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Most people will say it is too early to grade a draft since none of us now how any draft picks will turn out. I tend to agree with these people but I have decided to grade the draft anyway. At this point I know there are a lot of people that are both sides of the fence on this draft. There are quite a few people that thought the draft was great. There is probably just as many that thought the draft was terrible. I tend to agree with the people that thought the draft was good. Going into the draft Packers fans should have realized the Packers had a slim chance of adding a immediate starter in this draft. The only positions I could have saw a rookie coming in right away to start would have been at the guard position and the punter position. I heard this was a weak draft for guards so that pretty much puts it down to just a punter. After this draft the Packers didn’t get any immediate starters (most likely) but I believe they got some players with a ton of potential that could be something special in the future. I believe some will make a pretty big difference this year as well.

In the second round I believe the Packers did quite well. At first I was neutral about the Jordy Nelson pick but I am really starting to like the pick. While we really didn’t need another receiver I believe Jordy Nelson could be a very good receiver. I believe he will have an impact this year. He has a good chance of only being the 4th receiver but I believe he will make quite a few big plays. One thing I hope the Packers use is his ability to throw. If you have seen some of his highlight films you will be able to see that he can really throw the football. In one highlight film I saw him throw at least three TDs. While we obviously can’t keep doing the play I hope we have Jordy throw a couple passes this year after a reception behind the QB.

Brian Brohm has been criticized by a lot of people and I can see why they are criticizing the pick. I hope the pick doesn’t hurt Rodgers’ confidence. I believe it won’t since he is a professional and he knows that he is the starter. If it doesn’t hurt Rodgers’ confidence I believe this was a great pick. We get a good young QB that is almost ready to play in the NFL to be our backup this year. If Rodger’s gets hurt I believe Brohm will do a decent job as the starter. After this season I can see a couple things for Brohm. If Rodgers struggles I can see Brohm taking the starting job. If Rodgers plays well Brohm will probably ride the bench. I believe if Rodgers isn’t a bust we could develop Brohm enough that we can get a higher draft pick for him in 2-3 years in a trade.

I also have high hopes for Patrick Lee. While there is a decent chance he could be a bust I believe he has the physical tools to be a good NFL CB. With 2-3 years behind Al Harris and Charles Woodson I believe he will learn the nuances of the NFL that he could replace one of them as a starter. From what I could find he seems to be a bigger CB who is also more physical than your average CB. This fits the Packers scheme. Actually in an interview with Patrick Lee I read that in college 95% of their plays were press coverage so he has experience in press coverage. This year I expect him to either be the 3rd or 4th CB unless both Will Blackmon and Tramon Williams take the next step and in Blackmon’s case can stay healthy for more than two or three games.

Rounds 3-7 will come on either Tuesday or Wednesday. I am currently pretty busy at college since it’s nearing finals time so I can’t guarantee an update tomorrow.

With their second 7th round selection the Packers selected Brett Swain, WR out of San Diego State. Since Brett Swain is out of a small school I couldn’t find a whole lot about him. From what I could find it looks like he is more of a speed receiver. He is 6′1″ so he is also a smaller receiver. He also returned punts in college so that might also be an option. I don’t think the Packers really needed to pick another receiver. With our receivers I really doubt that Brett Swain will make the team unless he is a huge gem like a Donald Driver or a Marques Colston. In the 7th round most players don’t even make the team that picked them. I am guessing that Brett Swain will probably be a practice squad type player.

Grade: C

With their first pick in the 7th round the Packers select Matt Flynn, QB from LSU. With the Packers drafting two QBs in the draft the Packers might not go out and sign a veteran QB.  If they do Matt Flynn will probably be a practice squad player. The chances are that Matt Flynn will never start for the Packers. I believe Matt Flynn will go 3 ways. First he could be a solid backup QB. Second he could be a bust and be out of the league soon. Third the Packers could use him as trade bait in the future. I really have no idea which one will happen. Matt Flynn does have some big game experience playing for LSU so that is deffinently a plus. In the seventh round you mostly take flyers. 7th rounders rarely are much of anything but as Packer fans should know (Donald Driver anyone?) they sometimes turn out to be quite good. I really don’t have an opinion either way on this pick. If Matt Flynn does develop and the Packers can trade him for something this will obviously turn out to be a good pick. If he is a good career backup the Packers made a good pick since a backup QB is worth a 7th round pick.  If he turns out to be a bust we didn’t really lose anything.

Grade: B-

NFL.com Player Profile

In the fifth round (after multiple trade downs) the Packers selected Breno Giocomini, tackle from Louisville. Packers addressed another need with this pick. This year you will probably rarely see him since he looks to be a pretty big project. One thing I could see the Packers use him as is a blocking TE. He used to play TE so the Packers may want to bring him in on plays where we want a blocking TE. Besides that he will probably spend the year on the bench working on his technique which is his biggest problem at this point. At this point you can tell this is more of a developmental pick. He possibly could take over for Clifton or Tauscher. At this point it is hard to rate this pick since at this point he is a huge project. I could see him being a good pick or a total bust. It mostly depends on how much he can develop.

Grade: C+

With the Packers compensation pick in the fourth round the Packers selected Josh Sitton, OT from Central. To tell you the truth I know nothing about Josh Sitton. From some quick research I have found out that Josh Sitton is more of a tweener type for the offensive line. In college he played tackle but I have heard the Packers plan on using his as a guard or center. He seems to be good at getting to the second line which is good since the Packers run a zone blocking scheme. He looks to be more of a project type player so I wouldn’t expect much from him this year. I think the Packers might have been better off getting a tackle than a guard since no guard at this point in the draft will play this year. We also need a player to develop to take over for Clifton and Tuascher. Overall probably not a bad pick. The Packers did need another offensive lineman.

Grade: B-