Andy from Tomahawk, WI
I feel like Ted Thompson could've closed his eyes and thrown a dart at the top of his board for the Packers' first pick. He must have felt like a kid in a candy store with all the talent that fell to 27.
They're nearly all still there. Remember our winter obsession for Hunter Henry? He's still there. Reggie Ragland, Andrew Billings, Su'a Cravens, Jason Spriggs, A'Shawn Robinson, Kamalei Correa, Emmanuel Ogbah and on and on. Most of the names this column has spent the past three months discussing are still on the board. This is an amazing draft. We talked about this a few days ago, about the great difference of opinion between draftniks and their mock drafts. What it means is today could be even more exciting than yesterday. Today is the day of OUR draft. It's the day OUR players come off the board. Amazing!
Aaron from Seattle, WA
Another quality jar on the shelf with the addition of Kenny Clark, and I couldn't be more excited to see this young man develop. However, my BAP alarm started going bonkers when I saw a top-five pick like Myles Jack fall to the Packers at pick 27, which made it all the more surprising when the Packers passed on him. Injury or not, what team doesn't want Myles Jack?
First of all, Clark isn't a jar on the shelf. He should provide an immediate impact for the Packers. As for Jack, microfracture surgery is a daunting challenge. I've covered several players who've undergone the microfracture procedure and nearly all of them experienced a downward turn in their career. I feel very badly for that young man. Last night should've been the best night of his young life.
Trevor from Spring Grove, IL
Vic, I am a little confused by the pick. I know a defensive lineman was needed, but don't you think Ragland was higher on the board? I trust Ted, though. Hopefully, Ragland is available when the Packers pick in round two.
I expected to hear Ragland's name called, but it didn't shock me when I heard Kenny Clark's. The Packers trust their board, not our board. We love names we know, and we become enamored by a few of them. The Packers' job is to know all of the names.
Mark from Bristol, UK
Never try to guess the draft. Almost every player we had hoped to choose was available to us and we select someone else. Amazing! We may still get one of those "first rounders" in round two. Anything is possible.
The guessing game is what makes the draft fun. Never stop playing the guessing game. Just don't make the mistake of thinking your board is their board.
Craig from Suffern, NY
One big guy taken on day one. How many more should they grab?
Last night was about getting the big guys. They fell early and often and it's going to continue tonight. I fully expect the Packers to tap into the crop of offensive linemen. This is a big-guy draft, the Packers already have one and I expect them to finish with a couple of big guys on each side of the ball.
Matt from Madison, WI
Foolishly, each draft cycle I become enamored with a few prospects. Each year, however, I seem to be disappointed. Last night seemed to be particularly gut-wrenching. Here's hoping Ted Thompson serves up another plate of crow to Packer nation.
You're taking this way too personally.
Kimm from Rice Lake, WI
Considering the fact this draft is supposed to be loaded at the DT position, help me understand why the Packers would pass up a thumper like Reggie Ragland. This could have been our best chance to get Clay back outside where he belongs.
You can't pick everybody. You make one pick at a time and the Packers picked the player they believe was the best available to them. Again, your board isn't their board. It's ridiculous to think the Packers don't have a plan for addressing inside linebacker. I think you'll be satisfied with their plan, but you have to be patient and let it happen.
Jake from Racine, WI
I like the first pick, but do you think Thompson might trade up and grab Ragland or Jack?
He has the ammunition to do it, but does he have to do it? We're obsessing on Ragland. As for Jack, he falls into the same category as Jaylon Smith. Injuries are real. An injured player isn't the same player the team saw on tape.
Wayne from West Bend, WI
Clark? Really? Tell me honestly. Wouldn't you have selected Robert Nkemdiche instead of Clark, if you had the chance to pull the trigger and both players were still on the board? It's not even close, is it?
According to whose board? Yours? Mel Kiper's? Mel's board was a mess last night. Where was William Jackson III and Artie Burns? Mike Mayock called it the worst wide receiver class ever, but three of them were drafted consecutively and four were drafted overall. Was this the greatest example of BAP picking, with teams sticking to their boards in the face of a great discrepancy of opinion, or was this needs picking? I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm sure of this: Opinions didn't match. Jalen Ramsey was thought by many, including himself, to be the best player in the draft, but Jon Gruden bashed him and produced video to prove his point, and then William Jackson, a name of a much lesser profile, was fawned over by Gruden and his ESPN crew. DeForest Buckner and Shaq Lawson appeared in video of Jack Conklin and Ronnie Stanley stoning their opponents. This might be the craziest draft I've ever seen.
Jack from Montezuma, IA
Congratulations on your prediction concerning three QBs being drafted in the first round, however, I feel your prediction that Packers fans will be deliriously happy because the Packers will get their man and he will be the fans' man was wrong. I know I'm not happy. Three Alabama studs were bypassed for another UCLA player.
You draft the player, not the school.
Max from Sydney, Australia
Kenny who? Ted Thompson never ceases to amaze me! I have learned to trust his judgment.
Damarious who? I wrote a column last week that included this headline: Are we missing a name we should consider? The answer is yes, and the name is Kenny Clark.
Deniz from Munich, Germany
What position is more important against the run, nose tackle or inside linebacker?
They're both equally important, but it begins with the nose tackle. If he's getting blocked, you have no chance of stopping the run.
Ben from Albuquerque, NM
So what's the flavor of your inbox today?
There's an element of satisfaction because the Packers addressed a position of need, but there's a lot of head-scratching because Clark wasn't on the fans' radar.
Pedro from Bage, Brazil
Vic, Noah Spence is still there. Surprised?
Yes, I am. Spence is a premier pass rusher, and pass rushers are nearly always over-drafted. Spence's past could be hurting him.
Zach from San Diego, CA
I'm sorry, but even if this kid turns out great it's a waste of a first-round pick. He would have been there way into the second round. We ignored several higher-ranked defensive linemen on the board, and linebackers, for that matter. Am I missing something? Clark is described as an undersized rotational player with tackling concerns. Look who was still on the board.
Great isn't good enough? I don't get that. Tony Pauline gave Clark a late-one, early-two grade and referred to him as a "three-down defender." Clark won't turn 21 until October of next season. Clearly, his best football is ahead of him, and I think we have to think about that. This is not a worn-out, topped-out guy. I love his wrestling background because in a two-gapping scheme defensive linemen are by and large wrestlers. I didn't know a lot about him heading into last night, just as I didn't know much about Damarious Randall heading into last year's draft, but I like what I'm reading and hearing about Clark, just as I liked what I read and heard about Randall when I began to research his background. I could ask you to give Clark a chance, but that would be unnecessary because we have no other option. He's the pick!
