There is good and bad about Ted Thompson and how he has built the team. Obviously, the Packers are a great team, but that is due in large part to having Aaron Rodgers. And there is always the excuse of injuries for the shortcomings. Just the same, when I look around the league at D personnel and O Lines, there are a LOT of teams who have had more success drafting than Thompson. He has been particularly weak in those areas.
As has been said, we shouldn't sell the farm to get high priced free agents. I think we should do a little more than Thompson has done, though - if nothing else, to catch up after some slippage. The money should certainly be available with Raji, Finley, and probably Jones not being re-signed, as well as the possibility of some creative capology. Going after Byrd and maybe Worilds this year for example would be good, also maybe a Corner like Verner, and going with Hyde or even House or Hayward or even Tramon at Safety.
Drafting better, though, is the key. Why was 2013 better than 2011 or 2012? IMO it had to do with taking KNOWN QUANTITIES - players who had performed better in college. Look at 2011: the only star quality player, Cobb, was Not just a project, but a good college player. Same with Lacy; I have good hope for Jerel Worthy for the same reason; And Daniels - maybe lacking in measurables, but high performance. We should be trading UP when it seems like a good idea - more than in the past, and we should virtually never trade down for more picks. Look at Thompson's strong point: UDFAs - THAT is the reason why it is a mistake to stockpile low round picks and lose quality in the high rounds. In addition to the "gems" mentioned, I would add Mulumba, who I have high hopes for. There are always players like that out there, and Ted is good at finding them. Therefore, adding low round picks just ain't worth it.
I have ranted in the past about getting rid of Thompson, and others have ranted about getting rid of coaches. Likely, none of that is gonna happen, so Ted simply needs to shape up and draft better.
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