...mp;confirm=true

 

Did the guy who wrote this up watch GB even play?

 

Justin Harrell looks like he might be a plugger, but this just in - 2.5 tackles a game isn't exactly tearing it up. He didn't show much pass-rush push either.

 

Jones was very good, much better than anyone who isn't a Packer GM with the initials "TT could have expected. Still, he had issues with drops all the way through the season, and cost the team one game with poor ball security.

 

Mason Crosby was about as good as expected; I don't know that I necessarily have faith in him making clutch kicks, but we'll see.

 

Rouse's season was not "outstanding" and he wasn't "vital" - he was the 3rd safety, but looked pretty good in the 2 games he started. Nick Collins should officially be on notice.

 

Wynn showed promise but given his undependability, I'll be surprised if he sticks around. Jackson did NOT show promise early; he looked pretty well terrible, as a matter of fact and was COMPLETELY outplayed by Wynn - but Jackson DID show some progress down the stretch.

 

Korey Hall started every game at FB and was a key cog on special teams. That ain't "limited playing time."

 

BIshop was a ST warrior, but IIRC had some injury issues down the stretch.

 

I'm not quibbling that it was a productive draft class - heck, they got one season long starter (Hall), and 3 starting-caliber players (Wynn, Jones, Rouse). But I don't think this guy knows what the hell he's talking about.

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

There's the problem right there. They'll be looking for a new starting QB at the end of this year.

 

I wouldn't be shocked to see them take one in the 2nd round this year.

[Outshined]

I wouldn't be shocked to see them take one in the 2nd round this year.

 

They are doing their due diligence on a couple of QB's or it is a smoke screen.

 

Here is the updated list of prospects (and it’s certainly partial at this point) set to visit to Winter Park before the NFL draft late next month.

 

– QB Brian Brohm (Louisville)

– QB Joe Flacco (Delaware)

– DT Kentwan Balmer (North Carolina)

– WR Malcolm Kelly (Oklahoma)

– DE Kendall Langford (Hampton)

– WR Devin Thomas (Michigan State)

 

They also sent a contigent out to Matt Ryan's pro day. It wasn't just scouts, but the QB coach and Spielman as well. They won't trade up very far to get him, but maybe if he falls little farther than projected, maybe they would make a move.

Edited March 23, 2008 by Outshined

[Randall]

They are doing their due diligence on a couple of QB's or it is a smoke screen.

They also sent a contigent out to Matt Ryan's pro day. It wasn't just scouts, but the QB coach and Spielman as well. They won't trade up very far to get him, but maybe if he falls little farther than projected, maybe they would make a move.

 

 

There sure are a lot of smokescreens this time of year. If they do draft a QB Hugh's wise to not take my bet offer.

[Egret]

I wouldn't be shocked to see them take one in the 2nd round this year.

As a Lions fan, I'd be fine with the Vikings making a new tradition out of taking a project QB early every year.

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

They are doing their due diligence on a couple of QB's or it is a smoke screen.

They also sent a contigent out to Matt Ryan's pro day. It wasn't just scouts, but the QB coach and Spielman as well. They won't trade up very far to get him, but maybe if he falls little farther than projected, maybe they would make a move.

 

I could see them use 1 of their 3rd rounders to move up a couple spots in the 2nd to grab a QB if they see one slide they like.

 

I'm also thinking OL is all of a sudden a serious issue for this team. You've got talk surrounding McKinnie being on the outs. And now I read that Birk's contract is soon up and the team has not spent much time trying to re-sign him yet. All of a sudden a position that was a strength could be a real weakness. There already is a lack of depth.