Draftniks grade Packers

[Randall]

Posted: April 30, 2007

 

SportsDay

 

 

 

Bob Wolfley

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What better way to follow the most over-covered annual sports event on television than to examine the rush to judgment by a bunch of guys who dutifully ignore common sense because premature evaluation and hair-trigger analysis is what NFL football culture demands?

 

We, of course, are referring to, respectively, the National Football League draft and the grades assigned to teams by some writers or broadcasters.

 

The following list includes the draft grader's name and affiliation, his grade and a brief comment contained in the analysis of the Green Bay Packers' 2007 draft:

 

• Don Pierson, Chicago Tribune, Grade B. "With 11 picks, general manager Ted Thompson continued his pattern of quantity without trying to impress anybody with flashy picks." Pierson gave eight teams higher grades.

 

• Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News, Grade C. "The Packers had the best seventh round, selecting a 2,000-yard career rusher with 4.47 speed (DeShawn Wynn) and a TE with 143 career catches (Clark Harris). But they reached twice in the third round for (James) Jones and (Aaron) Rouse." Gosselin gave 12 teams better grades, including Minnesota, which he gave an A-plus.

 

• Jeff Darlington, Miami Herald, Grade D. "Maybe Packers quarterback Brett Favre should have retired after all." The Packers grade was the lowest for any team.

 

• Jim Trotter, San Diego Union-Tribune, Grade C. "Harrell fills a need but middle of the first round is too high. (Brandon) Jackson was a reach, Jones was overvalued and Rouse is considered a tweener." Trotter gave 25 teams higher grades.

 

• Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN, Grade C-plus. "Defensive tackle Justin Harrell didn't fill need, but the Packers chose the best available player over need. Harrell was hurt most of his senior season, but that didn't hurt his stock much. RB Brandon Jackson, if he can build on his strong finish to 2006, has a chance to be Green Bay's starting running back."

 

• Pete Prisco, cbssportsline.com, Grade B. "(Justin Harrell) will be a force in the middle of their line." Prisco gave nine teams higher grades.

 

• Tony Moss, Sportsnetwork.com, Grade C-minus. "The franchise might have engaged in the reach of the entire draft by selecting Jones on the first day." Moss had 27 teams with better grades.

 

• Paul Zimmerman, SI.com, Grade C-plus. "The guy who intrigues me, though, is David Clowney, a fifth-round flier and one thing Brett can still do is gun it deep." Sixteen teams got better grades from Dr. Z.

 

• Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports, Grade C-minus. "A tremendous risk for the 16th overall pick." He gave 12 NFC teams better grades.

 

There was at least one draft observer who chose another kind of rating system.

 

Tom Weir, USA Today, gave the Packers two stars on four-star scale, meaning "holes (were) plugged, but leaks remain." Weir wrote: "Justin Harrell didn't fill a need with the first-round pick and at No. 16 was taken ahead of projections."

 

There were other draftniks who did not rate teams, but offered analysis of their choices:

 

• Keith Kidd, Scouts Inc.: "Green Bay is a true-value team; it relies heavily on its player stack, and Tennessee DT Justin Harrell was easily the best player left on the Packers' board. The addition of Harrell continues a youth movement on the defensive side of the ball. GM Ted Thompson is building this team around a tough defense. I thought the pick here could have been Michigan DL Alan Branch, or perhaps a playmaking WR. Harrell is an impressive athlete for his size, but has never been a really effective inside pass rusher. But he has potential to develop into a good two-down player in the NFL. It is a little bit of a reach in our view since he was ranked 30th on our board."

 

• Unsigned comment, Scouts Inc. at ESPN Insider site: "Make no mistake about it; Justin Harrell is a talented player, and staying away from a player who has problems keeping his weight down like Alan Branch makes sense considering the problems the Packers had with Grady Jackson. However, tight end is a far greater need and Greg Olsen was still on the board, so they probably could have gotten a little more bang for the buck here."

 

• John Clayton, ESPN Insider: "The Packers didn't wow anyone with their selections of defensive tackle Justin Harrell and running back Brandon Jackson in the first two rounds. Unfortunately for Packers fans, (Randy) Moss favored the Patriots over the Packers in what appeared to be a trade of convenience for the Raiders and Moss."

 

• Don Banks, SI.com, said Favre was one of the "losers" in the draft, because he didn't get a running back or receiver in the first pick. "What's a living legend to do? Any chance No. 4 will retire in protest?"

 

• John Czarnecki, "Fox NFL Sunday" and FoxSports.com. "Once again, the Packers were great at leaking misinformation. They kept saying they needed playmakers to help Brett Favre in his final season. Every team tells some lies at draft time. When I asked specifically about Justin Harrell two days ago, the Pack told me he wasn't their guy."

 

 

Call SportsDay at (414) 223-5531 or send e-mail to bwolfley@journalsentinel.com

[Bronco Billy]

@ the draftniks covering their arses by raking the Packers when GB outsmarted them.

 

Harrell was a great pick & will control the middle of the line while protecting what is becoming a superb LB corps, allowing them to make plays in the middle of the field. The guy is also very capable of collapsing pockets from the inside, allowing DEs to be more effective. I know for a fact that GB picking Harrell made Shanahan feel forced to move up in the draft to pick Jarvis Moss - DEN had Anderson, Harrell, & Moss targeted for their 21st pick, and when Anderson & then Harrell went earlier than expected he felt the obligation to move up to get the last of his targets left on the board.

 

Jackson is a very solid pick & will fit very well into the GB system. He could easily do exactly what A Green did for them, but with better health & younger legs. Jones has a lot of potential at WR and can contribute in little bits this year. Rouse was great value at his spot and certainly a need.

 

The end of the draft was very solid for GB.

 

Watch the "experts" eat crow as this season plays out. GB had a very good draft, IMO.

[T-Scorp]

@ the draftniks covering their arses by raking the Packers when GB outsmarted them.

 

I know for a fact that GB picking Harrell made Shanahan feel forced to move up in the draft to pick Jarvis Moss - DEN had Anderson, Harrell, & Moss targeted for their 21st pick, and when Anderson & then Harrell went earlier than expected he felt the obligation to move up to get the last of his targets left on the board.

 

 

 

Since you seem to know him well... Would please ask Shanny about Denvers RB situation and save us all a lot of time and grief...

[Bronco Billy]

Since you seem to know him well... Would please ask Shanny about Denvers RB situation and save us all a lot of time and grief...

 

 

I can only go by what Shanahan himself is quoted as saying in interviews and in the local papers, which is completely consistent with their actions in the draft.

 

[T-Scorp]

I can only go by what Shanahan himself is quoted as saying in interviews and in the local papers, which is completely consistent with their actions in the draft.

 

 

 

 

Shanahan and consistent????????

[Randall]

Since you seem to know him well... Would please ask Shanny about Denvers RB situation and save us all a lot of time and grief...

 

 

 

Nothing ever changes.

 

Rules #1 and 2.

 

Never draft a Denver or Minnesota RB if you like pece of mind. It's like Mike Tice never left.