DRAFT DAY TRADES

The Packers hold the No. 30th draft pick in the first round and my guess is General Manager Ted Thompson will probably trade down to acquire more draft picks than trade up. I have a reason for making that prediction.

 

When the draft opens Thompson has nine picks. The Packers have all seven of their own picks (No. 1-30; No. 2-62; No. 3-94; No. 4-129; No. 5-166; No. 6-205; No. 7-247) and two compensatory picks (No. 6-210 and No. 6-212), which can't be traded, for losing wide receiver James Jones to Oakland and center Evan Diertrick-Smith to Tampa Bay. Defensive end C. J. Wilson to Oakland and offensive tackle Marshall Newhouse to Cincinnati were also free agency losses, but they weren't deemed good enough for compensation).

 

Thompson has been very active on draft day making 27 trades on draft day during his previous 10 drafts. In his first draft he traded down in the third round (No. 89) for two No. 4's (115 and 126). He then traded down again trading the No. 4 (126) for two No. 5's (167 and 175), and a No. 7 (245). He traded down for the third time trading the No. 6 (175) for a No. 6 (195) and a No. 7 (246).

 

In the end he traded away a No. 3-89 (DT Atiyyah Ellison), a No. 4-126 (T Todd Heremans) and a No. 5-175 (DT Anttaj Hawthorne) for a No. 4-115 (S Marviel Underwood), a No. 5-167 (CB Mike Hawkins), a No. 6-195 (WR Craig Bragg), a No. 7-245 (LB Kurt Campbell) and a No. 7-246 (G Will Whitticker). To sum up three draft picks for five.

 

ANALYSIS: None of the five picks Thompson acquired amounted to anything (see Lombardi's Den Draft Redux) while Ellison played six years for seven teams; Heremans was a solid starter for the Eagles for 10 years before signing with the Colts recently; and Hawthorne played two seasons with the Raiders and ended his short career in the Arena League. RESULT: Minus.

 

In 2006 he started off by trading wide receiver Javon Walker to the Broncos for a No. 2 (37). He first traded down by sending his No. 2 (36) to the Patriots for a No. 2 (52) and a No. 3 (75). He then traded down again by packaging the Bronco No. 2 (37) and a No. 5 (139) to the Falcons for a No. 2 (47), a No. 3 (93) and a No. 6 (148). He traded down for the third time by sending the Falcon No. 3 (93) to the Rams for a No. 4 (109) and a No. 6 (183) and traded down for the fourth time by sending the Ram No. 4 (109) to the Eagles for a No. 4 (115) and a No. 6 (185).

 

It came down to Thompson trading away Javon Walker, a No. 2-36 (WR Chad Jackson), and a No. 6-139 (T Quinn Qjinnaka) for a No. 2-47 (G Daryn Colledge), a No. 2-52 (WR Greg Jennings), a No. 3-75 (G Jason Spitz), a No. 6-115 (CB/KR Will Blackmon), a No. 6-148 (QB Ingle Martin), a No. 6-183 (DT Johnny Jolly) and a No. 6-185 (S Tyrone Culver).

 

Along the way the Packers briefly owned No. 2-37 (CB Jimmy Williams), No. 3-93 (TE Dominique Byrd) and No. 4-109 (WR Jason Avant).

 

ANALYSIS: Colledge, Jennings and Jolly became solid starters, Spitz a starter for a few years, Blackmon a good kick returner for a few years, Culver moved on to become a part-time starter with the Dolphins and Martin was a backup for one year before playing for three other teams and in the UFL.

 

On the other side Walker had a banner first season with the Broncos, but ended up falling out the league with injuries and personal issues, including being in a car when a teammate was shot and killed and then being robbed and beat up on the street in Las Vegas.

 

Jackson played two seasons with the Patriots before suffering a knee injury, played for the Broncos for two seasons, signed with the Bills, but was cut and ended up in the UFL. Qjinnaka played seven seasons for five teams and is now a professional wrestler using the name of Moose. Williams played one season with the Falcons and was suspended five games for marijuana and one year for substance abuse. Byrd played six seasons for four teams and ended up in the UFL. Avant had a solid eight year career with the Eagles and is currently with the Redskins. RESULT: big plus.

 

Thompson made only two trades during the 2007 draft. He traded down in the second round sending the No. 47 pick and a No. 7 (235) to the Jets for a No. 2 (63), a No. 3 (89) and a No. 6 (191). He traded down in the fourth round sending the No. 112 pick to the Steelers for a the No. 119 pick and a No. 6 (192). He ended up trading three picks and receiving five in return. He received a No. 2-63 (RB Brandon Jackson), a No. 3-89 (S Aaron Rouse), a No. 4-119 (T Allen Barbre), a No. 6-191 (FB Korey Hall) and a No. 6-192 (LB Desmond Bishop). He gave up a No. 2-47 (LB David Harris), a No. 4-112 (P Daniel Sepulveda) and a No. 7-235 (WR Chansi Stuckey).



David Harris

ANALYSIS: Bishop would have been an outstanding inside linebacker, but injuries have rendered him a third-string reserve for the 49ers. Jackson and Hall had decent careers with the Packers, but both are now out of the league. Rouse had a decent career with and beyond the Packers, but is also out the league and Barbre was a bust with Green Bay and is now a backup with the Eagles. On the other side Harris is an All-Pro middle linebacker for the Jets after being on the All-Rookie Team, Sepulveda was the Steelers punter for five seasons and Stuckey bounced around with the Jets, Browns and Cardinals and briefly tried out with the Toronto Argonauts of CFL. RESULT: big minus.

 

Thompson in 2008 had the same draft pick he has now in the first round and he traded down six picks with the Jets and as well as picking up a No. 4 (113) and the Packers drafted wide receiver Jordy Nelson. The Jets took TE Dustin Keller and he played five years for the Jets and one year with the Dolphins. Keller was a solid tight end and led the Jets in receptions in 2010 and 2011, but injuries limited him to only eight games in 2012. He suffered a career-ending knee injury with the Dolphins in 2013. RESULT: Jordy Nelson has been everything and more with the Packers, so I give this part of the trade a BIG PLUS.



Jordy Nelson

However, Thompson wasn't finished and here he did something he hadn't done before - he traded up. When the fourth round started he traded the Jets No. 4-113 back to them along with a No. 5-162 to jump up 11 spots to draft defensive end Jeremy Thompson (No. 4-102).

 

ANALYSIS: This trade turned out to a disaster. Thompson was drafted to be a pass rusher and played nine games his rookie year with three starts at right end (8 tackles, no sacks). He was moved to outside linebacker in 2009 playing in the six of the first 11 games (1 tackle), but suffered a serious neck injury in practice and was force to retire. He is currently in med school.

 

The Jets drafted cornerback Dwight Lowery (No. 4-113) and quarterback Erik Ainge (No. 5-162). Lowery spent two years with the Jets, three with the Jags, last year with the Falcons and has signed with the Colts. He has 12 interceptions during his career. Ainge was a backup for three years with the Jets. RESULT: Big Minus.

 

Later in the fourth round Thompson traded down sending the No. 4 (128) to the Rams for a No. 5 (137) and a No. 7 (217). He traded down again sending the Rams No. 5-137 to the Vikings for a No. 5 (150) and a No. 7 (209). He then traded up again sending his No. 7 (237) to the Saints for their 2009 No. 6 (187).

 

Summing up this set of trades it came down to Thompson trading two picks while getting four. The Packers picked up tackle Breno Giacomini (No. 5-150), cornerback Brandon Underwood (No. 6-187), quarterback Matt Flynn (No. 7-209) and wide receiver Brett Swain (No. 7-217) for wide receiver Keenan Burton (No. 4-128) and wide receiver Adrian Arrington. Along the way quarterback Josh David Booty (No. 5-137) was also involved.



Breno Giacomini

 ANALYSIS: Flynn became a solid No. 2 quarterback and Giacomini a solid starter at right tackle for the Seahawks and now the Jets. Swain was cut three years later after playing in only seven games.

 

Underwood was a piece of work. He played in 11 games as a reserve as a rookie. He then was caught with a prostitute during the off-season, but that wasn't enough to dump him because he ended up playing 12 games in 2010. During the off-season he was charged with sexual assault and domestic abuse concerning a gold necklace. The Packers then waived him and after being picked up and cut by the Raiders in 2012 and the Cowboys in 2013 he started nine games with the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL last season.

 

Keenan Burton played three seasons with the Rams, but ended his career with a knee injury. Adrian Arrington played four years with the Saints and ended his career with a knee injury. Booty, besides being on the All-Name Team, he spent four seasons on the practice squad for the Vikings, Titans and Texans. RESULT: For Flynn alone the third part of the 2008 draft day trades were a plus.

 

2009 was another banner draft as it concerns trades, or in this case one trade. After taking nose tackle B. J. Raji as the No. 9 pick Thompson traded up at the end of the first round to acquire the No. 26 pick and a No. 5 (162) pick from the Patriots for a No. 2 (41) and two No. 3's (73 and 83).

 

That extra No. 1 pick was Clay Matthews and the No. 5 turned out to be tackle Jamon Meredith. On the flip side the No. 2-41 was cornerback Darius Butler, the No. 3-73 was cornerback Derek Cox and the No. 3-83 was wide receiver Brandon Tate.

Clay Mathews

ANALYSIS: Clay Matthews turned out to be a genius pick considering he was only a starter at USC his senior year. Meredith is a bust bouncing around, including two stints with the Packers, with eight teams. On the mirror side Butler spent two years with the Patriots and was cut. One year with the Panthers and is now with the Colts. He has 11 career interceptions. Cox spent four years with the Jaguars, went to the Chargers as a free agent and spent last year on the practice squad with the Vikings and the Ravens. Tate spent two years with the Patriots and has been with the Bengals ever since after being cut. RESULTS: BIG PLUS.

 

Thompson only made one trade at the 2010 draft. He traded up again in the third round trading the No. 3 (86) and the No. 4 (122) picks to the Eagles to jump up 15 spots to draft safety Morgan Burnett at No. 3 (71). The Eagles got defensive end Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (No. 3-86) and quarterback Mike Kafka (No. 4-122)

Morgan Burnett

ANALYSIS: Burnett has been a starter and is the leader of the secondary. Te'o-Nesheim was mainly a practice squad player for the Eagles (one season) and the Bucs (three years). He has signed with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League for next season. Kafka was a bust bouncing around with the Eagles, Patriots, Jaguars and Buccaneers and after participating in the Veterans' Combine signed with the Vikings. RESULTS: BIG PLUS.

 

Thompson waited until the end of the 2011 draft to make three trades. He traded down in the fourth round sending the No. 129 and the No. 7 (204) picks to the Broncos for the 141 and No. 6 (186). He then traded down sending his No. 5 (163) to the 49ers for a No. 6 (174) and a No. 7 (231). Finally he traded down again sending his No. 6 (174) and the 49ers No. 7 (231) to the Dolphins for a No. 6 (179) and a No. 7 (218). It all boiled down to Thompson trading four draft picks for five.

 

ANALYSIS: Those three trades turned out to be unmitigated disasters. They talk about Thompson stealing gems at the end of the draft, but in this case he blew it. He ended up trading a future all-pro tight end Julius Thomas (No. 4-129) for a bust tight end D. J. Williams (No. 5-141) and an injured bust inside linebacker D. J. Smith (No. 6-186). Thomas just signed a big free agent contract with the Jaguars. The other man in this transaction was tight end Virgil Green (No. 7-204), who is still with the Broncos as a backup.

Julius Thomas

The other two deals were connected. Thompson traded guard Daniel Kilgore (No. 5-163) for fullback turned tight end Charles Clay (No. 6-174) and defensive tackle Frank Kearse (No. 7-231) and then traded both to the Dolphins for guard Caleb Schlauderaff (No. 6-179) and tight end Ryan Taylor (No. 7-218). Clay just signed a big free agent contract with the Bills as one of the top tight ends in this free agent class while Kilgore is a 49ers backup at guard and center. Kearse bounced from the Dolphins to the Panthers to the Titans to the Cowboys and is now with the Redskins. Schlauderaff was traded to the Jets in his rookie training camp and has since been cut. Taylor was released last year and bounced from the Ravens to the Browns and is now a futures signee with the Dolphins. RESULT: BIG MINUS.

Charles Clay

Thompson again traded up in the 2012 draft. In the second round he traded the 59th pick and a No. 4 (123) to the Eagles to move up eight spots to draft defensive tackle Jerel Worthy (No. 2-51). He then traded up again sending his No. 3 (90) and No. 5 (163) to the Patriots to move acquire the No. 2 (62) pick and draft cornerback Casey Hayward. Finally he traded up a third time to re-acquire the No. 5 (163) pick and draft linebacker Terrell Manning from the Patriots for the No. 6 (197), No. 7 (224) and No. 7 (235) picks.

 

ANALYSIS: Worthy got injured. He was traded to the Patriots and is now a Chief after being cut. The two picks he traded for him were defensive end Vinny Curry (No. 2-59) and cornerback Brandon Boykin (No. 4-123). Boykin is the Eagles primary nickle corner and Curry is a backup. Hayward was a big hit his rookie year, but after having a lost sophomore season with hamstring issues he has an unimpressive third season. Manning was a bust and was cut in 2013. He bounced around from the Chargers to the Vikings to the Giants to the Bears and is currently out of the league.

 

On the other side defensive end Jake Bequette (No. 3-90) is third string for the Patriots, safety Nate Ebner (No. 6-197) is third string for the Patriots, cornerback Alfonzo Dennard (No. 7-224) is second strong at left corner for the Patriots and wide receiver Jeremy Ebert (No. 7-235) bounced from the Patriots to the Eagles and back to the Patriots in 2012 and was with the Jaguars in 2013. He spent last year on the practice squad of the Falcons. He is currently a free agent. RESULTS: Minus because it basically became Hayward for five players who made their squads.

 

Thompson went back to trading down in 2013 and hit the jackpot in the second round. When the Packers No. 2 (55) came due he traded that pick away to the 49ers to drop back five spots and pick up a No. 6 (173). Does 2013 No. 2-61 ring a bell. Does it. Well I bet it rings a few bells for several defensive players around the NFL. It turns out that 2-61 brought the Packers, wait for it, wait for it, TA DA!!!! EDDIE LACY. To those of you who care (I do) the former pick 2-55 turned out to be tight end Vance McDonald, who has played in 23 games for the 49ers starting eight with 10 catches for 149 yards and no TDs. If I have to say it, MAJOR PLUS.

Eddie Lacy

Now to the rest of the moves. In the third round Thompson traded down again sending his No. 3 (88) to the 49ers for a No. 3 (93) and a No. 7 (216). He immediately traded down again sending the 49ers No. 3 (93) to the Dolphins for a No. 4 (109) , No. 5 (146) and a No. 7 (224). He then traded up in the fourth round sending the Dolphin No. 5 (146) and the 49ers No. 6 (173) to the Broncos for a No. 4 (125).

 

Got all of that? Well, I'll break it down. What it comes down to is Thompson traded away two picks [No. 2-55 (McDonald) and No. 3-88 (defensive end Corey Lemonier) for five picks [No. 2-61 (Lacy), No. 4-109 (left tackle David Bakhtiari), No. 4-125 (running back Jonathan Franklin), No. 7-216 (wide receiver Charles Johnson) and No. 7-224 (wide receiver Kevin Dorsey)].

David Bakhtiari

Along the way the Packers owned for a short time No. 3-93 (cornerback Will Davis), No. 5-146 (defensive end Quanterus Smith) and No. 6-173 (tackle Vinston Painter).

 

ANALYSIS: Lacy became Offensive Rookie of the Year by rushing for a Packers rookie record 1,178 yards and 11 TDs and followed it up by rushing for 1,139 and nine TDS while catching 42 passes for 4 TDs. Bakhtiari has started every game at left tackle. Franklin is out of the league after suffering a career ending neck injury his rookie year. Johnson is with the Vikings and recently has been declared their No. 1 wide receiver making Greg Jennings expendable. Dorsey was injured (foot) and put on injured reserve and was later cut. He has since signed with the Patriots.

 

Lemonier is a third string outside linebacker for the 49ers; Davis is a backup corner for the Dolphins; Smith is a backup outside linebacker for the Broncos; and Painter is a second string guard for the Browns. RESULT: MAJOR PLUS.

 

Last year for the first time he made no draft day trades. To review Thompson made 26 trades where he traded away a total of 29 draft picks and acquired 35. Of those 35 he acquired 12 became starters (Colledge, Jennings, Spitz, Jolly, Jackson, Nelson, Matthews, Burnett, Lacy, Bakhtiari and Johnson with the Vikings). Of those Jennings, Nelson, Matthews, Burnett, Lacy and Bakhtiari are quality starters with Johnson maybe developing into one.

 

Of those he traded away Harris, Thomas and Clay became superior starters and Giacomini, Heremans and Keller solid starters. RESULT: MAJOR PLUS.

 

And for those keeping score out of the 27 draft day trades Thompson traded down 18 times, traded up eight and made one straight swap (Walker for a draft pick).