Good, bad from past Packers drafts

Packer Report's Doug Ritchay reviews the past five Packers drafts and selects five of Green Bay's best picks and five of the worst. Read on to see if you agree or disagree!

Just in case you didn’t know, the NFL draft starts Saturday and the Green Bay Packers have the 30th pick in the first round.

Instead of telling you who the Packers should or shouldn’t take, I’m going to take you on a ride down memory lane the last five years and go over the five best and worst picks of the this time.

First, the best:

Greg Jennings, second round, 2006: He was picked out of Western Michigan, and many questioned if he would be able to excel at the NFL because of his small-school experience. Two years later, Jennings has become the Packers’ home-run threat and is developing into the team’s No. 1 receiver.

Corey Williams, sixth round, 2004: Any time a sixth-rounder starts it’s a good pick, but Williams recorded 14 sacks over his past two seasons from the defensive tackle position. Those numbers are impressive, but now Williams is gone as the Packers sent him to Cleveland for a second pick in this draft. Draft him in the sixth and trade him for a second-round pick and avoid spending big dollars on him. Good move.

Scott Wells, sixth round, 2004: Wells is like Williams in that he has exceeded expectations. He took over for Mike Flanagan at center, has become solid inside.

Johnny Jolly, sixth round, 2004: Sixth round must have been the Packers’ first round in 2004. Jolly has become a part of the rotation at defensive tackle and is a part-time starter. He was missed last season when he was injured.

Nick Barnett, first round, 2003: He was a first-rounder, but at No. 29 you hardly are guaranteed to find a star on defense. The Packers did with Barnett, who’s a borderline Pro Bowler and the fire on a defense that has been pretty good the last two seasons.

Bad draft picks
Ahmad Carroll, first round, 2004: Do I really need to get into this pick? All I will say is the Packers could have picked Chris Gamble instead and he would have taken care of punt-return duties in addition to being solid at corner. Could’ve picked: Gamble (Carolina picked him).

Joey Thomas, third round, 2004: Carroll’s punching bag. These two hated each other and like Carroll, Thomas wasn’t any good. Could’ve picked: Bernard Berrian, wide receiver (Bears).

B.J. Sander, third round, 2004: Trade up in the third round for a punter? These three picks I’ve gone through are why Sherman was eventually fired. Punters don’t put points on the board and don’t lose games. You can find one in free agency somewhere, say like, Jon Ryan? Unbelievable. Could’ve picked: Matt Schaub, quarterback (Atlanta).

Cory Rodgers, fourth round, 2006: He was supposed to be a dynamic punt returner and a good slot receiver. He couldn’t catch a cold in a freezer and was dumped quicker than Maria Sharapova would dump me. Could’ve picked: Elvis Dumervil, defensive end (Broncos).

Abdul Hodge, third round, 2006: He was a tackling machine at Iowa, but he hasn’t been able to transfer his talent to the NFL. Last year, he got hurt, which is the only way he avoided being cut. Could’ve picked: Ashton Youboty, cornerback (Bills).

Some might want Justin Harrell on this board, but he’s entering his second season, so give him a full off-season and the 2008 season ahead of him to either prove himself or fail.

Some might wonder about A.J. Hawk, the first pick in 2006. He’s been good and really was an easy pick for GM Ted Thompson. Picked at No. 5 in the draft, however, you’d like to see him become Pro Bowl-caliber and that should happen.