Wow. I'll make some points in order of your issues.
1. Aaron Rodgers did not need "polishing", rather he needed to be developed coming out of Tedford's system. McCarthy changed his entire throwing mechanics - including his throwing motion and where he released the ball. "Polishing" refers more to the transition from year 1 to year 2 you hear McCarthy harp on; year 1 is about teaching guys the pro-level, what to do, and how to do it.
2. Mike Mayock and Bob McGinn both had, for example, first round pick Randall going top-20 to the Eagles. Based on mock drafts, Randall was definitely in play in the first round. Given that no other team would comment on Randall after he is drafted by the Packers (because, you know, that would be tampering and violating league rules), how exactly do you propose we determine no other team "seriously considered" Randall?
3. Ted actually is one of the few GMs who incorporates analytics into his drafting. Of all major sports leagues, the NFL is by far the worst in incorporating analytics into anything. Frankly, just having data to analyze instead of relying on the good ol' "eye test" is leaps and bounds beyond what most scouts are paid to do. All players selected in the first 5 rounds were, in some way or another, on top of the metrics generated by pro football focus for college football. Giants assistant GM Kevin Abrams, who is from Toronto, Canada and spoke at a college here, said that NFL teams completely ignored analytics and had no clue how to incorporate them to make more informed decision making (anecdotal evidence, but if you don't believe me I can search and cite a formal source stating what Abrams said in his speech at my alma matter). Hearing Ted (and MM) speak again today, it is clear that they incorporate a lot of analytics into their analysis.
Ted assembled the best overall team in football last year -- they beat the Superbowl champion Pats and dominated for 95% of the game the other team to play in the Superbowl. Ted may strike out, but his track record of fielding a consistent contender indicates he definitely has some idea of what he is doing.
Originally Posted by: all_about_da_packers