MILWAUKEE (AP) -Most NFL general managers insist they don’t draft players based on their teams’ immediate needs. The Green Bay Packers’ Ted Thompson actually means it.
For example, just about the last thing the Packers needed two years ago was a defensive tackle, but that didn’t stop Thompson from drafting Justin Harrell in the first round. The pick hasn’t exactly worked out – Harrell has played only 13 games because of injuries – but Thompson’s philosophy remains in place.
“We don’t go into the draft like that,” Thompson said. “We try to evaluate them not only for our purposes now but also for historical purposes, so that we evaluate the players the way they should be evaluated, despite what your current makeup of your team is.”
and could find a match to fill one of the significant holes in their roster.
A deteriorating defense bore the brunt of the blame for last season’s 6-10 finish, so the Packers brought in veteran defensive coordinator Dom Capers and are in the process of switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4 alignment.
They’re expecting existing players to adapt to new positions and responsibilities, most notably Aaron Kampman’s switch from end to outside linebacker. But they’ll also be on the lookout for players who better fit a 3-4 – particularly for another outside linebacker to complement Kampman, and depth at each position on the line.
Texas DE Brian Orakpo could fit in as a 3-4 outside linebacker. Other players also potentially fitting that mold include LSU’s Tyson Jackson and Penn State’s Aaron Maybin.
It’s also hard to imagine the Packers passing on Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji if he’s somehow still on the board at No. 9.
But Thompson said a switch in defensive scheme won’t weigh heavily on draft-day decisions.
it all comes back to, ‘How good a player is the guy?”’
Beyond their urgent needs at defensive line and linebacker, the Packers also are aging appreciably at offensive tackle and cornerback. That could put players such as Alabama tackle Andre Smith and Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins in the mix.
Smith could pose a different challenge to the Packers’ player acquisition philosophy. With a few exceptions, Thompson generally has avoided players with character concerns.
Smith, a junior, won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top offensive lineman. But he was suspended from Alabama’s Sugar Bowl appearance for violating team rules, then left the NFL scouting combine early. He wasn’t in ideal shape at a subsequent workout for scouts.
Thompson said he has taken players off the Packers’ draft board because of character concerns, but wouldn’t say specifically what it would take to remove a player from the team’s consideration.
le that, quite frankly if we think he is a bad guy then we are not going to mess with him.”
The Packers have nine picks going into the draft, including the third-rounder from the Jets in last year’s Brett Favre trade.
But Thompson hasn’t ruled out yet another trade down to get more picks – a conservative tendency that annoys Packers fans, especially in the first round last year.
“Trading down, trading up, it’s all a question of supply and demand,” Thompson said. “If at your pick, there are multiple players that you would like to have at that pick – and you don’t have any real hard preference and you’d be fine with any of them and you could move a few spots and know that you can still get one of those players – then sometimes, especially if you’re trying to build up your core, then it makes a lot of sense to move back.”
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