With just a few days left until the draft, let's go back and see what GM Ted Thompson had to say each year on draft day about his top selection.

The only year he didn't have a first-round pick was 2008, but in all he's had eight.

These remarks are taken from the press conference Thompson has at the end of the first day of each draft and shed some light on why Thompson made the pick. We'll only be focusing on the top pick and we'll start with 2005 and work our way forward on the blog.

2006, Thompson on A.J. Hawk:

Q: How did the way the players fell before you affect your choice?
A:You still get a chance to get a great player. We weren’t afraid to take Vernon Davis. You can do a lot of different things with him. Even though they’re both really, really good football players, we just felt like A.J. Hawk was the best fit.


Q: Now that you’ve made the pick, how do you feel about it?
A: We went through a lot of pain and heartache to pick at the No. 5 spot. To be able to get a player of this caliber was just too tempting to turn down. I had my heart set on this guy. I did a lot of praying last night hoping it would turn out like this.

JSOnline  wrote: