Jamal Reynolds was supposed to add depth to the Packers defensive line.
So much so the Packers traded up 7 spots to grab the defensive lineman in the 2001 draft.
But Reynolds didn’t pan out to be what the Packers thought he could be.
With the draft a few weeks away we’ll look at first round picks that didn’t quite turn out for the Packers.
This week we’ll look at Ron Wolf’s last first draft pick in Green Bay Jamal Reynolds.
Pre-Draft
Heading into the 2001 draft, the Packers were looking to strengthen their defensive line.
A few years prior, the Packers traded up for Vonnie Holiday.
But despite Holiday’s early success, he was really never able to replicate what Reggie White had generated.
Of course that is a hard task in itself replacing a Hall of Famer.
So, defensive end was a need.
The Packers though were stuck at the 17th pick in the 2001 draft, and they didn’t see themselves getting an impact player at that pick.
The Seattle Seahawks had the 10th pick in the 2001 draft and needed a QB.
Matt Hasselbeck, who played for Holmgren back in 1998 in his rookie season was riding the bench in Green Bay.
The Packers found Hasselbeck expendable and traded him and their 17th pick to Seattle for their 10th pick.
Jamal Reynolds College Career
Jamal Reynolds had a stellar career at Florida State.
During his time at Florida State he had 23.5 sacks and 170 tackles, 33 of them for losses.
His best year came in 2000 when he got 12.5 sacks along with 58 tackles and won the Lombardi award.
Futhurmore, he won first team ACC honors.
Those stats made him a target in the 2001 draft and a top ten talent.
Packers Career
After drafting Reynolds with a top 10 pick, the Packers expected him to make an impact right away.
They expected someone who can contribute and anchor the defensive unit for years to come.
Instead Reynolds did the complete opposite.
His career was short, his Packers career even shorter.
In his rookie year he had 2 sacks and 4 tackles.
With the emergence of Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, Reynolds play time decreased even more.
From 2002 to 2003 he only had 1 more sack and 10 more tackles.
Never did Reynolds start a game for the Packers in his 3 years.
By the summer of 2004, the Packers had seen enough and released him.
This ended what was a short and un-eventful time in Green Bay for Reynolds.
Reynolds hasn’t played another down of football since then.
The trade the Seahawks won
Looking at the trade the Packers made, the Seahawks seemingly won the trade.
With the 17th pick the Seahawks drafted future Hall of Famer Steve Hutchinson.
Futhermore Matt Hasselbeck became the Seahawks franchise QB.
Both Hasselbeck and Hutchinson had big roles in leading the Seahawks to their Super Bowl 40 appearance.
In the end the Packers lost by drafting a defensive end who started 0 games vs the Seahawks who gained two franchise players.
