Analyzing the Packers 2009 Draft

Ted Thompson's recent drafts have been a mixed bag.His draft this year was certainly all the more under the microscope this year. The Packers are coming off a 6-10 season that was made worse by the lack of production from Thompson's first-round pick in 2007. Defensive tackle Justin Harrell, who is now projected to play end in defensive coordinator Dom Capers' new 3-4 defense, has not played half a season in the two he has been on the payroll.So how did Teddy do? I will examine each draft pick, as well as any trade involved in the selection, starting with day one...1: B.J. Raji--With the ninth pick in the first round, the Packers were able to draft the second-highest rated defensive player in the draft by most experts. Raji was ranked the fifth-best player overall by SCouts, Inc., following the combine, and was the second highest-rated player left, behind Michael Crabtree, who plays the Packers' deepest position (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/130830-green-bay-packers-past-future-position-analysis-volume-iv-receivers/show_full).While the Packers expressed an interest in Crabtree, that pick would have been a colossal mistake, at best giving the Packers a few hundred more passing yards than the receiver they would have let go to make room for him (most likely Ruvell Martin). But as we learned in 2008, being thin on the defensive line is catastrophic, as the Packers dropped 25 percent in sacks, falling from the top half of the NFL to the bottom quarter.Thus, Ted Thompson did what he has maintained he believes most in--drafting the best player available--while still filling the Packers' greatest need, a defensive tackle. Without a talented, big tackle, the 3-4 defense crumbles, and Ryan Pickett was the only player of the appropriate size with any game experience on the roster.Raji (6'3", 337 pounds) has the tools to jump in immediately as a solid back-up."He's a rare guy physically," Thompson said of Raji. "He's genuinely a powerful, powerful man, especially in his lower body. He has the ability to take people backwards where they don't want to go. He also has the quickness to go around them."It's unbelievably hard to find the combination of skill set that he brings. The good Lord just didn't make many people like this." Indeed, the son of two Pentecostal ministers led a very good Boston College defense in sacks with eight in 12 games, the first time that has happened from the tackle position in 23 years. A three-year starter, in his senior season over one on three of his tackles was for loss, showing he penetrates as well as taking up space.2: Clay Matthews--This was a difficult pick for me to gauge. Thompson sent the 41st, 73rd, and 83rd picks to the New England Patriots in exchange for the 26th and 162nd picks. This is a decent value, but to what end?I have little doubt that Clay Matthews will be a good NFL linebacker. Both his father (also a linebacker named Clay) and his uncle (Bruce, an offensive lineman), were in the league 19 seasons and made the Pro Bowl.But he is unlikely to help in 2009. He is too small (6'3", 245 pounds) to be an outside linebacker in a 3-4, and the team littered with smaller linebackers who are inside linebacker material--A.J. Hawk, Nick Barnett, Brady Poppinga, Brandon Chillar, and Desmond Bishop--who are more experienced.Even if he could put on the necessary weight by the start of the season to play on the outside, he must not only transition to a new set of responsibilities, but the higher level of competition in the NFL. That seems like a lot to ask of a kid right away, and the Packers had too many needs elsewhere to give up picks to move into the first round for a guy who cannot contribute immediately. Moreover,Matthews was rated lower than a player who seemed a better fit physically for OLB, Everette Brown. But since Brown fell below the Packers original second round position, one must assume he was overrated.