What is the over/under on 3 a.m. phone calls made by Ted Thompson to other teams, draft prospects or other members of the Packers War Room last night?
After a long wait to the 29th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Packers faithful were turning off the TV and waking up frustrated this morning after a long night and no new player to show for it. Within minutes of the Atlanta Falcons trading up to pick 26 to pick Takkarist McKinley, the 29th pick was shipped off to Cleveland. Green Bay fell to the 33rd overall pick, while adding the 108th overall pick to start the fourth round.
For days two and three of the NFL Draft, Thompson will have nearly 24 hours on the clock to seek trades and have in-depth conversations with the Packers War Room about potential picks.
“I think it’s very good strategy wise. We know where we’re at and what we’re gonna do. There’s a couple different ways of looking at it in terms of being helpful to us. It could be that we highlight a player that we know we can get and they can’t take it away from us, it could be that a team sees an opportunity to maybe trade up and take a player they didn’t think they could get and is a trade that could work for us,” Ted Thompson told the media after the trade.
The way the draft fell for Green Bay, a trade either up to draft a sliding player or down for the options to whittle down seemed likely. Of the 32 first round picks, just over half (19) were defensive players. Teams reached for offensive talent and potential solutions to quarterback questions as arguably better players slid down the board.
“We’ll see where it goes tomorrow because the board is still strong, ” Thompson said.
But what players could be on that board? Washington corners Sidney Jones and Kevin King, among other potential first-round caliber cornerbacks such as Chidobe Awuzie, Rasul Douglas, Quincy Wilson and Fabian Moreau are all still waiting to hear their name called. Despite a late run on linebackers, there are plenty of potential edge rushers left including Tyus Bowser, Jordan Willis and Alabama linebackers Tim Williams and Ryan Anderson.
On offense, only two running backs were drafted, leaving Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon, Alvin Kamara and D’Onta Foreman up for grabs. A guard pick seems less likely early after the signing of Jahri Evans the day before the draft, but Forrest Lamp, arguably the best guard in a shallow guard pool is still on the board. With all these options, and certainly many more at other positions, trading down was a logical choice. Throw in the ability to hold a pick hostage for nearly a day twice, as the Packers will start day’s two and three of the draft now with the first picks of the second and fourth round, and Green Bay will have plenty of options and time to consider them.
What do you want the Packers to do with pick number 33? Let me know in the comments.
3 responses to “Nearly 24 Hours on the Clock for Ted Thompson”
joe mixon or cook, quit screwing around don’t go lame like you always do grow a pair
I would take kamara or lamp as they would help the Pack.
Priority one is fix the secondary. Quincy Wilson or Kevin King can start day one of the season.