Grade the 2009 Draft

Rusty42 inch pythons brother!

Picks:

Round 1 #9 Overall - NT B.J. Raji
Round 2 #26 Overall - LB Clay Matthews
Round 4 #109 Overall - OT T.J. Lang
Round 5 #145 Overall - FB Quinn Johnson
Round 5 #162 Overall - OT Jamon Meredith
Round 6 #182 Overall - DE Jarius Wynn
Round 6 #187 Overall - CB Brandon Underwood
Round 7 #218 Overall - LB Brad Jones

TRADE: #41 (Round 2), #73, and #83 (Round 3), for #26 (Round 1 - Matthews) and #145 (Round 5 - Johnson)

Players passed up: Michael Crabtree, Brian Orakpo, Brian Cushing, Percy Harvin, Michael Oher, Hakeem Nicks, Ron Brace, Darius Butler (went to NE #41), Jarius Byrd, LeSean McCoy, Shon Greene, Derek Cox (Went to JAX #73), Glen Coffee, Brandon Tate (Went to NE #83), Mike Wallace, Johnny Knox, Arian Foster.

OVERALL: Got two stars in Raji and Matthews, and a solid starter in Lang. Wynn and Jones could very well be gone after training camp. Still, very few times do you get that much productivity out of a draft.

A-

5/26/121:47 PM

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

turnip bloodMember

Giving grades without any contents or criteria is meaningless. I can think of only two easy ways to give any meaningful grades. One compares the draft to what the rest of the league did that year. Second set yearly criteria to judge the draft. Wolf said a good draft is one that a team gets 3 starters. Using that criteria there is no way this is not an “A” draft. Getting 3 quality starters and a couple of backups out of any draft is a great draft.

5/26/122:05 PM

PackerBackerDPMMember

3/8 = 37% terrible ROTTT indeed. Just kidding, 3 starters in Raji Matthews and Lang, don't know anyone who wouldn't take that. If JOnes/Wynn panned out this was a no brainer A+ IMHO sadly it does look like they can/will be replaced.

5/26/122:05 PM

fightphoe93Member

I also went A-. I'll give it an A if Raji straightens himself out. He was terrific in 2010, but was pretty awful last year. When you're ranked dead last out of every NG/DT in the NFL vs. the run, there's nowhere to go but up for Raji. He's the key to turning this draft into an A or dropping it to a B if he doesn't return to 2010 form.

5/26/122:06 PM

BorisSooper Jeeenyious

Raji will be fine. He was leaned upon heavily last year. Too much IMO.

This grade is a solid A. 3 Pro Bowlers (or near pro bowlers). I think Lang will make it this year. He's very solid.

Those 3 players make any other draft picks gravy.

This is the year if Wynn or Brad Jones are going to do anything. If not, they'll have a tough time making the final 53.

5/26/122:23 PM

The CrusherMember

3 pro bowlers (lang is there just not acknowledged yet)

A

5/26/127:30 PM

CoachAt the head of the table

Seeing the core of a Championship defense selected in person.
Meeting Boris for the first time
Ben Benson's (R.I.P. after June 17th)
Katz's
Lombardi's
Aiksa @ the Playwright III
Business class upgrade on the flight home for $49 (multiple Jack/Coke Zeros).

A+ EASY.

5/26/127:55 PM

PackerHawkMember

I see diggr has voted.

5/27/1212:18 AM

RatPackMember

quote:
Originally posted by Coach:
Seeing the core of a Championship defense selected in person.
Meeting Boris for the first time
Ben Benson's (R.I.P. after June 17th)
Katz's
Lombardi's
Aiksa @ the Playwright III
Business class upgrade on the flight home for $49 (multiple Jack/Coke Zeros).

A+ EASY.

You imply that you and Boris are meeting more than once. Does Mrs. Coach know or is no to be assumed?

5/27/127:57 AM

Ghost of LambeauMember

The Steelers stated draft goal (at least when Cowher was there) was to get 2 starters in each draft. Using that criteria GB did very well. Solid A, if not an A+.

The 2 picks I really did not understand in that draft were FB Quinn Johnson & OT Jermon Meredith. For Johnson I didn't think he offered anything more than blocking at the time. And for Meredith I was not impressed with him as a college player. So why do you think they will be anything more in the pros? I had to give TT the benefit of the doubt thinking he knew something I didn't. It turns out that in both cases their pro careers mirrored their college careers - at least in my view of things.

5/27/128:27 AM

SepMember

quote:
Originally posted by Boris:
Raji will be fine. He was leaned upon heavily last year. Too much IMO.

This grade is a solid A. 3 Pro Bowlers (or near pro bowlers). I think Lang will make it this year. He's very solid.

Those 3 players make any other draft picks gravy.

This is the year if Wynn or Brad Jones are going to do anything. If not, they'll have a tough time making the final 53.

Ditto on Raji. The guy was double- and triple-teamed most plays and he played just about every snap. Must have been exhausting.

With the 100 defensive linemen on the roster right now, the Packers should have a deep rotation to keep everyone fresh.

And the 2009 draft gets an 'A' from this guy.

5/27/128:37 AM

YATittleMember

Yeah, a part-time Raji is worth more than the one we had last year. Get some depth, use it in the rotation, and he'll be dancing the hula again even if there is no game in Hawaii to go to...

5/27/128:55 AM

barristerMember

Two Pro Bowl caliber players (including a potential HOFer), another solid starter, and multiple players that contributed to a Super Bowl...Yeah, that deserves a solid A.

We don't sniff the 2010 Super Bowl without this draft class.

5/27/1211:18 AM

JJSDSitzpinkler Schadenfreude

I was told that TT gave up way too much to get CMIII and that he got fleeced by Bellichick.

Funny to think back on the freak-outs here and among Packer fans in general when that trade was made.

5/27/1212:47 PM

HenryYou rang?

I heard he didn't even want Matthews and that's why he moved up to pick him. Seriously, I have read that stupidity.

5/27/122:01 PM

Rusty42 inch pythons brother!

Trade-Down Ted still hasn't shaken that reputation. He could pull off a Ricky Williams trade and I don't think he will.

5/27/122:09 PM

BorisSooper Jeeenyious

quote:
Originally posted by PackerHawk:
I see diggr has voted.

I see Deep Chicago has voted

5/27/122:20 PM

turnip bloodMember

After a great deal of study, research, and careful consideration,Nick Fairley an I decided on one of 3 grades, D+, F+, or an F-. When we went to vote none of these options was available. In our despair yesterday we drank our woes away. Thanks alot Rusty for a crumy constructed poll.

5/27/123:00 PM

CoachAt the head of the table

quote:
Originally posted by RatPack:

You imply that you and Boris are meeting more than once. Does Mrs. Coach know or is no to be assumed?

I'm not "implying" anything.

We've already met more than once. The 2nd time was in Green Bay in 2010 for the Buffalo game that FS was kind enough to sell his tickets to me, Boris, Ammo, and Satori.

And Mrs. Coach was most definitely kept in the loop.

5/27/126:41 PM

CUPackFanMember

If that draft is done over today, CMIII and Raji likely both go top 5. And after looking at how weak this draft turned out, I'd say Lang would go in round one too. That's an A+ for me.

5/27/128:09 PM

Ryan GrantMember

Matthews alone probably makes it an A. Lang is not near pro bowl level yet and Raji was pathetic last year. Lots of homers here. Both Raji and Lang have big upside.

5/27/128:17 PM

Timmy!TIMMAAAAYYY!!

Of course, I have the benefit of

, but I don't see how anyone could say TT didn't hit that one out of the park!

The quality of the starters that we got is as good as anyone could of hoped, much less expected. CM3 alone would be a long 2-bagger if not a 3B. Ditto for Sitton.
I suppose Meredith would be the biggest disappointment, but if memory serves, didn't TT fleece somebody in a trade for him? A draft pick, perhaps?
QJ didn't develop as hoped, but he provided some depth and some decent play occassionally. And, again, if memory is still serving, I believe we got a compensatory pick for him?
Wynn is still contributing, albeit average at best, but he is depth in any case.
Underwood and Jones were felled by the injury bug, but that doesn't affect the "value" of the picks.

I think that all adds up to a very solid A.

5/27/1211:01 PM

FreeSafetyI wonder what the poor people are doing?

quote:
Originally posted by JJSD:
I was told that TT gave up way too much to get CMIII and that he got fleeced by Bellichick.

Funny to think back on the freak-outs here and among Packer fans in general when that trade was made.

I was of that opinion on draft day because I feel that TT does some of his best work in rounds 2 and 3 (after the overhyped players are all gone) and the USC Clay Mathews was not worth giving up all our 2nd and 3rd round picks.

And that is why TT is a GM and I am not.

5/28/1210:40 AM

fightphoe93Member

If I hadn't seen the Rose Bowl vs. Penn St., I probably would have been less than thrilled with the Matthews pick. But after seeing him in the Rose Bowl, I was a believer. He was the best player on the field and there were quite a few talented guys out there like Cushing, Maualuga, etc.

5/28/1211:03 AM

Ghost of LambeauMember

Given the 87% who gave this draft at least a B+ (65% of whom gave at least an A), I'd say that TT should no longer feel threatened among the Packer faithful.

5/28/125:33 PM

Orlando WolfMember

That draft was like eating a Delco's cheesesteak. Awesome.

5/28/127:32 PM

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