2012 NFL Draft Analysis: Green Bay Packers
Green Bay is having a typical Ted Thompson offseason: Be mostly invisible before the draft, go after targets on draft day, go back to being most invisible til OTAs. TT takes building through the draft seriously and rarely makes splashes in free agency, so this was his big weekend and he stuck to his plan. Offense was hardly the issue with the 15-1 Packers and they worked to upgrade where they were weakest. Of the eight picks, six were for the defensive side of the ball.
Green Bay started by adding a pass rusher to play opposite Clay Matthews in USC DE Nick Perry and followed up with DT Jerel Worthy and DB Casey Heyward in the 2nd. Worthy bolsters the Dline depth which was hurt by the loss of Cullen Jenkins and hurt further by Mike Neal's impending suspension. Heyward helps a secondary that was last in pass yards allowed and has to prepare to the future retirement of the defenses current leader, Charles Woodson.
Late-Round Steal: QB B.J. Coleman, Round 7, pick 243
Taking a QB in every draft is another staples of the Thompson regime and he may have plucked another late QB to potentially turn to gold. Coleman was a small school favorite of many draft evaluators, but was always seen as raw and needing work to get up to NFL speed. One of the many reasons he was such a favorite among fans was his reported work ethic. He was a student and fan of Peyton Manning, attending his camps and studying tape while trying to mimic one of the best QBs ever. Now he is going to the premiere NFL QB developmental program and that work ethic, along with his passing potential, could turn this 7th rounder into a day one or two pick.
Questionable Selection: SS Jerron McMillian, Round 4, pick 133
Nick Collins was cut just before the draft, so safety was a position the Packers were targeting in the draft. You can even cut them a little slack because of how quickly and unpredictable the safety class shook out. McMillian was a standout at Maine for his physicality and while that is a valuable trait in the Packer D, he was someone they A) Could have gotten later and B) with their biggest defensive issue being allowing pass yards, it would have been better to look at a safety with coverage skills to match the physicality.
2013 mock draft pick: Josh D - ILB Arthur Brown, Kansas Sate | Matthew Fairburn - CB Desmond Trufant, Washington
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