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Green Bay Packers 2002 Draft Preview
posted 4/15/02
What are the odds...?
Of...that is...GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman and the Green Bay Packers striking it rich with the 28th selection in the first round of the 2002 National Football League draft this weekend.
Not as favorable, obviously, as they were a year ago when the Packers owned the 10th selection in the opening round after completing a trade of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to the Seattle Seahawks, making it possible to move up from the 17th position.
Sherman acknowledged as much when the subject arose during his pre-draft press conference for Wisconsin's sports media, noting by way of comparison,
"You could pretty much lay it out last year. This year, you have to treat it almost like a football game - you have to react to what's in front of you.
"The 'game' changes...and blocking schemes and passes," he said, continuing with the analogy. "Things happen during the course of a game that you don't have control over. And, with a top ten pick, you can kind of control how things are going to go, to a certain degree.
"When you're 28th, you just have to play the game and what comes up. You have to react - to whether it's the willingness to move forward or the willingness to move back."
This observation prompted him to interject, "One thing I learned from Ron Wolf - you never go into the draft with a closed mind. Like 'this is exactly what we're going to do and this is how we're going to go,' because certain things come up - you get a phone call and somebody says, 'Hey we'd like to move up. We'll give you this if we can move up.' You have to be willing to do that - you can't have a closed mind. So we'll be very open-minded and react accordingly.
"But at 28, to speculate what's going to happen...who you're going to have...is a lot more difficult, obviously, than 10."
FOR THE RECORD, the Packers have owned the 28th overall selection in the draft four times previously and, all things considered, have had good success with the number.
On the first such occasion, in 1952, they plucked defensive back Bobby Dillon from the University of Texas campus and Dillon, despite having only one good eye, went on to become the team's all-time leading interceptor with 52 thefts - still a club record - over an eight-year career (1952-59) which began under Head Coach Gene Ronzani (1952-53), continued under Lisle Blackbourn (1954-57 and Ray "Scooter" McLean (1958) and ended under Vince Lombardi (1959).
The next such pick was not as productive. Guard Ed Blaine of Missouri was selected with the 28th choice in the 1962 draft and, after one year as a reserve lineman, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1963.
There was substantial improvement the third time around. Defensive back Tom Brown of Maryland was tapped with the 28th pick in the 1963 draft and he subsequently became the Packers' starting strong safety in their drives to three consecutive NFL championships during the 1965, '66 and '67 seasons, playing five years overall (1964-68).
Defensive end Ezra Johnson of little-known Morris Brown College in Atlanta was the most recent '28' - in 1977 - and he had a memorable career. Developing into one of the premier pass-rushers in Packers history, he amassed 20.5 quarterback sacks en route to earning Pro Bowl selection in 1978, a total that is believed to be the team's "unofficial" single-season record (sacks have been an official NFL stat since 1982).
Johnson, a compensatory first-round pick awarded to the Packers when Green Bay linebacker Ted Hendricks signed with Oakland as a free agent, wore green and gold for 11 seasons before moving on to the Indianapolis Colts and later, the Houston Oilers, to round out a 15-year playing career.
Barring a possible trade or trades, the Packers will have six selections overall - single choices in each of the first, second, third, fourth fifth and sixth rounds. They will be without a pick in the seventh round, the selection having been dealt to the Tennessee Titans prior to the 2001 season in a trade for defensive tackle Rod Walker.
The Packers' selection in the fourth round will be a compensatory pick, awarded in addressing the loss of offensive guard/tackle Ross Verba to the Cleveland Browns in free agency last year. It will replace the Packers' own fourth-round selection, dealt to the New England Patriots in the Terry Glenn trade.
Overall, there will be 261 selections, including 14 by the expansion Houston Texans and 32 compensatory choices that have been awarded to 18 teams which suffered a net loss of certain quality unrestricted free agents last year.
The Texans will receive the first pick in each of the seven rounds. They also will receive one selection in each of Rounds 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 after all teams with a 2001 regular-season winning percentage of less than .500. Houston also will receive the final selection in Round 7 (after all compensatory selections).
Two teams will have two selections each in the first round - New Orleans (Nos. 13 and 25) and Oakland (21 and 23). Miami and Tampa Bay do not have first-round picks.
Under the Packers' customary draft day procedures, selections again will be transmitted from the team's "war room" in the administration building to NFL draft central in New York. Al Treml, the team's longtime former video director, again will represent the Packers at draft headquarters - The Theater at Madison Square Garden - and relay each choice to Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (or a league representative) at the podium for formal announcement.
| 2002 Green Bay Packers Draft (as of 4/15/02) |
| Round | Pick | Overall | Team | Notes |
| 1 | 28 | 28 | GB Packers |
| 2 | 28 | 60 | GB Packers |
| 3 | 27 | 92 | GB Packers |
| 4 | 28 | 126 | To New England | for Terry Glenn |
| 4 | 37 | 135 | GB Packers | Compensatory Selection lost R. Verba |
| 5 | 29 | 164 | GB Packers |
| 6 | 28 | 200 | GB Packers |
| 7 | 29 | 240 | To Tennessee | for Rod Walker |
| 6 Total Picks |
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ROUNDS: Seven rounds - Rounds 1 through 3, Saturday, April 20, and Rounds 4 through 7 on Sunday, April 21.
TIME LIMITS: Round 1: 15 minutes each team; Round 2: 10 minutes each team, and Rounds 4 through 7: 5 minutes each team (261 overall selections)
TIME OF ROUNDS (2001): (1) 4:18; (2) 2:57; (3) 1:28; (4) 1:23; (5) 1:24; (6) 1:25; (7) 1:56.
TOTAL TIME: 14 hours, 51 minutes. (246 overall selections).
INTERNET AND AUDIO SERVICE: The Packers' website, www.packers.com, will carry up-to-date reports on the team's draft selections, including "live" interviews with GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman and others - and conference calls with drafted players - throughout the draft.
TELEVISION: ESPN, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., CDT, on Saturday, ESPN2 from 6 p.m. Saturday to conclusion. ESPN, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, CDT, on Sunday, with ESPN2 carrying the remainder of the draft from 12 noon to its conclusion.
PACKERS PICKS (by round): (1) 28; (2) 28; (3) 27; (4) 37; (5) 29; (6) 28.
AN 'INSIDE' LOOK: Packers fans, regardless of where they may be, will be able to watch, first hand, what is transpiring in the team's "war room" throughout next weekend's draft by visiting the club's web site - www.packers.com. A camera mounted in the Packers' draft room will be providing a continuously updated "snap shot" of the day's activities. In the process, fans will be able to see GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman and Mark Hatley, vice president of football operations, collaborating on their first draft together.
MINI-CAMPS TO FOLLOW DRAFT: The Packers will hold back-to-back mini-camps for veterans and rookies/first-year players on the heels of the draft next week.
The first will begin next Monday (April 22), which will be a travel day for veterans for the first segment of the camp. Physical examinations will be conducted on Tuesday (April 23) and single practices on Wednesday (April 24) and Thursday (April 25), in conjunction with team and group meetings, as well as weightlifting/conditioning sessions.
Thursday also will be a travel day for rookies and first-year players, including players selected in this week's draft. They will undergo physical examinations Friday morning before adjourning to practice for the first of five workouts in company with the veterans - two both Friday and Saturday (April 26 and 27) - and for a camp-ending session Sunday morning (April 28).
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