General manager Ted Thompson said the Packers have a policy of drafting the best player available, regardless of team needs.
"We feel very strongly that our best policy is to draft the best player," Thompson told the media at the NFL Combine Friday. "This isn't fantasy football."
The Packers won Super Bowl XLV largely by building through the draft. Cornerback Charles Woodson was a free agent signing, but an anomaly on a roster loaded with young home-grown talent.
Packers GM stresses best player available strategy
But with the college game going more to a spread, pass-happy system, some argue that it’s harder to evaluate players. Thompson doesn’t seem to mind that change in the college game.
“I don’t know (the spread) is hurting,” he said. “It’s part of the thing you go through. I’d rather see them run that than the wishbone.”
Thompson also noted that the Packers will pass on some players if they don’t fit the Green Bay size requirements.
“Sometimes we call it the Mendoza Line,” Thompson said. “There are just some areas we just pass on. It doesn’t mean those players aren’t going to be great players. Percentage wise, we like to fail under our standards.”
Throughout his 15-minute interview with the media, Thompson credited former Packers general manager with instilling the notion of building through the draft.
“Our guys do a lot of work,” he said. “Almost the entire staff was trained by Ron Woolf and he believed in scouting and doing due diligence.”
But with the 32nd pick in the first round, Thompson’s team will have to do a lot of that due diligence as the Packers wait to get their best player.
“The first round will be excruciating because we’ll watch all these great players being taken before us.”
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