The 'Ask Packers.com' project continues to generate questions, and we continue to search for the answers. In this installment, we address many of the questions submitted to Packers.com about the Packers' history with the NFL Draft.
Who was the first player to be drafted by Green Bay in the first round?* - Christopher (St. Petersburg, WI)*
The first draft choice in Packers team history was Russ Letlow, an offensive guard from San Francisco, who was selected with the seventh overall pick of the 1936 draft (Feb. 8).
How many Heisman Trophy winners have played for the Packers? Name them.* - Mark (Chicago, IL)*
There have been five: Bruce Smith (1941 winner, 1945-48 Packers), Paul Hornung (1961 winner, 1964-66 Packers), Ty Detmer (1990 winner, 1992-95 Packers), Desmond Howard (1991 winner, 1996 Packers) and Danny Wuerffel (1996 winner, 2000 Packers).
When was the last time the Packers had the #1 pick in the draft or have they ever had it? - Cassie (New Berlin, WI)
The last time the Packers had the first pick of an NFL draft was in 1959, when they selected quarterback Randy Duncan out of Iowa. The only other time the Packers have picked first was in 1957, which they used to draft Hall of Fame halfback Paul Hornung out of Notre Dame.
The Packers have had the second overall pick twice, most recently in 1989 when they selected tackle Tony Mandarich from Michigan State. With the second pick in 1970, the Packers selected Mike McCoy, a defensive tackle out of Notre Dame.
Who were the individuals eventually drafted with the five draft picks Dan Devine traded to Los Angeles for John Hadl? - Parrie (Eau Claire, WI)
In a now infamous trade, the Packers dealt their first, second and third round picks of the 1975 draft and first and second round picks of the 1976 draft to the Los Angeles Rams for quarterback John Hadl.
In the 1975 draft, the L.A. Rams selected defensive tackle Mike Fanning (Notre Dame) in the first round (ninth overall), defensive back Monte Jackson (San Diego State) in the second round (28th) and center Geoff Reece (Washington State) in the third round (61st).
In the 1976 draft however, the Rams dealt the Packers' first round pick to Detroit, which dealt the pick to Chicago, which ultimately selected Wisconsin tackle Dennis Lick with the eighth overall selection. The Rams kept the Packers' second round pick, using it on defensive back Pat Thomas of Texas A&M (39th overall).
Hadl came over from the Rams midseason in 1974, completing 48 percent of his passes (89 of 184) for 1,072 yards and three touchdowns with eight interceptions. In 1975, his only full season with the Packers, he was 191-of-353 (54 percent) for 2,095 yards with six touchdowns compared to 21 interceptions.
As for the five players selected with Packers' draft picks, here's a quick glance: Fanning - 10 seasons, 137 games, 1 safety, 13 sacks; Jackson - 9 seasons, 112 games, 23 interceptions, 289 yards, 3 touchdowns (4 TDs total); Reece - 2 seasons, 17 games; Lick - 6 seasons, 79 games; Thomas - 7 seasons, 87 games, 26 interceptions, 292 yards, 1 touchdown.
What is the college that the Packers have most drafted from in the last 10 years? - Rory (Rice Lake, WI)
In 10 years, the Packers' draft choices have come from a pool of 66 schools. The college program producing the most Packers draft choices over that span is USC with four: linebacker Brian Williams (1995), tackle John Michels (1996), quarterback Kyle Wachholtz (1996) and wide receiver Chris Miller (1997).
Runners-up on that list are Ohio State, Penn State and Tennessee, with three each.
What college didk Dave "Hawg" Hanner play for? - Ben (Bentonville AR)
University of Arkansas.
What college did MacArthur Lane attend?* - Bill (Modesto, CA)*
Utah State University.
What was the name of the college that Arnie Herber attended? - Frank (Lincolnshire, IL)
Regis University.
Who were the quarterbacks drafted ahead of Bart Starr?* - Mark (Kenosha, WI)*
Bart Starr was the 200th overall selection of the 1956 NFL Draft. There were seven quarterbacks taken ahead of him, including two by San Francisco. In the order that the signal callers were selected, the previous draft picks were Gary Glick (1, from Colorado State to Pittsburgh), Earl Morrall (2, from Michigan State to San Francisco), John Roach (31, from SMU to Chicago), Jerry Reichow (38, from Iowa to Detroit), Em Lindbeck (144, from Illinois to L.A. Rams), John Polzer (175, from Virginia to Baltimore) and George Herring (184, from Southern Miss to San Francisco).
Was Howie Long a Packers draft pick? - Arnold (Moorestown, N.J.)
No. Howie Long was drafted by the Raiders out of Villanova in the second round of the 1981 draft (48th overall selection) in a pick received from the Houston Oilers.
A buddy of mine insists that Bruce Smith was originally drafted by the Packers but he was unwilling to join the team so he went to the Canadian League instead. I've checked the draft history in the Packers media guide and see no mention of this, is there any truth to this? - Dan (Clear Lake, WI)
We're going to assume that you and your buddy weren't talking about the Bruce Smith that played for the Packers from 1945-48, but instead are curious about the Bruce Smith who was drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the first pick of the 1985 draft. To answer your question, Smith played his senior year at Virginia Tech in 1984, winning the Outland Trophy as the college game's most outstanding interior lineman before going straight to the NFL draft and his selection by the Bills.
The Packers did make a deal with the Bills in that 1985 draft however, sending their 14th overall selection and second-round pick (42 overall) to Buffalo for the seventh overall pick of the draft, which the Bills had acquired from the Cleveland Browns.
With the seventh overall pick, the Packers drafted tackle Ken Ruettgers out of USC. With the 14th pick, the Bills took defensive back Derrick Burroughs out of Memphis State, before claiming wide receiver Chris Burkett with the second-round pick (42 overall).
All that said, in 1980, the Packers drafted defensive tackle Bruce Clark of Penn State with the fourth overall pick. Rather than play for the Packers, Clark elected to play in the CFL. He returned to the NFL in 1982 and played seven seasons in New Orleans and one in Kansas City (113 games).
Due to an error, the final note about Clark was not originally posted. We thank the several readers of Packers.com that noted the omission.
