PACKERS ENTER '08 DRAFT WITH EIGHT SELECTIONS
-Armed with eight selections overall - including three picks in the top 60 - General Manager Ted Thompson and the personnel staff will look to add increased competition and depth to one of the league's most talented young clubs this weekend in the annual NFL Draft.
-Thompson will be running the draft room in Green Bay for the fourth time (2005-present). He ran the draft room for five seasons in Seattle (2000-04) when he served as vice president of football operations for the Seahawks.
-The Packers will have their own picks in Rounds 1 and 2 to go with Cleveland's second-round selection (No. 56 overall), obtained in the trade for defensive tackle Corey Williams. Those three picks will make up the Packers' first-day selections with the NFL's new format. Only Rounds 1 and 2 will take place on Saturday.
-The team will have a busy Sunday as well, currently holding five overall selections. A look at what picks the Packers hold:
Round - Overall #
1 - 30
2 - 56 (from Cleveland)
2 - 60
3 - 91
4 - 128
4 - 135 (compensatory selection)
5 - 162
7 - 237
THOMPSON'S DRAFT HISTORY
-It's hard to doubt the success of Thompson's drafts, dating back to his time with the Seahawks. The Seattle team that reached Super Bowl XL had Thompson's fingerprints all over it. Nine starters, as well as kicker Josh Brown, were drafted by Thompson.
-Thompson's work is Green Bay has been evident as well, stockpiling a roster with young talent at nearly every position. Having overseen a turnaround from a 4-12 record in 2005 to a 13-3 mark in 2007 and an appearance in the NFC Championship Game, he was named 'George Young NFL Executive of the Year' by The Sporting News last month.
-Thompson's philosophy of building through the draft has brought the Packers 34 selections over the last three seasons, 23 of whom are still with the club.
-In 2005, he entered his first draft with Green Bay armed with seven picks. Through draft-day trades, he wound up with 11 selections. Included in that bunch were Aaron Rodgers (first round), Brady Poppinga (fourth), Junius Coston (fifth) and Michael Montgomery (sixth).
-Similarly in 2006, he entered draft day with seven selections, this time turning those seven picks into 12. Among those selected were A.J. Hawk (first round), Daryn Colledge and Greg Jennings (second), Jason Spitz (third), Will Blackmon (fourth), Tony Moll (fifth) and Johnny Jolly (sixth).
-Last year Thompson brought more core players to the club, turning nine picks into 11 selections. Nine of those picks remain on the roster.
TRADING UP? OR DOWN?
-Draft weekend is almost always a fluid situation in draft rooms around the league, with scenarios and possibilities changing with each selection.
-Much has been made of the fact that Thompson has never traded up in either his three seasons with the Packers or five with the Seahawks.
-"We're not opposed to it," Thompson said to the media this week. "We almost need to move up just so we can put this conversation (to rest). But, no, it's certainly possible. Once you get going we'll see how it's working and how the board looks for us. If it looks a little desperate and there's one guy that we think addresses something really important in terms of his long-term value to the Packers and we just don't think he's going to make it to us, that's when you try to step on the accelerator."
-Thompson noted that in each of those eight drafts, there have been times when he's tried to move up: "I think we've tried at one time or another in probably every draft I've ever been involved in. But you have to have another team willing to make that trade at that particular time."
-Looking at more of Thompson's draft history, a trade involving the Packers at some point this weekend seems likely. In each of the three Packers' drafts, Thompson has opted to accumulate picks by moving backwards.
-He made three draft-day trades in 2005 and four in '06. In last year's draft, Thompson made two draft-day trades.
WITH THE 30TH PICK.....
-Since the very first NFL player selection meeting in 1936, Green Bay has chosen at No. 30 overall just three times.
-The Packers last chose at No. 30 in 1997, selecting tackle Ross Verba from Iowa. Verba became the first rookie to start at left tackle in Super Bowl history when he got the nod against Denver in Super Bowl XXXII. He spent four years in Cleveland (2001-04) before finishing his career in Detroit (2006).
{sportsad300}-Green Bay also picked No. 30 overall in 1966. At that time a second-round selection, the Packers selected tackle Tom Cichowski from Maryland. Cichowski never appeared in a game for Green Bay.
-1950 marked the Packers' first time selecting at No. 30. A third-round pick that year, Green Bay chose end Gordy Soltau from Minnesota, though Soltau never appeared in a game for the franchise.
-So what does Thompson expect from this year's selection?
-"We're expecting to get a really good player there," Thompson said Monday. "Whether they come in and start right away, that's not as important as whether it's a good long-term investment for the organization. We're going to try to put some heat on these guys and let them compete and see what happens. We want to create competition, as we've always done, create as much competition as we can at every spot, and there is no spot that doesn't need more competition."
-There will undoubtedly be some talented players around at No. 30 on Saturday. The challenge for Thompson and the personnel staff will be to duplicate the success other teams have had at the spot in recent years. A look at some of the recent No. 30 picks:
Player - Team - Year
Patrick Kerney - Atlanta - 1999
Keith Bulluck - Tennessee - 2000
Reggie Wayne - Indianapolis - 2001
Heath Miller - Pittsburgh - 2005
Joseph Addai - Indianapolis - 2006
-Kerney, the 2007 NFC Defensive Player of the Year, is a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro.
-Bulluck was the Titans' leading tackler from 2002-06 and was a Pro Bowl selection in 2003.
-One of the league's dynamic receivers, Wayne has been selected to the past two Pro Bowls (2006-07) and was honored this past season as a second-team All-Pro.
-Miller contributed immediately, winning Super Bowl XL in his rookie season, and has grown into one of the AFC's top tight ends.
-Another find for the Colts, Addai became the second consecutive rookie selected at No. 30 to contribute to a Super Bowl championship (XLI). He was named to the AFC Pro Bowl roster in 2007.
WHAT THOMPSON HAS DRAFTED IN GREEN BAY
-First round (3): Quarterback, linebacker, defensive tackle
-Second round (5): Wide receiver (2), safety, guard, running back
-Third round (4): Linebacker, guard, wide receiver, safety
-Fourth round (5): Safety, linebacker, wide receiver, cornerback, guard
-Fifth round (5): Guard, cornerback, quarterback, tackle, wide receiver
-Sixth round (7): Defensive end, wide receiver, defensive tackle, safety, linebacker, fullback, kicker
-Seventh round (5): Linebacker, guard, defensive end, running back, tight end
DRAFT HEADQUARTERS AT PACKERS.COM
-The team's official Web site is the best source for up to the minute information on Draft weekend and the only place to see live press conferences from Lambeau Field in their entirety, in addition to an exclusive peek into the Packers' Draft Room.
-In a special draft section, Packers.com will provide biographical information on each Packers pick as it happens, with additional coverage by the Packers.com team.
-Want to see more than just a quick snippet on the nightly news? Packers.com serves as the only place to see press conferences featuring GM Ted Thompson, Head Coach Mike McCarthy and other members of the Packers staff in their entirety. All press conferences on the site will be carried LIVE via Flash video and archived for later viewing. Additionally, a LIVE video stream from the Packers' Media Auditorium will be available during Draft hours.
-Packers.com also is pleased to provide an EXCLUSIVE peek into the Packers' Draft Room with the 2008 Draft Cam. This unique, behind-the-scenes cam will bring updated images every minute during the draft.
-For the first time ever, fans can watch the Draft online as it happens. NFL.com will give fans access to NFL Network's live telecast of the 2008 NFL Draft. Live coverage starts at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 26, at NFL.com/Live. NFL.com will stream the final 30 minutes of NFL Network's four-hour NFL Total Access pre-Draft show followed by Rounds 1 and 2 of the Draft. NFL.com's coverage continues on Sunday at 10 a.m. ET with NFL Network's telecast of Rounds 3 - 7.
