The FRONT OFFICE
General manager Ted Thompson: While the architect of the 2010 Super Bowl XLV title team still remains a top talent evaluator, his recent drafts have had their stinkers. The 2011 draft, at this point, is Cobb and a bunch of players who either haven’t been healthy (including the first-round pick, Sherrod) or guys that are no longer on the roster. Thanks in part to untimely injuries, the 2012 draft class, which had six straight defensive players taken to start, did little to contribute this season beyond Daniels. Perry, Worthy, Hayward, McMillian and inside linebacker Terrell Manning, who was cut at the end of training camp, were either inconsistent or injured or both and did little to excite. The team’s ability to add quality undrafted free agents is also under a bit of scrutiny, as some wonder if too many overachievers might be a bad idea. Thompson is facing a key offseason with 17 unrestricted free agents and some interesting players to prioritize.
It will also be fascinating to see if Thompson, who hasn’t added a free agent of significance since 2006, finally makes a move on the market. It will also be a very important draft, as the Packers will pick 21st in the first round, and another year where Thompson doesn’t have three trusted advisors and friends – Seattle GM John Schneider, Oakland GM Reggie McKenzie and Kansas City GM John Dorsey – to help him. While the executives who remain are solid football men (college scouting director Brian Gutekunst, pro personnel director Eliot Wolf and senior personnel advisor Alonzo Highsmith), it’s difficult to not at least wonder how much Schneider, McKenzie and Dorsey, who are all good enough to now be running their own personnel departments, are missed.
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