I figured he wasn't worth any more than a conditional 7th. There are a doz guys who are not even on a team that can do what he does. GB has him because he is expedient. You have to have a #2 QB and you have to have somebody on the PS. He filled both spots. He knows a little more about their system that some other schmoe so here he is. Now that Coleman has been around a year he is expendable. They can pick up another young kid stick him on the PS and see how he develops.

---

I'm just amazed at how certain every poster here seems to be that Harrell is nothing special and not worth anything in trade.

My own confidence in Graham Harrell is based on comments Rodgers made to a friend of mine at the 19th hole of a charity golf event last year. Rodgers said no one on their team had any worries about him, and that Harrell was a total stud of a QB. Apparently, he was pretty emphatic about it, saying " really, just watch." Yeah, we all watched, and he had good moments and horrible moments. But, Rodgers' own confidence in him is good enough for me, for what it is worth.

Here are cumulative preseason stats for both Rodgers and Harrell in their first 3 years:

2005 - Aaron Rodgers - 20/37, 172 yards, 1 TDs, 2 INTs
2006 - Aaron Rodgers - 22/38, 323 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
2007 - Aaron Rodgers - 37/59, 382 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs

2010 - Graham Harrell - 16/31, 166 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INT
2011 - Graham Harrell - 33/57, 287 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
2012 - Graham Harrell - 45/78, 484 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT

So, all of this -quite definitive- commentary about Harrell's level of competency or lack thereof for the QB position is mostly based upon this very small sampling, which looks pretty close to what Aaron Rodgers did himself in his first 3 preseasons.

Here's what Rodgers had to say about Harrell in 2011:
"Among the people Harrell sought advice from was Rodgers, who suggested that Harrell stay in Green Bay.

“So happy, so happy,” Rodgers said. “There were some conversations yesterday about his situation. I think he has a bright future in this league. And with Matt's status up in the air about where he's going to be next year, I think Matt has played well enough to get some opportunities to be a starter in this league. When you've got a guy like Graham Harrell who's learned the position and done some really nice things, I think he has, definitely, the potential to be my backup and then a future starter in the league.”
http://gnb.scout.com/2/1136748.html 

Again, I'll take Rodgers' opinion on the matter, and I do think Harrell has value in trade.

It's fine if you think that, but it's not going to happen. Additionally, what would one expect Rodgers to say about a fellow team mate? Of course he's only going to have positive things to say, or at least I would hope that would be the case. No need to air negative things to the media. Support your team mates and let things take their natural course.

Dodd, those comments to the media were made even more emphatically in a private setting.

You clearly think the idea of trading Harrell for an R3 or better is preposterous. All I know is there are just a few QBs worth first and second day selections, and not many starting calibre FA QBs out there, with at least 6 teams in need of a starter.

The value of a player who has been in McCarthy's and Clements' instruction for 3 seasons, and able to sit behind Rodgers watching a league MVP work, may be worth more than you might think.

Or maybe it isn't. Especially if the player isn't very good.

I don't know, he's super fragile. Two or three sacks and he'll probably shatter his femur.

I'd take him over Blair Kiel or Chuck Fusina any day.

---

Perfect time to trade Jarret Boykin, I mean, just look at how his pre-season numbers compare to Jerry Rice. I've got it on good word from Greg Jennings Sister's friend's cousin that Boykin is going to be a player in this league. Who wouldn't trade a R3 for him?

---

well time will tell. If the Packers keep Coleman like so many are saying (I don't know enough about him myself.) and they out right release Harrell, that means he wasn't worth a conditional 7th. If they do trade him and get a 3rd then you were right.

Most likely scenario is that they keep him as the #2 and Coleman on the PS. Just to mess with the fans.

BTW- there is a reason the preseason stats are not official stats/records. They really don't mean anything other than the guys who get lots of yards tend to play more and do so against mediocre players. There is no correlation to success or failure.

---

Those are some interesting numbers, however you need to keep in mind that in many cases he was not playing 1st or even 2nd stringers in the preseason. That being said, I still look to the games where these players came off the bench with the game in their hands, not simply coming in in garbage time to close out a game. First of all, Harrell hasn't needed to start a game or come into the game and really take over the role of quarterback. In my mind, what really stood out to me about Aaron Rodgers before he took over for Favre was coming in against Dallas and looking fairly impressive.

Aaron Rodgers:

This is all we've seen of Harrell in the regular season:

Gamedate Opponent Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rate
Sun 11/25 @ NYG 1 2 50.0 11 5.50 0 0 66.7

Gamedate Opponent Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rate
Sun 12/23 vs TEN 1 2 50.0 9 4.50 0 0 62.5

I just really can't see someone giving up much for a QB based on how someone's performed in the preseason and how his teammates like him. At least with Rodgers and Flynn, we saw results and poise in the regular season. The few times Harrell's been out there, he's not had the same posure Rodgers and to a lesser extent Flynn did.

That being said, I don't have too much doubt that he'll make a somewhat decent backup somewhere. But if you're a GM looking for either a franchise QB or a backup to a franchise QB, do you give up a draft pick for a QB that's been in the NFL a few years and haven't shown you much against NFL starters, or use that pick to draft a second-tier QB?